22 August Press Release
Nordcapital: continued focus on transport and energy
• Equity of € 70m placed in first half-year
• Shipping investments are strongest segment
• Third energy supply fund and “Nordcapital Solarfonds 2” in the pipeline
• Entry into new segment of occupational retirement provision
Hamburg, Germany, 23 August 2011. Nordcapital, the Hamburg-based investment company for closed-end funds, is continuing to focus on its key areas of transport and energy. In a matter of weeks, the company succeeded in placing more than 25 per cent of the equity volume of US$ 72m relating to the mega-carrier “E.R. Benedetta”. “We are very happy with this placement and we intend to close the fund by the end of the year, even though it is very large. The feedback from the placement proves that our fund concept is meeting the investors’ security needs,” commented Florian Maack, Managing Director of the Nordcapital investment company. Both the equity and debt will be paid back in full during the period of the long-term time charter. As far as the operating expenses are concerned, the contract carrier has signed an additional guarantee that covers all additional charges equal to up to 30 per cent of the ship management fee.
Nordcapital placed € 70m in equity in the first six months of 2011 (previous year: € 124m) and demonstrated that it could continue to perform well in a difficult market environment. Ship funds were the strongest segment, with equity of € 44m.
Nordcapital plans to initiate the placement of its third energy supply fund with an investment volume of US$ 30m in September 2011. Like the two previous funds, it will invest in the US energy supply infrastructure. Both of the previous investments outperformed the planned dividends. A second German solar project is also due to start at the end of the third quarter.
The fund initiator recently moved into a new market segment with its “Nordcapital Vermögensplan Unternehmen” fund which specialises in occupational retirement provision. This tangible asset portfolio invests in various asset classes and serves to reinsure pension commitments in SMEs. “We will continue to offer financial solutions based on tangible assets for an array of investor needs in the future,” explained Maack.