Link has invested more of the former Woodford Equity Income fund into US basalt fibre producer Mafic as it approaches one year since its last payout to trapped investors.
In the fund’s latest report and accounts, which covers 1 April 2021 to 30 September 2021, Link noted that “limited progress had been made in the orderly realisation process during the period”.
Since the fund began wind up in January 2020, Link has made four capital distributions to investors amounting to £2.54bn. However, a payment has not been made since December last year when Link transferred the remainder of a portfolio of healthcare assets from the former Woodford fund to Acacia Research Corporation, freeing up £98.5m.
Link said at this stage it was unable to provide a specific date for the fifth capital distribution or for the completion of the winding up of the fund. “We anticipate that the sale of all remaining assets will be completed in 2022,” it said.
Link ploughs more into Mafic
In Link’s previous letter to investors in August, it said it had made a further £710,000 investment in Mafic. In September, the fund made a further investment of £360,000 into the basalt fibre producer, which Link said was the last investment that will be made in the company.
“We did not anticipate making further investment in Mafic at the time of our previous letter to investors, but we believe that this further investment was in investors’ best interests as the company seeks to move to increased production,” it said.
On 31 October 2021, the value of the fund’s remaining assets stood at £124.3m. In addition to Mafic, shareholdings include Atom Bank, Benevolent AI, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Drayson, Nexeon, Origin, RM2, Rutherford Healthcare and Sabina Estates.
Any cash for distribution sits in the Blackrock ICS Sterling Liquidity fund. At the end of September this strategy held about 10% of the fund’s NAV.
Link will write to investors on or around 15 March 2022 with an update.
See also: Patience wearing thin with FCA’s snail-like progress two years on from Woodford fund suspension
