17 October 2023
B.P. Marsh & Partners Plc
(“B.P. Marsh”, “the Company” or “the Group”)
Half-Year Results
B.P. Marsh & Partners Plc (AIM: BPM), the specialist investor in early stage financial services businesses, announces its unaudited Group Half-Year Results for the six months to 31 July 2023 (the “Period”).
Highlights:
· Net Asset Value at 31 July 2023 £203.5m (31 January 2023: £189.5m; 31 July 2022 £179.8m)
· Net Asset Value per share 567.3p (31 January 2023: 526.2p; 31 July 2022: 499.0p)
· Consolidated profit before tax of £15.6m for the Period (six months to 31 July 2022: £17.0m; year ending 31 January 2023: £27.6m)
· Total Shareholder return of 7.9% for the Period including the aggregate dividends paid in February and July 2023 (13.7% for the 12 months since 31 July 2022, inclusive of the dividends paid in February and July 2023)
· Cash of £4.3m as at 31 July 2023
· Current cash of £51.0m, following receipt of the proceeds from the sale of Kentro
Commenting on the results, Brian Marsh OBE, Chairman, said:
“I am pleased that we have delivered a strong set of results, both in terms of increasing the value of the portfolio and investment realisations. This gives the Company the ability to reinvest in a portfolio that is growing in value, and source new investment opportunities, alongside returning value to shareholders.”
Analyst briefing:
An analyst presentation, hosted by the Company, will be held at 10:00am today. Please contact Tim Pearson at Tavistock Communications on 07983118502 or tim.pearson@tavistock.co.uk should any analyst wish to attend.
Investor presentation:
B.P. Marsh will also provide a presentation for all existing and potential shareholders via the Investor Meet Company platform on 18 October 2023 at 11:00am.
Questions can be submitted pre-event via your Investor Meet Company dashboard up until 9am the day before the meeting or at any time during the live presentation.
Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and add to meet B.P. Marsh via:
https://www.investormeetcompany.com/bp-marsh-partners-plc/register-investor
Note
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014.
| For further information, please visit www.bpmarsh.co.uk or contact: | |
| B.P. Marsh & Partners PlcBrian Marsh OBE / Alice Foulk | +44 (0)20 7233 3112 |
| Panmure Gordon (UK) LimitedAtholl Tweedie / Amrit Mahbubani / Stephen Jones / Ailsa MacMaster | +44 (0)20 78862500 |
| TavistockSimon Hudson / Tim Pearson / Katie Hopkins | bpmarsh@tavistock.co.uk+44 (0)20 7920 3150 |
Notes to Editors:
B.P. Marsh’s current portfolio contains fourteen companies. More detailed descriptions of the portfolio can be found at www.bpmarsh.co.uk.
Since formation over 30 years ago, the Company has assembled a management team with considerable experience both in the financial services sector and in managing private equity investments. Many of the directors have worked with each other in previous roles, and all have worked with each other for approaching ten years.
Statement by the Chairman and Managing Director
We are pleased to present the unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements of B.P. Marsh & Partners Plc for the six month Period to 31 July 2023.
Half-Year Results
During the Period the Group’s Net Asset Value (“NAV”) has grown by £14.0m from £189.5m (31 January 2023) to £203.5m which, together with the dividends paid in February 2023 and July 2023, represents an increase of 7.9%. NAV per share as at 31 July 2023 is 556.3p on a fully diluted basis, an increase of 39.4p from 31 January 2023.
As previously announced, the Group has completed two new investments during the Period. These were into the London-based Managing General Agency, Verve Risk Services Limited, and the newly incorporated holding company Pantheon Specialty Limited (since changed to Pantheon Specialty Group Limited) that concurrently acquired the Lloyd’s Broker Denison And Partners Limited. The Group is pleased to have partnered with such strong management teams and is looking forward to watching these companies flourish.
The Group also announced the conditional sale of its shareholding in Kentro Capital Limited (“Kentro”) in May 2023 for £51.5m net of all costs. As subsequently announced on 9 October 2023 all conditions were met and the Group received £51.5m in proceeds.
We believe the successful sale of Kentro underpins B.P. Marsh’s approach to its valuation methodologies and demonstrates that our track record is both reliable and reasonable. The sale of Kentro for £51.5m represents an IRR of 24% inclusive of income and fees and a money multiple on the equity investment of 3.41x.
As the remainder of 2023 continues, the Group is in a strong position from a cash and new business perspective to capitalise on opportunities both within our current portfolio and outside of it. As supportive investors, we intend to ensure that the capital requirement needs of our portfolio can be met to aid further growth whilst also ensuring we are able to invest in attractive new business opportunities which fit the Group’s criteria.
With the receipt of the proceeds of sale from Kentro, the Board has declared a special dividend of 2.78p per ordinary share to be paid on 24 November 2023 to all shareholders on the Register as at 27 October 2023. The Group also reminds its shareholders that the intention is to pay an aggregate dividend of £2.0m in 2024, via an interim dividend of £1.0m around February 2024 and a final dividend of £1.0m in July 2024 subject to Shareholder Approval, and to replicate this for the subsequent two financial years.
The Board of B.P. Marsh intends to continue to strike a balance between utilising sale proceeds for investment for long-term capital growth, whilst providing shareholders with a meaningful ongoing return. The Board continues to discuss its aim to return meaningful levels of capital to shareholders and will provide more information in due course.
The Group remains acutely aware of the ongoing difficulties faced by the wider economic environment. Given the fact that the Group remains debt free and has a two-pronged investment approach of both equity and loan funding that has been benchmarked against the base rate, we have managed to avoid being adversely impacted by the increasing interest rates. The Group has continuously monitored the impact of the rising cost of living on its employees and intervened when it felt appropriate.
On 6 September 2023, the Board, on the recommendation of the Remuneration Committee, adopted the B.P. Marsh & Partners plc 2023 Share Option Plan (“Option Plan”). It is the belief of the Chairman and Managing Director that the current Team at B.P. Marsh is the best suited to take it into the next stage of growth and proper incentivisation is key to retaining the talent within the employee base, and further aligning employees’ interests with those of our shareholders. The Option Plan is a discretionary employee share plan under which selected employees and executive directors may be granted options, with a nil-cost, nominal value or market value exercise price, to acquire shares in the Company if certain pre-determined conditions are satisfied. It is envisaged that no options will be granted under the Option Plan which would cause the number of shares to be issued under the Option Plan to exceed 4.5% of the issued share capital of the Company. Further details of the Option grants awarded under the Option Plan will be announced in due course.
The Group is pleased with its performance to 31 July 2023, demonstrating once again the success of its track record and has positioned itself in a place to be able to utilise the proceeds of sale from Kentro effectively.
| Brian Marsh | Alice Fouk |
| Chairman | Managing Director |
| 17 October 2023 | 17 October 2023 |