Embattled Woodford investors to receive a further £183m
Link Fund Solutions, the administrator of the now-closed Woodford Equity Income fund, has written to investors this morning telling them to expect the payment 'on or around 26 August.'
Next week's payment represents the third such disbursement to investors following the distribution of £2.1bn in January and £143m in March. Neil Woodford, the manager of the Woodford Equity Income fund, was sacked by Link Fund Solutions in October. The new administrator then proceeded to liquidate the fund, which had a closing value of around £3bn.
Laura Suter, personal finance analyst at investment platform AJ Bell, commented: "Investors in the shuttered Woodford Equity Income fund will get their next tranche of money before the end of this month. Link has revealed that it will pay out just over £183m of cash to investors next week, following the sale of a number of assets. This payout adds to the £142m distribution made in March and the £2.1bn paid out in January and means investors have received about £2.4bn of their money back."
At this stage we are unable to advise you of the exact timing and amount of these future capital distributions as this is dependent upon the sale of the fund’s assets."
"However, there's no sign of Link and the asset managers shifting the remaining illiquid assets in the fund. There's no mention of a timeline or any progress having been made on the sale of the assets, with Link just saying the sale ‘may take some time.' This means the process will drag on for even longer for investors, who just want to get as much of their money back as possible and move on from the sorry saga."
Despite this, Link sought this morning to reassure invesors that further payments would be issued "as and when suitable amounts of cash have been raised from the sale of the remaining assets of the fund, including further proceeds received from Acacia."
The administrator's statement continued: "At this stage we are unable to advise you of the exact timing and amount of these future capital distributions as this is dependent upon the sale of the fund's assets."
"Investors are reminded that the assets that remain to be sold are the less liquid assets of the fund and disposing of these assets may take some time."
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