This resulted in a rise in net core income of 25 per cent and of 34 per cent in operating profit, the firm said in a statement this week. The group has a strong cash position of £32 million and an undrawn committed revolving credit facility of £20 million available, it continued. 

The strong performance has generated a 19.3 per cent return on capital employed and has led to adjusted diluted earnings per share, increasing by 12 per cent to 55.2p. As a result, the board is recommending a 60 per cent increase in the dividend to 16 pence, representing a 256 per cent increase in the dividend over three years, which is 3.5x covered by adjusted diluted EPS.

The firm said that momentum has been maintained with a positive start to 2023, including new fundraisings across its asset classes. The statement comes after it launched its Irish Strategic Forestry Fund targeting €200 million ($218 million) to create new forests. The fund, which aims to contribute to Ireland's Climate Action Plan, has already attracted €35 million from Irish investors, including a €25 million cornerstone investment from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, Ireland's sovereign development fund. The the firm’s sustainable infrastructure division is also putting more emphasis and resources into a number of areas, including vertical farming. See here.

Tony Dalwood, chief executive of Gresham House, said: "We are ahead of our GH25 five-year targets through the strong execution of our financial and strategic goals to create shareholder value. Importantly, we are delivering strong investment performance for clients.”

"During a year in which many fund management businesses have found growth challenging we have increased AUM organically by 17 per cent and raised the proposed dividend by 60 per cent. Our differentiated and relatively resilient asset classes, together with our investment track records, will provide further growth opportunities both in the UK and internationally,” he continued.

"We move into 2023 in a strong position and have continued to raise funds across a number of our asset classes. The long-term potential to scale Gresham House remains our ambition," he said.

Gresham House has been managing commercial forestry assets on behalf of institutions, endowments, family offices and private investors for over 40 years. Its real assets division, comprising forestry, housing, renewables, battery energy storage and sustainable infrastructure, aims to protect investors from inflation and contribute to environmental and societal challenges, with ESG criteria integrated at all stages of the investment process.