GHS.L Share News (GHS)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Gresham House, the AIM-listed money manager, on Tuesday said it hired Kevin Acton, previously of Los Angeles-based investment company Oaktree Capital Management and FTSE 100 private equity firm 3i Group PLC, amid an alternatives push.

Acton, who succeeds Duncan Abbot, was a senior vice president at Oaktree, where he was responsible for finance and operations in the European principal team covering three private equity and two debt opportunity funds with combined assets under management of about EUR5.5 billion.

"I am pleased to welcome Kevin to Gresham House. He has significant experience in both asset management and private equity, which will be of great benefit to us as we implement the next stage of our plan to develop and grow Gresham House as a specialist asset manager," Chief Executive Officer Anthony Dalwood said in a statement.

The appointment came as Gresham House said its pretax loss narrowed to GBP3.8 million in 2015 from GBP4.0 million, a year in which the company ditched its status as an investment trust and became a money manager with two main divisions. Results were in line with management expectations for the year, Gresham House said.

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority authorised Gresham House's strategic equity arm, the private equity-inspired manager of AIM-listed investment trust Gresham House Strategic PLC, as an investment business in November 2015, the same month the company acquired Perth, Scotland-based forestry manager Aitchesse Ltd.

"We have an ambitious business plan, and feel that we are now at stage two of our journey. With GBP0.24 billion of assets under management, the board and the executive team is focused on growing profitability, management and performance fees whilst increasing assets under management, both organically and by acquisition," Dalwood said.

With a history going back to its incorporation in 1857, Gresham House is one of the oldest companies on the London Stock Exchange, first listing in 1950 and becoming an investment trust 16 years later.

Gresham House broke with history in December 2014, moving to the London Stock Exchange's market for smaller companies, AIM, from the flagship Main Market for larger, more established businesses, and dumping its investment trust status.

Shares in Gresham House were down 0.5% at 311.00 pence on Tuesday morning.

By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini

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