Real Est.cred Regulatory News (RECI)

28 Feb 2006 07:02

Queen's Walk Investment Limited28 February 2006 28 February 2006 Queen's Walk Investment Limited Strong initial performance, target dividend increased by 20 % Ahead of the announcement of its financial results for the period ended 31stMarch 2006, Queen's Walk Investment Limited (the "Company") confirms that it hasexceeded the initial investment targets set at the Company's IPO in December2005 when it raised Euro 406 million. Specifically: •The pace of investment has exceeded the Company's targets, with the portfolio now fully invested one month ahead of plan. •The Company's investment portfolio has performed at, or better than, initial expectations and the investment yield on new primary investments remains attractive. •The portfolio has been further diversified geographically, with new investments undertaken in Italy, The Netherlands and Germany. The Company is also evaluating investments in new asset classes. While the Company has made limited investments in one such asset class (namely, small-to-medium enterprise ("SME") loans), the portfolio remains substantially backed by residential mortgages. Given that both the timing of the ramp-up of the Company's investment portfolioand the portfolio's performance have exceeded the Company's assumptions, theCompany has raised its target aggregate dividend for the period ending 31stMarch 2006 to Euro 0.24 per share from its previous target of Euro 0.20. The Company continues to build its origination capabilities and is well advancedin fulfilling its strategic aim of building a Pan-European asset sourcingfranchise. The Company seeks to build long-term partnerships with new assetoriginators while continuing to enhance its existing relationships. Of the newtransactions that the Company has entered since the IPO, three quarters of themhave been with new originator partners. The Company's progress in building thisasset sourcing franchise has increased the visibility of its transactionpipeline for the coming year and leaves it well positioned for future growth. Notwithstanding the ramp-up of the portfolio ahead of target, the Companycontinues to see attractive investment opportunities. In order to ensure that ithas sufficient flexibility to pursue these opportunities and thereby enhanceshareholder returns, the Company is in the process of negotiating a series ofinvestment and warehouse financing arrangements with leading financialinstitutions. Commenting on the performance to date, Cheyne Capital's Syd Hanna said, "Queen's Walk has had a successful start and its performance has exceeded ourinitial expectations. The Company has delivered on its initial investmentstrategy and enhanced returns while simultaneously diversifying its portfolio.Queen's Walk has also continued to build on the foundations of its significantPan-European asset origination franchise. Taken together, we believe thesedevelopments should enable Queen's Walk to deliver even more attractiveshareholder returns." The preliminary results for the Company's initial financial period ending 31stMarch 2006 will be announced in May. For further information please contact: Investor Relations: Andrea Bonafe +44 20 7031 7480 Cheyne Capital: Syd Hanna +44 20 7031 7423 About the Company: Queen's Walk Investment Limited is a Guernsey-incorporated investment companylisted on the London Stock Exchange. The Company's investment objective is topreserve capital and to provide stable returns to shareholders in the form ofquarterly dividends. To achieve this, Queen's Walk invests primarily in adiversified portfolio of subordinated tranches of asset backed securities,including the unrated "equity" or "first loss" residual income positiontypically retained by the banks or other financial institutions which haveoriginated the loan assets that collateralise a securitisation transaction. TheCompany makes such investments where its investment manager, Cheyne CapitalManagement Limited, considers the coupon or cashflows from the investment to beattractive relative to the credit exposure of the underlying asset collateral.The Company believes that its investment focus provides equity investors withexposure to a relatively new investment opportunity in this asset class. * * * The content of this announcement includes statements that are, or may deemed tobe, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can beidentified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms"believes", "estimates", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may", "will" or"should". They include the statement regarding the target aggregate dividend. Bytheir nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties andreaders are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are notguarantees of future performance. The Company's actual results and performancemay differ materially from the impression created by the forward-lookingstatements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or reviseforward-looking statements, except as may be required by applicable law andregulation (including the Listing Rules). There can be no assurance that theCompany will be able to pay dividends at the targeted level, or at all. TheCompany may revise its dividend policy from time to time. ENDS This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange