Ranger Direct steps up hunt for new management
RANGER Direct Lending (RDL) has begun inviting interested parties to bid for management of the investment trust from May.
The alternative finance-focused investment trust said in a stock market announcement on Monday that its current arrangements end in May 2018, when the incumbent manager will be put on a rolling contract as previously agreed.
RDL, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, announced last year that it was looking for a co-manager to help boost performance. It has appointed corporate advisers Kinmont as part of this process to resolve the management arrangements from May.
Meanwhile, RDL said it expects its ongoing dispute with Princeton to be close to resolution in April. RDL has an investment in Princeton giving it exposure to direct lending platform Argon Credit, which went bankrupt in December.
Both parties have been embroiled in an ongoing legal dispute over Princeton’s level of exposure to Argon and entered arbitration proceedings last November.
RDL announced that the final witness testimonies should be held on 9 March, with a decision up to 30 days later.
“Following conclusion of the testimony, the parties will submit post hearing briefings and then the arbitration panel will have up to 30 days to make a determination in respect of its ruling,” RDL said.
RDL is currently trading on a discount to net asset value (NAV) of 19.4 per cent.
Analysts at Numis said the ongoing performance issues and Princeton disputes may keep the discount high.
“The discount has narrowed from a trough of 36 per cent to around 20 per cent whilst the review of management arrangements may act as a catalyst for further narrowing of the discount, we believe that further write-downs in the portfolio cannot be ruled out,” a Numis analyst note said.
Read more: Increasing defaults push down Ranger Direct returns