by Phil Doel
4. October 2011 13:07
I’ve just come back from visiting a company that both Peter Lees and I own in our UK Alpha and UK Equity Income Funds. The visit involved a very early start as I joined the regular commute to work of some 20 specialist workers.
Though I must say I felt somewhat disconcerted as I pulled on my special dry ‘ditching suit’ and listened intently to a 30-minute safety briefing before getting on a helicopter flight to an oil rig way out in the North Sea currently working for Hurricane Exploration.
An absolutely fascinating trip though, watching the extremes of drilling with a 2.5 kilometre pipe hanging from the rig, housing hugely powerful drill bits and ultra-sensitive electronic measuring equipment. All in all a very successful and highly educational trip.
Hurricane is a private company that is looking to float in the near future. The breadth and depth of the team’s contacts across the market means we are quite often offered the chance to invest in private companies ahead of their intended flotation on the market.
The current size of our two Funds means we can both get meaningful exposure to a small number of these exiting opportunities - something just not possible for much larger funds.
I must say though, I now look at the train in an entirely new light – even when it’s late.
