UK smaller companies' quick response to flooding

The quick reaction of several companies to help people and businesses affected by recent flooding demonstrates the quality of the investments in the F&C UK Smaller Companies Fund.

Fund manager Catherine Stanley said Spice, Discover Leisure and Connaught were helping people and businesses affected by the recent floods across the UK to get back on their feet again.

"Spice, a utilities support services business which has been a long term holding in my fund, has been involved in work on the electricity supply in the areas worst hit by the recent flooding. In an industry which suffers from a serious skills shortage, particularly people who can work the technically difficult national grid, Spice has amongst the largest number of technically skilled engineers. The company has been able to react quickly and get electricity services up and running for energy companies who outsource much of their maintenance work. They also provide maintenance and repairs work for high street stores such as Starbucks. Where shops have been flooded, Spice's engineers have been called upon by the insurance companies to clean up," said Stanley.

Another long term holding in Stanley's fund is Connaught which specialises in affordable housing and maintenance.

"Connaught which helps housing association landlords to provide better homes by fitting new kitchens and bathrooms amongst other things, has been inundated with work. Some of the homes they maintain have been damaged by water and require repair and maintenance work," said Stanley.

A more recent holding, caravan and motor home retailer Discover Leisure has also been called upon to help and has sold a large number of caravans to Norwich Union in order to re-house people whose homes have been flooded in Hull.

"We bought into the company earlier this year as an industry consolidator and land asset play. The management team have started down a path of consolidation to order to generate efficiencies but the company is also asset rich, with a lot of surplus land which could potentially be sold off or be better utilised," said Stanley.

"These companies are not charging over the odds to make money out of people's misfortune but have demonstrated their ability to their customers to respond quickly to emergencies and provide high levels of service at short notice. This is a comfort factor for us as fund managers, that they are able to do what they say they can do and from the feedback we have received, they have also strengthened their long term customer relations," she concluded.