January saw the portfolio take a backward step or two. despite positive updates from most of the holdings. Unilever did an impressive acquisition hokey-cokey with their bid for the GSK consumer arm in and out again. It looked like the kind of large take-over that tends to cause a business indigestion, and the fact that they would need to considerably increase their debt to do so, left me thankful that they decided against. Other news included Somero, Eleco and Computacenter ahead of expectations, Anglo-Pacific reporting on a record quarter and all others reporting solid trading. But Mr Market was in a grumpy mood so the market sold off on concerns over inflation and central banks threatening to take away their punch bowl.
This month SAGE Group was sold - nothing wrong with the business, in fact I would rather have held onto it based on the business. However, the valuation was starting to feel expensive, and at a PE of 30, seemed to be pricing in an awful lot of growth. I would happily buy back at a lower valuation, but for the moment I've taken profit with a 38% gain.
Two top ups this month: Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) and Impact Healthcare REIT (IHR). HL had sold off a little, with the share price having been under pressure for a while. Recent trading had been respectable and they generate bags of cash so added a few more. IHR provide properties for care homes, so unlikely to set pulses racing, but a nice steady dividend payer, which in the current market environment I'm quite happy with.
Portfolio performance
Blackbird -28%
