Analysts see Jupiter as candidate for float
Expectations that UK fund manager Gartmore will pull off a £500m (€543m) stock market listing is fuelling speculation that rivals will follow suit.
Jupiter Investment Management, led by Edward Bonham Carter, is seen as an obvious candidate by investment bankers, not least because it, like Gartmore, is backed by a private equity firm.
The speculation appears premature, given its backer, TA Associates, is a long-term participant, with its two-year-old investment in Jupiter owned by a 10-year fund. A spokeswoman declined to comment.
Jupiter’s operating profits of £91m in the year to last December held up, against an annualised £93m based on the previous nine-month accounts, according to Companies House filings.
The manager pulled in business worth £1bn, although assets under management fell 19.5% to £16.6bn due to the market slump. Administrative expenses rose to £106m against an annualised £87m. Interest charges were £56m, against £43m.
At the bottom line, Jupiter made a loss of £5m, against a profit of £15m, although it would have been marginally in the black without a rise in goodwill amortisation from £19m to £26m.
At the start of the year, Jupiter’s debt burden was £600m after it bought itself out of Commerzbank, although it also retained £216m cash on its balance sheet. It offered to buy back £375m of debt in April, when it was trading at 40p in the pound, but dropped the idea when it rose to 60p.
The debt mainly comprises a loan swapped into a rate of 6.2% and preferred securities yielding an expensive 10%.
One adviser said: “A listed Jupiter would achieve a premium rating, like Ashmore and BlueBay, and usefully cut its debt. The bigger question is whether it wants the hassle.”
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