BlackRock Throgmorton Trust Plc - Half-year Report
(Legal Entity Identifier: 5493003B7ETS1JEDPF59)
Information disclosed in accordance with Article 5 Transparency Directive and DTR 4.2
Half Yearly Financial Report for the six months ended
Performance Record
As at As at
31 May 30 November
2025
2024
Net assets (£’000)1 505,940 595,908
Net asset value per ordinary share (pence) 652.56 682.82
Ordinary share price (mid-market) (pence) 578.00 593.00
Benchmark Index2 17,371.34 16,794.26
Discount to cum income net asset value3 (11.4)% (13.2)%
========= =========
For the For the
six months year
ended
ended 30 November
31 May
2025 2024
Performance (with dividends reinvested)
Net asset value per share3 (2.2)% 16.3%
Ordinary share price3 0.0% 5.0%
Benchmark Index2 3.4% 14.1%
Average discount to cum income net asset value for the (11.2)% (9.3)%
period/year3
========= =========
Performance for Performance for
the ten years the ten years
to 31 May to 30 November
2025 2024
Performance (with dividends reinvested)
Net asset value per share3 104.6% 150.9%
Ordinary share price3 112.9% 163.7%
Benchmark Index2 44.9% 62.1%
========= =========
For the six For the six
months ended months ended
31 May 31 May Change
2025 2024 %
Revenue
Net revenue profit on ordinary
activities after taxation 6,889 8,885 (22.5)
(£’000)
Revenue earnings per ordinary 8.44 9.44 (10.6)
share (pence)4
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Dividends per ordinary share
(pence)
Interim 3.80 3.75 1.3
========= ========= =========
1 The change in net assets reflects portfolio movements, shares repurchased into treasury and dividends paid during the period.
2 The Company’s Benchmark Index is the Deutsche Numis Smaller Companies plus AIM (excluding Investment Companies) Index.
3 Alternative Performance Measures, see Glossary contained within the Half Yearly Financial Report.
4 Further details are given in the Glossary contained within the Half Yearly Financial Report.
Chairman’s Statement
Dear Shareholder
I am honoured to take over as Chairman from
The six month period under review was characterised by global market volatility, caused by the US government’s announcement of wide-ranging tariffs – the so-called “Liberation Day” measures - and concerns over the potential impact on global trade supply lines. In the
While markets have recovered from the Liberation Day lows, uncertainty remains about the longer-term impact on established global trading relationships. The more recent trade deals struck by the
Performance
Over the six months to
As illustrated in the table below, over the three and five year periods ended
As our manager explains in his Investment Management Report, a range of factors contributed to the underperformance over the period, notably stylistic headwinds with 8 of the 10 top benchmark contributors representing companies that do not fit our investment process of investing in quality growth businesses with growing cashflows. M&A activity was also a frustrating detractor to performance, with many of the stocks that benefitted from bid activity not being owned in the portfolio for similar reasons.
Although the Company has had to contend with headwinds which have affected its performance, the portfolio manager’s quality growth style has delivered excellent long term performance.
Further information on the Company's performance is set out in the table below and in the Investment Manager’s Report below.
Performance record to
1 Year change % 3 Years change 5 Years change % 10 Years change
% %
NAV per share -4.63 3.87 30.05 104.65
Share price -6.72 -2.04 15.32 112.93
Benchmark Index 1.10 1.10 38.94 44.88
Revenue return and dividends
The revenue return per share for the period amounted to
Share buyback activity
The Board believes that the best way of addressing any long-term discount to NAV over the longer term is both to generate good performance and to drive demand for the Company’s shares by widening the awareness of the Company’s attractions. The Board also has a policy of buying back shares in the Company when the discount is excessive, something we consider in relation to market conditions, performance and the ongoing attractiveness of the investment proposition.
During the six months to
The Company bought back a total of 9,740,000 ordinary shares for a total consideration of £55,914,000 during the period (
The Board’s objectives are to seek to minimise share price volatility and encourage the Company’s share price to trade within as tight a range as possible, taking into account the various factors mentioned above. Despite our targeted action in support of the share rating, it was disappointing to see our discount narrow only marginally during the period.
Overall, we believe the share buyback activity undertaken has been beneficial in reducing the volatility of our share rating and delivering NAV accretion. Your Board will continue to monitor the Company's share rating and may deploy its powers to support it by buying back the Company’s shares where it believes that it is in shareholders’ long-term best interests to do so.
Outlook
The first half of the financial year has been challenging, and uncertainty remains around the outlook for growth. There are a number of trends within the
Notwithstanding these challenging dynamics, the outlook for
The Emerging Companies team at BlackRock seeks out quality companies with strong market positioning and earnings growth, and the Board remains confident in the Manager, the portfolio manager and his investment philosophy and process and the rest of the BlackRock Emerging Companies investment team and their ability to navigate on your behalf what have been challenging and complex markets. We enter the second half of the financial year with continued confidence in the long
-
term compelling opportunities that
Chairman
Investment Manager’s Report for the six months ended
Market review
A famed Socialist leader once commented that “there are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen”. What better way to describe some of the last few weeks and months, from Labour’s actions to cover a fiscal black hole only to find themselves with an ever bigger fiscal hole a few months later, to “Liberation Day” tariffs, to oil price spikes and falls, and of course to the geopolitical tensions and military actions in the
Against this challenging backdrop, the share price performance for many companies in our investment universe has become decoupled from fundamental economic factors, with traditional value outperforming quality growth. By way of illustration, the ten top performing stocks in the Company’s benchmark index over the period under review in aggregate generated substantially all of the benchmark’s performance, but very few fit with our investment criteria and hence we only owned two and were overweight just in one of them. Our focus remains on identifying companies with strong management teams, leading market positions, pricing power and strong margins. We also look for companies with strong balance sheets, high levels of cash conversion and strong earnings growth. The top performing companies in the benchmark were an eclectic mix of sectors, including mining, oil & gas, Middle Eastern real estate, indebted telecommunications companies, low margin retailers and low margin food producers, all of them falling outside our quality growth investment philosophy. While the underperformance we have seen against the benchmark is frustrating, we believe it is important to remain ‘true to label’, to stick to our investment process, and retain our growth bias. We have confidence that the share price performance of the type of quality companies that we invest in will see improvement over the longer term.
In our 2024 annual report I commented that the positive momentum developing in the
One of the benefits of the Company’s closed-end fund structure, especially in chaotic market conditions, is that (unlike open ended counterparts), closed-end funds are not obliged to sell down portfolio holdings at low valuations to meet liquidity requirements for redemptions. However, the outflows noted above have not been limited to open ended funds; there have been a record volume of share buybacks over the last year throughout the closed-end fund sector as a whole. Driven by activist activity and increased focus on narrowing discounts, a total of £7.5 billion of shares were bought back through the course of 2024, and £2.7 billion in the first quarter of 2025. While buybacks are an important tool in the investment company sector to help increase demand, the increased level of buy backs has put additional pressure on share prices throughout the investment universe (and in particular the less liquid small cap universe). The AIC
We also have concerns over the extent to which the
There were glimmers of optimism at the start of the year, with some positive
Performance review
The Company’s NAV per share returned -2.2% net of fees during the six months to
It’s disappointing to report a negative return, and there is no individual factor that can be singled out when we decompose our returns to see exactly what has detracted from performance. In summary, our underperformance can be disaggregated by:
-- Stock specific issues, as discussed in more detail below
-- Stylistic headwinds, where traditional value has outperformed quality
growth. For context, the aggregate contribution from the top 10
performing shares of our benchmark accounts for almost the entire return
of the benchmark, of which we only owned two, and were overweight in
only one. The rest of these top 10 benchmark performers were an eclectic
mix of mining, Oil & Gas, Middle Eastern real estate, indebted
telecommunications companies, low margin retailers and low margin food
producers, and none of them fit our quality growth investment thesis
-- Persistent selling pressure on the investment universe meaning many of
our investments that continue to trade and execute well are not being
rewarded in share price terms
-- M&A activity in shares we did not own, or indeed in several cases were
short
From a stock specific perspective, the largest detractor was the owner of the Transact Investment Platform, IntegraFin. Despite the business continuing to take share and driving positive net inflows, a remarkable feat when one considers the wider industry trends and results of peers, the shares fell in the period. A question that has circled this company for some time now is whether their impressive AUM growth and market share gains will translate into strong profit growth, which has been held back in recent years by fee cuts and higher service costs. Thankfully at the time of writing, shares in IntegraFin have bounced strongly since period end on a very positive statement from the company talking up future revenue growth, and importantly providing clearer guidance on costs (which will be lower than envisaged) and on lower revenue margin. This is a welcome step forward and hopefully will sharpen investor minds to IntegraFin’s differentiated business model and long runway for growth.
Shares in Workspace Group, the provider of flexible office space across
Shares in Trainline fell on the news that
Turning to positive contributors, there was a strong contribution of stock specifics across a range of industries and themes. The largest positive contributor was
Portfolio positioning and outlook
The
While many commentators are saying that taxes will inevitably rise to meet growing deficit, it is hard to see where the
The prospect of rate cuts by the
We’ve long argued that we think the
As a result of all this, we fear the current backdrop is not conducive to encouraging consumers to spend, and we have reduced our
We have also reduced our
We are fortunate to have the capacity to allocate up to 15% in non-
We entered 2025 with caution and that is reflected in a gross exposure that is now down to around 110%, and a net exposure that is around 105%. The net exposure of over 100% reflects the increased allocation to international names, so the net exposure to the
Portfolio of investments
1.
▲ Great Portland Estates (2024: 8th)
Real Estate Investment Trusts
Market value: £16,167,0001
Share of net assets: 3.2% (2024: 2.6%)
Owner of commercial real estate in central
2.
▲ Grafton Group (2024: 5th)
Support Services
Market value: £14,983,000
Share of net assets: 3.0% (2024: 2.7%)
Builders merchants in the
3.
▲ Rotork (2024: 4th)
Electronic &
Market value: £14,773,000
Share of net assets: 2.9% (2024: 2.8%)
Manufacturer of industrial flow equipment
4.
▼ Tatton Asset Management* (2024: 3rd)
Financial Services
Market value: £14,701,000
Share of net assets: 2.9% (2024: 2.8%)
Provision of discretionary fund management services to the
5.
▲ Bellway (2024: 19th)
Market value: £14,415,000
Share of net assets: 2.8% (2024: 1.8%)
6.
▼ Breedon (2024: 1st)
Construction & Materials
Market value: £14,336,000
Share of net assets: 2.8% (2024: 3.3%)
Supplier of construction materials
7.
▲ XPS Pensions Group (2024: n/a)
Financial Services
Market value: £14,330,000
Share of net assets: 2.8% (2024: n/a)
Pension consulting and administration business
8.
▼ IntegraFin (2024: 2nd)
Financial Services
Market value: £13,845,0001
Share of net assets: 2.7% (2024: 3.1%)
9.
▲ Ibstock (2024: 11th)
Construction & Materials
Market value: £13,419,000
Share of net assets: 2.7% (2024: 2.4%)
Manufacturer of clay bricks and concrete products
10.
▲
Construction & Materials
Market value: £13,017,000
Share of net assets: 2.6% (2024: 2.1%)
Supplier of office fit out, construction and urban regeneration services
1 Includes long derivative positions.
* Traded on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the
Percentages shown are the share of net assets.
The market value shown is the gross exposure to the shares through equity investments and long derivative positions. For equity investments, the market value is the fair value of the shares. For long derivative positions, it is the market value of the underlying shares to which the portfolio is exposed via the contract.
Percentages in brackets represent the portfolio holding as at
# Company £’000^ % Description
11 Boku* 12,605 2.5 Digital payments
platform
Support Services
Designer and
12 Oxford Instruments 11,633 2.3 manufacturer of tools
and systems for
industry and research
Electronic &
Electrical Equipment
Alpha Group Foreign exchange risk
13 International 11,537¹ 2.3 management and banking
solutions provider
Financial Services
Provider of technology
14 Chemring Group 11,027 2.2 products and services
to aerospace, defence
and security markets
Aerospace & Defence
Online provider of
15 IG Group Holdings 9,864 1.9 spread betting and CFD
trading services
Financial Services
Supplier of
16 Hill & Smith Holdings 9,794 1.9 infrastructure
products and
galvanizing services
Industrial Metals &
Mining
Baltic Classifieds Operator of online
17 Group 9,540 1.9 classified businesses
in the Baltics
Software & Computer
Services
Alfa Financial Provider of software
18 Software 9,126 1.8 to the finance
industry
Software & Computer
Services
19 Jet2* 8,926 1.8 Low cost tour operator
and airline
Travel & Leisure
Supplier &
20 Luceco 8,222 1.6 manufacturer of high
quality LED lighting
products
Electronic &
Electrical Equipment
Buy-and-build group
targeting construction
21 SigmaRoc* 7,879 1.6 materials assets in
the UK and Northern
Europe
Construction &
Materials
Provider of forensics,
22 FRP Advisory Group 7,631 1.5 corporate finance,
PLC* debt and financial
advisory services
Support Services
Specialist filtration
23 Porvair 7,346 1.5 and environmental
technology
Electronic &
Electrical Equipment
24 Genuit 7,136 1.4 Manufacturer of
plastic piping systems
Construction &
Materials
Producer of premium,
25 Cranswick 6,755 1.3 fresh and added-value
food products
Food Producers
Provider of public
services across
26 Serco Group 6,518 1.3 health, transport,
immigration, defence,
justice and citizen
services
Support Services
27 Elementis 6,128 1.2 Speciality chemicals
company
Chemicals
Owner and operator of
28 Sirius Real Estate 5,963 1.2 business parks,
offices and industrial
complexes in Germany
Real Estate Investment
& Services
International
29 DiscoverIE 5,795 1.1 designer, manufacturer
and supplier of
customised electronics
Electronic &
Electrical Equipment
30 MJ Gleeson 5,658 1.1 UK housebuilder
Household Goods & Home
Construction
Provider of specialist
31 Hilton Food Group 5,652¹ 1.1 food packaging
services
Food Producers
32 Plus500 Ltd 5,647 1.1 Online trading
platform provider
Financial Services
Developer and supplier
33 GB Group* 5,467¹ 1.1 of identity
verification solutions
Software & Computer
Services
34 GlobalData* 5,464¹ 1.1 Data analytics and
consulting
Industrial Support
Services
UK savings platform
35 AJ Bell 5,422 1.1 for financial advisors
& individual investors
Financial Services
A bank and financial
36 TBC Bank Group 5,377 1.1 services provider in
Georgia
Banks
37 Premier Foods 5,247 1.0 A British food
manufacturer
Food Producers
38 Watches of Switzerland 4,944 1.0 Retailer of luxury
watches
Personal Goods
39 Hochschild Mining 4,943 1.0 A precious metals
mining company
Precious Metals &
Mining
40 Crest Nicholson 4,920¹ 1.0 UK housebuilder
Household Goods & Home
Construction
A specialist financial
41 Just Group 4,878 1.0 services provider in
the retirement benefit
market
Life Insurance
42 Genus 4,833¹ 1.0 Animal genetics
company
Pharmaceuticals &
Biotechnology
43 Derwent London 4,814 1.0 British property
investment company
Real Estate Investment
Trusts
UK construction,
44 Kier Group 4,731 0.9 services and property
group
Construction &
Materials
45 CVS Group* 4,720 0.9 Operator of veterinary
surgeries
General Retailers
Developer and supplier
46 AB Dynamics* 4,597 0.9 of specialist
automotive testing
systems
Industrial Engineering
47 Computacenter 4,561¹ 0.9 Computer services
Software & Computer
Services
Provider of financial
48 Craneware* 4,554 0.9 business software for
US hospitals
Healthcare Equipment &
Services
49 Forterra 4,524 0.9 Manufacturer of
building products
Construction &
Materials
Provision of
50 Savills 4,360 0.9 specialist real estate
services
Real Estate Investment
& Services
Software company
51 Xero& 4,359¹ 0.9 specialising in
accounting for small
businesses
Software & Computer
Services
An international
52 Greencore Group 4,356 0.9 convenience food
manufacturer
Food Producers
Veterinary
53 Animalcare Group* 4,164 0.8 pharmaceuticals
business
Pharmaceuticals &
Biotechnology
54 TP ICAP 4,057 0.8 Inter-dealer broker
Financial Services
Retailer of books,
55 WH Smith 3,959 0.8 stationery, magazines,
newspapers and
confectionary
General Retailers
56 PayPoint 3,958¹ 0.8 Digital payments
business
Industrial Support
Services
57 Dunelm Group 3,939 0.8 Retailer of homeware
products
General Retailers
58 Restore* 3,927 0.8 Records management
business
Support Services
Provider of
aftermarket
59 VSE Corporation& 3,740¹ 0.7 distribution, and
maintenance, repair
and overhaul services
to the aviation sector
Aerospace & Defence
Provider of global
60 Lancashire Holdings 3,719 0.7 specialty insurance
and reinsurance
products
Non-life Insurance
61 Bloomsbury Publishing 3,654 0.7 Independent publishing
house
Media
Provider of fund
administration,
62 JTC plc 3,544¹ 0.7 company secretarial
and administration,
and private wealth
services
Support Services
63 Polar Capital 3,509 0.7 Provider of investment
Holdings* management services
Financial Services
64 Wizz Air Holdings 3,483¹ 0.7 An airline operator
Travel & Leisure
An independent oil and
65 Ithaca Energy 3,222 0.6 gas company focused on
the UK North Sea
Oil Equipment and
Services
Manufacturer of
polyolefin foams used
in sport,
66 Zotefoams 3,208¹ 0.6 construction, marine,
automation, medical
equipment and
aerospace
Chemicals
67 Oxford Biomedica 3,124¹ 0.6 Gene cell therapy
Pharmaceuticals &
Biotechnology
68 Costain Group 2,967 0.6 Construction and
engineering company
Industrial Support
Services
Owner and operator of
69 Young & Co’s Brewery* 2,932 0.6 pubs mainly in the
London area
Travel & Leisure
Emerging market
70 Ashmore Group 2,834¹ 0.6 focused investment
manager
Financial Services
Provider of price
71 Moneysupermarket.com 2,796 0.6 comparison website
specialising in
financial services
Software & Computer
Services
Production of base
72 Central Asia Metals* 2,776¹ 0.5 metals with operations
in Kazakhstan and
North Macedonia
Industrial Metals &
Mining
Provider of billing,
73 Cerillion* 2,737 0.5 charging and customer
management systems
Software & Computer
Services
An online review
platform for consumers
74 Trustpilot 2,716¹ 0.5 to post reviews about
businesses and
products/services
Software & Computer
Services
75 Robert Walters 2,678 0.5 Provider of specialist
recruitment services
Support Services
Supply of flexible
76 Workspace Group 2,671 0.5 workspace to
businesses in London
Real Estate Investment
Trusts
77 Paragon Banking Group 2,658¹ 0.5 A specialist banking
group
Financial Services
78 Quilter Plc 2,557¹ 0.5 A wealth management
company
Financial Services
79 Cohort Plc* 2,540¹ 0.5 Defence and security
technology company
Aerospace & Defence
80 Safestore 2,538 0.5 Provider of
self-storage units
Real Estate Investment
Trusts
Designer and producer
81 Judges Scientific* 2,452 0.5 of scientific
instruments
Electronic &
Electrical Equipment
Provider of specialist
82 SThree 2,406 0.5 professional
recruitment services
Support Services
Supplier of
83 4imprint Group 2,400 0.5 promotional
merchandise in the US
Media
Funding Circle Provider of funding
84 Holdings 2,358¹ 0.5 services to small
businesses
Financial Services
Developer and
85 Advanced Medical 2,316¹ 0.5 manufacturer of
Solutions* advanced wound care
solutions
Healthcare Equipment &
Services
Manufacturer of
86 Bruker Corporation& 2,269¹ 0.4 scientific instruments
and analytical and
diagnostic solutions
Medical Equipment &
Services
87 Team 17* 2,176 0.4 Video game developer
and publisher
Leisure Goods
Designer and
88 Gooch & Housego* 2,121 0.4 manufacturer of
advanced photonic
systems
Electronic &
Electrical Equipment
A Canadian precious
89 MAG Silver Corp& 2,079¹ 0.4 metals mining and
exploration company
Precious Metals &
Mining
90 Yellow Cake PLC* 1,973¹ 0.4 Uranium investment
company
Industrial Metals &
Mining
Supplier of building,
91 SIG 1,871 0.4 roofing and insulation
products
Industrial Support
Services
92 Morgan Advanced 1,841 0.4 Advanced materials
Materials manufacturer
Electronic &
Electrical Equipment
Multi-platform media
business covering
93 Future 1,839 0.4 technology,
entertainment,
creative arts, home
interest and education
Media
Clinical research
organization (CRO)
conducting global
94 Medpace Holdings& 1,748¹ 0.3 clinical research for
the development of
drugs and medical
devices
Pharmaceuticals &
Biotechnology
95 OSB Group 1,747 0.3 Specialist lending
business
Financial Services
Industrial company
96 Rosebank* 1,733¹ 0.3 with a “Buy, improve,
sell” strategy
Financial Services
Provider of
97 Gamma Communications* 1,591 0.3 communication services
to UK businesses
Mobile
Telecommunications
Operator of
98 Auction Technology 1,246 0.2 marketplaces for
Group curated online
auctions
Software & Computer
Services
--------------- ---------------
Long investment
positions (excluding
BlackRock’s
Institutional Cash 548,212 108.3
Series plc – Sterling
Liquid Environmentally
Aware Fund)
========= =========
Short investment (14,135) (2.8)
positions
========= =========
* Traded on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the
1 Includes long derivative positions.
& Holdings listed on exchanges outside of the
^ The market value shown is the gross exposure to the shares through equity investments and long derivative positions. For equity investments, the market value is the fair value of the shares. For long derivative positions, it is the market value of the underlying shares to which the portfolio is exposed via the contract.
Percentages shown are the share of net assets.
At
Fair value and gross market exposure of investments as at
Gross market Gross market exposure as a %
Fair value1 exposure2,3 of net assets2
31 May 31 May 30 November
£’000 £’000 2025 2024 2024
Long equity
investment
positions
(excluding
BlackRock’s
Institutional 475,909 475,909 94.0 95.0 93.6
Cash Series plc
- Sterling
Liquid
Environmentally
Aware Fund)
Long derivative 375 72,303 14.3 20.2 18.4
positions
--------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
Subtotal of
long investment 476,284 548,212 108.3 115.2 112.0
positions
========= ========= ========= ========= =========
Short
investment (435) (14,135) (2.8) (2.3) (3.4)
positions
--------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
Subtotal of
long and short 475,849 534,077 105.5 112.9 108.6
investment
positions
========= ========= ========= ========= =========
Cash and cash 31,371 (26,857) (5.3) (10.9) (7.3)
equivalents
Other net
current (1,280) (1,280) (0.2) (2.0) (1.3)
liabilities
--------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
Net assets 505,940 505,940 100.0 100.0 100.0
========= ========= ========= ========= =========
The Company was geared through the use of long and short derivative positions. Gross and net gearing as at
1 Fair value is determined as follows:
– Long equity investment positions are valued at bid prices where available, otherwise at latest market traded quoted prices.
– The exposure to securities held through long derivative positions directly in the market would have amounted to £71,928,000 at the time of purchase, and subsequent movement in market prices have resulted in unrealised gains on the long derivative positions of £375,000 resulting in the value of the total long derivative market exposure to the underlying securities increasing to £72,303,000 as at
– The notional exposure of selling the securities via the short derivative positions would have been £(13,700,000) at the time of entering into the contract, and subsequent movement in market prices have resulted in unrealised losses on the short derivative positions of £(435,000) resulting in the value of the total short derivative market exposure of these investments decreasing to £(14,135,000) as at
2 Gross market exposure for equity investments is the same as fair value; bid prices are used where available and, if unavailable, latest market traded quoted prices are used. For both long and short derivative positions, the gross market exposure is the market value of the underlying shares to which the portfolio is exposed via the contract.
3 The gross market exposure column for cash and cash equivalents has been adjusted to assume the Company traded direct holdings, rather than exposure being gained through long and short derivative positions.
Distribution of investments as at
% of % of % of net
Sector long portfolio short portfolio portfolio
Oil Equipment & Services 0.6 0.0 0.6
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Oil & Gas 0.6 0.0 0.6
========= ========= =========
Chemicals 1.7 0.0 1.7
Construction & Materials 12.2 0.0 12.2
Industrial Metals & Mining 2.7 0.0 2.7
Precious Metals & Mining 1.3 0.0 1.3
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Basic Materials 17.9 0.0 17.9
========= ========= =========
Aerospace & Defence 3.2 0.0 3.2
Electronic & Electrical 10.1 0.0 10.1
Equipment
Industrial Engineering 0.9 0.0 0.9
Industrial Support Services 2.7 (0.3) 2.4
Support Services 10.2 0.0 10.2
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Industrials 27.1 (0.3) 26.8
========= ========= =========
Beverages 0.0 0.0 0.0
Food Producers 4.1 (0.3) 3.8
Leisure Goods 0.4 0.0 0.4
Personal Goods 0.9 0.0 0.9
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Consumer Staples 5.4 (0.3) 5.1
========= ========= =========
Healthcare Equipment & Services 1.3 0.0 1.3
Medical Equipment & Services 0.4 0.0 0.4
Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 2.6 0.0 2.6
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Health Care 4.3 0.0 4.3
========= ========= =========
Food & Drug Retailers 0.0 (0.4) (0.4)
General Retailers 2.4 (0.2) 2.2
Household Goods & Home 4.7 0.0 4.7
Construction
Media 1.5 0.0 1.5
Specialty Retailers 0.0 (0.7) (0.7)
Travel & Leisure 2.9 0.0 2.9
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Consumer Discretionary 11.5 (1.3) 10.2
========= ========= =========
Banks 1.0 0.0 1.0
Financial Services 18.1 0.0 18.1
Life Insurance 0.9 0.0 0.9
Non-life Insurance 0.7 0.0 0.7
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Financials 20.7 0.0 20.7
========= ========= =========
Real Estate Investment & 1.9 0.0 1.9
Services
Real Estate Investment Trusts 4.9 0.0 4.9
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Real Estate 6.8 0.0 6.8
========= ========= =========
Software & Computer Services 8.0 (0.6) 7.4
Technology Hardware & Equipment 0.0 (0.1) (0.1)
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Technology 8.0 (0.7) 7.3
========= ========= =========
Mobile Telecommunications 0.3 0.0 0.3
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Telecommunications 0.3 0.0 0.3
========= ========= =========
Total Investments 102.6 (2.6) 100.0
========= ========= =========
The above percentages are calculated on the net portfolio as at
Analysis of the portfolio
Market capitalisation
as at
Long positions1% of net Short positions% of net portfolio
portfolio
£10bn – £20bn 0.8% 0.0%
£5bn – £10bn 0.3% 0.0%
£2.5bn – £5bn 12.5% -1.0%
£2bn – £2.5bn 4.8% -0.4%
£1.5bn – £2bn 15.8% -0.3%
£1bn – £1.5bn 27.1% -0.6%
£500m – £1bn 21.4% -0.3%
£0m – £500m 19.9% 0.0%
1 The above investments may comprise exposures to long equity and long derivative positions.
Source: BlackRock
Position size
as at
Market value Long positions1 Short positions £15m – £20m 1 0 £10m – £15m 13 0 £5m – £10m 23 0 £2.5m – £5m 43 0 £0m – £2.5m 18 -9
1 The above investments may comprise exposures to long equity and long derivative positions.
Source: BlackRock.
Portfolio holdings within Key Indices
as at
Gross Basis1 Net Basis2
FTSE 250 61.6% 61.0%
FTSE AIM 20.6% 20.9%
FTSE Small Cap 13.0% 13.6%
Other 4.8% 4.5%
Portfolio holdings within Benchmark Index (the Deutsche Numis Smaller Companies plus AIM (excluding Investment companies) Index) as at
2024Gross Basis1 2025Gross Basis1 2024Net Basis2 2025Net Basis2
Within Benchmark 82.5% 86.9% 78.3% 84.3%
Off-Benchmark 17.5% 13.1% 21.7% 15.7%
1 Long exposure plus short exposure as a percentage of the portfolio in aggregate excluding investment in BlackRock’s
2 Long exposure less short exposure as a percentage of the portfolio excluding investment in BlackRock’s
Source: BlackRock.
Interim Management Report and Responsibility Statement
The Chairman’s Statement and the Investment Manager’s Report above give details of the important events which have occurred during the period and their impact on the financial statements.
Principal risks and uncertainties
The principal risks faced by the Company can be divided into various areas as follows:
-- Performance
-- Market
-- Income/dividend
-- Financial
-- Operational
-- Regulatory
The Board reported on the principal risks and uncertainties faced by the Company in the Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended
The Directors have also assessed the impact of global events such as trade tariffs and the ongoing conflicts in
In the view of the Board, there have not been any changes to the fundamental nature of the principal risks and uncertainties since the previous report and these are equally applicable to the remaining six months of the financial year as they were to the six months under review.
Related party disclosure and transactions with the Investment Manager
The related party transactions with the Directors are set out in note 12 of the financial statements.
Going concern
The Board remains mindful of current heightened geopolitical risk and the potential duration of the conflicts in
The Company has a portfolio of investments which are predominantly readily realisable and is able to meet all its liabilities from these assets. Accounting revenue and expense forecasts are maintained and reported to the Board regularly and it is expected that the Company will be able to meet all its obligations. Ongoing charges for the year ended
Based on the above, the Board is satisfied that it is appropriate to continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.
Directors’ responsibility statement
The Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules (DTR) of the
The Directors confirm to the best of their knowledge that:
-- the condensed set of financial statements contained within the Half
Yearly Financial Report has been prepared in accordance with
International Accounting Standard 34, Interim Financial Reporting; and
-- the Interim Management Report, together with the Chairman’s Statement
and Investment Manager’s report, include a fair review of the
information required by 4.2.7R and 4.2.8R of the FCA’s Disclosure
Guidance and Transparency Rules.
The Half Yearly Financial Report has not been audited or reviewed by the Company’s Auditor.
The Half Yearly Financial Report was approved by the Board on
For and on behalf of the Board
Statement of Comprehensive Income for the six months ended
Six months ended Six months ended Year ended
31 May 2025 31 May 2024 30 November 2024
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
Notes £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Income from
investments
held at fair 3 6,508 – 6,508 8,240 518 8,758 16,070 518 16,588
value through
profit or
loss
Net income
from 3 341 – 341 768 – 768 1,024 – 1,024
derivatives
Other income 3 789 – 789 625 – 625 1,569 – 1,569
--------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
Total income 7,638 – 7,638 9,633 518 10,151 18,663 518 19,181
========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
Net
(loss)/profit
on
investments – (15,911) (15,911) – 83,772 83,772 – 59,598 59,598
held at fair
value through
profit or
loss
Net loss on
foreign – (38) (38) – (43) (43) – (61) (61)
exchange
Net
(loss)/profit – (13,275) (13,275) – 15,517 15,517 – 12,839 12,839
from
derivatives
--------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
Total 7,638 (29,224) (21,586) 9,633 99,764 109,397 18,663 72,894 91,557
========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
Expenses
Investment
management
and 4 (270) (185) (455) (321) (3,713) (4,034) (644) (3,524) (4,168)
performance
fees
Other
operating 5 (453) (11) (464) (406) (11) (417) (922) (21) (943)
expenses
--------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
Total
operating (723) (196) (919) (727) (3,724) (4,451) (1,566) (3,545) (5,111)
expenses
========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
Net profit/
(loss) on
ordinary
activities 6,915 (29,420) (22,505) 8,906 96,040 104,946 17,097 69,349 86,446
before
finance costs
and taxation
Finance costs (3) (9) (12) (11) (34) (45) (24) (73) (97)
--------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
Net profit/
(loss) on
ordinary 6,912 (29,429) (22,517) 8,895 96,006 104,901 17,073 69,276 86,349
activities
before
taxation
Taxation (23) – (23) (10) – (10) (27) – (27)
charge
--------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
Profit/(loss)
for the 6,889 (29,429) (22,540) 8,885 96,006 104,891 17,046 69,276 86,322
period/year
========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
Earnings/
(loss) per 7 8.44 (36.06) (27.62) 9.44 101.97 111.41 18.54 75.37 93.91
ordinary
share (pence)
========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
The total columns of this statement represent the Company’s Statement of Comprehensive Income, prepared in accordance with
The Company does not have any other comprehensive income/(loss). The net profit/(loss) for the period disclosed above represents the Company’s total comprehensive income/(loss).
Statement of Changes in Equity for the six months ended
Called Share Capital
up share Premium Redemption Special Capital Revenue
capital account reserve reserve reserves reserve Total
Note £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
For the six
months ended
31 May 2025
(unaudited)
At 30 November 5,160 242,122 11,905 – 316,033 20,688 595,908
2024
Total
comprehensive
(loss)/income:
Net
(loss)/profit – – – – (29,429) 6,889 (22,540)
for the period
Transactions
with owners,
recorded
directly to
equity:
Ordinary
shares – – – – (55,596) – (55,596)
repurchased
into treasury
Share
repurchase – – – – (318) – (318)
costs
Cancellation
of share – (242,122) – 242,122 – – –
premium1
Dividends 6 – – – – – (11,514) (11,514)
paid2
--------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
At 31 May 2025 5,160 – 11,905 242,122 230,690 16,063 505,940
========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
For the six
months ended
31 May 2024
(unaudited)
At 30 November 5,160 242,122 11,905 3,231 295,624 17,883 575,925
2023
Total
comprehensive
income:
Net profit for – – – – 96,006 8,885 104,891
the period
Transactions
with owners,
recorded
directly to
equity:
Ordinary
shares – – – (7,821) (17,529) – (25,350)
repurchased
into treasury
Share
repurchase – – – (47) (80) – (127)
costs
Transfer of
special – – – 4,637 (4,637) – –
reserve
Dividends – – – – – (10,841) (10,841)
paid3
--------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
At 31 May 2024 5,160 242,122 11,905 – 369,384 15,927 644,498
========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
For the year
ended 30
November 2024
(audited)
At 30 November 5,160 242,122 11,905 3,231 295,624 17,883 575,925
2023
Total
comprehensive
income:
Net profit for – – – – 69,276 17,046 86,322
the year
Transactions
with owners,
recorded
directly to
equity:
Ordinary
shares – – – (3,213) (48,620) – (51,833)
repurchased
into treasury
Share
repurchase – – – (18) (247) – (265)
costs
Dividends – – – – – (14,241) (14,241)
paid4
--------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
At 30 November 5,160 242,122 11,905 – 316,033 20,688 595,908
2024
========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
1 The Company’s share premium account was cancelled pursuant to shareholders’ approval of a special resolution at the Company’s Annual General Meeting on
2 Final dividend of 14.25p per share for the year ended
3 Final dividend of 11.45p per share for the year ended
4 Final dividend of 11.45p per share for the year ended
For information on the Company’s distributable reserves, please refer to note 9 below.
Statement of Financial Position as at
31 May 31 May 30 November
2025 2024 2024
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
Notes £’000 £’000 £’000
Non current assets
Investments held at fair
value through profit or 10 475,909 612,126 557,602
loss
Current assets --------------- --------------- ---------------
Other receivables 3,855 3,503 1,536
Derivative financial
assets held at fair value 10 855 3,022 2,173
through profit or loss
Current tax asset 269 451 400
Cash collateral pledged 1,480 380 700
with brokers
Cash and cash equivalents 31,371 43,520 43,889
– cash at bank
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Total current assets 37,830 50,876 48,698
========= ========= =========
Total assets 513,739 663,002 606,300
Current liabilities
Other payables (6,194) (14,677) (8,262)
Derivative financial
liabilities held at fair 10 (915) (1,146) (360)
value through profit or
loss
Cash and cash equivalents – (3) –
– bank overdraft
Liability for cash (690) (2,678) (1,770)
collateral received
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Total current liabilities (7,799) (18,504) (10,392)
========= ========= =========
Net assets 505,940 644,498 595,908
========= ========= =========
Equity
Called up share capital 8 5,160 5,160 5,160
Share premium account – 242,122 242,122
Capital redemption reserve 11,905 11,905 11,905
Special reserve 242,122 – –
Capital reserves 230,690 369,384 316,033
Revenue reserve 16,063 15,927 20,688
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Total shareholders’ funds 505,940 644,498 595,908
========= ========= =========
Net asset value per 7 652.56 703.55 682.82
ordinary share (pence)
========= ========= =========
Cash Flow Statement for the six months ended
Six months Six months Year
ended ended ended
31 May 31 May 30 November
2025 2024 2024
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
£’000 £’000 £’000
Operating activities
Net (loss)/profit on ordinary (22,517) 104,901 86,349
activities before taxation1
Add back finance costs 12 45 97
Net loss/(profit) on investments
held at fair value through 15,911 (83,772) (59,598)
profit or loss (including
transaction costs)
Net loss/(profit) from
derivatives (including 13,275 (15,517) (12,839)
transaction costs)
Financing costs on derivatives (1,229) (1,604) (3,230)
Net loss on foreign exchange 38 43 61
Sales of investments held at
fair value through profit or 184,897 149,070 310,643
loss
Purchases of investments held at
fair value through profit or (119,117) (119,830) (251,053)
loss
Net (payments)/receipts on (10,171) 14,494 13,505
closure of derivatives
(Increase)/decrease in other (508) (1,082) 63
receivables
(Decrease)/increase in other (813) 2,861 1,499
payables
(Increase)/decrease in amounts (1,811) (141) 681
due from brokers
(Decrease)/increase in amounts (1,255) 4,001 (734)
due to brokers
Net movement in cash collateral (1,860) 2,453 1,225
held with brokers
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Net cash inflow from operating 54,852 55,922 86,669
activities before taxation
========= ========= =========
Taxation received/(paid) 108 (96) (62)
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Net cash inflow from operating 54,960 55,826 86,607
activities
========= ========= =========
Financing activities
Interest paid (12) (45) (97)
Cash paid for ordinary shares (55,914) (25,402) (52,341)
repurchased into treasury
Dividends paid (11,514) (10,841) (14,241)
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Net cash outflow from financing (67,440) (36,288) (66,679)
activities
========= ========= =========
(Decrease)/increase in cash and (12,480) 19,538 19,928
cash equivalents
Effect of foreign exchange rate (38) (43) (61)
changes
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Change in cash and cash (12,518) 19,495 19,867
equivalents
========= ========= =========
Cash and cash equivalents at 43,889 24,022 24,022
start of period/year
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Cash and cash equivalents at end 31,371 43,517 43,889
of the period/year
========= ========= =========
Comprised of:
Cash at bank 504 872 412
Bank overdraft – (3) –
Cash Fund2 30,867 42,648 43,477
--------------- --------------- ---------------
31,371 43,517 43,889
========= ========= =========
1 Dividends and interest received in cash during the period amounted to £5,860,000 and £829,000 respectively (six months ended
2
Notes to the financial statements for the six months ended
1. Principal activity
The principal activity of the Company is that of an investment trust company within the meaning of Section 1158 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010.
2. Basis of preparation
The half yearly financial statements for the six month period ended
Insofar as the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) for investment trust companies and venture capital trusts, issued by the
Adoption of new and amended International Accounting Standards and interpretations:
IAS 1 – Classification of liabilities as current or non current
(effective
IAS 1 – Non current liabilities with covenants
(effective
The amendment of these standards did not have any significant impact on the Company.
Relevant International Accounting Standards that have yet to be adopted:
IAS 21 – Lack of exchangeability
(effective
IFRS 18 – Presentation and disclosure in financial statements
(effective
None of the standards that have been issued, but are not yet effective, are expected to have a material impact on the Company.
3. Income
Six months Six months Year
ended ended ended
31 May 31 May 30 November
2025 2024 2024
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
£’000 £’000 £’000
Investment income:
UK dividends 4,635 6,466 12,887
UK special dividends 243 404 575
UK property income distributions 170 – 803
Dividends from UK REITs1 424 335 169
Overseas dividends 670 890 1,346
Overseas special dividends 219 – –
Overseas property income 57 – 118
distributions
Dividends from overseas REITs1 90 145 172
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Total investment income2 6,508 8,240 16,070
========= ========= =========
Net income from derivatives 341 768 1,024
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Other income:
Deposit interest 4 8 14
Interest from Cash Fund 720 603 1,530
Collateral interest 65 14 25
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Total other income 789 625 1,569
========= ========= =========
Total 7,638 9,633 18,663
========= ========= =========
1 REITs – real estate investment trusts.
2
Dividends and interest received in cash in the six months ended
No special dividends have been recognised in capital in the six months ended
4. Investment management and performance fees
Six months ended Six months ended Year ended
31 May 2025 31 May 2024 30 November 2024
(unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited)
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Investment
management 270 810 1,080 321 964 1,285 644 1,931 2,575
fee
Performance
fee (write – (625) (625) – 2,749 2,749 – 1,593 1,593
back)/expense
--------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
Total 270 185 455 321 3,713 4,034 644 3,524 4,168
========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
Investment management fee
The investment management fee is calculated at the rate of 0.35% per annum on month end Gross Assets. For the purposes of this note, Gross Assets are defined as the value of the portfolio of the Company, including uninvested cash, with the portfolio valuation based on value at risk (with value at risk being the gross asset value of the long-only portfolio plus the gross value of the underlying equities, long and short, to which the Company is exposed through derivatives including CFDs and index futures). The investment management fee is charged 25% to the revenue account and 75% to the capital account of the Statement of Comprehensive Income. There is no additional fee for company secretarial and administration services.
Performance fees
The performance fee is calculated at the rate of 15% of the outperformance of the Company. For the purpose of this note, outperformance is defined as the amount by which the annualised percentage Net Asset Value total return of the Company arithmetically exceeds the annualised percentage return of the Benchmark Index, measured over a rolling two-year performance period. This rate is applied to the average Gross Assets, in that rolling two-year performance period.
There is a cap on the annual total management and performance fees of 1.25% per financial year of the average Gross Assets over the rolling two-year performance period (the “Cap” or “Capped Amount”) which has the effect of capping the annual performance fees at circa 0.9% of average Gross Assets and which means that the performance fee from any performance period will not exceed 0.9% of average Gross Assets for the relevant performance period.
The performance fee is calculated daily for the rolling two-year performance period ending
-- The Benchmark Index remains unchanged;
-- The Net Asset Value total return performs in line with the Benchmark
Index total return for the remainder of the respective rolling two-year
performance periods ending 30 November 2025 and 30 November 2026 ; and
-- The future value of Gross Assets for performance fee purposes is the
same at the balance sheet date.
The amount of outperformance on which a performance fee has not been paid in a financial year due to the application of the Cap, will be carried forward to offset against future shortfall returns. As at
On the first day of the financial year, due to the application of the Cap in the prior financial year, any performance fee for the ongoing rolling two-year performance period not yet recognised is accrued in the daily NAV released to the
Performance fees have been wholly allocated to the capital account of the Statement of Comprehensive Income as the performance has been predominantly generated through capital returns from the investment portfolio. The performance fee accrual at
-- For the annualised rolling two-year performance period to 30 November
2025 , the Company has underperformed the benchmark by 3.2% as at 31 May
2025 . As a result, an amount of £625,000 has been written back from the
amount of performance fee accrued in the prior period.
-- For the annualised rolling two-year performance period to 30 November
2026 , the Company has underperformed the benchmark by 3.4% as at 31 May
2025 . No performance fee relating to this performance period has been
accrued at the date of this report.
5. Other operating expenses
Six months Six months Year
ended ended ended
31 May 31 May 30 November
2025 2024 2024
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
£’000 £’000 £’000
Allocated to revenue:
Custody fee 4 3 7
Auditor’s remuneration1 29 35 70
Registrar’s fee 31 21 44
Directors’ emoluments 113 111 211
Broker fees 30 18 48
Depositary fees 30 35 70
Marketing fees 67 68 175
FCA fees 15 13 29
Printing and postage fees 49 21 55
Directors’ search fees – – 51
Directors’ evaluation fees – – 30
AIC fees 11 11 22
Stock exchange listing fees 18 18 36
Write back of prior year (25) (13) (27)
expenses2
Other administrative costs 81 65 101
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Total revenue expenses 453 406 922
========= ========= =========
Allocated to capital:
Custody transaction charges3 11 11 21
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Total 464 417 943
========= ========= =========
1 In the six months ended
2 Relates to printing and postage fees and other administrative costs written back during the period (six months ended
3 For the six month period ended
The transaction costs incurred on the acquisition of investments amounted to £603,000 for the six months ended
6. Dividends
The Board has declared an interim dividend of 3.80p per share payable on
7. Earnings and net asset value per ordinary share
Revenue, capital (loss)/earnings and net asset value per ordinary share are shown below and have been calculated using the following:
Six months Six months Year
ended ended ended
31 May 31 May 30 November
2025 2024 2024
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
Net revenue profit attributable 6,889 8,885 17,046
to ordinary shareholders (£’000)
Net capital (loss)/profit
attributable to ordinary (29,429) 96,006 69,276
shareholders (£’000)
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Total (loss)/profit attributable (22,540) 104,891 86,322
to ordinary shareholders (£’000)
========= ========= =========
Equity shareholders’ funds 505,940 644,498 595,908
(£’000)
========= ========= =========
The weighted average number of
ordinary shares in issue during
the period on which the earnings 81,621,206 94,149,841 91,924,583
per ordinary share was
calculated was:
The actual number of ordinary
shares in issue at the period
end on which the net asset value 77,531,864 91,606,927 87,271,864
per ordinary share was
calculated was:
--------------- --------------- ---------------
(Loss)/earnings per ordinary
share
Revenue earnings per share 8.44 9.44 18.54
(pence) - basic and diluted
Capital (loss)/earnings per
share (pence) - basic and (36.06) 101.97 75.37
diluted
--------------- --------------- ---------------
Total (loss)/earnings per share (27.62) 111.41 93.91
(pence) - basic and diluted
========= ========= =========
As at As at As at
31 May 31 May 30 November
2025 2024
(unaudited) (unaudited) 2024
(audited)
Net asset value per ordinary share (pence) 652.56 703.55 682.82
Ordinary share price (pence) 578.00 639.00 593.00
========= ========= =========
There were no dilutive securities at the period end (six months ended
8. Called up share capital
Ordinary
shares Treasury Total Nominal
in issue shares shares value
number number number £’000
Allotted, called
up and fully
paid share
capital
comprised:
Ordinary shares
of 5 pence each:
At 30 November 95,872,161 7,337,703 103,209,864 5,160
2023 (audited)
Ordinary shares
repurchased into (4,265,234) 4,265,234 – –
treasury
========= ========= ========= =========
At 31 May 2024 91,606,927 11,602,937 103,209,864 5,160
(unaudited)
Ordinary shares
repurchased into (4,335,063) 4,335,063 – –
treasury
========= ========= ========= =========
At 30 November 87,271,864 15,938,000 103,209,864 5,160
2024 (audited)
Ordinary shares
repurchased into (9,740,000) 9,740,000 – –
treasury
--------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
At 31 May 2025 77,531,864 25,678,000 103,209,864 5,160
(unaudited)
========= ========= ========= =========
During the six months ended
Since
The ordinary shares give shareholders voting rights, the entitlement to all of the capital growth in the Company’s assets and to all income from the Company that is resolved to be distributed.
9. Reserves
The Company’s share premium account was cancelled pursuant to shareholders’ approval of a special resolution at the Company’s Annual General Meeting on
The share premium account and capital redemption reserve of £nil and £11,905,000 (
In accordance with ICAEW Technical Release 02/17BL on Guidance on Realised and Distributable Profits under the Companies Act 2006, the special reserve and capital reserves may be used as distributable reserves for all purposes and, in particular, the repurchase by the Company of its ordinary shares and for payments such as dividends. In accordance with the Company’s Articles of Association, the special reserve, capital reserve and revenue reserve may be distributed by way of dividend. The gain on the capital reserve arising on the revaluation of investments of £39,297,000 (six months ended
As at
10. Financial risks and valuation of financial instruments
The Company’s investment activities expose it to the various types of risk which are associated with the financial instruments and markets in which it invests. The risks are substantially consistent with those disclosed in the previous annual financial statements with the exception of those outlined below.
Market risk arising from price risk
Price risk is the risk that the fair value or future cash flows of a financial instrument will fluctuate because of changes in market prices (other than those arising from interest rate risk or currency risk), whether those changes are caused by factors specific to the individual financial instrument or its issuer, or factors affecting similar financial instruments traded in the market. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, climate change or other events could have a significant impact on the Company and the market price of its investments and could result in increased premiums or discounts to the Company’s net asset value.
Valuation of financial instruments
Financial assets and financial liabilities are either carried in the Statement of Financial Position at their fair value (investments and derivatives) or at an amount which is a reasonable approximation of fair value (due from brokers, dividends and interest receivable, due to brokers, accruals, cash at bank and bank overdrafts). IFRS 13 requires the Company to classify fair value measurements using a fair value hierarchy that reflects the significance of inputs used in making the measurements. The valuation techniques used by the Company are explained in the accounting policies note 2(g) as set out on page 100 in the Company’s Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended
Categorisation within the hierarchy has been determined on the basis of the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement of the relevant asset.
The fair value hierarchy has the following levels:
Level 1 – Quoted market price for identical instruments in active markets
A financial instrument is regarded as quoted in an active market if quoted prices are readily available from an exchange, dealer, broker, industry group, pricing service or regulatory agency and those prices represent actual and regularly occurring market transactions on an arm’s length basis. The Company does not adjust the quoted price for these instruments.
Level 2 – Valuation techniques using observable inputs
This category includes instruments valued using quoted prices for similar instruments in markets that are considered less than active, or other valuation techniques where all significant inputs are directly or indirectly observable from market data.
Valuation techniques used for non-standardised financial instruments such as options, currency swaps and other over-the-counter derivatives include the use of comparable recent arm’s length transactions, reference to other instruments that are substantially the same, discounted cash flow analysis, option pricing models and other valuation techniques commonly used by market participants making the maximum use of market inputs and relying as little as possible on entity specific inputs.
As at the period end the long and short derivative positions were valued using the underlying equity bid price (offer price in respect of short positions) and the contract price at the inception of the trade or at the trade reset date. There have been no changes to the valuation technique since the previous year or as at the date of this report.
Contracts for difference have been classified as Level 2 investments as their valuation has been based on market observable inputs represented by the market prices of the underlying quoted securities to which these contracts expose the Company.
Level 3 – Valuation techniques using significant unobservable inputs
This category includes all instruments where the valuation technique includes inputs not based on market data and these inputs could have a significant impact on the instrument’s valuation.
This category also includes instruments that are valued based on quoted prices for similar instruments where significant entity determined adjustments or assumptions are required to reflect differences between the instruments and instruments for which there is no active market. The Investment Manager considers observable data to be that market data that is readily available, regularly distributed or updated, reliable and verifiable, not proprietary and provided by independent sources that are actively involved in the relevant market.
The level in the fair value hierarchy within which the fair value measurement is categorised in its entirety is determined on the basis of the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement. If a fair value measurement uses observable inputs that require significant adjustment based on unobservable inputs, that measurement is a Level 3 measurement.
Assessing the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgement, considering factors specific to the asset or liability, including an assessment of the relevant risks including but not limited to credit risk, market risk, liquidity risk, business risk and sustainability risk. The determination of what constitutes ‘observable’ inputs requires significant judgement by the Investment Manager and these risks are adequately captured in the assumptions and inputs used in measurement of Level 3 assets or liabilities.
Fair values of financial assets and financial liabilities
The table below sets out fair value measurements using the IFRS 13 fair value hierarchy
Financial
assets/
(liabilities) at Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total
fair value £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
through profit
or loss at 31
May 2025
(unaudited)
Assets:
Equity 475,909 – – 475,909
investments
Contracts for
difference (fair – 855 – 855
value)
--------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
Liabilities:
Contracts for
difference (fair – (915) – (915)
value)
--------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
Total 475,909 (60) – 475,849
========= ========= ========= =========
Financial
assets/
(liabilities) at Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total
fair value £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
through profit
or loss at 31
May 2024
(unaudited)
Assets:
Equity 612,126 – – 612,126
investments
Contracts for
difference (fair – 2,527 – 2,527
value)
Index future 495 – – 495
--------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
Liabilities:
Contracts for
difference (fair – (1,146) – (1,146)
value)
--------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
Total 612,621 1,381 – 614,002
========= ========= ========= =========
Financial
assets/
(liabilities) at Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total
fair value £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
through profit
or loss at 30
November 2024
(audited)
Assets:
Equity 557,602 – – 557,602
investments
Contract for
difference (fair – 2,173 – 2,173
value)
--------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
Liabilities:
Contract for
difference (fair – (72) – (72)
value)
Index future (288) – – (288)
--------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
Total 557,314 2,101 – 559,415
========= ========= ========= =========
There were no transfers between levels for financial assets and financial liabilities recorded at fair value during the six months ended
For exchange listed equity investments the quoted price is the bid price. Contracts for difference are valued based on the bid price of the underlying quoted securities that the contracts relate to. Substantially, all investments are valued based on unadjusted quoted market prices. Where such quoted prices are readily available in an active market, such prices are not required to be assessed or adjusted for any business risks, including climate change risk, in accordance with the fair value related requirements of the Company’s Financial Reporting Framework.
11. Transactions with the Investment Manager and AIFM
The investment management fee due for the six months ended
The performance fee accrual at
-- For the annualised rolling two-year performance period to 30 November
2025 , the Company has underperformed the benchmark by 3.2% as at 31 May
2025 . As a result, an amount of £625,000 has been written back from the
amount of performance fee accrued in prior period.
-- For the annualised rolling two-year performance period to 30 November
2026 , the Company has underperformed the benchmark by 3.4% as at 31 May
2025 . No performance fee relating to this performance period has been
accrued at the date of this report.
In addition to the above services, BIM (
As at
The Company has an investment in the
The ultimate holding company of the Manager and the Investment Manager is BlackRock, Inc., a company incorporated in
12. Related party disclosure
Directors’ emoluments
The Board consists of five non-executive Directors, all of whom are considered to be independent of the Manager by the Board. None of the Directors has a service contract with the Company. With effect from
As at
At the period end, members of the Board, including any connected persons, held ordinary shares in the Company as set out below:
Ordinary Ordinary Ordinary
shares shares shares
1 August 31 May 30 November
2025 2025
2024
James Will1 10,000 10,000 n/a
Louise Nash 5,500 5,500 5,500
Angela Lane 11,833 11,833 11,749
Merryn Somerset Webb 3,932 3,932 3,823
Nigel Burton 17,470 17,470 16,986
Christopher Samuel2 n/a n/a 67,263
========= ========= =========
1
2
The following investors are:
a. funds managed by the
b. investors (other than those listed in (a) above) who held more than 20% of the voting shares in issue in the Company and are as a result, considered to be related parties to the Company (
Total % of shares held Number of Significant
by
Significant Investors Investors who are not
Total % of shares who are
held by not affiliates of affiliates of
Related BlackRock BlackRock BlackRock
Funds Group or BlackRock, Group or BlackRock,
Inc. Inc.
As at 31 May 2025 1.3 n/a n/a
As at 30 November 1.2 n/a n/a
2024
As at 31 May 2024 1.4 n/a n/a
========= ========= =========
13. Contingent liabilities
There were no contingent liabilities as at
14. Publication of non statutory accounts
The financial information contained in this Half Yearly Financial Report does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in Section 435 of the Companies Act 2006. The financial information for the six months ended
The information for the year ended
15. Annual results
The Board expects to announce the annual results for the year ending
For further information, please contact:
Sarah Beynsberger, Director, Closed End Funds,
Tel: 020 7743 3000
Press Enquiries:
E-mail:
edh@lansons.com
;
BlackRockInvestmentTrusts@lansons.com
END
The Half Yearly Financial Report will also be available on the BlackRock website at http://www.blackrock.com/uk/thrg. Neither the contents of the Manager’s website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Manager’s website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
Should you wish to receive investment trust related news and insights you can subscribe to BlackRock’s Investment Trust Matters newsletter at: https://go.blackrock.com/LP=2142 .
Release
