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EPIC

 

Equity Partners Infrastructure Company No. 1 Limited ("EPIC") was established in 2007. It is a successful New Zealand infrastructure company with a track record of quality investment and attractive returns.

EPIC invests in long-term opportunities based on thorough analysis and due diligence by a team of highly experienced investment and asset management specialists. It offers New Zealand investors a tax efficient opportunity to invest into international high quality, high yielding infrastructure assets.

Currently, EPIC has two major investments:

  • It is the only New Zealand based vehicle providing access to an investment in Thames Water PLC.
  • It has a significant investment in Moto, a leading motorway service area operator in the United Kingdom.

EPIC will look for further investment opportunities as it further broadens and diversifies its portfolio and cashflow.

EPIC has NZ$158m in assets and approximately 1900 shareholders.

Recent Highlights

  • Six months ended 30 September 2009 Net Profit after tax NZ$4.441m
  • EPIC full year dividend maintained at 9.1 cents per share.
  • Thames Water targets operational improvements post regulatory process.
  • Moto International Holdings Limited performing strongly and well ahead of our investment case.
  • Company well placed to deliver a tax effective, stable and growing dividend stream.

Tax Efficient Dividends

EPIC is a Portfolio Investment Entity ("PIE") and Portfolio Listed Company ("PLC").

As such there is no further tax to pay for a natural person or trustee investors on higher taxes and no further tax to pay for other investors.

Other investors will be treated as receiving excluded (i.e. non-taxable) income to the extent that the distribution is not fully imputed; the amount fully imputed will be taxable income, the tax liability in respect of which will generally be covered by the imputation credits attached.

Since inception EPIC has paid 9.1c p.a. tax paid dividend.

The net dividend represents a comparable gross dividend of:

  • 14.9% (39% marginal tax rate)
  • 13.6% (33% marginal tax rate)
  • 11.3% (19.5% marginal tax rate)

Governance and Management

EPIC is governed by a Board of Directors elected by its shareholders. The Board comprises:

  • Donald Walker (Chairman). Don, a former Chairman of Anglian Water International NZ and of United Water International NZ, is an independent director and is based in Wellington.
  • Margaret Devlin. Margaret is an independent director with over two decades experience within the international infrastructure sector, both at director and senior executive level. She is based in Hamilton. Margaret's current roles include; Director Metrowater, Director WEL Networks and Director Moto Holdings.  Margaret has also been Chairman of Water UK and Managing Director of South East Water.
  • Richard Hanson is a director on a range of major asset projects affiliated with the Equity Partners group. He is based in Queenstown.
  • The company is managed by Perpetual Asset Management whose principal business is to develop and manage funds in specialist sectors.Perpetual Asset Mangement funds are designed to be “best of breed”- in other words,the funds are designed to be the leading New Zealand funds in the relevant sector in which they operate.

Investments

The principal activity of EPIC is investing in infrastructure assets. EPIC currently has two principal investments:

  • An indirect investment in Thames Water Limited. Thames Water is a water and wastewater company providing drinking water to 8.5 million people and wastewater services to 13.6 million people – equivalent to nearly a quarter of the total population of England and Wales. EPIC holds 2.61% of the issued capital of Thames Water Holding Co., which holds 47.65% of the issued capital of Thames Water.
  • An indirect investment in Moto Hospitality Limited, which is the leading operator of service areas on motorways and trunk roads in the United Kingdom. EPIC holds, through a wholly owned subsidiary, 17.49% of the issued share capital of Moto International. Moto International holds 73.86% of the issued share capital of Moto Holdings (with the balance of the shares held by, or for, directors or management of Moto Hospitality), which is the ultimate parent company of Moto Hospitality.

EPIC also has smaller investments in MGN Gas Networks (UK) Limited, the ultimate holding company of Wales & West Utilities Limited, a UK based gas network provider, and in Macquarie UK Broadcast Holdings Limited, the ultimate holding company of Arqiva, a UK based broadcast and transmission service provider.

Contact

For more information on EPIC, contact:
Level 3, General Buildings
29-33 Shortland Street
PO Box 105-899 Auckland
NEW ZEALAND

Email: questions@epam.co.nz