Woodford fund makes third capital return

Investors in the former Woodford Equity Income Fund have received the third capital distribution, which will take the total amount returned to £2.45 billion.

Link Fund Solutions informed investors that they would receive £183 million, after the fund made available capital via the sale of a portfolio of assets to Acacia Research.

Investors were also told that there would be a further delay to the release of the annual accounts, which were initially due to be published no later than 31 August.

Karl Midl, Link Fund Solutions managing director, said: “While the audit is progressing satisfactorily with all parties, we have been in regular discussions with Grant Thornton, the appointed auditor of the fund, and due to the significant amount of work involved in finalising the financial statements and the detail of the post balance sheet events (including the Acacia transaction), it is now expected that the annual accounts will be published by 30 September 2020 at the latest.”

Further capital distributions would be made when “suitable” amounts of cash had been raised from the sale of additional assets and further proceeds received from Acacia.

“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,” Midl said.