Gresham Partners profit tumbles
Cashcard is one of the two most significant investments held by the Gresham Private Equity Fund, a fund managed by Gresham Partners and in which half the capital is held by Wesfarmers.The Wesfarmers annual report shows that Wesfarmers revalued its holding in Gresham Private Equity Fund from $94.2 million at June 2002, to $150.4 million at June 2003. The revaluation is possibly driven more by the anticipated realisation of the fund's holding in Repco than the forthcoming trade sale of IPO of Cashcard.Despite the revaluation, Wesfarmers recorded a loss of $2.82 million from Gresham Private Equity Fund in 2003, compared with a profit of $9.5 million in 2002.The Wesfarmers annual report also clears up the profit from Gresham Partners, the investment bank, which is also 50 per cent owned by the conglomerate.The annual report shows that Gresham Partners Group Lt's profit in the year to June 2003 fell to $2.81 million from $13.91 million in 2002.James Graham yesterday said that the contribution from Gresham Partners to Wesfarmers in 2002 included some profits from Gresham's advice of Billiton on the merger of BHP and Billiton basically Gresham's most profitable deal ever.He said that Wesfarmers June 30 year end differed from Gresham Partners September 30 year end."In our 30 September year that ends today, this will undoubtedly be our best year ever, other than what we call the 2001 year. And it reflects an array of contributions across the group."On the corporate finance side, that includes advising MIM on the sale to Xstrata, Stockland on the acquisition of the AMP Diversified Property Trust and to Wesfarmers on the sale of Landmark to AWB.