LONDON (Alliance News) - VPC Specialty Lending Investments PLC, the London-listed trust which invests in the alternative lending market through specialty platforms, on Thursday said it's keen to "selectively expand" its global footprint and take opportunities in new markets.
VPC, which raised GBP200 million when it listed in March 2015, followed by a further GBP183 million by issuing 'C' shares in October, said it generated a net asset value return of 5.80% for the ordinary shares and 1.78% for the 'C' shares between incorporation on January 12, 2015 to December 31 that year.
The company distributed dividends of 4.79 pence per ordinary share and 1.07p per C share.
Since the end of 2015, the company declared a 2.00p dividend per ordinary share for the final three months of that year, and 1.07p per C share for the period from October 2 to December 31.
In January, the company said it had "substantially" invested the initial proceeds of the C share sale, and then completed the conversion of the C shares into new ordinary shares on March 4.
The company completed its second securitisation on February 26, and announced an initial investment under investment manager Victory Park Capital Advisors LLC's USD100 million balance sheet model commitment to LoanMart, a provider of auto title loans in the US.
"In 2015, the industry experienced significant growth in loan originations and securitisations, driven by borrower demand and increased availability of lending capital from institutional investors. Online lenders have attractive margins and highly scalable models, combined with low overheads, all of which should provide a competitive advantage for future growth," Chairman Andrew Adcock said in a statement.
"The board believes that over the next year, the specialty lending sector will continue to grow and reaffirm its position as a sustainable and growing alternative to the traditional banking model," he said.
Shares in VPC were up 1.2% at 93.09p Thursday.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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Vpc Specialty (VSL)