Neil Woodford increases stake in Honeycomb trust

The fund manager has been a backer of alternative forms of finance for several years.

Star fund manager Neil Woodford has increased his stake in the close-ended Honeycomb fund.  

Woodford seems to be taking an interest in alternative fixed income funds. The investment team behind Honeycomb trust have recently merged with the investment team of P2P Global Investments, which is also backed by Woodford.  The new team now manages both P2P Global Investments and the Honeycomb investment trust, which also invests in the alternative lending space

Woodford increased his stake in the fund from 16.19 per cent to 17.01 per cent, of total capital, according to regulatory documents.  

Honeycomb, which launched in 2015, raised £105m in a cash raise in May, bringing its total value to £222m.

The fund is listed on the London Stock Exchange and has a portfolio of a variety of specialised debt from various platforms, such as personal loan broker Freedom Finance, Green Deal Finance Company, and Pay4Later, a sale consumer credit platform.

Honeycomb’s shares are trading at a 17.8 per cent premium to net asset value. It has increased its dividend for the last four quarters, with its last dividend of 24.5 representing an annualised yield of 8.1 per cent.