The Merchants Trust - Benefits from announced debt refinancing

The Merchants Trust (MRCH) adopts a long-term approach to investing in UK equities, aiming to generate an above-average level of income along with long-term capital and income growth. The trust has announced a refinancing of its first tranche of high-cost debt, which will bring its effective cost of borrowing down from 8.5% to 6.1%, saving £2.8m in annual interest costs and locking in low-cost funding for the next 35 years. The board adopts a progressive dividend policy; annual dividends have increased for the last 35 consecutive years and the current 5.0% yield compares favourably with the average of MRCH’s peers in the AIC UK Equity Income sector.