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RECI published its annual Report and Accounts on 20 June. As monthly updates are published, there were no surprises. In the year, NAV fell 1.4%. Debt investors’ role is to generate dividends and protect assets. RECI’s net leverage is only 1.7%. The Investment Manager Fact Sheet (10 June) showed the May NAV rose to 147.1p, from 145.9p in April. One senior loan position was fully repaid at par and the combination of interest income and asset valuations contributed to a 0.8% NAV rise in the month. The large majority of assets are senior loans, mostly in the UK, and the next region, France, is predominantly hotels, a robust asset class.

  • May factsheet: NAV rose in the month, although it is still 1.3% below the level 12 months ago. The prior fall reflected, principally, the now small exposure to market bonds – as opposed to loans – and a December 2023 writedown of a prime Parisian office development, completed in 2023 and slow in letting.
  • Going forward: The institutional investor day, on 27 June, rightly highlighted the strength of security-backing, the large majority of assets being senior debt, and the strong nature of counterparts, together with the current transition to a greater weighting of loans into yielding assets and less to development funding.
  • Valuation: Pre-2020, RECI traded at a premium to NAV, but it also did so between August 2021 and May 2022. What changed after that was not RECI – whose NAV has stood firm – but the share prices of REITs, which fell from end-May 2022. Since then, interest rates have risen, and high interest rates actually benefit lenders to secure assets.
  • Risks: Credit risk is a factor. RECI has a proven track record of intervening positively when problems do occur. Most loans (including nine of the top 10) are senior-secured. Loans are designed to self-liquidate at contractual dates; dates chosen to mesh with the ability of the underlying assets to generate the cash.
  • Investment summary: RECI generates an above-average dividend yield from well-managed credit assets. Positions are rolling into new, high-quality debt; typically, achieving well into double figure % returns. Bond positions are tapering away. Market credit risk is above average, and banks’ appetite for lending low. RECI’s liquidity and expertise allow it to judge risk and pick and choose in a market with lessened competition and strong demand, given borrowers’ LTV and interest cost issues. A new £10m share buyback was announced on 28 March.
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