P2P Global Investments continues share buy-backs amid market dip

The P2P and marketplace lending giant fund has entred into another round of own share buy-backs in the past week.

The investment managers of the P2P Global Investments trust have initiated another round of share buy-backs over the past seven days in a bid to boost its share price, according to regulatory filings to the London Stock Exchange.

The fund started buying shares again - for the third time - last Thursday 22 September and continued each day this week. 

The latest purchase of shares by the fund was yesterday when it bought up 56,925 shares. This is the second most it has bought on one single day since it initiated share buybacks back in June, after it bought in 250,000 in one day in July. It now holds a total 685,664 Ordinary Shares out of a total 86,306,803 Ordinary Shares or 0.8 per cent.

The investment which is listed in London is a constituent of the FTSE 250. In comparison to the broader market its share price has appreciated 0.6 per cent since then compared to a loss in the FTSE 250 of 2 per cent, according to data from FE Analytics.

Performance of share price and index since 22nd September

Source: FE Analytics

The trust's share price has come under pressure in the past year or so thanks to a fall in the trust’s double digit premium to a double digit discount to net asset value (NAV).

Share price performance of P2P GI since launch

Source: Google

Simon Champ, CEO, MW Eaglewood said: “since the UK-EU referendum in June, we have bought back 685,664 shares to date at an average price of 828p. Our strategy remains to utilise discretionary share buybacks during periods of market dislocation.”

The fund’s board agreed a discount management policy back in March. This states the level to which the company has the authority to buy back shares which was capped at 14.99 per cent of the company’s issued share capital.

At its last annual general meeting back in June, before it initiated action on buy-backs, the trust’s discount had been a hot issue for investors in the investment trust. Many urged it to buy back shares to defend the share price from moving to a wide discount following its slide from a near 18 per cent premium in 2015.

According to AltFi Data, the trust has outerperformed the broader UK marketplace lending space, as measured by the Liberum AltFi Returns index (the LARI) since its launch back in 2014.

Performance of P2P GI's NAV since launch vs LARI

Source: AltFi Data