Company Announcements

The Law Debenture Corporation p.l.c.

Law Debenture Reclassified to AIC'S UK Equity Income Sector

The Law Debenture Corporation p.l.c. ("Law Debenture") is pleased to announce that it has been reclassified by the Association of Investment Companies ("AIC") from the Global Sector to the UK Equity Income Sector.

When the Global sector was first constituted, Law Debenture's portfolio composition was more comparable to others in the sector.  By the end of November 2018, the overall UK weighting of the global sector was c.32%, while Law Debenture's has remained consistent at over 70%.  This has meant that Law Debenture's performance characteristics have deviated significantly from the wider sector.

With a firm focus on both a steadily increasing dividend and long-term capital growth in real terms, an income sector provides a better reflection of the trust's objectives.  Our 2018 dividend increased by 9.2% compared to 2017, with the trust delivering an annualised dividend growth of 4.5% over the past ten years¹.

The combination of these two factors, taking into account Law Debenture's long-held UK bias, makes the UK Equity Income Sector a more natural home for the trust moving forwards.  The Board believes there will be significant advantages to investors in being part of a sector where peer comparisons can more meaningfully be drawn.

The AIC's reclassification will not have an impact on the Company's long-standing investment strategy or its approach to portfolio construction. 

Denis Jackson, CEO of Law Debenture, commented:

"As noted in the 2018 Annual Report, with the majority of our portfolio in UK stocks, our performance is more closely linked to the performance of UK markets than it is to broader global markets. Indeed, the FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index remains the benchmark against which our investment performance is measured.

We therefore welcome this decision and believe it to be to the benefit of all stakeholders - not least investors, for whom gauging our progress will now be more straightforward.  Our unwavering commitment to delivering long-term income and capital growth remains unchanged, as does the investment strategy so capably executed by James Henderson and Laura Foll of Janus Henderson."

9 May 2019

For further information, please contact:

The Law Debenture Corporation                               +44 (0)20 7606 5451

Denis Jackson, Chief Executive Officer                              denis.jackson@lawdeb.com  

Katie Thorpe, Chief Financial Officer                                  katie.thorpe@lawdeb.com 

Tulchan Communications (Financial PR)                  +44 (0)20 7353 4200

Elizabeth Snow 

David Allchurch                                                                         Lawdebenture@tulchangroup.com 

About Law Debenture

We are an investment trust and a leading provider of independent professional services.

From its origins in 1889, Law Debenture has diversified to become a group with a unique range of activities in the financial and professional services sectors.  The group has two distinct areas of business.

Investment trust

Our portfolio of investments is managed by James Henderson of Janus Henderson Investors.

Our objective is to achieve long term capital growth in real terms and steadily increasing income.  The aim is to achieve a higher rate of total return than the FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index Total Return through investing in a diversified portfolio of stocks.

Independent professional services

We are a leading provider of independent professional services, built on three excellent foundations: our Pension, Corporate Trust and Corporate Services businesses.  We operate globally, with offices in the UK, Dublin, New York, Delaware, Hong Kong, the Channel Islands and the Cayman Islands.

Companies, agencies, organisations and individuals throughout the world rely upon Law Debenture to carry out our duties with the independence and professionalism upon which our reputation is built.

Registered office: Fifth Floor, 100 Wood Street, London EC2V 7EX.

LEI number - 2138006E39QX7XV6PP21

^{1 Calculated on a total return basis assuming dividend re-investment between 31 December 2008 and 31 December 2018}