Electra unveils details of convertible bonds placing

Following a placing and open offer in November for up to £100 million of subordinate convertible bonds, Electra Private Equity's  board has revealed that of the £66.3 million placed, 90% went to current shareholders and 10% had gone to new shareholders.

The placing was opened to investors for roughly 20 days, starting at the end of November.  Although ordinary shares - priced 1686.0p- in the split cap trust trade on an 18.7% discount, the listed investment company is seen as one of the best picks in the closed-ended private equity space, reflected partly by the 11.1% premium on its zero dividend preference shares.

Between the end of January and December this year, however, the growth in its net asset value (NAV) per share has considerably lagged the benchmark.

Its NAV grew 20.8% over the period while the LPX Europe index surged ahead, returning 41.54% while the FTSE All Share increased by 11.8% over the same period.