3i continues focus on disposals

3i's investment activity fell to just £81m in the six months to 30 September 2013, compared with £118m in the same period in 2012. Meanwhile realisations climbed to £528m in the six months to 30 September 2013 compared with £268m in the same period last year.

The company has made only two new private equity investments over the last six months; its investment in GIF in Germany and its acquisition of 55% of JMJ Associates in the US. Over the period, 3i also acquired Allianz Capital Partner's stake in ferry operator Scandlines, which saw the listed firm increasing its interest in the company from 50% to 100%.

3i's heightened divestment activity has seen its gross portfolio return increase to £315m over the last six months compared with £180m in the comparable period in 2012, while its total return has risen significantly to £175m compared with a loss of £5m in the six months ending on 30 September 2012.

CEO Simon Borrows said in a statement that the recent run of disposals will lead to additional shareholder distributions, with the firm expecting to propose a total dividend of 20p per share in the financial year 2014.

The latest results also revealed that David Hutchison OBE has been appointed as a non-executive director and joined the board at the start of this week (11 November). The appointment comes as Willem Mesdag is to retire at the end of this month, and will see Hutchison becoming chair of the valuations committee. Until 2009, Hutchison was head of UK investment banking at Dresdner Kleinwort. Since then he has been CEO of Social Finance, a not-for-profit group that targets both social and financial results.

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