BPET.L Regulatory News (BPET)

2 Jun 2006 12:12

F&C Private Equity Trust PLC02 June 2006 To: RNS Date: 2 June 2006 F&C Private Equity Trust plcReport at 30 April 2006 • NAV increases of 11.8%, 3.9% and 9.9% for A, B and C shares • Strong uplifts and realisations • Several new commitments • Change of Year End to December The NAV per A (realisation) share at 30 April was 36.56p. Taking into accountthe special dividend of 7.5p paid on 14 April, this is an increase of 11.8% overthe quarter. The Net Assets of the A pool were £24.5m. The NAV per B(continuation) share at 30 April was 159.77p, an increase over the quarter of3.9%. The Net Assets of the B pool were £93.8m. The NAV per C (conversion)share at 30 April was 109.2p, an increase over the quarter of 9.85%. The NetAssets of the C pool were £23.0m. The A pool has shown a substantial increase reflecting continuing realisationsand some uplifts in value in its increasingly mature and concentrated portfolio.At 30 April the A pool had net cash of £3.8m. It is anticipated that thiswill be distributed once the company's distributable reserves have beenincreased through reduction of the share premium account. Principalcontributors to the uplift have included the Candover 1997 Fund (+£1.2m),International Mezzanine Investment (+£0.4m) and Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst FundIV (+£0.3m). These funds have had or will imminently have realisations.Additionally we have re-valued our direct holding in Dakota Minnesota andEastern Railroad by £1.3m, reflecting this company's strong trading. In the B pool, there has also been a good flow of realisations with £3.5mreturned by funds during the quarter. Drawdowns from funds totalled £3.6m. Inaddition F&C Private Equity Trust invested £2m in LMS, a legal outsourcingcompany. This deal was a co-investment led by RJD Partners. Several newcommitments to private equity funds were made during the quarter or shortlyafterwards. These included €7.5m to Chequers Capital XV (France), $10m to BluePoint Capital Partners II (USA); €5m to Ibersuizas II (Spain); £4m to PiperPrivate Equity Fund IV; €5m to Life Sciences Partners III (European LifeSciences) and £10m to Inflexion 2006 Buyout Fund. Additionally we have invested£2m and committed £1m in HPF, a fund established to hold various Inflexion ledinvestments. The total un-drawn commitments of the B-pool amount to £124m.These may be drawn down over periods of up to 5 years. The C pool, which contains the former Discovery Trust Assets, is being steadilysold down to provide funds for investment in private equity. During thisquarter a further £14m of cash has been raised and this will transfer to the Bpool through the conversion process. 83% of the original C pool has so far beenrealised and the final conversion will take place in September 2006, based uponthe respective B and C share NAVs at 31 July. In order to more closely match the reporting periods of our underlying fundinvestments and to make performance comparisons easier your board has decided tochange the company's year end to 31 December, from 31 July. This will leadinitially to a 17 month accounting period for the current financial year, withthe move to a calendar year accounting commencing in 2007. For more information please contact: Hamish Mair 0131 465 1184 Hamish.mair@fandc.com Martin Cassels 0131 465 1095 Martin.cassels@fandc.com Alastair Moreton, Arbuthnot Securities Ltd 020 7012 2000 alastairmoreton@arbuthnot.co.uk Gordon Neilly / Sue Ingles, Intelli Corporate Finance 020 7 653 6300 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange