Dividend Declaration

RNS Number : 3281Z

VPC Specialty Lending Invest. PLC

26 May 2016

 

25 May 2016

VPC Specialty Lending Investments PLC

(the "Company")

DIVIDEND DECLARATION AND UPDATE

During the quarter, the Company's revenue return was 1.31p. This is below the targeted annualised dividend due to a number of factors, including the use of leverage facilities and securitisations which incurred fees and costs, completed securitisations and cash drag which caused a deferral of residual income, and margin requirements which caused an FX margin impact. The foregoing are highlighted in more detail in the quarterly letter for Q1 2016 that was published on 6 May 2016.

The weighted average gross coupon of the invested portfolio is within expectations at approximately 14.73% as of 31 March 2016. The Company has selectively accessed the securitisation market and added leverage to certain assets in the portfolio. These transactions resulted in an increased level of cash pending reinvestment, which has impacted the Company's performance and its ability to meet the dividend target in the short term. For example, the Company was substantially fully invested on 29 January 2016, but was only 72% invested at 31 March 2016 after closing a securitisation transaction and a leverage facility in February and March, respectively. The Company believes that these steps will position the Company for stronger performance over the longer term and allow the Company to invest in new and existing platforms and further diversify the portfolio.

Taking the above factors into account, the Board of Directors of the Company is declaring an interim dividend of 1.50 pence per share for the three month period to 31 March 2016, including 0.19p contributed from the Company's other distributable reserves. The dividend will be paid on 30 June 2016 to shareholders on the register as at 3 June 2016. The ex-dividend date is 2 June 2016.

The Company has elected to designate all of the interim dividend for the period to 31 March 2016 as an interest distribution to its shareholders. In doing so, the Company is taking advantage of UK tax treatment by "streaming" income from interest-bearing investments into dividends that will be taxed in the hands of shareholders as interest income.

Investors who are eligible to receive the distribution without deduction of UK tax should complete the Declaration of Eligibility Form which can be found on the Company's website: http://vpcspecialtylending.com/vpc-pdf/gross-interest-distributions-declaration-of-eligibility-form/ and return the forms to Capita Asset Services, at the address detailed in the form, promptly. The form must be received no later than 1 June 2016 to be eligible for this dividend.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Victory Park Capital Brendan Carroll (Senior Partner and Co-Founder) Gordon Watson (Partner, Investment Manager)	via Newgate (below)
Jefferies International Limited	Tel: [phone]
Gary Gould
Alex Collins
Stifel Nicolas Europe Limited	Tel: [phone]
Neil Winward
Mark Bloomfield
Gaudi Le Roux
Newgate (PR Adviser)	Tel: [phone]
James Benjamin Alex Shilov Lydia Thompson	Email: [e-mail]

ABOUT VPC Specialty Lending Investments PLC:

VPC Specialty Lending Investments PLC invests in opportunities within the specialty lending market primarily through online lending platforms. The Company intends to generate an attractive total return for shareholders consisting of distributable income and capital growth via investments in a diverse portfolio of various platforms, asset classes, geographies (primarily U.S., U.K., Australia and Europe) and credit bands.

Since 2010, the Company's investment manager, Victory Park Capital, has been actively involved in the specialty lending marketplace and has made more than $4.5 billion of investments and commitments across a number of financial technology platforms, multiple geographies (U.S., U.K., Australia and Europe), products (consumer and business) and structures (whole loans and senior credit facilities).

Further information on VPC Specialty Lending Investments PLC is available at: http://vpcspecialtylending.com.

 

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