Rockpool Inheritance Tax Service is a non-AIM/unquoted BR product. It will invest in ordinary shares in Novus Lending Limited, which lends on a secured basis to UK SMEs. Rockpool targets a capital return of 4% p.a., with an income option available from the regular sale of shares.

Why invest

Positives

• Strategy: To lend as part of private equity deals with small corporates, with loans on a senior secured basis.

Issues

• Concentration: While Rockpool has tightened concentration limits, some old loans still exceed the targets.

Management

Positives

• Team: Rockpool has an experienced team, which has been investing in these structures for some time.

Issues

• Track record: The loan book has experienced some credit losses; although there were meaningful recoveries, they affected performance.

Nuts & bolts

• Governance: There are no independent directors.
• Diversification: The company lends across a single strategy, with some residual loans to former EIS companies. There are currently 28 loans.
• Valuation: Loans will be valued at face value, less impairments, with transactions at NAV.

Fees

• Annual fees: There is an annual charge of up to 1.5% p.a. of lending.
• Other fees: There is a 2% initial fee, with no performance fee. Rockpool also charges borrowers arrangement and monitoring fees.

Risks

• Target returns: The target return is 4% p.a. Other than a couple of years, this target has been reached consistently.
• Investment risk: In common with most products in the non-AIM Business Relief (BR) sector, Rockpool targets a return that is meaningfully lower than the yield on the underlying assets. Security is taken over borrower assets, but this is primarily cashflow-based lending.

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