25 May 2012

Assets advance at BP Marsh

06/06/2007 James Crux

BP Marsh & Partners, the ‘niche’ venture capitalist for early stage financial services companies led by 58.5 per cent shareholder and chairman Brian Marsh, has grown net assets from £31.2 million to £47.7 million during an eventful first year on AIM. The business floated in February 2006.

Typically investing up to £2.5 million for minority positions, the group ensures investee companies adopt minority shareholder protections, appoint a director to the relevant board and have a far more flexible approach to exits than a typical fund chasing returns on a given timescale.

‘It is our money at stake and if they go bust we lose the lot,’ explained Marsh, ‘which means we’re relaxed about the timing of exits.’ Results for the year to the end of January proved interesting reading, revealing profits of £242,000 and a (conservatively put) portfolio valuation uplift of 19.3 per cent.

During an eventful year, significant roles were played in the re-financing of two larger investments, niche Lloyd’s Insurance broker Besso and fast-growing insurance group Hyperion, which grew its operating profits by 37 per cent in the year to last September.

BP Marsh also invested a further €1 million (£677,000) in Spanish insurance brokerage consolidator Summa, and a further £100,000 in Principal Investment Holdings, a discretionary fund manager with retail and institutional clients, in order to maintain the group’s equity slice. A £2.5 million loan to Marsh was also repaid in full.

Since year-end, investments in JMD, an ‘accelerated’ premium collector for the insurance sector, and LEBC, an IFA business, have been completed. Year-end net assets equating to 163p compare with a current share price of 144.25p, which appears to be a rather unjust discount.

Sector: General Financial

Companies: B.P. Marsh

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