Stonehage Fleming sale helps lift Caledonia Investments NAV return

(Sharecast News) - Caledonia Investments reported a 5.4% net asset value total return for the year ended 31 March on Tuesday, supported by positive contributions from all three of its investment pools and the agreed sale of Stonehage Fleming. The FTSE 250 investment company said net assets rose to £2.98bn from £2.93bn a year earlier, while net asset value per share increased to 568p from a restated 548p.

The investment portfolio delivered a 6.1% return, comprising 1.2% from public companies, 13.1% from private capital and 4.9% from funds.

Caledonia said the agreed sale of Stonehage Fleming was expected to generate proceeds of about £290m, representing a 3.2 times multiple on cost and a 30% uplift to its March 2025 carrying value.

The company said completion was expected in mid-2026, further strengthening its liquidity position.

At year-end, Caledonia had net cash of £90m and an undrawn revolving credit facility of £325m, giving total liquidity of £415m.

The company said the strength of its balance sheet left it well placed to take advantage of investment opportunities.

The board proposed a final dividend of 4.00p per share, taking the total dividend for the year to 7.68p, up 4.4% on 2025 and extending Caledonia's record of annual dividend growth to 59 consecutive years.

Caledonia also allocated £34.6m to buybacks during the year, repurchasing and cancelling 9,465,511 shares at an average discount of 34.7%.

The company said the buybacks generated 3.49p, or 0.6%, of NAV per share accretion.

Chief executive Mat Masters said the year had demonstrated the strengths of Caledonia's model despite a volatile global backdrop.

"While market conditions, particularly late in our financial year, impacted overall returns, we remain confident in our high-quality, diversified portfolio and our ability to deliver over the long-term," he said.

The public companies pool returned 1.2%, with performance hit by market volatility late in the financial year.

Caledonia said its holding in Oracle was a notable contributor, with the company realising £65m after a sharp rally linked to artificial intelligence-related announcements.

Private capital returned 13.1%, driven by the Stonehage Fleming sale and strong performance from AIR-serv Europe, which was valued at £215m at year end after returning 23.8% for the year.

The funds pool returned 4.9%, helped by positive contributions from North America and Asia.

The firm also announced board changes, with chair David Stewart to retire at the forthcoming annual general meeting and Will Wyatt appointed as his successor.

Wyatt led Caledonia as chief executive for more than a decade before becoming a non-executive director in July 2022.

Non-executive director Charles Cayzer would also step down at the AGM after more than four decades on the board.

Stewart said Wyatt had "a unique perspective and long-standing knowledge of the business", while Wyatt thanked Stewart for leading the board through Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent market turbulence.

Caledonia said the external environment remained unsettled, but that its high-quality portfolio, robust balance sheet and experienced team left it well placed to navigate uncertainty and continue compounding NAV over the long term.

At 1046 BST, shares in Caledonia Investments were down 0.4% at 370p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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