Member Article

Tanfield optimistic about future value for shareholders

North East based investment firm Tanfield Group says it is confident about the potential of its stakes in Smith Electric Vehicles and Snorkel - and is seeking to invest in the technology sector.

Publishing its full year results for the 12 months to January 2014, Tanfield stated the current value of its holding in Snorkel was £36.28 million ($60.1 million), or 26.0p per share.

Current value of the firm’s holding in Smith stood at £1.28 million ($2.11 million) equity and £2.86 million ($4.70m) debt.

The estimated value of Tanfield’s holding in Smiths post merger was £7.41 million ($12.37 million), or 5.3p per share (excluding warrants).

Tanfield, which is now classified as a “passive investment” company, says it is looking to use a small proportion of its resources to acquire or invest in a company in the technology sector, subject to shareholder approval.

The idea, it said, is to increase shareholder value and spread risk following the recent movements in its investment portfolio.

Tanfield’s disposal of Tanfield Engineering Services Limited via administration in January has turned the company from a manufacturing entity into an investment vehicle.

The firm’s statement of income for the year showed a profit of £7.4 million.

Jon Pither, chairman of Tanfield, said: “It is with some mixed emotions that I review the past twelve months but with a certain optimism that I look to the future.

“Those twelve months need to be put into the context of the past five years. The context is that the company went through the most difficult trading period and the deepest recession ever experienced in its market for industrial products.

“It is a credit to all the people involved that the businesses, in their various guises, continue to operate and that Tanfield continues to be a shareholder in these businesses.

“Tanfield Group plc has gone through a radical structural change from being a strong manufacturing entity to being an investment company.

“This process of change is a response to the circumstances that the company faced during those five difficult years. We have managed to survive with a reasonable level of shareholder value intact and I am confident that our investments have the potential to provide a future return to shareholders.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .