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Candover Investments' net assets up 22.7 per cent in 2004

Candover Investments, the investment trust managed by the eponymous pan-European buy-out firm, has announced that its total net assets increased by 22.7 per cent to £312.6m in 2004, compared to £254.7m in 2003. The firm said the increase was due to the revaluation of a number of Candover's investee companies and a series of successful realisations.

Net assets per share were up 22.7 per cent, from 1165p in 2003 to 1430p in 2004. This compares with an increase of 9.2 per cent in the FTSE All-Share Index over the same period of time. Pre-tax profits also increased, from £17.9m in 2003 to £19.0m in 2004.

Candover said it had completed six successful realisations during the year, which generated aggregate returns on investment of three times the residual investment: Bourne Leisure, Baxi, Clondalkin, Centaur, Earls Court & Olympia and Picard Surgelés.

The sale of residual shares in Inveresk gave the firm an overall return on investment of 4.6 times the original investment.

Stephen Curran, chairman of Candover Investments, said, '2004 was an active year for Candover, both in terms of new investments and realisations. The buy-out market comfortably attained record levels of new investment and the signs are that the year ahead will be one of further growth.'

'Our focus over the year ahead will be to continue to attract high quality deal flow from which to make further investments throughout Europe, and to continue to monitor the progress of our existing investee companies,' Curran continued.

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