Honeycomb puts new investments on pause amid coronavirus outbreak

The Honeycomb Investment Trust is holding off from investing any further cash until the coronavirus pandemic has passed.

The alternative finance-focused fund said in its February performance update from investment manager Pollen Street that the outbreak is yet to impact its portfolio but warned it expects some short-term disruption.

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“The principal effects of the outbreak in the UK occurred in March and therefore it has not had a material effect on the February results,” the update said.

“The manager is speaking to its clients daily and actively reviewing the impact on the portfolio to ensure the correct actions are being taken to mitigate the impact where possible.

“As at the time of writing the portfolio has not seen a material impact in payment performance, however the majority of underlying consumer and small business payment dates are towards the end of the month.

“We expect to see some short term disruption through requests for forbearance and we continue to monitor daily.”

The statement said that the fund will now focus on the existing portfolio, while ensuring cash collections remain robust and the appropriate strategies are put place.

“The manager continues to have faith in the strength of the performance of the asset class despite the unprecedented conditions,” it said.

“The manager is not proposing to re-invest the cash generated by the portfolio in new investments until there is more visibility on the impact of the lockdown restrictions on performance and a return to some level of normality in the economy.”

The update showed Honeycomb posted a net asset value (NAV) return of 0.60 per cent in February.

It is currently trading at a discount to NAV of 25.8 per cent.

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