Investors in Woodford’s collapsed fund set to be handed back £200m

Investors in Woodford’s collapsed Equity Income fund set to be handed back £200m this week

Long-suffering investors in Neil Woodford’s collapsed Equity Income fund are set to be handed back about £200million this week.

The fresh round of cash payouts is equivalent to about 5p per share.

The latest return is due to be announced by Wednesday, with investors receiving their money shortly after.

Administrators have already returned £2.4billion to Woodford fund investors 

It follows the sale of Woodford healthcare stocks to US investment firm Acacia Research Corporation.

In early June, Acacia agreed to pay up to £224million for Woodford’s stakes in 19 firms, including several unlisted businesses. But the deal has been controversial because the price Acacia ultimately pays will vary depending on how much it makes by selling off the assets. 

Shares in several companies have already been sold. The AIM-quoted biotech firm Synairgen was valued at 43p a share on June 5 when Acacia picked up a 14 per cent stake.

Most of that holding has been unloaded at less than 40p a share. But last Monday, Synairgen announced that its flagship drug might be able to help Covid-19 sufferers and the shares soared, closing at £2.03 on Friday.

Other biotech stocks also rose in price after Acacia disposed of its holdings.

Administrators have already returned £2.4billion to Woodford fund investors, equivalent to an average of 53p per share.

Separately, the Financial Conduct Authority is looking into Northern Trust – the US financial giant tasked with ensuring that the Woodford fund’s managers followed investment rules.