UK agribusiness fund manager Radicle Projects has reported a pre-tax profit of £1.3 million for the year ending June, 2007.
This was up 109 per cent on the previous year as the fund manager ramped up its Australian agribusiness investments.
During the 2007 financial year Radicle acquired 70 allotments in the Timbercorp 2002 Almond project for $885,000. This investment generated $111,762 of income during the year.
The other investment held by Radicle is Queensland Paulownia Forests, which was acquired after the manager went into administration earlier this year.
Radicle had been an investor in the fund manger before it ran into financial difficulties, which eventually led to Radicle taking ownership of mature Paulownia plantations in Queensland.
Radicle chief executive officer Tim Bennett said the takeover of the Queensland plantations has a positive outcome for the fund manager.
“We now have a plantation estate which is the same size as the original investment but with more mature trees on a diverse range of sites in areas with higher natural rainfall,” he said.
“We now expect to begin harvesting mature trees from 2009 onwards, rather than beginning in 2014 as originally planned, with obvious benefits to our cash flow and profitability.”
The fund manager’s cash balance at June 30 was £16.1 million, which was up on the 2006 balance of £2 million.
Bennett said 2007 has seen a sound financial footing created for the fund manager.
“With increased cash resources following our successful fundraising we continue to acquire good quality assets at attractive prices, relative to their return potential,” he said.
“We have delivered our second year of profits and dividends and, with a committed and experienced management team, I anticipate significant further progress in our third full year.”
Bennett said the manager would continue to look for new agribusiness investments in managed investment schemes in Australia.
“We shall continue to invest to reach a critical mass of cash generative assets in the secondaries market and to create new opportunities for the group that secure shareholder value,” he said.
The fund manager is looking to establish stronger links with Australian financial planners and has appointed John Hyslop in the Melbourne office to lead this push.
Hyslop has worked for a number of boutique fund managers in similar roles in recent years and has strong links with platforms.
