LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - British investment company HICL Infrastructure announced an equity fundraising on Thursday as part of an effort to pay £75m off its debts.



HICL said the net proceeds of the share placing, issued at 164p share - a 5.75% discount to its closing price on 15 July and a 7.7% premium to the firm's last reported net asset value - would be used to reduce funding requirements and provide additional resources for its advanced pipeline.

The FTSE 250-listed company said it was confident that cash generation from its portfolio was in line with forecasts and reaffirmed its target dividend guidance of 8.25p per share for the year ending 31 March 2021.

Elsewhere, HICL said most assets in its portfolio were relatively unaffected by the Covid-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns. However, the group noted that three demand-based assets, two toll roads and the HS1 rail link, had seen a fall in demand since March.

Chairman Ian Russell said: "We have continued to ensure that our infrastructure assets have remained available for the communities they serve throughout the pandemic.

"Operational performance of HICL's demand-based assets has been reassuring in the context of the gradual easing of travel restrictions. Revenue on the toll roads is ahead of expectations at the current time, underlining that these investments benefit from strategically important positioning in their respective regions."

As of 0920 BST, HICL shares were down 3.91% at 167.20p.

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