RMDL announces that its unaudited net asset value per ordinary share as at 31 December 2019, on a cum income basis, was 97.79 pence (30 November 2019: 98.45 pence).

RM ZDP PLC announces that the unaudited accrued capital entitlement per ZDP share as at 31 December 2019 was 106.18 pence (30 November 2019: 105.88 pence).

NAV

NAV % Total Return for the month was 1.06% and brings the NAV % Total Return for the year to 8.18%.

The Ordinary Share NAV as at 31^st December 2019 was 97.79 pence. This monthly return of 1.06 % arises from positive net interest income net of expenses of 1.03 pence and an increase in portfolio valuations and currency hedging costs of 0.02 pence to give a monthly return of 1.05 pence per share. The overall reduction of the NAV from November of c.65p is caused by the combined ex-dividend effect of the 1.70 pence total ordinary and special dividend declared and paid in December.

Company & Portfolio Update

Over the quarter the portfolio has increased from £125m to £134m of invested capital with the average yield increasing by 2 bps to 8.84%. The portfolio consists of 34 investments split across 13 sectors. YTD there have been Loan repayments and divestments equating to £52m, 116 follow-on investments/drawdowns equating to £28m and 13 new transactions equating to capital deployed of £52m.

An interim dividend was declared for Q3 2019 and paid in December 2019 of 1.625 pence and an additional special dividend of 0.075pence was declared and paid on these dates following portfolio outperformance year to date. This gave a Q3 2019 total distribution of 1.7 pence per ordinary share and a calendar 2019 year to date distribution received for shareholders of 6.95 pence.

As noted to investors on 16^th December via a portfolio update, Satcom Global repaid their credit facilities. This borrower was part of the initial portfolio at listing in 2016. RMDL had provided flexible financing, which culminated in 54 drawdowns over 3 years secured against physical assets and contracted cashflows. These Loans totalled $10.4m and led to prepayment penalties which equated to 0.51 pence over the month of December being paid by Satcom to the Company.

The weighted average life of the Loans within the portfolio is 3.43 years (at end of Q3 it was 3.5 years) with a duration of just under 1.50 years. The low duration is important as it signifies that the portfolio does not have significant exposure to shifts in interest rate sentiment. The YTD NAV return is 8.08%, ahead the target 6.5 pence per share distribution target and is particularly pleasing.

 The final piece of positive news from the Company's perspective is that an additional capital raise of £10m was secured in November. This brings the issued share capital to over £122m and was funded largely by new investors. This will allow the Company to continue to diversify the portfolio and in addition allows for the expense ratio to continue to be lowered by spreading the Company's fixed costs across a larger capital base.

New Investments in the Quarter

Hotel Transaction - A new £4m bilateral private Loan, secured over real estate and benefiting from a 30-year Full Repairing & Insuring "FRI" Lease with a listed hospitality group. Maturing in 5 years, coupon 9%.

Childcare - £5m participation to a private syndicated Loan to Busy Bees nurseries, a leading childcare provider operating 374 nurseries across the UK and Ireland. Maturing in 2.5 years, coupon Libor +475.

Student Accommodation - A new c.£6m bilateral private Loan to Uninn Group. This is a social infrastructure investment to fund four operating Student Accommodation assets located across key university cities, Newcastle, Sheffield, Leicester, and Coventry. Maturing in 5 years, coupon 9%.

Forecourt operators - An additional £2m participation in a private syndicated Loan to MFG, a leading independent forecourt operator within the UK, operating in excess of 900 sites and a further £2m participation in a private syndicated Loan to EG Group, the global independent forecourt operator and convenience retailer operating in excess of 5,000 sites.  Maturing in circa 5 years, coupon L+450 and L+475 respectively.

Food & Beverage - An additional £2m investment in the debt instrument issued by Premier Food with a maturity in July 2022, coupon Libor+500.

Outlook & Pipeline

The Investment Manager remains confident in its ability to originate and close high-quality investments. It is focused on deploying and recycling capital into non-cyclical sectors, with real asset security and limited correlation to wider equity markets. The monitoring of the existing loans remains a priority, with all loans marked-to-market on a monthly basis reflecting perceived or actual risks to underlying Loan performance.

The Investment Manager will continue to use part of their management fee to purchase shares and will be notifying the market on or shortly after 16^th January that the purchase for Q4 2019 has been completed, increasing their total direct holding to in excess of 1,096,089 shares.

The Company also announces that the Monthly Report for the period to 31 December 2019 is now available to be viewed on the Company website:

RM Secured Direct Lending Plc ("RMDL" or the "Company") is a closed-ended investment trust established to invest in a portfolio of secured debt instruments.