Miton UK MicroCap Trust plc (LON:MINI) Co Fund Manager Gervais Williams was asked by DirectorsTalk his thoughts on portfolio company Global Connectivity plc (AQSE:GCON).
DirectorsTalk asked: Global Connectivity, formerly known as Rural Broadband Solutions, is bringing high speed, 5G ready connectivity to rural communities in the UK. It’s had a recent capital and skills injection by Tiger Infrastructure Partners Fund, so it seems to be in a much better position to expand. What are your thoughts?
Gervais Williams commented:
“What’s interesting about this company is it’s expanding its broadband network prior to the Tiger investment , it’s got an established position, there’s plenty more opportunity and it can invest at a faster rate than originally expected.
The Company are expected to generate attractive cash returns in the medium and longer term, and what’s interesting is Tiger are now coming in and investing in their subsidiary. It’s not just a small amount of money, this is a £1 million company and Tiger are investing £75 million into one of their subsidiaries, and their 15% current interest which we retain as that £75 million goes in, effectively might be worth £10 million on that basis.
It’s incredible to find a company that overlooked, I think that’s where we are because markets have been so unsettled and because the UK has been a market that’s been unsettled for some time. Most investors don’t keep an eye on the smaller end of the market, the opportunity for some of these companies to not just succeed but for their share prices to recover when it comes is pretty exciting as far as we’re concerned.”
Keith Harris, Executive Chairman of Global Connectivity, commented in its Trading Update dated 22 February 2023:
“Tiger shares our vision that we have long held for the business and they add the financial strength to allow us to fulfil that vision. We are delighted with how the relationship has evolved over the past five months to assist communities in Shropshire, Staffordshire and Wales as well as other rural areas throughout the United Kingdom to solve their immediate and growing requirement for reliable, gigabit-capable connectivity. We are now actively engaged in investigating appropriate investment opportunities for GCON to continue its expansion.”
