Update on COVID-19 and Financial Reporting
The Board of
Financial Reporting
The Board has adopted this guidance and therefore will not release audited financial statements for the year ended
The Company confirms that it expects to announce results in line with those set out in the Company's Trading Statement dated
Impact of COVID-19
The long-term impact of COVID-19 on the Company and its portfolio remains uncertain.
The Investment Advisor ("IA") is working closely with the management teams of portfolio companies to respond to this dynamic situation and is apprising the Board regularly as the epidemiological situation develops.
The Board would like to provide the following commentary to update shareholders.
· The portfolio has taken all appropriate steps to protect and promote the wellbeing of colleagues (including adherence with local government advice).
· The Company maintains strong liquidity of
· The Company has
· The Board and IA have reviewed the business continuity plans of the Company's key operational service providers and are satisfied of their resilience.
· The portfolio has taken early and prudent steps to manage its liquidity, financial position and trading outlook; these steps are under active review by the IA and the management of the portfolio companies.
· The portfolio has a low level of third party leverage (0.7x last twelve month EBITDA to net third party debt as at
· Luceco plc, the Company's largest asset, updated the market on its financial position and outlook in a RNS announcement on
· In the interest of employee safety and in line with government advice, Whittard has temporarily closed its 46 retail stores. The business traded well for the first quarter of the 2020 and is currently trading ahead of prior years and budget in its ecommerce channel. The business continues to review its fixed and variable costs and will benefit from the announced government schemes regarding furloughing, business rates and other taxation. The business has no third party debt.
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· ESO and the IA is prepared to support portfolio companies financially and operationally over the coming months.
The person responsible for releasing this information on behalf of the Company is
Enquiries:
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+44 (0) 207 269 8865 |
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+44 (0) 153 488 5200 |
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+44 (0) 207 930 0777 |
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+44 (0) 207 260 1000 |
Nominated Advisor: |
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Corporate Broker: |
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This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the