Winding-down Funding Circle fund set to repay a fifth of shares
Almost a fifth of shares in the SME Credit Realisation Fund are set to be redeemed by next week.
The fund – previously set up to back loans on the Funding Circle peer-to-peer lending platform – is in the process of being closed down and said in a stock market update today (20 October) that approximately £15.1m is set to be returned to shareholders at 93.27p per share.
The update said this will mean around 18.9 per cent of each registered shareholding will be redeemed on 27 October.
Investors will also receive a quarterly dividend of 1.3125p per share payable in November 2021.
Read more: Funding Circle fund to return £16m to investors
The third quarter net asset value (NAV) update for September said the underlying loan valuations were hit by economic uncertainty and the withdrawal of government emergency Covid support
Its NAV for the third quarter of 2021 was 1.06 per cent, compared with 6.78 per cent between April and June.
The investment trust, which launched in 2015, announced plans to close in April 2019.
It was hit by hedging costs and the impact of new IFRS accountancy reporting requirements.
The fund is believed to have gradually represented less investment on the Funding Circle platform in recent years as it has attracted other institutional backers.