Intermediate Capital Group accelerates fundraising after ‘exceptional’ period
Alternative fund manager Intermediate Capital Group has accelerated its fundraising timetable after an “exceptional” first half.
ICG raised €2.6bn in the six months ended 30 September, resulting in assets under management (AUM) of €46.1bn and said it expects fundraising of €6bn for the full year.
The firm, which invests in private debt, equity and infrastructure, said it had experienced an “exceptional period of investment activity” for its strategic equity and European corporate funds.
A total of €2.1bn deployed in the period and a further €4.0bn signed or in exclusivity.
As a result ICG has launched its Strategic Equity Fund IV and its Europe fund VIII is expected to launch in the next twelve months.
Group profit before tax in the first half soared 29 per cent to £197.8m, while earnings per share rose 32 per cent to 66.9p.
It was boosted by a 58 per cent increase in profits to £108m at its investment company after a recovery in portfolio valuations and a particularly strong performance in its European and Asian corporate funds.
Third-party AUM grew to 43.69bn from 38.38bn a year earlier. Chief executive Benoit Durteste said: “The sustained growth of our Fund Management Company profits demonstrates the strength of our business model in these challenging times, as we continue to see investor demand for a broad range of our funds, including a number of new strategies.”
“The pace of deployment in our flagship funds is such that we have already launched Strategic Equity IV and expect Europe Fund VIII to be in the market in the next twelve months. This is much sooner than planned for both strategies which are expected to be larger than their predecessors,” he added.
ICG increased its ordinary interim dividend by 13 per cnet to 17 pence per share in line with its policy of paying a third prior to the full year dividend.