The Lindsell Train Investment Trust plc - Annual Financial Report for the year ended 31 March 2026
Legal Entity Identifier: 213800VMBJH2TCFDZU08
(the “Company” or “LTIT”)
This announcement contains regulated information
Annual Financial Report for the year ended
Company Summary
The Company
The Company is a
Investment Objective
The objective of the Company is to maximise long-term total returns with a minimum objective to maintain the real purchasing power of Sterling capital.
Investment Manager
Further details concerning the Agreements with the Company’s service providers can be found in Appendix 4.
Performance and Benchmark
The Company compares its performance with and calculates its performance fee relative to its benchmark, the MSCI World Index in Sterling.
Dividend
A final dividend of
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday,
Capital Structure
The Company’s capital structure comprises 20,000,000 Ordinary Shares of
Strategic Report
Business Review
The Directors present their Strategic Report for the Company for the year ended
Further information on how the Directors have discharged their duty under Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 can be found within the Strategic Report.
The Strategic Report contains certain forward-looking statements. These statements are made by the Directors in good faith based on the information available to them up to the time of their approval of this Report. Such statements should be treated with caution due to the inherent uncertainties, including both economic and business risk factors, underlying any such forward-looking information.
Business Model
The objective of the Company is to maximise long-term total returns with a minimum objective to maintain the real purchasing power of Sterling capital.
The Company’s strategy is to create value for shareholders through achieving its investment objective.
As an externally managed investment company the Company has no executive directors, employees or internal operations. The Company delegates its day-to-day management to third-parties.
The principal service providers to the Company are LTL which acts as
The Board is responsible for all aspects of the Company’s affairs, including the setting of parameters for and monitoring of the investment strategy as well as the review of investment performance and policy. It also has responsibility for all strategic issues, the dividend policy, share buy-back policy, share price and discount/premium monitoring as well as corporate governance matters.
Reviews of the financial year and commentary on the future outlook are presented in the Chairman’s Statement and the Manager’s Report.
Investment Objective
The objective of the Company is to maximise long-term total returns with a minimum objective to maintain the real purchasing power of Sterling capital.
Investment Policy
The Investment Policy of the Company is to invest:
(i) in a wide range of financial assets including equities, unlisted equities, bonds, funds, cash and other financial investments globally with no limitations on the markets and sectors in which investment may be made, although there is likely to be a bias towards equities and Sterling assets, consistent with a Sterling-dominated investment objective. The Directors expect that the flexibility implicit in these powers will assist in the achievement of the investment objective;
(ii) in LTL managed fund products, subject to Board approval, up to 25% of its gross assets; and
(iii) in LTL and to retain a shareholding, currently 23.3%, in order to benefit from the expected long term growth of the business of the Company’s Manager.
The Company does not envisage any changes to its objective, its investment policy or its management for the foreseeable future. The current composition of the portfolio as at
Diversification
The Company expects to invest in a concentrated portfolio of securities with the number of equity investments averaging fifteen companies. The Company will not make investments for the purpose of exercising control or management and will not invest in the securities of, or lend to, any one company (or other members of its group) more than 15% by value of its gross assets at the time of investment. The Company will not invest more than 15% of gross assets in other closed-ended investment funds.
Gearing
The Directors have discretion to permit borrowings up to 50% of the Net Asset Value. However, the Directors have decided that it is in the Company’s best interests not to use gearing. This is in part a reflection of the size and risk associated with the Company’s unlisted investment in LTL, but also in response to the additional administrative burden required to adhere to the full scope regime of the AIFMD.
Dividend Policy
The Directors’ policy is to pay annual dividends consistent with retaining the maximum permitted earnings in accordance with investment trust regulations, thereby building revenue reserves.
In a year when this policy would imply a reduction in the ordinary dividend the Directors may choose to maintain the dividend by increasing the percentage of revenue paid out or by drawing down on revenue reserves. Revenue reserves are currently more than three times the annual proposed 2026 ordinary dividend.
All dividends have been distributed from revenue or revenue reserves.
Company Performance
Performance Comparisons 2026 2025 Net Asset Value total return per Ordinary Share*^ -21.3 % -2.2% Share price total return per Ordinary Share*^ -29.2 % +9.0% MSCI World Index total return (Sterling) +16.4 % +4.8% UK RPI Inflation (all items) +4.1 % +3.2%
*
The Net Asset Value and the share price at
^ Alternative Performance Measure (“APM”). See Glossary of Terms and Alternative Performance Measures
Source: Morningstar and Bloomberg.
Five Year Financial Performance
Net revenue Dividends Net Share
available for on Ordinary Dividends Asset Value price per
Gross Ordinary Shares per Ordinary per Ordinary Ordinary
income Shares Cost Share Share Share
To 31 March £’000 £’000 £’000 p* p* p*
2022 14,784 12,729 10,600 53.00 1,113.8 1,105.0
2023 14,135 12,211 10,300 51.50 1,057.0 1,052.5
2024 12,005 10,214 10,300 51.50 1,026.4 801.0
2025 10,169 8,567 8,400 42.00 952.1 818.0
2026 8,170 6,561 5,600 28.00 716.1 550.0
Source: Morningstar and Bloomberg.
Principal Data
31 March 2026 31 March 2025 % Change
Shareholders’ funds (£’000) 143,219 190,426 -24.8%
NAV per Ordinary Share* 716.1p 952.1p -24.8%
Discount to NAV^ 23.2% 14.1%
Share price per Ordinary Share* 550.0p 818.0p -32.8%
Recommended final dividend per Ordinary 28.0p 42.0p -33.3%
Share
Dividend yield^ 5.1% 5.1%
Ongoing Charges^ 0.8% 0.8%
Loss per Ordinary Share – basic (194.0)p (22.8)p -750.9%
Revenue 32.8p 42.8p -23.4%
Capital (226.8)p (65.6)p -245.7%
NAV total return^ † -21.3% -2.2%
Share price total return^ † -29.2% +9.0%
Benchmark (MSCI World Index in Sterling) † +16.4% +4.8%
Source: Morningstar and Bloomberg.
^ Alternative Performance Measure (see Glossary).
† These are percentage change figures for the year to 31 March.
*
Prior years have been adjusted to reflect the 100 for 1 stock split effective
Please see Glossary of Terms for an explanation of terms used.
Chairman’s Statement
The Company’s net asset value per share (“NAV”) was £7.16 on
First, the development of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) has created huge demand for infrastructure to support its application, whether it be data centres, the equipment therein such as hardware and semiconductor chips, or the infrastructure to supply energy requirements. Share prices of companies that provide hardware and/or develop AI applications have led market gains over the last year. More recently it is perceived that the companies developing AI, enabled by large language models (“LLMs”) or agentic applications, will disrupt and even disintermediate the business models of software and data companies. The selling has been indiscriminate and widespread, with steep share price falls encompassing information services providers and media content owners, including film and video game providers. Our Manager’s investment portfolio, including the Company’s, have little direct exposure to the growth in AI infrastructure and applications but have a number of investments impacted by the fears of disruption to software and data companies.
Second, the strong performance over the last 12 months of energy companies, industrials and miners, as well as leverage financials including banks, has had an adverse impact on the Company’s comparative performance. Due to high capital intensity, greater exposure to changing commodity prices, over which they have little control, and less pricing power due to the characteristics of their end markets, companies in these sectors typically earn low average returns on equity (12% for energy, 13% for industrials and 10% for banks); these returns should be compared with the average return on equity of the Company’s quoted equity portfolio holdings of 21% over the last 25 years.
And third, as these biases have been reflected in LTL’s investment portfolios, the underperformance has contributed to a fall in LTL’s funds under management (“FUM”) to £7.0bn at
As we would expect, our Manager’s response has been consistent with its longstanding and widely understood approach and therefore it has stayed true to its investment principles of 25 years standing. To remind you, these are to invest in durable business franchises capable of compounding cashflows over many years, supported by dominant market positions, with high barriers to entry, and/or unique intellectual property (“IP”). To capture these effects, our Manager runs concentrated portfolios of the highest quality companies it can identify, trading infrequently so that superior returns on capital can compound over time and drive long-term value creation.
With the advent of AI, many investors have questioned the high barriers to entry and competitive advantages of owning unique IP, in much the same way as many did when on-premise software companies were faced with the cloud transition, or when digitalisation threatened recorded music companies. Or indeed, when the internet was perceived as a disruptive threat to owners of proprietary mission-critical data such as with RELX in the mid-2000s. Ultimately these innovations benefited these companies rather than disintermediating them which, we believe, could lead to a similar outcome with AI.
As
Whilst the Board is wholeheartedly supportive of this response, we are naturally concerned at the disappointing returns of the Company in recent years, exacerbated by the past 12 months. We recognise that our Manager’s approach is designed to achieve results over the long term, and that such a distinct and highly concentrated portfolio will likely have difficult periods when it is out of favour, either because its companies are temporarily disadvantaged or because investor capital is directed elsewhere. The Board challenges the Manager at every board meeting on the continued relevance of its investment strategy, the quality of the underlying businesses owned by the Company and their suitability as investments to achieve the Company’s objective. It will continue to do so.
To put the Company’s performance into perspective, over the last 10 years the NAV total return^ has compounded at 8.9% p.a. Whilst that may be satisfactory in terms of meeting the Company’s minimum objective of preserving shareholders’ capital in real terms, with inflation rising by 4.6% p.a. over the same period, that 10 year rate of compounding has fallen materially from 22.1% at the end of 2019, after the last five years of disappointing returns when the NAV total return fell by 5.0% p.a. and the last three years by -7.8% p.a. In comparison the Company’s share price total return over 10 years was 3.1% p.a., below inflation, with five and three year total returns at -13.2% and -14.8% respectively. The difference to the NAV returns is attributable to the share price moving from a premium into a discount to the NAV. Both we and our Manager anticipate better returns in the coming years, to help ensure that longer-term rates of return remain well above inflation.
As justification for that contention, our Manager notes that the average return on equity (“ROE”) of the Company’s listed equity investee companies has remained consistently high throughout its 25
year history, averaging 21% per annum. If anything, average returns have improved over the last five years compared with earlier periods. As at
Whilst the Company’s 23.3% shareholding in LTL has enhanced returns over the long term, there is no doubt that it has accentuated the challenges of the past five years. Generally speaking, when LTL’s investment performance is strong, LTL’s FUM rises, its business performance thrives and its valuation increases. And of course, the reverse happens when investment performance is weak, as has been the case since 2020. Also the heightened volatility resulting from the Company’s significant holding in LTL has contributed to the Company’s weak share price, which has moved from a premium to a discount to net asset value since 2023, and a decline in the Company’s dividend since 2024.
^ Alternative Performance Measure (see Glossary).
Until LTL’s performance improves it is likely that LTL’s FUM will continue to decline, putting pressure on LTL’s revenues, profits and its dividend. In these circumstances, LTL’s primary aim must be to preserve its philosophy and approach and to continue to provide a platform for clients to access its differentiated approach to investment. To do so, LTL must retain critical employees and invest in its infrastructure. In the face of these difficult circumstances, it is perhaps reassuring that, by retaining 20% of its annual net earnings since 2003, LTL has considerable balance sheet resources, including £98.9m of net current assets, which contributed to an LTL net asset value at
The Company’s valuation methodology for valuing LTL remains unchanged. It is based on a percentage of LTL’s FUM, with this figure adjusted to reflect the ongoing profitability of LTL (there is more detail in Appendix 1). Using this methodology, the Company’s holding in LTL was valued at £28.3m as at 31
In my previous statements I have highlighted the direct linkage between LTL’s annual dividend payments and the Company’s. This year, even after falling 23.9%, LTL dividends made up 70.8% of the Company’s revenues. The influence of LTL’s dividends on the revenues of the Company and the challenges facing LTL in the near term are such that the Board believes that a further reduction of the Company’s dividend in September to
Over the year the Company has continued its policy of selling shares in LTL to LTL’s employees, so as to align its interests with that of LTL, to encourage those employees to build their careers with LTL and to help ensure succession when LTL’s founders,
In both my previous annual statements, whilst alluding to new challenges faced by markets, I
expressed confidence in our Manager’s investment approach and the investments owned by the
Company. I do so again this year, even as geopolitical tensions – most notably the war in
The Annual General Meeting
This year’s Annual General Meeting will be held at
Proposed Changes to the Articles of Association
The Board is proposing to make amendments to the Company’s articles of association (the “Articles”) to introduce a contingency process in the event that, following its annual general meeting or any other general meeting, the Company is left with no directors, in light of recent activity by activist investors, or fewer than the minimum number of directors required by law or the Articles.
In such circumstances, the proposed amendments provide for the automatic and temporary appointment or re-appointment of the minimum number of individuals required to fill the vacancies, drawn from those who stood for appointment or were removed at the relevant general meeting, prioritising those who received the greatest level of shareholder support. The Board will then be required to appoint new, replacement directors as soon as possible following the meeting, after which the temporary directors will retire. This process ensures that shareholder decisions regarding the composition of the Board are respected, while also safeguarding the orderly management and legal standing of the Company.
This approach has been informed by recent guidance from the AIC, which has specifically recommended that investment companies review and, where necessary, amend their articles to ensure the company can continue to operate if insufficient directors are elected or re-elected at a general meeting.
The principal changes proposed to be introduced in the Articles, and their effect, are set out in more detail in the Directors’ report on pages 41 to 43 of the Annual Report.
Roger Lambert
Chairman
Portfolio Holdings at 31 March 2026
(All ordinary shares unless otherwise stated)
% of Look through
Fair value net basis % of
Holding Security £’000 assets total assets †
6,195 Lindsell Train Limited 28,276 19.7% 19.7%
232,900 London Stock Exchange Group 20,644 14.4% 14.7%
12,500,000 WS Lindsell Train North American
Equity Fund Acc* 19,374 13.5% 0.0%
380,500 Nintendo 15,895 11.1% 11.1%
367,000 RELX 9,087 6.4% 6.6%
1,040,000 A.G. Barr 6,781 4.7% 4.8%
155,791 Unilever 6,542 4.6% 4.8%
430,000 Diageo 6,003 4.2% 4.4%
2,950 FICO 2,383 1.7% 2.3%
12,247 Thermo Fisher Scientific 4,556 3.2% 3.9%
99,065 Mondelez International 4,321 3.0% 3.2%
257,500 Universal Music Group 3,741 2.6% 2.6%
64,600 Heineken 3,458 2.4% 2.4%
93,000 PayPal 3,182 2.2% 2.5%
420,000 Finsbury Growth & Income Trust 3,066 2.1% 0.0%
PLC*
39,099 Laurent Perrier 2,813 2.0% 2.0%
Indirect Holdings – 0.0% 12.8%
Total Investments 140,122 97.8% 97.8%
Net Current Assets 3,097 2.2% 2.2%
Net Assets 143,219 100.0% 100.0%
†
Look-through basis: Percentages held in each security is adjusted upwards by the amount of securities held by
* LTL managed funds
Leverage
We detail below the equity exposure of the Funds managed by LTL as at
Net Equity
Exposure
WS Lindsell Train North American Equity Fund Acc 99.9%
Finsbury Growth and Income Trust PLC 102.8%
Analysis of Investment Portfolio at 31 March
Breakdown by Location of Listing
(look-through basis)^
2026 2025
UK* 63.8% 65.7%
USA 17.8% 16.5%
Japan 11.3% 11.6%
Europe Excluding UK 7.1% 6.2%
Rest of World 0.0% 0.0%
100.0% 100.0%
Breakdown by Location of Underlying Company Revenues
(look-through basis)^
2026 2025
USA** 34.4% 35.6 %
Europe Excluding UK ** 24.9% 23.7%
UK** 19.9% 23.1%
Rest of World 17.1% 13.5%
Japan 3.7% 4.1%
100.0% 100.0%
Breakdown by Sector
(look-through basis)^
2026 2025
Financials 41.4% 47.2%
Consumer Staples 23.5% 22.9%
Communication Services 17.6% 15.8%
Industrials 8.9% 9.3%
Health Care 4.0% 2.1%
Information Technology 4.2% 2.3%
Consumer Discretionary 0.4% 0.4%
100.0% 100.0%
^ Look-through basis: this adjusts the percentages held in each asset class, country or currency by the amount held by LTL managed funds. It provides shareholders with a more accurate measure of country and currency exposure by aggregating the direct holdings of the Company with the indirect holdings held by the LTL funds.
* LTL accounts for 19.7% and is not listed.
**
LTL accounts for 10 percentage points of the
Manager’s Report
Our investment performance last year was the most disappointing in the Company’s 25 year history. For that I must apologise to shareholders for the loss of absolute and comparative value they have suffered. Far more important, though, is what happens next and what steps we need to take to help improve performance.
We evidently own a collection of out of favour shares, which are therefore underperforming, but that does not necessarily mean we own a collection of underperforming companies. So, while we acknowledge that, for instance, the business performance of PayPal has been worse than we expected, or that the squeeze on sales of Diageo’s premium spirits has lasted longer than we conceived, we don’t believe we hold anything that is fundamentally “broken” as a business. Even PayPal, for example, continues to grow, albeit slower than hoped, with an extraordinarily cash generative business and strong balance sheet. Meanwhile, we own several companies that have performed well as businesses last year and for many years before that, but their share prices have been disappointing nonetheless. I think of London Stock Exchange Group (“LSEG”) and RELX in particular.
In summary, after a period of poor investment performance we have no intellectual or emotional problem with making portfolio changes in the hope of improving returns. Indeed, we have initiated several new holdings (discussed below) over the last 18 months, which we have funded by partial reductions of existing holdings. But despite an openness to make changes, we are reluctant to sell out of shares and businesses we continue to believe offer compelling investment attractions, simply because they have underperformed stock market benchmarks. In other words, we do not believe that ripping up the portfolio and starting again is in the best interests of our investors.
I give here a discussion of the merits of individual holdings, as an indication of the value we believe is intrinsic to the portfolio.
With Nintendo we own the world’s premier collection of gaming software (Mario, Zelda, Pokémon) and we own it in the early stages of a new hardware cycle, its Switch 2 console. Nintendo’s revenues were up over 80% last year, as the new console made a strong start. We think there are reasons to believe Switch 2 could be even more successful than its predecessor, as each passing decade grows that proportion of the world’s population which plays games. Adults around the world loved Nintendo when they were children and still love the games, but now they are introducing Mario and Pokémon to their own children, and the size of Nintendo’s addressable constituency is snowballing as a result. Today, Nintendo is perceived as a loser from AI, for the very specific reason that demand for AI services is pushing up the price of the chips Nintendo uses to drive its devices. But one day we think it likely that either demand for chips will moderate or the supply of chips will exceed demand and at that point, Nintendo’s costs will fall. Meanwhile, as the installed base of Switch 2 grows, the profits that can be generated by hit games on the platform grow by even more (because the marginal cost of producing an additional copy of each game is so low). In our view, the recent weakness in the shares is therefore a compelling opportunity.
The Data and Software services of LSEG, RELX and new holding, FICO, are all deeply embedded in the day-to-day workflows of their global customers. Their shares have been weak over the past 12 months because of concerns that emergent AI agents might undermine their relationships with clients. We believe these concerns are at the least exaggerated and more likely misplaced. Instead, we think AI is likely to make their services even more valuable and sticky. That is why we decided to initiate a position in FICO during the first quarter of 2026, following a share price decline of more than 30% since the beginning of the year. At their most recent shareholder updates, FICO reported that its revenue growth accelerated to 16%, LSEG grew at c.10% in Q1 2026, and RELX confirmed steady growth of 7% per annum in its first quarter of 2026. These growth rates are being driven by the take-up of AI-enhanced tools and services developed by the companies, or in partnership with leading AI large language models (“LLMs”). If the sceptics are wrong and AI actually enhances the value of the proprietary data and services delivered by these companies (along with our holding in Universal Music Group), then your portfolio is well-positioned to deliver business growth and we have to believe that share price performance will follow.
Nintendo, FICO, LSEG, RELX and UMG make up 25% of the value of your portfolio. In addition, look-through exposure to what we believe are likely AI-winners via your holdings in Finsbury Growth & Income Trust PLC and the
The holdings we have in Consumer Brand owning companies have disappointed us in recent years. Combined they amount to 21% of the portfolio. We have reduced some of the exposures here (including in Heineken and Mondelez, which held up relatively well during a volatile first quarter of 2026), to add to or initiate in software and data companies that have also been hard-hit in 2025/26. But what should we do with what we own today?
I know it is ancient history, but we believe we must consider how Consumer Brand owners have performed over long periods of time, as businesses and share prices. As is readily demonstrable, they have done well over past decades. While their growth rates have rarely impressed in any given year, those growth rates have been steady and the inherently high profit margins achieved from the sale of beloved brands have generated strong and predictable cash flows. Perhaps the best returns from Consumer Brand owners come when interest rates are falling or low and when high-growth or cyclical areas of stock markets are having tougher times. Given that history, it is not evident to us that we should be exiting our brand-owners at a time when there are concerns about global economic growth and, in particular, after an extraordinary period of share price returns driven by currently rapidly growing technology companies.
What is important, though, is that Consumer Brand owners should demonstrate steady growth consistently through the cycle, with the promise of more of the same into the future too. As to that, recent revenue growth at Mondelez has been 3%, A.G. Barr 4%, Unilever 3.8%, Heineken 2.8% and
However, the companies and their boards have not stood still. The industry has always been marked by takeovers and divestments, as businesses look to create economies of scale, or increase exposure to growing categories and now is no exception. We think it is encouraging to see, for example, A.G. Barr making use of its net cash balance sheet to acquire new brands with its cash, which should accelerate revenue growth in coming years. A.G. Barr has set itself the ambition of doubling its revenues by 2030. We note that during a difficult period for the global spirits industry you would expect to see consolidation and, right on cue, Pernod Ricard has announced a possible merger with
Finally, Unilever has announced the demerger of its Food assets, in a combination with US peer McCormick. This deal looks to us to create significant future value for Unilever shareholders, as the price achieved for the Food brands is higher than we had modelled and the cash proceeds should help the remainder of Unilever, its Personal Care, Health and Household brands, grow more quickly.
In summary on these brand owners, we own a collection of steadily growing companies, whose shares have performed poorly for several years and where their boards are evidently looking to improve returns and growth rates. This really should be a combination to generate better share prices. We sincerely hope so.
Below I provide brief comments on the three most recent direct holdings in your portfolio, FICO, Thermo Fisher Scientific and UMG.
FICO
At FICO’s core are its eponymous credit scores, which have become a near-standard in US consumer lending, representing a pure expression of capital-light, deeply moated, data-rooted benchmark IP.
This year, concerns over AI disruption have been accompanied by, in our view, a misinterpretation of the competitive threat posed by VantageScore, the competing franchise created by the credit bureaus. VantageScore has been around since 2006, but has still yet to win significant market share in mortgages, auto loans or personal loans, despite being essentially free. While we acknowledge the regulatory landscape has become more challenging under the current political administration, we believe FICO’s scores business remains highly attractive. We initiated a c.2% position in the company during the first quarter and may look to add to the position.
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo is the largest player in global life sciences tools and diagnostics, providing lab equipment, testing, and contracted research and manufacturing services to the pharmaceuticals industry. It benefits from the inexorable desire for human beings to live longer, healthier lives. We added the holding to the Company in 2024 and over the course of the last year we have been able to build the position into even better prices, in part due to tariff concerns and the threatened withdrawal of US government funding for medical research. Despite posting impressive sets of results, Thermo’s share price has continued to come under pressure in 2026. At current levels, we believe that the company’s shares are undervalued versus the quality of its long-term cash flows.
Universal Music Group (“UMG”)
We also added UMG to the portfolio in 2024, and too have had an opportunity to add to the company on weakness over the past year. Unlike Thermo, concerns over the disruptive force of AI has been at the heart of that weakness. While there will likely be a role for AI in music, fans have proven loyal to human artists and teams, and to date have shown little desire for fake or simulated versions of either. In our view, customers will want better recommendation algorithms and more access, which agentic AI is enabling and could in turn help to drive the advent of tiered offerings and boost industry - wide pricing. In our view, unique underlying content owners are well positioned to benefit.
The company is currently the subject of a takeover attempt by Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square, at a significant premium to the current share price. It seems unlikely that the offer will succeed as it requires a 75% majority of votes cast and there are potentially large blocking shareholders. If nothing else, the bid signifies – as it probably was designed to do – that the current valuation is too low for a company of UMG’s dominance. By way of a reminder, UMG supplies roughly a third of the planet’s recorded music, and 9 of the top 10 global recording artists of 2024 and 2025.
It is important to note that these new ideas are the result of research undertaken by the whole team at LTL, not just the founders. Increasingly decisions across all our portfolios are being driven by the insights of our colleagues, to whom we have delegated increasing responsibility as their experience and judgment has deepened. LTL has a lot to prove to our clients today. We must demonstrate that our historic strong investment performance was not just a one-off, but repeatable. The founders,
Investment Manager
Director,
Performance
Whilst the Board remains supportive of the investment manager’s approach, it is concerned by the Company’s disappointing returns in recent years, particularly over the past 12 months. The Board recognises that the highly distinctive and concentrated nature of the portfolio is designed to deliver long-term value and may experience periods of underperformance, either due to temporary challenges faced by portfolio companies or shifts in market sentiment. The Board therefore maintains a robust and ongoing challenge of the investment manager, at each meeting reviewing the continued relevance of the investment strategy, the quality of the underlying businesses and their suitability in meeting the Company’s objectives. Please refer to the Chairman’s Statement for further information.
Whilst performance is compared with the MSCI World Index in Sterling, the Company’s portfolio is constructed and managed without reference to a stock market index. The Investment Manager selects investments based on the assessment of their long-term value, thereby seeking to achieve the investment objective of the Company.
Prospects
The Directors provide an explanation in the Viability Statement as to how they have assessed the prospects of the Company, over what period they have done so and why they consider that period to be appropriate.
Key Performance Indicators (“KPIs”)
The Board uses certain financial and non-financial KPIs to monitor and assess the performance of the Company in achieving its strategic aims.
The Board reviews the performance of the portfolio in detail and is presented with the views of the Manager at each meeting. Information on the Company’s performance is provided in the Chairman’s Statement and the Manager’s Report. This performance is assessed against the following KPIs which are unchanged from last year.
Net Asset Value Total Return^ and Share Price Total Return^ are compared with the benchmark and provide the key performance indicators for assessing the development and performance of the Company.
31 March 2026 31 March 2025 % Change
NAV total return^ † -21.3% -2.2%
Share price total return^ † -29.2% +9.0%
Benchmark (MSCI World Index in Sterling) † +16.4% +4.8%
Recommended final dividend per Ordinary 28.0p 42.0p -33.3%
Share
^ Alternative Performance Measure (see Glossary).
† These are percentage change figures for the year to 31 March.
Please see Glossary of Terms for an explanation of terms used.
Alternative Performance Measures (“APMs”)
The Board believes that each of the APMs, which are typically used within the investment company sector, provides additional useful information to shareholders in order to assess the Company’s performance between reporting periods and against its peer group. The measures used for the year under review have remained consistent with the prior year.
Discount/premium to NAV^
The Board regularly reviews the level of the discount/premium of the Company’s share price to the net asset value per share and considers ways in which share price performance may be enhanced, including the effectiveness of share buybacks, where appropriate. Any decision to repurchase shares is at the discretion of the Board.
Dividend Yield^
The Directors regard the Company’s dividend yield to be a key indicator of performance. The dividend yield measures the gross income receivable based on the payment of the historic dividend per share expressed as a percentage of the Company’s current share price.
Ongoing Charges^
Ongoing charges represent the costs that shareholders can reasonably expect to pay from one year to the next, under normal circumstances. The Board continues to be conscious of expenses and works hard to maintain a sensible balance between high quality service and the cost of provision.
NAV Total Return^
The Directors regard the Company’s net asset value per share total return as being the overall measure of value delivered to shareholders over the long term. The Board considers the principal comparator to be the MSCI World Index Total Return (Sterling adjusted).
Share Price Total Return^
The Directors also regard the Company’s share price total return to be a key indicator of performance. This reflects share price growth of the Company which the Board recognises is important to investors.
31 March 2026 31 March 2025
Discount to NAV 23.2% 14.1%
Dividend yield 5.1% 5.1%
Ongoing charges 0.8% 0.8%
NAV total return -21.3% -2.2%
Share price total return -29.2% +9.0%
^ Further information on each of the Alternative Performance Measures and the basis of their calculation can be found in the Glossary.
Principal Risks, Emerging Risks and Risk Management
The Board is responsible for managing the risks faced by the Company. Through delegation to the Audit Committee, the Board has established procedures to manage risk, to review the Company’s internal control framework and to establish the level and nature of the principal and emerging risks the Company is prepared to accept in order to achieve its long-term strategic objective. At least once a year the Audit Committee carries out a robust assessment of the principal and emerging risks. Further information is provided in the Audit Committee Report beginning on page 61 of the Annual Report.
The Company’s Approach to Risk Management
These principal risks and the ways they are managed or mitigated are set out below
For each risk identified, during the year the Audit Committee considers both the likelihood and impact of the risk and then assigns an inherent risk score. The scoring of the risk is then reconsidered once the respective key mitigations are applied and a residual risk score is assigned.
The Board’s policy on risk management has not materially changed during the course of the reporting period and up to the year end.
Change in inherent risk assessment over the last financial year: No change, Decreased, Increased and
* New risk included during the year.
Change Principal Risks and Uncertainties Key Mitigations
The Board reviews at every Board
meeting the investment portfolio,
income forecasts and levels of
available revenue reserves prepared
by the Company Secretary.
Corporate Strategy Sufficient dividends are paid to
maintain investment trust status.
The Board may have to reduce the
Company’s dividend. The Company has retained revenue
reserves, which can be used to
70.8% of the Company’s income is supplement dividend payments in the
represented by dividends from LTL. event of a short-term reduction in
If LTL’s funds under management net revenue.
fall the Company’s dividend paying
potential could be negatively In the event of a sustained fall in
impacted. LTL’s FUM and its dividend paid to
the Company, the Company’s dividend
would have to be adjusted downwards.
Due to the decrease in LTL's
dividend, the Board considers that
this risk has increased during the
year.
The Company’s share price may Regular consideration is given to
differ materially from the NAV per the share price premium or discount
share resulting in the shares to NAV per share and the Company has
trading at either a premium or a authority to buy back shares and
discount to NAV. hold in treasury. It also engages
with shareholders during the year.
The Board keeps the investment
management arrangements under
continual review. In turn, the
Manager reports on developments at
LTL, including succession and
Investment Strategy and Activity business continuity plans. The Board
meets with other members of the
The departure of a key individual wider team employed by the Manager.
at the Manager may affect the
Company’s performance. The Board is also encouraged by the
continued development of the
investment management team at LTL
who are now taking on greater
responsibility at a more senior
level.
The Board monitors portfolio risk
through quarterly reviews of
performance against benchmark and by
setting and reviewing portfolio
concentration limits. It maintains
regular dialogue with the Investment
Manager, including quarterly and ad
The investment strategy adopted by hoc discussions on portfolio
the Manager, the high degree of structure, asset allocation and
portfolio concentration and other concentration.
factors, may lead to a long-term
investment return that is Compliance with investment
materially lower than the Company’s guidelines is overseen through
comparator benchmark index, and a monthly reporting from the Company
possible failure to achieve the Secretary, while the Investment
Company’s investment objective. Manager provides quarterly (and
additional as required) reporting on
portfolio activity and performance,
with a focus on maintaining an
appropriate risk - reward profile.
Portfolio concentration is also
communicated regularly to
shareholders.
The Board has appointed reputable
service providers who are well
experienced in the investment trust
sector. Individual Directors are
Operational well connected in the investment
market and investment company
Adverse reputational impact of one sector and thereby keep themselves
or more of the Company’s key service appraised of developments in the
providers which, by association, sector. The Manager and the Company
causes the Company reputational Secretary provide regular news
damage. updates on all matters affecting
the Company.
The Board undertakes an annual
review of the level of service
provision of the service providers.
The Directors acknowledge that
market risk is inherent in the
investment process as the Manager
maintains a concentrated portfolio
of securities. The Board has
imposed guidelines within its
investment policy to limit exposure
to individual holdings.
Financial The Company Secretary reports to
the Board with respect to
The Company is exposed to market compliance with investment
price risk. guidelines on a monthly basis. The
Manager provides the Board with
regular updates on market
movements. No investment is made in
derivative instruments and no
currency hedging is undertaken.
Further information on financial
instruments and risk can be found
in note 17 to the Financial
Statements.
The Board approves the monthly
valuation of the Company’s
Investment.
J.P. Morgan Cazenove Ltd undertook
a review of the Company’s valuation
methodology applied to its unlisted
investment in LTL during 2022. The
Accounting Legal and Regulatory appropriateness of the valuation
methodology was reviewed by the
The Company’s valuation of its Board and J.P. Morgan Cazenove Ltd
investment in LTL is materially during the year.
misstated.
The Manager and the Company
Secretary report to the Board at
every meeting. An internal controls
report is produced by the Company
Secretary on an annual basis
covering controls over valuation
and release of weekly net asset
value per share.
Emerging Risks
The Audit Committee regularly reviews the risk register. Mitigations, the scoring of each risk and any emerging risks are discussed in detail as part of this process, to ensure that emerging as well as known risks are identified and, so far as practicable mitigated.
The experience and knowledge of the Directors is useful in these discussions, as are update papers and advice received from the Board’s key service providers such as the Manager and the Company Secretary. In addition, the Company is a member of the AIC, which provides regular technical updates, as well as drawing members’ attention to forthcoming industry and/or regulatory issues and advising on compliance obligations.
Current identified emerging risks are as follows:
Emerging Risks and Uncertainties Key Mitigations
The Manager monitors portfolio
construction, performance and liquidity
to assess and manage the impact of
Emerging Risks increased market volatility on the
listed portfolio and on the Company’s
Geopolitical and macroeconomic holding in LTL.
conflicts, whether they be political,
economic or military, introduce new The Manager and the Board give careful
risks as a result exacerbate existing consideration to the consequences for
risks. These include: the Company of continuing uncertainty in
the global economy. These include the
-- disruptions to supply chains, continued uncertainty created by the
operations and markets for persistence of global inflation,
investee companies both as a international trade tariffs, together
direct result of conflict and with the consequences of the ongoing
as a result of economic wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and
sanctions; the effect of sanctions against Russia ;
-- prolonged inflation and tensions between China and the West; as
elevated interest rates, well as subsequent long-term effects on
slowing global economic growth economies and international relations.
and the fear or presence of
recession; The Company’s investment approach means
-- increased market volatility that it owns companies with strong brand
and reduced investor risk equity and pricing power making them
appetites; and more able to pass on cost increases and
-- increased threat of state mitigate the effects of inflation on
sponsored cyberattacks. portfolio holdings.
While presenting investment
opportunities, the rapid development of The Board reviews regular internal
new technologies, such as AI, may control reports from its key service
disrupt the markets and operating providers that include cyber defences
models of the companies in which we and other mitigants against unauthorised
invest, damaging their potential network access.
investment returns.
In view of the number of extraordinary
and unpredictable events in recent
years, the Board considers that the
likelihood of the emerging risks
identified due to geopolitical and
macroeconomic conflicts has increased.
The Audit Committee will continue to review emerging risks that arise from time to time to ensure that the implications for the Company are properly assessed and mitigating controls introduced where necessary.
Future Developments
The Board’s primary focus is on LTL’s investment approach and performance both as the Company’s Manager and as an investment. The subject is thoroughly discussed at every Board meeting.
In addition, the Company Secretary updates the Board on investor feedback, as well as wider investment company issues.
An outline of performance, investment activity and strategy, and market background during the year, as well as the outlook, is provided in the Chairman’s Statement and the Manager’s Report.
It is expected that the Company’s strategy will remain unchanged in the coming year.
Long-Term Viability Statement
The Directors have carefully assessed the Company’s financial position and prospects as well as the principal risks facing the Company and have formed a reasonable expectation that the Company will be able to continue in operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due over the next five financial years.
The Board has chosen a five year horizon in view of the long-term outlook adopted by the Investment Manager when making investment decisions.
To make this assessment and in reaching this conclusion, the Audit Committee has considered the Company’s financial position and its ability to liquidate its portfolio and meet its liabilities as they fall due and notes the following:
-- The Company has a liquid investment portfolio of UK and internationally
listed securities and funds, and has some short-term cash on deposit.
These liquid assets represent 80.3% of net assets. The other 19.7% is
the unlisted investment in LTL, which is not readily realisable.
-- Based on historic analysis, excluding the holding in the LTL, the Board
believes that 97.9% of the current portfolio could be liquidated within
30 business days with 93.1% in five business days. There is no
expectation that the nature of the investments held within the portfolio
will be materially different in the future.
-- With an ongoing charges ratio of 0.8%, the expenses of the Company are
predictable and modest in comparison with its assets and there are no
capital commitments currently foreseen which would alter that position.
-- Revenue expenses of the Company are covered more than six times by
investment income.
-- The closed-ended nature of the Company means that, unlike an open-ended
fund, it does not need to realise investments when shareholders wish to
sell their shares.
-- The founder directors of LTL, in which the Company holds 23.3%, have
given their verbal assurance that they remain committed to LTL for at
least seven years on a rolling basis.
-- The Company has decided not to use gearing.
-- The Company has no employees, only its non-executive Directors.
Consequently it does not have any potential redundancy or other
employment related liabilities or responsibilities.
The Directors, as well as considering the potential impact of the principal risks and various severe but plausible downside scenarios, have also made the following assumptions in considering the Company’s longer-term viability:
-- The Board and the Investment Manager will continue to adopt a long-term
view when making investments, and anticipated holding periods will be at
least five years.
-- The Board are satisfied that LTL remains viable and is able to continue
operating as a going concern.
-- Regulation will not increase to a level that makes running the Company
uneconomical.
The Board’s long-term view of viability will be updated each year in the Company’s Annual Report.
Stakeholder Interests and Board Decision-Making
(Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006)
The following disclosure, which is required by the Companies Act 2006 and the AIC Code of Corporate Governance, describes how the Directors have had regard to the views of the Company’s stakeholders in their decision making.
The benefits of engagement How the Board, the Manager
Stakeholder with the Company’s and the Company Secretary
Group stakeholders have engaged with the
Company’s stakeholders
Throughout the year the
Board and the Manager
receive shareholder
feedback directly from
shareholders or from the
appointed broker.
An analysis of the
Company’s shareholder
register is provided to the
Directors each month.
Shareholders have access to
the Board, directly and via
the Company Secretary,
throughout the year. These
communications help the
Board make informed
decisions when considering
how to promote the success
of the Company for the
benefit of shareholders
over the long term.
Key mechanisms of
engagement include:
-- The Annual General
Meeting.
-- The Board will
The Board recognises the explain in its
importance of communication announcement of the
with shareholders. results of the
Annual General
Investors Clear communication of the Meeting the actions
Company’s strategy and the it intends to take
performance against the to consult
Company’s objective can shareholders in
help maintain demand for order to understand
the Company’s shares. the reasons behind
any significant
votes against.
Following the
consultation, an
update will be
published no later
than six months
after the Annual
General Meeting and
the Annual Report
will detail the
impact the
shareholder
feedback has had on
any decisions the
Board has taken and
any actions or
resolutions
proposed.
-- The Company’s
website which hosts
monthly reports and
Annual and
Half-year Reports.
-- One-on-one
investor meetings
as required.
-- Group meetings
with professional
investors as
required.
The Board meets regularly
with the Company’s Manager
throughout the year both
formally at the quarterly
Board meetings and
informally as needed. The
Board and Manager
communicate regularly
outside these meetings to
ensure a collegiate
approach.
Furthermore, Michael
Lindsell is a Director of
both the Company and of the
Manager. The aim is to
Engagement with the maintain a strong
Company’s Manager is relationship between the
necessary to evaluate its Board and Manager when
performance against the considering the interests
Company’s stated strategy of the Company’s
and to understand any risks stakeholders, whilst
or opportunities this may upholding the Company’s
present. values.
The Board monitors the The Manager’s attendance at
Manager’s approach to each Board meeting also
Manager environmental, social and provides the opportunity
governance (“ESG”) issues. for the Manager and Board
to further reinforce their
Engagement also helps mutual understanding of
ensure that investment what is expected from both
management costs are parties.
closely monitored and
remain competitive. The Manager’s performance
is evaluated informally on
The Chairman’s Statement a regular basis, with a
and Appendix 1 describe the formal review carried out
key decisions taken during on an annual basis by the
the year relating to LTL. Management Engagement
Committee. The Investment
Management Agreement is
reviewed as part of this
process.
Members of the wider LTL
investment team attend
Board meetings and provide
presentations at least once
per year.
The Audit Committee review
the Manager’s internal
controls and governance
policies on an annual
basis.
The Board and the Company
Secretary engage regularly
with other service
providers both in
one-to-one meetings and via
regular written reporting.
This regular interaction
provides an environment
where topics, issues and
business development needs
can be dealt with
efficiently and
collegiately.
The Board maintains regular
contact with the Company’s
key service providers as
well as carrying out a
review of the service
providers’ business
continuity plans and
additional cyber security
As an externally managed provisions.
investment company, the
Company has no employees, The key service providers’
customers, operations or performance is evaluated by
premises. Therefore, the the Management Engagement
Company’s key stakeholders Committee on an annual
(other than its basis, or more often if
shareholders) are appropriate. The terms and
considered to be its conditions underlying the
service providers. relationship between the
service providers are
The Company contracts with reviewed as part of this
third parties for other process. This approach is
services including: taken to enhance service
investment accounting & levels and strengthen
Other Service Providers administration as well as relationships between the
company secretarial and Company and its providers
registrars. The Company to ensure the interests of
ensures that the third the Company’s stakeholders
parties to whom the are best served by
services have been maintaining a high level of
outsourced complete their service whilst keeping
roles in line with their costs proportionate.
service level agreements
and are able to continue to During the year, the Audit
provide these services, Committee reviewed the
thereby supporting the internal controls reports
Company in its success and of each of the Company’s
ensuring compliance with key service providers.
its obligations.
In addition, each key
service provider provided
confirmation that there had
been no material changes in
their internal controls
between the date of their
internal controls report
and the date of this
report.
The Audit Committee met
with BDO LLP to review the
audit plan for the year,
agree their remuneration,
review the outcome of the
annual audit and to assess
the quality and
effectiveness of the audit
process. Please refer to
the Audit Committee Report
beginning on page 61 of the
Annual Report for further
information.
The Manager invests in a
concentrated portfolio of
durable business franchises
with the intention of
holding these positions for The Board encourages the
a considerable time. Company’s Manager to engage
with companies and in doing
The Manager engages with so expects ESG issues to be
the management of these an important consideration.
companies on a periodic
basis and reports its The Board receives an
impressions on the update on LTL’s engagement
prospects of the companies activities within a
Portfolio companies to the Board. dedicated quarterly ESG
report together with
Gaining a deeper quarterly updates
understanding of the concerning the prospects of
portfolio companies and the portfolio companies.
their strategies as well as
incorporating consideration Details of LTL’s approach
of ESG factors into the to responsible ownership
investment process assists can be found later in this
in understanding and announcement.
mitigating risks of
investments as well as
identifying potential
opportunities.
The Board ensures The Company Secretary
Regulators compliance with rules and reports to the Board on a
regulations as relevant to monthly basis and at each
the Company. Board meeting.
KEY AREAS OF ENGAGEMENT MAIN DECISIONS AND ACTIONS TAKEN
Shareholders are provided with
The impact of market volatility performance updates via the
caused by certain geopolitical Company’s website as well as the
events on the portfolio. annual and half-year financial
Investors reports and monthly manager
Ongoing dialogue with Shareholders reports.
concerning the strategy of the
Company, performance and the The Manager meets with
portfolio. shareholders as required and at
the Annual General Meeting.
The Board continued to monitor
share price movements closely and
Share price performance. concluded that it was not in
shareholders’ best interests to
utilise the share buy-back
facility.
The impact of market volatility The Board has received updates
upon their business and how some from the Investment Manager
Manager companies in the portfolio have throughout the recent period of
sought to take advantage of the market volatility, including its
increase of digitisation and AI. impact on investment decision
making.
The integration of ESG into the The Investment Manager reports any
Portfolio Manager’s investment ESG issues in the portfolio
processes. companies to the Board.
During the year the Audit
Committee considered the Portfolio
Manager’s assessment of the risks
associated with climate change on
Climate Change. the portfolio and how the
transition to a low-carbon economy
will affect all businesses,
irrespective of their size, sector
or geographic location.
The Board has in place a
refreshment programme which is
reviewed annually by the
Nomination Committee.
Cornforth Consulting was appointed
by the Board in January 2025 to
Board Composition assist with the appointment of
Sian Hansen, who became a member
of the Board on 4 June 2025.
In accordance with the Board’s
Succession Plan Vivien Gould
retired as a Director on 11
September 2025.
LTIT’s Responsible Investment Policy
The Board believes that consideration of ESG factors is important to shareholders and other stakeholders, and has the potential to protect and enhance investment returns.
In its Responsible Engagement & Investment Policy, the Manager states that its evaluation of ESG factors is an inherent part of the investment process and best practice in this area is encouraged by the Board. These factors include, but are not limited to: “corporate strategy, operating performance, competitive positioning, governance, environmental factors (including climate change), social factors, remuneration, reputation and litigation risks, deployment of capital, regulation and any other risks or issues facing the business”.
The Board has delegated authority to the Manager to vote the shares owned by the Company that are held on its behalf by its Custodian. The Board has instructed that the Manager submits votes for such shares wherever possible and practicable. The Manager is required to refer to the Board on any matters of a contentious nature.
The Manager’s
LTL became a signatory of Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative in
Modern Slavery Act
The Company does not provide goods or services in the normal course of business, and as a financial investment vehicle, does not have customers. Therefore, the Directors do not consider that the Company is required to make a statement under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 in relation to slavery or human trafficking. The Company’s suppliers are typically professional advisers and the Company’s supply chains are considered to be low risk in this regard.
The Board has made due diligence enquiries of the service providers that process the Company’s shareholder data to ensure the Company’s compliance with the
Common Reporting Standard (“CRS”)
CRS is a global standard for the automatic exchange of information commissioned by the
The Registrar, MUFG Corporate Markets has been engaged to collate such information and file the reports with HMRC on behalf of the Company.
The Company notes the TCFD recommendations on climate related financial disclosures. The Company is an investment company and, as such, it is exempt from the
The Company’s TCFD Product Report can be found on the Company’s website together with a link to the Investment Manager’s TCFD Entity Report.
Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The Company is an investment trust, with neither employees nor premises, nor has it any financial or operational control of the assets which it owns. It has no greenhouse gas emissions to report from its operations, nor does it have responsibility for any other emissions producing sources under the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Reports and Directors’ Reports) Regulations 2013 or the Companies (Directors’ Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018, including those within the Company’s underlying investment portfolio.
The Company consumed less than 40,000 kWh of energy during the year in respect of which the Directors’ Report is prepared and therefore is exempt from the disclosures required under the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting criteria.
The Manager engages with all the companies in the portfolio to understand their ESG approach and has developed its own methodology to assess the carbon impact of the portfolio.
LTL’s Approach to Responsible Ownership
ESG integration
Seeking Sustainability
As a long-term investor, LTL aims to identify companies that can generate long-term sustainable high returns on capital. LTL has historically found that such companies tend to exhibit characteristics associated with good corporate governance and responsible business practices. Indeed, LTL believes that companies which observe such standards, and that are serious in their intention of addressing environmental and social factors, will not only become more durable but will likely prove to be superior investments over time.
To that end LTL’s initial analysis and ongoing company engagement strategy seeks to incorporate all sustainability factors that they believe will affect the company’s ability to deliver long-term value to shareholders. Such factors may include but are not limited to; environmental (including climate change), social and employee matters (including turnover and culture) and governance factors (including remuneration and capital allocation), cyber resilience, responsible data utilisation, respect for human rights, anti-corruption and anti-bribery, and any other risks or issues facing the business and its reputation. This work is catalogued in a proprietary database of risk factors in order to centralise and codify the team’s views, as well as to prioritise LTL’s ongoing research and engagement work.
While LTL does not rely on traditionally constructed discounted cashflow models for valuation, its approach shares many of its core principles, particularly in focusing on the long-term sustainability of returns. ESG considerations are an important part of that process. In practice, material ESG risks could be a significant barrier to investment, and in some cases, could exclude a company from its investable universe entirely. However, where a company remains under consideration, LTL integrates ESG by focusing primarily on the sustainability of the company’s return on equity (ROE), which is a key input in LTL’s long-term valuation framework.
If LTL believes that a material ESG issue could impair the durability of a company’s ROE - for example, due to regulatory pressure, reputational damage, or operational disruption - it may override historical return data. This is a qualitative judgement, informed by a combination of industry context, company disclosures, and LTL’s own ESG analysis. In such cases, LTL may adjust its assumptions for ROE, the retention rate, or both, to reflect a more conservative view of future value creation. In essence, ESG risks influence LTL’s expectations of a company’s ability to sustain and reinvest profits over time - which feeds directly into its long-term valuation view.
Negative Screening
As a product of LTL’s investment philosophy, it does not invest in the following industries:
- capital intensive industries (energy, commodities or mining) or any companies involved in the extraction and production of coal, oil or natural gas; and
- industries that LTL judges to be sufficiently detrimental to society that they may be exposed to burdensome regulation or litigation that could impinge on financial returns (e.g. tobacco, gambling or arms manufacturers).
Climate Change
The risks associated with climate change and the transition to a low-carbon economy affect all businesses, irrespective of their size, sector or geographic location. Therefore, no company’s revenues are immune, and the assessment of such risks must be considered within any effective business strategy and investment approach, particularly one that seeks to protect its clients’ capital for decades to come. LTL climate change exposure arises predominantly from the companies in its investment portfolios, rather than its operational footprint. On account of LTL’s assets under management and the long term success of its business and brand, it is aware of the meaningful role that it can play in the global effort to reach net zero. Fortunately, LTL has an investment strategy that is well aligned with this objective.
LTL is committed to improving both in the way it runs its business and also in the way in which it engages with its investee companies so that LTL understands, and where necessary influences, how they are adapting their strategies to deal with the tangible risks and opportunities presented by climate change.
To help address this, LTL became a signatory of the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative in
Using Bloomberg, individual company reports and Morningstar data, LTL is pleased to note that LTIT’s listed equity holdings have a significantly lower weighted average carbon intensity than its comparable benchmark.
Weighted Average Carbon Intensity
1. Committed assets are currently 94% of LTL’s total AUM. The assets that
were excluded relate to segregated clients that either declined to have
their assets included at this time or did not respond by the required
deadline. There is scope to increase the level of committed assets over
time.
2. Aligned status, as set out by the PAII Net Zero Framework, has prescribed
requirements of the portfolio companies, including; 1) Setting short and
medium term emission reduction targets, 2) Monitoring emission intensity
performance relative to those targets, and 3) Disclosure of scope 1, 2 and
3 emissions. For higher impact sectors, further criteria are required to be
categorised as Aligned.
LTIT Listed Equity Source: Bloomberg and individual Company Annual Reports. Data as at
MSCI World Source: Morningstar, data as of
LTL also supports the recommendations of the
Stewardship
Engagement
Engaging with and monitoring investee companies on matters relating to stewardship has always been an essential element of LTL’s investment strategy. Its long-term approach generally leads it to be supportive of company management. However, where LTL disagrees with a company’s actions, it will try to influence management on specific matters or policies if LTL believe it is in the best interests of its clients. Constructive dialogue has more often than not resulted in satisfactory outcomes, thus limiting the need for escalation. However, where this is not the case, LTL will consider escalating its engagement and stewardship activities.
During the year LTL engaged with nine of the Company’s directly held positions on 25 topics. On a look-through basis (i.e. including positions held by LTL managed funds owned by the Company), LTL engaged with 34 companies held within the Company’s portfolio on a wide range of environmental, societal and governance related issues, as detailed in the chart below. Moreover, to ensure that the 2030 net zero interim target remains achievable, LTL continues to engage proactively with the management of companies it holds across its portfolios, the aim being to understand each company’s individual goals and, where appropriate, to provide the team’s thoughts on their road maps, with the overall ambition of reaching an absolute reduction in global carbon emissions. Using the data gathered annually, LTL has been able to identify which portfolio companies should be prioritised for engagement on their progress.
Engagement by Topic
Source:
Key Engagement Case Studies:
Company name: Diageo
Sector: Consumer Staples
Engagement topics: Capital Allocation and Strategy
Date of engagements:
February and
Engagement format: Call
Reason for Engagement: Assurances over retaining brand equity
LTL are long term holders of Diageo across its portfolios and have engaged regularly with management over its holding period. Following the company’s announcement of potential non-core asset disposals, LTL reignited its engagement with the company during Q2 2025 to reiterate its views on the importance of brand equity and disciplined capital allocation.
During Q3 2025, the Investment team re-engaged with the company to follow up on those discussions. They questioned previous suggestions of significant asset disposals, particularly given the current challenges facing the broader industry, and in the context of the substantial share buybacks undertaken between 2018 and 2024. LTL emphasised the critical role of the Board, and particularly the Non-Executive Directors, in guiding management toward sound capital allocation decisions.
In response, the Chair assured LTL that the company has no intention of “selling the family silver.” He expressed confidence that, following Debra Crew’s resignation and with a new CFO now in place, the Board will engage meaningfully on capital allocation.
Next steps: The engagement regarding Diageo’s capital allocation and strategy has been productive but as with all holdings LTL will continue to monitor progress closely and engage with management on aspects of their corporate strategy on an ongoing basis.
Company name:
Sector: Financials
Engagement topic: Human Rights / Modern Slavery
Date of engagement:
Engagement format: Written
Reason for Engagement: Modern Slavery Benchmark Score
As investors in several Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and luxury fashion companies, LTL
is particularly alert to the possibility of modern slavery in the supply chain and the business and ethical risks it poses. In 2021, LTL became signatories of the CCLA-founded initiative Find It, Fix it, Prevent it, which is exclusively focused on the abolition of modern slavery. In 2023, LTL participated as a member of the
During 2024, LTL updated its
In
Next steps:
LTL will review the
Company name:
Sector: Industrials
Engagement topic: Net Zero
Date of engagement:
Engagement format: Written
Reason for Engagement: Alignment to Net Zero pathway
As per the last two years, LTL completed an exercise to measure (using the NZIF 2.0 criteria) and monitor progress and to help direct its proactive engagement work. Within LTL’s Engagement Framework, climate change has been identified as one of two focus areas, where it believes it has the best chance of being able to enact progress. Through this review, LTL has been able to identify persistent laggards, with whom it engaged during Q4 2025. Its outreach included letters and calls to 11 such companies during which LTL reminded management of its expectations and encouraged collaboration with LTL and other companies where LTL had observed meaningful progress.
In addition to engaging with persistent laggards, this year LTL also focused on companies that have been classified as ‘Aligning’ with a net zero pathway for the past two years. For context, ‘Aligning to a net zero pathway’ refers to assets whose emissions performance is not yet fully consistent with a contextually relevant net zero pathway; however, these companies have established science-based targets and a decarbonisation plan, meaning they are well positioned to transition. LTL’s outreach included letters to 19 companies, in which it asked them to confirm whether current and projected emissions are falling at a pace consistent with a recognised net zero pathway for their sector. Where alignment was confirmed, LTL requested details of the specific pathway and where this alignment is publicly disclosed. Where alignment had not yet been achieved, we LTL asked companies to outline the expected timeline over which they anticipate reaching alignment with a recognised net zero pathway.
As part of the engagement above, LTL is pleased to report that Verisk Analytics, which is held in the North American strategy in which the Company allocates, formally established a net zero target during the year. This follows two prior engagements with the company on the topic of net zero, during which LTL encouraged management to develop a credible decarbonisation strategy, establish science-based targets, and enhance reporting on emissions and climate-related governance. The announcement represents a positive step in aligning the company’s operations and value chain with recognised pathways to net zero.
Next steps: LTL will continue to monitor implementation and progress against these targets in its ongoing net zero analysis.
Proxy Voting
The primary voting policy of LTL is to protect or enhance the economic value of its investments on behalf of its clients. LTL has appointed Glass Lewis to aid the administration of proxy voting and provide additional support in this area. However, the Manager maintains decision making responsibility based on its detailed knowledge of the investee companies. It is LTL’s policy to exercise all voting rights which have been delegated to LTL by its clients.
Voting record:
Management Shareholder Total
Proposals Proposals Proposals
With Management 228 8 236
Against Management 5 0 5
Abstain 1 0 1
Totals 234 8 242
Source: Glass Lewis.
Votes against management and abstentions have typically been in the low single-digit range. The main reason for this is that LTL’s long-term approach to investment generally leads it to be supportive of company management and, where required, LTL will try to influence management through its engagement activities. Given LTL often builds up large, long-term stakes in the businesses in which it invests, LTL finds that management is open to (and very often encourage) engagement with LTL. Furthermore, it is LTL’s aim to be invested in ‘exceptional’ companies with strong corporate governance and hence it ought to be rare that LTL finds itself in a position where it is voting against management.
In the majority of cases where LTL has voted against management it has been on matters relating to remuneration. Where LTL does not believe that a company’s compensation policy is aligned with the long-term best interests of the shareholders it will write to management to inform them of LTL’s intention to vote against such policies.
Integrity and Business Ethics
The Company is committed to carrying out business in an honest and fair manner. The Board has adopted a zero tolerance approach to instances of bribery and corruption. Accordingly, it expressly prohibits any Director or associated persons when acting on behalf of the Company from accepting, soliciting, paying, offering or promising to pay or authorise any payment, public or private, in the
The Board applies the same standards to its service providers in their activities for the Company. A copy of the Company’s Anti Bribery and Corruption Policy can be found in the Board and Policies section of the Company’s website. The policy is reviewed annually by the Audit Committee.
In response to the implementation of the Criminal Finances Act 2017, the Board adopted a zero-tolerance approach to the criminal facilitation of tax evasion. A copy of the Company’s policy on preventing the facilitation of tax evasion can be found in the Board and Policies section of the Company’s website. The policy is reviewed annually by the Audit Committee.
The Company’s culture is driven by its values of integrity, knowledge and frank and courteous conduct. It focusses on achieving returns for shareholders in line with the Company’s Investment Objective. In carrying out its activities, the Company aims to conduct itself responsibly, ethically and fairly, including in relation to social and human rights issues. As an investment company with limited internal resource, the Company has little direct impact on the environment. The Company believes that high standards of ESG make good business sense and have the potential to protect and enhance investment returns. Consequently, the Manager’s investment criteria ensure that ESG and ethical issues are taken into account and best practice is encouraged. The Board’s expectations are that its principal service providers have appropriate governance policies in place.
By order of the Board
Chairman
Governance
Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities
The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the Financial Statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Company law requires the Directors to prepare Financial Statements for each financial year. Under that law, the Directors are required to prepare the Financial Statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards, comprising FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the
Under company law, the Directors must not approve the Financial Statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and of the profit or loss of the Company for that period. In preparing the Financial Statements, the Directors are required to:
-- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
-- make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and
prudent; and
-- state whether they have been prepared in accordance with applicable
United Kingdom Accounting Standards, comprising FRS 102, subject to any
material departures disclosed and explained in the Financial Statements;
-- prepare the Financial Statements on the going concern basis unless it
is inappropriate to presume that the Company will continue in business.
-- prepare a Directors’ Report, a Strategic Report and Directors’
Remuneration Report which comply with the requirements of the Companies
Act 2006.
The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and to ensure that the Financial Statements comply with the Companies Act 2006.
The Directors are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. The Directors are responsible for ensuring that the Annual Report and Financial Statements, taken as a whole, are fair, balanced, and understandable and provide the information necessary for Shareholders to assess the Company’s position, performance, business model and strategy.
Website Publication
The Directors are responsible for ensuring the Annual Report and the Financial Statements are made available on a website.
Financial statements are published on the Company’s website in accordance with legislation in the
The Directors’ responsibility also extends to the ongoing integrity of the Financial Statements contained therein.
Responsibility Statement of the Directors in respect of the Annual Report
Each of the Directors, whose names and functions are listed in the ‘Board of Directors’ section confirms that, to the best of their knowledge:
-- the Company’s Financial Statements, have been prepared in accordance
with United Kingdom Accounting Standards and give a true and fair view
of the assets, liabilities, financial position of the Company for the
year ended 31 March 2026 ; and
-- the Annual Report includes a review of the development and performance
of the business and the position of the Company, together with a
description of the principal risks and uncertainties that it faces.
The Directors consider the Annual Report, taken as a whole, is fair, balanced and understandable and provides the information necessary for Shareholders to assess the Company’s position and performance, business model and strategy.
On behalf of the Board
Chairman
Note to those who access this document by electronic means:
The Annual Report for the year ended
Financial Statements
Income Statement for the year ended
2026 2025
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
Notes £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Losses on
investments held 10 – (45,364) (45,364) – (13,121) (13,121)
at fair value
Exchange losses on – (4) (4) – (5) (5)
currency balances
Income 2 8,170 – 8,170 10,169 – 10,169
Investment 3 (749) – (749) (819) – (819)
management fees
Other expenses 4 (756) – (756) (695) – (695)
Net return/(loss) 6,665 (45,368) (38,703) 8,655 (13,126) (4,471)
before taxation
Taxation 7 (104) – (104) (88) – (88)
Return/(loss)
after taxation for 6,561 (45,368) (38,807) 8,567 (13,126) (4,559)
the financial year
Return/(loss) per 9 32.8p (226.8)p (194.0)p 42.8p (65.6)p (22.8)p
Ordinary Share*
*
The comparative return per shares have been restated to reflect the 100 for 1 stock split which was approved at the 2025 AGM and effective
All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing operations.
The total columns of this statement represent the profit and loss account of the Company. The revenue and capital return columns are supplementary to this and are prepared under the guidance published by the
The Company does not have any other recognised gains or losses. The net loss for the year disclosed above represents the Company’s total comprehensive income.
No operations were acquired or discontinued during the year (2025: nil).
The notes form part of these Financial Statements.
Statement of Changes in Equity for the year ended
Share Special Capital Revenue
capital reserve reserve reserve Total
2026 2026 2026 2026 2026
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
At 1 April 2025 150 19,850 148,855 21,571 190,426
(Loss)/return for the financial – – (45,368) 6,561 (38,807)
year
Dividends paid for the year ended – – – (8,400) (8,400)
31 March 2025 (see note 8)
At 31 March 2026 150 19,850 103,487 19,732 143,219
For the year ended
Share Special Capital Revenue
capital reserve reserve reserve Total
2025 2025 2025 2025 2025
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
At 1 April 2024 150 19,850 161,981 23,304 205,285
(Loss)/return for the financial year – – (13,126) 8,567 (4,559)
Dividends paid for the year ended 31 – – – (10,300) (10,300)
March 2024 (see note 8)
At 31 March 2025 150 19,850 148,855 21,571 190,426
The notes form part of these Financial Statements.
Statement of Financial Position at
2026 2025
Notes £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Fixed assets
Investments held at fair value through 10 140,122 185,636
profit or loss
Current assets
Other receivables 11 502 417
Cash at bank 2,790 4,582
3,292 4,999
Creditors: amounts falling due within one
year
Other payables 12 (195) (209)
Net current assets 3,097 4,790
Net assets 143,219 190,426
Called up share capital 13 150 150
Special reserve 14 19,850 19,850
Capital reserve 103,487 148,855
Revenue reserve 19,732 21,571
Equity Shareholders' funds 143,219 190,426
Net asset value per Ordinary Share (p) 15 716.1p 952.1p*
*
Adjusted to reflect the 100 for 1 stock split effective
The Financial Statements were approved by the Board on
Chairman
Registered in
The notes form part of these Financial Statements.
Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended
2026 2025
Notes £’000 £’000
Operating Activities
Net cash inflow from operating activities 16 6,468 8,534
Investing activities
Purchase of investments held at fair value (6,161) (5,134)
Sale of investments held at fair value 6,305 5,459
Net cash inflow from investing activities 144 325
Financing activities
Equity dividends paid 8 (8,400) (10,300)
Net cash outflow from financing activities (8,400) (10,300)
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents (1,788) (1,441)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year* 4,582 6,028
Loss on exchange movements* (4) (5)
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year* 2,790 4,582
Cash flows from operating activities includes dividend income received of £8,079,000 (2025: £9,841,000) and deposit interest of £29,000 (2025: £138,000).
* Comprises solely cash held at bank.
The notes form part of these Financial Statements.
Notes to the Financial Statements
1 Accounting policies
A summary of the principal accounting policies, all of which have been applied consistently throughout the year, is set out below:
(a) Basis of accounting
The Financial Statements of the Company have been prepared under the historical cost convention modified to include the revaluation of fixed assets in accordance with
Going concern
The Financial Statements have been prepared on the going concern basis.
The Directors have a reasonable expectation, after considering a schedule of the Company’s current financial resources and liabilities, that the Company has adequate resources to continue in existence for at least 12 months from the approval of the Financial Statements; and that it is appropriate to prepare the Financial Statements on a going concern basis.
The Company does not have a fixed life.
As at
It is estimated that 93.1% of the investment portfolio, excluding the holding in LTL), could be liquidated within five business days based on 30% of the 90 days’ average trading volumes obtained from Bloomberg.
(b) Reporting currency
The Financial Statements are presented in Sterling which is the functional currency of the Company because it is the currency of the primary economic environment in which the Company operates.
(c) Dividends
Under Section 32 of FRS 102, final dividends should not be accrued in the Financial Statements unless they have been approved by shareholders before the balance sheet date.
Dividends payable to shareholders are recognised in the Statement of Changes in Equity when they have been approved by shareholders and have become a liability of the Company. Interim dividends are recognised in the Financial Statements in the period in which they are paid.
(d) Valuation of fixed asset investments
The Company’s investments are classified as held at fair value through profit or loss in accordance with Section 11 and 12 of FRS 102 and are managed and evaluated on a fair value basis in accordance with its investment strategy.
When a purchase or sale is made under a contract, the terms of which require delivery within the time frame of the relevant market, the investments concerned are recognised or derecognised on the trade date.
Listed investments are held at fair value through profit or loss and accordingly are valued at fair value, deemed to be bid or last market prices depending on the convention of the exchange on which they are listed. As the Company’s business is investing in financial assets with a view to profiting from their total return in the form of interest, dividends or increases in fair value quoted, investments are held through profit or loss on initial recognition at fair value. The Company manages and evaluates the performance of these investments on a fair value basis in accordance with its investment strategy, and information about the Company is provided internally on this basis to the Board.
The unlisted investment in LTL is valued by the Directors at fair value using a valuation methodology adopted by the Board. The formula is monitored by the Board to ensure its ongoing appropriateness. At the most recent review in 2026, the Board sought external advice and agreed that the valuation methodology would remain unchanged. Please refer to note 1(j) for further information.
The investment in LTL (representing 23.3% of the Manager) is held as part of the investment portfolio. Accordingly, the shares are accounted for and disclosed in the same way as other investments in the portfolio. The valuation of the investment (see note 17) is calculated at the end of each month on the basis of fair value as determined by the Directors of the Company. The valuation process in effect from
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 as follows:
-- Level 1 – The unadjusted quoted price in an active market for identical
assets or liabilities that the entity can access at the measurement
date.
-- Level 2 – Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that
are observable (i.e. developed using market data) for the asset or
liability, either directly or indirectly.
-- Level 3 – Inputs are unobservable (i.e. for which market data is
unavailable) for the asset or liability.
(e) Income
Dividends are credited to the revenue column of the Income Statement on an ex-dividend basis. Where an ex-dividend date is not available, dividends are recognised when the Company’s right to receive payment is established. The fixed return on a debt security is recognised on a time apportionment basis so as to reflect the effective interest rate on the debt security. Bank and deposit interest is accounted for on an accruals basis.
(f) Expenses
All expenses are accounted for on an accruals basis. Finance costs are accounted for on an accruals basis using the effective interest rate method. Expenses are charged through the revenue column of the Income Statement except as follows:
- expenses which are incidental to the acquisition or disposal of an investment are charged to the capital column of the Income Statement;
- expenses are charged to the realised capital reserve, via the capital column of the Income Statement, where a connection with the maintenance or enhancement of the value of the investments can be demonstrated;
- the non-allocation approach has been taken and charged 100% of the management fees to revenue; and
- performance fees payable to the Manager are charged 100% to capital.
(g) Taxation
Deferred taxation is provided on all differences which have originated but not reversed by the balance sheet date, calculated at the rate at which it is anticipated the timing differences will reverse. Deferred tax assets are recognised only when, on the basis of available evidence, it is more likely than not that there will be taxable profits in the future against which the deferred tax asset can be recovered.
In line with recommendations of the SORP, the allocation method used to calculate tax relief on expenses presented in the capital column of the Income Statement is the marginal basis. Under this basis if taxable income is capable of being offset entirely by expenses presented in the revenue column of the Income Statement then no tax relief is transferred to the capital column.
(h) Foreign currency
Transactions denominated in foreign currencies are recorded in the local currency at the actual exchange rates as at the date of the transaction. Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies at the year end are reported at the rate of exchange prevailing at the year end. Any gain or loss arising from a change in exchange rates subsequent to the date of the transaction is included as an exchange gain or loss in the capital or revenue column of the Income Statement depending on whether the gain or loss is of a capital or revenue nature.
(i) Capital reserve
The following are taken to this reserve:
- gains or losses on the disposal of investments;
- exchange differences of a capital nature;
- expenses, together with the related taxation effect, allocated to this reserve in accordance with the above policies; and
- investment holding gains or losses, being the increase or decrease in the valuation of investments held at the year end.
Revenue reserve
The revenue reserve reflects all income and expenditure which are recognised in the revenue column of the income statement and may be distributable by way of dividend.
Special reserve
The special reserve arose following Court approval in
In accordance with the Company’s Articles of Association, the capital reserve and special reserve may not be distributed by way of a dividend but may be utilised for the purposes of share buybacks. The Company may only distribute by way of dividend accumulated revenue profits within the revenue reserve.
(j) Significant judgments and estimates
The key significant estimate to report is the valuation of the investment in LTL where material judgments are made. Please refer to notes 1(d) and 17 for details of how this holding is valued.
Other than this, in the course of preparing the Financial Statements, no material judgments have been made in the process of applying the Company’s accounting policies, except those that involve estimations.
2 Income
2026 2025
£’000 £’000
Income from investments
Overseas dividends 897 881
UK dividends
– Lindsell Train Limited 5,785 7,717
– Other UK dividends 1,459 1,433
8,141 10,031
Other income
Deposit Interest 29 138
29 138
Total income comprises:
Dividends 8,141 10,031
Interest 29 138
8,170 10,169
3 Management fees
2026 2025
£’000 £’000
Investment management fee 889 957
Rebate of investment management fee (see below) (140) (138)
Total management fee 749 819
In accordance with the Investment Management Agreement dated
A performance fee is payable at the rate of 10 per cent of the value of any positive relative performance versus the Benchmark (the MSCI World Index Total Return (Sterling adjusted)), in a financial year. Comparative performance is measured by taking the lower of the NAV or Average Market Price, taking into account dividends, at the end of each financial year and comparing the percentage annual change with the total return of the Benchmark. A performance fee will only be paid out if the annual change is both above the Benchmark and is a positive figure. Comparative performance will be carried forward in years where the Manager is not eligible for a performance fee based on these two criteria. The Company has twelve month performance periods, ending on 31 March in each year. The performance fee is payable in arrears in respect of each performance period.
The performance fee payable to the Manager for the year to
For the avoidance of double charging management fees, the Manager has agreed to rebate any periodic management fee that it receives from the Company by the amount of fees receivable by it from LTL managed fund products and other fund products held by the Company where LTL is the Manager. The amounts rebated on the Investment Management fee are shown above, of which £124,298 (2025: 121,781) relates to the Company’s investment in
4 Other expenses
2026 2025
£’000 £’000
Directors’ emoluments 174 166
Company Secretarial and Administration fee 176 186
Auditor’s remuneration* † 61 60
Tax compliance fee 4 4
Safe custody fees 19 20
Printing fees 21 36
Registrars’ fees 37 35
Listing fees 16 14
Legal fees 6 11
Employer’s National Insurance 14 12
Directors’ liability insurance 14 13
Key man insurance 74 20
Director recruitment costs 18 10
Sundry 69 90
VAT irrecoverable 12 18
715 695
Non-recurring expenses** 41 –
756 695
* Excluding VAT.
† Remuneration for the audit of the Financial Statements of the Company.
** Legal fees in relation to the Company’s stock split.
5 Directors’ emoluments
These are reflected in the table below:
2026 2025
£’000 £’000
Directors’ fees 174 166
Since
There were no pension contributions paid or payable.
6 Disclosure of interests
As at
LTL is also the Portfolio Manager of Finsbury Growth & Income Trust PLC in which the Company has an investment of 420,000 shares with a fair value of £3,066,000 (2025: £3,713,000) at a cost of £759,000 (2025: £759,000).
LTL’s appointment as Manager to the Company is subject to termination by either party on twelve months’ notice.
7 Taxation
The tax charge on the loss on ordinary activities for the year was as follows:
2026 2025
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
UK corporation tax – – – – – –
Overseas tax 139 – 139 104 – 104
Overseas tax recoverable (35) – (35) (16) – (16)
Tax charge per accounts 104 – 104 88 – 88
The current taxation charge for the year is different from the standard rate of corporation tax in the
2026 2025
£’000 £’000
Net loss on ordinary activities before taxation (38,703) (4,471)
Theoretical tax at UK Corporation tax rate of 25% (2025: 25%) (9,676) (1,118)
Effects of:
– UK dividends which are not taxable (1,811) (2,287)
– Overseas dividends which are not taxable (224) (220)
– Non-taxable loss on investments 11,341 3,280
– Current year excess expenses 370 345
– Overseas tax suffered 139 104
– Overseas tax recoverable (35) (16)
Actual current tax charge 104 88
As an
Factors that may affect future tax charges
As at
8 Dividends paid and payable
2026 2025
£’000 £’000
Final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2025 of 42 pence per 8,400 10,300
Ordinary Share (2024: £51.50 per Ordinary Share)
The total dividend forming the basis of Sections 1158 and 1159 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 payable in respect of the financial year is set out below:
2026 2025
£’000 £’000
FinaI dividend for the year ended 31 March 2026 of 28.0p per 5,600 8,400
Ordinary Share (2025: 42.0p per Ordinary Share)
9 Return/(loss) per Ordinary Share
2026 2025
Total (loss)/return per Ordinary Share
Total loss £(38,807,000) £(4,559,000)
Weighted average number of Ordinary Shares in issue 20,000,000 20,000,000
during the year*
Total loss per Ordinary Share (194.0)p (22.8)p
The total (loss)/return per Ordinary share shown above can be further analysed between revenue and capital, as below:
2026 2025
Revenue return per Ordinary Share
Revenue return £6,561,000 £8,567,000
Weighted average number of Ordinary Shares in issue 20,000,000 20,000,000
during the year*
Revenue return per Ordinary Share 32.8p 42.8p
Capital loss per Ordinary Share
Total loss £(45,368,000) £(13,126,000)
Weighted average number of Ordinary Shares in issue 20,000,000 20,000,000
during the year*
Capital loss per Ordinary Share (226.8)p (65.6)p
*
adjusted to reflect the 100 for 1 stock split effective
10 Investments held at fair value through profit or loss
2026 2025
£’000 £’000
Investments listed on a recognised investment exchange 92,472 116,070
Unlisted investment and Fund 47,650 69,566
Valuation at year end 140,122 185,636
Opening book cost 48,943 45,428
Opening investment holding gains 136,693 153,654
Opening Fair Value 185,636 199,082
Movements in the year:
Purchases at cost 6,161 5,134
Sales – proceeds (6,311) (5,459)
Losses on investments (45,364) (13,121)
Closing Fair Value 140,122 185,636
Closing book cost 53,191 48,943
Closing investment holding gains 86,931 136,693
Closing Fair Value 140,122 185,636
Realised gains on investments 4,409 3,839
Decrease in investment holding gains for the year (49,773) (16,960)
Losses on investments held at fair value (45,364) (13,121)
The Company received proceeds of £6,311,000 (2025: £5,459,000) from investments sold in the year. The book cost of these investments when they were purchased was £1,902,000 (2025:£1,620,000). These investments have been revalued over time and until they were sold any unrealised gains/losses were included in the fair value of the investments.
Investment transaction costs on purchases and sales of investments during the year to
Significant holdings
Included in the above are the following investments in which the Company has an interest exceeding 10% of the nominal value of the shares of that class in the investee company as at
Country of Class of % of
registration
Investments or incorporation capital class held
Lindsell Train Limited* England Ordinary Shares of £100 23.3%
*
As at
See note relating to the 2026 and 2025 results under the tables in Appendix 1.
LTL is a related undertaking of the Company. LTL’s registered office address is 66
LTL has been accounted for as an investment in accordance with the accounting policy in note 1(d).
The Company has arrangements in place with the Manager to avoid double charging of fees and expenses on investments made in other LTL managed funds (see note 3).
11 Other receivables
2026 2025
£’000 £’000
Amounts due from brokers 6 –
VAT recoverable 25 8
Prepayments and accrued income 471 409
502 417
12 Other payables
2026 2025
£’000 £’000
Accruals and deferred income 195 209
13 Share capital
2026 2025
No. of shares* No. of shares*
000’s £’000 000’s £’000
Allotted and fully paid:
Ordinary Shares of 0.75p each 20,000 150 20,000 150
*
Adjusted to reflect the 100 for 1 stock split effective on
14 Reserves
Capital reserve
The capital reserve includes investment holding gains of £86,931,000 (2025: £136,693,000).
Revenue reserve
The revenue reserve reflects all income and expenditure which are recognised in the revenue column of the income statement. This reserve is distributable by way of dividend.
Special reserve
The special reserve arose following Court approval in
In accordance with the Company’s Articles of Association the capital reserve and special reserve may not be distributed by way of a dividend but may be utilised for the purposes of share buybacks. The Company may only distribute by way of dividend accumulated revenue profits within the revenue reserve.
The
15 Net Asset Value per share
The Net Asset Value per Ordinary Share and the Net Asset Value at the year end calculated in accordance with the Articles of Association were as follows:
Net Asset Value per Net Asset Value share attributable attributable 2026 2025 2026 2025 p p £’000 £’000 716.1 952.1 143, 219 190,426
The movements during the year of the assets attributable to the Ordinary Shares were as follows:
2026 2025
Ordinary Ordinary
Shares Shares
£’000 £’000
Total Net Assets attributable at beginning of year 190,426 205,285
Total recognised (loss)/profit for the year (38,807) (4,559)
Dividends paid during the year (8,400) (10,300)
Total Net Assets attributable at the end of year 143,219 190,426
The Net Asset Value per Ordinary Share is based on net assets of £143,219,000 (2025: £190,426,000) and on 20,000,000 Ordinary Shares (2025: 20,000,000)*, being the number of Ordinary Shares in issue at the year end.
*
Adjusted to reflect the 100 for 1 stock split effective
16 Statement of Cash Flows
(a) Reconciliation of operating return to net cash inflow from operating activities
2026 2025
£’000 £’000
Net loss before finance costs and taxation (38,703) (4,471)
Losses on investments held at fair value 45,364 13,121
Loss on exchange movements 4 5
(Increase)/decrease in other receivables (17) 19
(Increase)/decrease in accrued income (62) 41
Decrease in other payables (14) (93)
Taxation on investment income (104) (88)
Net cash inflow from operating activities 6,468 8,534
(b) Analysis of cash flows
At 1 April Exchange At 31 March
2025 Cash Flow Movement 2026
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Cash at bank 4,582 (1,788) (4) 2,790
Total 4,582 (1,788) (4) 2,790
At 1 April Exchange At 31 March
2024 Cash Flow Movement 2025
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Cash at bank 6,028 (1,441) (5) 4,582
Total 6,028 (1,441) (5) 4,582
17 Financial instruments and capital disclosures
Risk management policies and procedures:
The investment objective of the Company is to maximise long-term total returns with a minimum objective to maintain the real purchasing power of Sterling capital. In pursuit of this objective, the Company may be exposed to various forms of risk, as described below.
The Board sets out its principal risks on pages 18 to 20 of the Annual Report and its investment policy including its policy on gearing (bank borrowing), diversification and dividends on page 18 of the Annual Report.
The Board and its Manager consider and review the number of risks inherent with managing the Company’s assets which are detailed below:
Market risk
The Company’s portfolio is exposed to fluctuations in market prices in the regions in which it invests. There are market-wide uncertainties which have caused increased volatility. These include the continued uncertainty created by the increase in global inflation and rising interest rates, the imposition of international trade tariffs, together with the consequences of the wars in
At
Market price risk comprises three elements – foreign currency risk, interest rate risk and other price risk.
Foreign currency risk
Foreign currency exposure as at
US$ Euro JPY Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Short-term debtors 30 – 288 318
Foreign currency exposure on net monetary items 30 – 288 318
Investments (equities and funds) held at fair 33,816* 10,012 15,895 59,723
value
Foreign currency exposure 33,846 10,012 16,183 60,041
*
This includes the holding in
Foreign currency exposure as at
US$ Euro JPY Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Short-term debtors 41 39 155 235
Foreign currency exposure on net monetary items 41 39 155 235
Investments (equities and funds) held at fair value 34,506* 11,481 21,464 67,451
Foreign currency exposure 34,547 11,520 21,619 67,686
*
This includes the holding in
Over the year Sterling strengthened against the US Dollar by 2.38% (2025: strengthened by 2.18%), weakened against the Euro by 4.17% (2025: strengthened by 2.15%) and strengthened against the Japanese Yen by 8.83% (2025: strengthened by 0.96%).
A 5% decline or rise of Sterling against foreign currency denominated (i.e. non Sterling) assets held at the year end would have increased/decreased the Net Asset Value by £2,033,000 or 1.42% of the Net Asset Value (2025: £2,386,000 or 1.25% of the Net Asset Value).
Interest rate risk
There is no direct exposure to interest rate risk.
Other price risk
Other price risk may affect the value of the quoted investments.
If the fair value of the Company’s investments at the Statement of Financial Position date increased or decreased by 10%, whilst all other variables remained constant, the capital return and net assets attributable to shareholders as at
Liquidity risk
Liquidity risk is not considered significant under normal market conditions in relation to the Company’s investments which are listed on recognised stock exchanges and are, for the most part, readily realisable securities which can be easily sold to meet funding commitments if necessary. The Company’s unlisted investment in LTL is not readily realisable.
As at
Credit risk
Cash at bank and other debtors of the Company at the year end as shown on the Statement of Financial Position was £3,292,000 (2025: £4,999,000).
Counterparty risk
As cash placed at the Bank is deposited in its capacity as a banker not as a trustee, in line with usual banking practice, such cash is not held in accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority’s client money rules.
Fair values of financial assets and financial liabilities
The tables below set out fair value measurements of financial instruments as at the year end, by the level in the fair value hierarchy into which the fair value measurement is categorised.
Financial assets/liabilities at fair value through profit or loss
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total
At 31 March 2026 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Investments 92,472 19,374 28,276 140,122
92,472 19,374 28,276 140,122
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total
At 31 March 2025 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Investments 116,069 19,959 49,608 185,636
116,069 19,959 49,608 185,636
Note: Within the above tables, the entirety of level 1 comprises all the Company’s equity investments, level 2 represents the investment in
The valuation techniques used by the Company are explained on pages 6 to 9 of the Annual Report.
LTL Valuation Methodology
The current methodology was adopted and applied to monthly valuations of the Company from 31
The methodology has a single component based on a percentage of LTL’s funds under management (‘FUM’), with the percentage applied being reviewed monthly and adjusted to reflect the ongoing profitability of LTL. At the end of each month the ratio of LTL’s notional annualised net profits to LTL’s FUM is calculated and, depending on its result, the percentage of FUM is adjusted according to the table below.
__________________________________________________________________________ | Notional annualised net profits 1| Valuation of LTL - Percentage of FUM| |/FUM (%) | | |____________________________________|_____________________________________| |0.12 -0.13 |1.50% | |____________________________________|_____________________________________| |0.13 – 0.14 |1.55% | |____________________________________|_____________________________________| |0.14 - 0.15 |1.60% | |____________________________________|_____________________________________| |0.15 – 0.16 |1.70% | |____________________________________|_____________________________________| | 0.16 – 0.17 | 1.75% | |____________________________________|_____________________________________| |0.17 – 0.18 |1.80% | |____________________________________|_____________________________________| |0.18 – 0.19 |1.85% | |____________________________________|_____________________________________| |0.19 – 0.20 |1.90% | |____________________________________|_____________________________________| |0.20 – 0.21 |1.95% | |____________________________________|_____________________________________|
1. LTL’s notional net profits are calculated by applying a fee rate (averaged
over the last six months) to the most recent end-month FUM to produce
annualised fee revenues excluding performance fees. Notional staff costs of
45% of revenues, annualised fixed costs and tax are deducted from revenues
to then produce notional annualised net profits.
For instance at
The valuation of the investment in LTL continues to be reviewed at the end of each month by the Company’s Directors, with the methodology reviewed by the Board at its quarterly meetings.
LTL Valuation per share using differing valuation scenarios
The two tables below show the impact on the LTL valuation if:
(i)
in Table 1 a different % was applied to
(ii)
in Table 2 different Price / Earnings (‘P/E’) ratios were applied to LTL’s
(iii) in Table 3 showing the impact of changes in LTL’s FUM.
Table 1 – varying the % of FUM
LTL FUM Valuation as at 31 March 2026 Valuation per share (£’000) % of FUM (£’000) (£) 6,953,606 0.50% 34,768 1,304.13 6,953,606 0.75% 52,152 1,956.19 6,953,606 1.00% 69,536 2,608.25 6,953,606 1.25% 86,920 3,260.32 6,953,606 1.50% 104,304 3,912.38 6,953,606 1.75% 121,688 4,564.27 6,953,606 1.90% 132,119 4,955.68 6,953,606 2.00% 139,072 5,216.51 6,953,606 2.25% 156,456 5,868.57 6,953,606 2.50% 173,840 6,520.64 6,953,606 2.75% 191,224 7,172.70
Table 2 – varying the P/E ratio
LTL notional net profits as at 31 March 2026 Valuation Valuation per share (£’000) P/E ratio (£’000) (£) 11,366 7.00 79,562 2,984.32 11,366 8.00 90,928 3,410.65 11,366 9.00 102,294 3,836.98 11,366 10.00 113,660 4,263.32 11,366 10.71 121,688 4,564.27 11,366 11.00 125,026 4,689.65 11,366 12.00 136,392 5,115.98 11,366 13.00 147,758 5,542.31 11,366 14.00 159,124 5,968.64
Table 3 - LTL valuation impacts with changes in LTL’s FUM
FUM Change
+30% +20% +10% As at 31/03/26 -10% -20% -30%
FUM less LTIT holdings 9,040 8,344 7,649 6,954 6,258 5,563 4,868
£m
Notional earnings 15.7 14.2 12.8 11.4 9.9 8.5 7.1
after tax £m
Notional post tax 0.173% 0.170% 0.167% 0.163% 0.159% 0.153% 0.145%
profits / FUM
Target LTL valuation 1.80% 1.80% 1.75% 1.75% 1.70% 1.70% 1.65%
as % of FUM
£m 162.7 150.2 133.9 121.7 106.4 94.6 80.3
No of Shares 26,660 26,660 26,660 26,660 26,660 26,660 26,660
LTL valuation per 6,103 5,634 5,021 4,564 3,991 3,547 3,013
share £
Assumptions:- Changes in FUM is based on FUM less LTIT holdings as at 31/03/26.
- The six-month rolling average fee rate is 0.499%
- Notional staff costs is 45% of annualised revenue
-
Annualised interest income and annualised operating costs are the same per the
- Notional tax is 25%
FUM Change
+30% +20% +10% As at 31/03/25 -10% -20% -30%
FUM less LTIT 14,749 13,615 12,480 11,346 10,211 9,076 7,942
holdings £m
Notional earnings 27.7 25.4 23.0 20.7 18.3 16.0 13.7
after tax £m
Notional post tax 0.188% 0.186% 0.184% 0.182% 0.180% 0.176% 0.172%
profits / FUM
Target LTL valuation 1.85% 1.85% 1.85% 1.85% 1.80% 1.80% 1.80%
as % of FUM
£m 272.9 251.9 230.9 209.9 183.8 163.4 143.0
No of Shares 26,660 26,660 26,660 26,660 26,660 26,660 26,660
LTL Valuation per 10,235 9,448 8,660 7,873 6,894 6,128 5,362
share £
Assumptions:- Changes in FUM is based on FUM less LTIT holdings as at 31/03/25.
- The six-month rolling average fee rate is 0.499%
- Notional staff costs is 45% of Annualised Revenue
-
Annualised Interest Income and Annualised Operating Costs are the same per the
- Notional tax is 25%
There were no transfers between levels for financial assets and financial liabilities during the year recorded at fair value as at
Level 3 Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss at 31 March
2026 2025
£’000 £’000
Opening fair value 49,608 69,002
Purchases at cost – –
Sales proceeds (308) (662)
Realised gains on investments 308 662
Decrease in investment holding gains for the year (21,332) (19,394)
Closing fair value 28,276 49,608
Capital management policies and procedures
The Company’s capital management objectives are:
-- to ensure that it will be able to continue as a going concern; and
-- to maximise long-term total returns with a minimum objective to
maintain the real purchasing power of Sterling capital through an
appropriate balance of equity capital and debt. The Directors have
discretion to permit borrowings up to 50% of the Net Asset Value.
However, the Directors have decided it is in the best interests of the
Company not to use gearing.
The Board, with the assistance of the Manager, monitors and reviews the broad structure of the Company’s capital on an ongoing basis.
The Company’s objectives, policies and processes for managing capital are unchanged from last year.
The Company is subject to externally imposed capital requirements:
-- as a public company, the Company has a minimum share capital of
£50,000; and
-- in order to be able to pay dividends out of profits available for
distribution, the Company has to be able to meet one of the two capital
restriction tests imposed on investment companies by UK company law.
These requirements are unchanged since last year and the Company has complied with them at all times.
At the next Annual General Meeting the Company intends to renew its authority to repurchase shares at a discount to Net Asset Value.
18 Guarantees, financial commitments and contingent liabilities
There were no financial commitments or contingent liabilities outstanding at the year end (2025: None).
19 Ongoing charges (APM)
2026 2025
£’000 % £’000 %
Total operating expenses 1,464 0.8 1,514 0.8
Total operating expenses are included after a management fee waiver of £124,000 (2025: £138,000) (see note 3).
The above total expense ratios are based on the average Shareholders’ Funds of £176,276,000 (2025: £197,043,000) calculated at the end of each week during the year.
It should be noted that administrative expenses borne by the LTL managed funds are excluded from the above.
See Glossary for other cost disclosures.
20 Related party disclosures
LTL acts as Investment Manager of the Company. The amounts paid to the Investment Manager are disclosed in note 3 and further details of the relationship between the Company and the Investment Manager are set out in note 6. Full details of Directors’ interests are set out on page 56 of the Annual Report.
On
21 Subsequent events
Subsequent to the Company’s year end, the net asset value per share of the Company had fallen by 1.6% from 716.1p to 704.6p and the Company’s share price had risen by 3.6% from 550.0p to 570.0p as at 5
Appendices (unaudited)
DISCLAIMER
The information contained in these Appendices has not been audited by the Auditor and does not form part of the financial statements. The appendices are for information purposes and should not be regarded as any offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell shares in the Company.
Appendix 1 Annual Review of
Background
LTL was established in 2000 by
People
LTL’s board of directors consisted of the two founders
LTL’s executive staff (29) increased by two from the year prior. All staff are based in the
Business
LTL’s strategy is to build excellent long-term performance records for its funds in a way that is consistent with its investment principles and that meet the aims of its clients. Long-term performance is detailed below. Success in achieving satisfactory investment performance should allow the company to expand its FUM in its four key product areas:
To achieve this growth in a manageable way, LTL looks to direct new business flows into LT badged pooled funds and to limit the number of separately managed accounts. The open-ended pooled funds represented 57% of FUM at end of January, down from 60% the year before. The fall resulted from a greater proportion of net outflows emanating from open-ended pooled products. Additionally, LTL managed 9 separate client relationships, two fewer than a year ago. The largest pooled fund (the
In the year to
All four strategies underperformed their respective benchmarks over the year to
LTL remains committed to its process of seeking to find long-lasting franchises with deep moats that have the ability to reinvest at above average rates of return for extended periods of time, and then to hold onto them for the long-term. LTL runs concentrated portfolios of the highest quality companies it can identify, trading infrequently so that superior returns on capital can compound over time and drive long-term value creation. Recognising the concentrated nature of its portfolios, and with very low annual turnover, this inevitably means that at any given time there will be a vast number of names that LTL do not own, amongst which there are bound to be some exceptional performers. The unusual feature today is that the influence of some of these ‘un-owned’ names in driving index performance has reached new extremes, and their omission is therefore felt more keenly. This effect is also apparent in capital - intensive sectors and sectors that LTL’s philosophy purposefully excludes - such as miners, defence, energy, industrials and leveraged financials including banks - where periods of strong performance can weigh meaningfully on comparative returns.
Frustratingly, in many cases LTL has seen portfolio holdings continue to deliver strong underlying business performance while experiencing valuation compression, as operational progress has not been reflected in share prices. This dynamic was evident within the firm’s largest Global strategy, where holdings accounting for just under half of the portfolio by NAV at the end of 2025 experienced a contraction in valuation multiples, with the average P/E multiple of this subset of holdings declining from 32x to 24x over the course of the year.
LTL retains deep conviction in its holdings and believes that this derating has increased the intrinsic value embedded within both the underlying companies and the strategy overall - value which it expects can be realised as market conditions become more supportive.
Reflecting on the long term, LTL’s investment approach has shown historically that it can generate excess returns, although performance over the last year has meant that returns comparative to benchmarks since inception now lag for three of the company’s strategies.
To 31 January 2026 Comparative Return Inception date Benchmark UK Equity Fund (GBP) +1.3% p.a. July 2006 FTSE All Share Global Equity Fund (GBP) -0.6% p.a. March 2011MSCI World Japanese Equity Fund -1.2% p.a. January 2004 TOPIX (Yen) North American Equity -7.0% p.a. April 2020MSCI North America Fund (GBP)
Returns based on NAV. WS Lindsell Train
The Marketing and Client Services team is in contact with institutional clients both directly and through investment consultants, primarily in the
Financials
In the year to
The company earns interest income from its cash balances and investment in short term bonds and incurs profits and losses from its exposure to valuation changes relating fixed asset investment in LTL funds or from its exchange rate exposure to short-term US bonds and US$ cash.
LTL has distributed to shareholders dividends equivalent to 80% of its net profits in respect of each accounting year-end, subject to retaining sufficient working, fixed and regulatory capital to enable it to continue its business in a prudent manner. Total dividends paid in the year to
At
The Future
LTL’s investment approach is applied uniformly across all its products and remains differentiated and appealing to a wide range of clients. A crucial part of that appeal is the ability for LTL to demonstrate investment results that meet clients’ objectives. Over most of LTL’s history this has been achieved, but in the past five years the investment approach has faced challenges. Most clients will tolerate short periods of underperformance, especially in a strategy that is so concentrated and committed to its constituent companies. However, it is not surprising, following such cumulative underperformance, that the company is seeing net outflows as clients are attracted to other investment approaches that may have exhibited better short-term investment results. At the same time, LTL is seeing interest from investors who anticipate a valuation opportunity within the company’s strategies. That said, for net outflows to reverse meaningfully into net inflows, a sustained period of relative outperformance will likely be required.
LTL is confident that by remaining committed to its differentiated investment approach that targets companies earning higher returns on capital than average, and with the support of a stable and dedicated team, and a still competitive longer-term performance track record, it can stay positive about its future. But it is fully aware that there are risks ahead which could have a material impact on the value of LTL and its dividend paying potential. These risks include increasing pressure on the active management industry; potential pressures on global equity markets from inflation, higher interest rates and conflict; the added volatility caused by the uncertainty of the US administration’s trade policy; and, the underperformance from LTL’s strategies.
Perhaps the greatest risk in relation to LTL’s reputation however remains the withdrawal of either of the founders. They are currently aged 67 and 66, in good health and remain strongly committed to LTL. They are supported by increasingly mature and experienced investment professionals, currently numbering four, all of whom are taking on more responsibility and contributing more to investment decisions as their careers progress with LTL. The clearer articulation of LTL’s succession planning and the accelerated transfer of ownership of LTL shares to key individuals should also help mitigate the risk if either founder withdraws.
Data to
Funds Under Management*
FUM by Strategy
Jan 2026 Jan 2025
£m £m
UK 2,479 5,154
Global 5,058 7,496
Japan 41 58
North America 38 44
Total 7,616 12,752
Largest Client Accounts
Jan 2026 Jan 2025
% of FUM % of FUM
Largest Pooled Fund Asset 37% 32%
Largest Segregated Account 12% 12%
* LTL’s year end figures are based on published financial statements.
Lindsell Train Fund Performance
1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
Annualised data to 31 January 2026 % % % %
GBP UK Equity Fund (Accumulation) -16.6 -2.6 0.1 5.0
FTSE All Share 21.1 13.1 12.6 9.0
GBP Global Equity Fund (B share) -9.9 3.3 2.0 9.8
MSCI World 8.3 15.1 12.9 13.5
JPY Japanese Equity Fund (A share) 8.5 5.7 2.8 6.5
TOPIX 31.1 24.8 17.3 12.2
GBP North American Equity Fund
(Accumulation) -5.9 6.4 6.9
MSCI North American 5.9 16.2 13.9
Source: Morningstar Direct
Note: all figures above show total returns.
Financials*
Jan 2026 Jan 2025 %
Profit & Loss £’000 £’000 Change
Investment Management fee 50,865 69,109 -26%
Performance Fee 0
Total Revenue 50,865 69,109 -26%
Staff Remuneration** (15,749) (20,774) -24%
Fixed Overheads (6,137) (4,996) 23%
Operating Profit 28,979 43,339 -33%
(Loss)/Gain on fixed assets investments (524) 1,232
Gain on current asset investments 589 3,625
Interest receivable and similar income 1,731 1,027
Profit before tax 30,775 49,223 -37%
Tax on Profit (7,670) (12,322)
Net Profit 23,105 36,901 -37%
Dividends (24,554) (32,259)
Retained profit (1,449) 4,642
Balance Sheet
Fixed Assets 38 21
Investments 8,380 8,904
Current Assets (incl. cash at bank and investment in 108,026 112,683
Gilts & Bonds)
Liabilities (9,731) (13,446)
Net Assets 106,713 108,162
Capital & Reserves
Called up Share Capital 267 267
Share Premium*** 57 57
Share Discount*** (494) (494)
Profit & Loss Account 106,883 108,332
Shareholders’ Funds 106,713 108,162
* LTL’s year end figures are based on published financial statements.
** Staff costs include permanent staff remuneration, social security, temporary apprentice levy, introduction fees and other staff related costs. No more than 25% of fees (other than LTIT) can be paid as permanent staff remuneration.
***
The Share Premium and Share Discount account for the difference in the cost and resale of shares that were held in
Five Year History*
Jan 2026 Jan 2025 Jan 2024 Jan 2023 Jan 2022
Operating Profit Margin 57% 63% 64% 69% 66%
Earnings per share (£) 867 1,384 1,673 2,038 2,463
Dividends per share (£) 921 1,210 1,462 1,841 1,994
Total Staff Cost as % of Fee 31% 30% 30% 30% 32%
Revenue
Opening FUM (£m) 12,752 15,876 18,626 21,215 22,802
Changes in FUM (£m) (5,136) (3,124) (2,751) (2,589) (1,587)
– of market movement (1,329) 1,713 657 338 331
– of net new fund (3,807) (4,837) (3,408) (2,927) (1,918)
(outflows)/inflows
Closing FUM (£m) 7,616 12,752 15,876 18,626 21,215
LT Open ended funds as % of total 57% 60% 62% 65% 70%
* LTL’s year end figures are based on published financial statements.
Jan 2026 Jan 2025 Jan 2024 Jan 2023 Jan 2022
Client Relationships
– Pooled funds 5 5 5 5 5
– Separate accounts 9 11 16 17 18
Ownership
Jan 2026 Jan 2025 Jan 2024 Jan 2023 Jan 2022
Michael Lindsell and spouse 9,311 9,510 9,578 9,650 9,650
Nick Train and spouse 9,311 9,510 9,578 9,650 9,650
The Lindsell Train Investment 6,201 6,333 6,378 6,450 6,450
Trust plc
Other Directors/employees 1,837 1,307 1,126 893 778
26,660 26,660 26,660 26,643 26,528
Treasury Shares 0 0 0 17 132
26,660 26,660 26,660 26,660 26,660
Board of Directors as at
Rory Landman Independent Non-Executive
Julian Bartlett Independent Non -Executive
Jane Orr Non-Executive
Michael Lindsell Chief Executive Officer & Portfolio Manager
Nick Train Chairman & Portfolio Manager
Michael Lim Director, IT & Company Secretarial
Joss Saunders Director, Chief Operating Officer
James Bullock Director, Portfolio Manager
Jessica Cameron Director, Head of Marketing & Client Services
Employees
Jan 2026 Jan 2025
Investment Team (including three Portfolio Managers) 6 6
Client Servicing and Marketing 8 8
Operations, Risk & Compliance, Finance and Administration 12 12
Fixed Term Contractors 3 1
Total Employees 29 27
Non-Executive directors 3 3
Total Headcount 32 30
LTIT Director’s valuation of LTL
31 Mar 2026 31 Mar 2025
Notional annualised net profits (A)* (£’000) 11,366 20,680
Funds under Management less LTIT holdings (B) (£’000) 6,953,606 11,345,602
Normalised notional net profits as % of FUM A/B = (C) 0.163% 0.182%
% of FUM (D) (see table below to view % corresponding 1.75% 1.85%
to C)
Valuation (E) i.e. B x D (£’000) 121,688 209,894
Number of shares (F) 26,660 26,660
Valuation per share in LTL i.e. E / F 4,564.27 7,872.98
* Notional annualised net profits are made up of:
- annualised fee revenue, based on 6-mth average fee rate applied to most recent month-end unaudited AUM
- annualised fee revenue excludes performance fees
- annualised interest income, based on 3-mth average
- notional staff costs of 45% of annualised fee revenue
- annualised operating costs (excluding staff costs), based on 3-mth normalised average
______________________________________________________________________________ | Notional annualised net profits*/FUM (%)| Valuation of LTL- Percentage of FUM| |_________________________________________|____________________________________| |0.12 -0.13 |1.50% | |_________________________________________|____________________________________| |0.13 – 0.14 |1.55% | |_________________________________________|____________________________________| |0.14 - 0.15 |1.60% | |_________________________________________|____________________________________| |0.15 – 0.16 |1.70% | |_________________________________________|____________________________________| | 0.16 – 0.17 | 1.75% | |_________________________________________|____________________________________| |0.17 – 0.18 |1.80% | |_________________________________________|____________________________________| |0.18 – 0.19 |1.85% | |_________________________________________|____________________________________| |0.19 – 0.20 |1.90% | |_________________________________________|____________________________________| |0.20 – 0.21 |1.95% | |_________________________________________|____________________________________|
LTL’s Salary and Bonus Cap
LTL’s salary and bonus expenses are capped at 25% of fees (other than those earned from the
The Board has long recognised that it is important that LTL has the ability to sufficiently reward potential successors, or, if it became necessary to replace the founders, to recruit suitable outside talent. As a consequence, since 2007 the Board has judged it necessary to apply a higher notional salary cost of 45% of revenues in calculating LTL’s net profits when determining the valuation of LTL.
To put this in context, LTL’s total salary and bonus expenses (including employer national insurance payments) have averaged 36% of revenues since 2001. Currently a peer group of quoted fund managers exhibits an average remuneration costs to revenue of 39%, with the salary to revenue of peers with FUM equivalent to LTL is slightly higher at 43%. The Board therefore believes that a notional salary to revenue ratio of 45% makes sufficient allowance for the eventualities described above.
Whilst the 25% salary and bonus cap remain in place for now, both the LTL and LTIT Boards recognise that it may be necessary to increase this limit in the future.
Appendices (unaudited)
Appendix 2
(All ordinary shares unless otherwise stated)
Fair Value % of
Holdings Security £’000 total assets
14,500 Alphabet 3,162 9.2%
17,300 TKO Group 2,648 7.7%
10,300 Visa 2,360 6.8%
7,300 S&P Global 2,354 6.8%
9,000 American Express 2,065 6.0%
4,800 Thermo Fisher 1,791 5.2%
24,500 Walt Disney 1,790 5.2%
30,000 Canadian Pacific 1,789 5.2%
2,150 FICO 1,740 5.1%
5,300 Intuit 1,738 5.0%
11,500 Equifax 1,570 4.5%
6,900 CME Group 1,545 4.5%
7,000 Adobe 1,290 3.7%
8,400 Verisk Analytics 1,208 3.5%
9,000 Oracle 1,004 2.9%
25,000 PayPal 857 2.5%
20,800 Nike 834 2.4%
15,000 Estee Lauder 816 2.4%
36,000 Brown-Forman 730 2.1%
12,000 Coca-Cola 692 2.0%
2,800 Madison Square Garden Sports 684 2.0%
10,000 Colgate-Palmolive 646 1.9%
4,700 PepsiCo 554 1.6%
12,500 Mondelez International 547 1.6%
Total Investments 34,414 98.2%
Net Current Assets 51 0.2%
Net Assets 34,465 100.0%
Breakdown by Sector
Financials 26.6%
Communication Services 24.0%
Information Technology 16.7%
Consumer Staples 11.6%
Industrials 13.3%
Health Care 5.2%
Consumer Discretionary 2.4%
Cash & Equivalents 0.2%
100.0%
Glossary of Terms and Alternative Performance Measures (“APM”) (unaudited)
AIC
Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (“AIFMD”)
The Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (the “Directive”) is a European Union Directive that entered into force on
Alternative Performance Measure (“APM”)
An alternative performance measure is a financial measure of historical or future financial performance, financial position or cash flow that is not prescribed by the relevant accounting standards. The Company’s APMs are the discount and premium, dividend yield, share price and NAV total return and ongoing charges as defined within this Glossary. The Directors believe that these measures enhance the comparability of information between reporting periods and aid investors in understanding the Company’s performance. The measures used for the year under review have remained consistent with the prior year.
Benchmark
With effect from
Prior to
Discount and premium (APM)
If the share price of an investment trust is higher than the Net Asset Value (NAV) per share, the shares are trading at a premium to NAV. In this circumstance the price that an investor pays or receives for a share would be more than the value attributable to it by reference to the underlying assets. The premium is the difference between the share price (based on share prices) and the NAV, expressed as a percentage of the NAV.
A discount occurs when the share price is below the NAV. Investors would therefore be paying less than the value attributable to the shares by reference to the underlying assets.
A premium or discount is generally the consequence of supply and demand for the shares on the stock market.
The discount or premium is calculated by dividing the difference between the share price and the NAV by the NAV.
As at As at
31 March 31 March
2026 2025
p p
Share Price 550.0 818.0
Net Asset Value per Share 716.1 952.1
Discount to Net Asset Value per Share 23.2% 14.1%
Dividend yield (APM)
A financial ratio that indicates how much a company pays out in dividends each year relative to its share price. Dividend yield is represented as a percentage and can be calculated by dividing the value of dividends paid in a given year per share held by the share price.
The figures disclosed on pages 1, 5, 8, 16 and 86 of the Annual Report have been calculated as shown below:
2026 2025
Total Dividends declared per Ordinary Share (a) 28.0p 42.0p
Closing price per Ordinary Share on 31 March (b) 550.0p 818.0p
Dividend Yield (a) ÷ (b) 5.1% 5.1%
ESG
Environmental, social and governance.
Leverage
The AIFMD leverage definition is slightly different from the Association of Investment Companies’ method of calculating gearing and is defined as follows: any method by which the AIFM increases the exposure of an AIF it manages whether through borrowing of cash or securities, or leverage embedded in derivative positions.
For the purposes of the AIFMD, leverage is any method which increases the Company’s exposure, including the borrowing of cash and the use of derivatives. It is expressed as a ratio between the Company’s exposure and its net asset value.
Morningstar requires the Company to include the following statement in the Annual Report.
Morningstar 2026.
All rights reserved. The information, sourced from Morningstar, contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied, adapted or distributed; (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely; and (4) does not constitute advice of any kind, whether investment, tax, legal or otherwise. User is solely responsible for ensuring that it complies with all laws, regulations and restrictions applicable to it. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information, except where such damages or losses cannot be limited or excluded by law in your jurisdiction. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
The MSCI requires the Company to include the following statement in the Annual Report.
MSCI World Index total return in Sterling (the Company’s comparator Benchmark)
The MSCI information (relating to the Benchmark) may only be used for your internal use, may not be reproduced or redisseminated in any form and may not be used as a basis for or a component of any financial instruments or products or indices. None of the MSCI information is intended to constitute investment advice or a recommendation to make (or refrain from making) any kind of investment decision and may not be relied on as such. Historical data and analysis should not be taken as an indication or guarantee of any future performance analysis, forecast or prediction. The MSCI information is provided on an “as is” basis and the user of this information assumes the entire risk of any use made of this information. MSCI, each of its affiliates and each other person involved in or related to compiling, computing or creating any MSCI information (collectively, the “MSCI Parties”) expressly disclaims all warranties (including, without limitation, any warranties of originality, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, non-infringement, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose) with respect to this information. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall any
Net Asset Value (“NAV”) per Ordinary Share
The NAV per Ordinary Share is Shareholders’ funds expressed as an amount per individual share. Equity Shareholders’ funds are the total value of all the Company’s assets, at current market value, having deducted all current and long-term liabilities and any provision for liabilities and charges.
The NAV per Ordinary Share of the Company is announced to the market weekly.
The figures disclosed on pages 5, 6 and 96 of the Annual Report have been calculated as shown below:
2026 2025
‘000 ‘000
Net Asset Value (a) £143,219 £190,426
Ordinary Shares in issue (b) 20,000 20,000
Net Asset Value per Ordinary Share (a) ÷ (b) 716.1p 952.1p
Ongoing charges (APM)
Ongoing charges are expenses of a type that are likely to recur in the foreseeable future, whether charged to capital or revenue, and which relate to the operation of the Company as an investment trust, excluding the costs of acquisition or disposal of investments, financing costs and gains or losses arising on investments. Ongoing charges are based on costs incurred in the year as being the best estimate of future costs and include the annual management charge but not the performance fee. The calculation methodology is set out by the
The figures disclosed on pages 5, 17, 21 and 96 of the Annual Report have been calculated as shown below:
2026 2025
£'000 £ ' 000
Total operating expenses (a) 1,464 1,514
Average Net Asset Value (b) 176,276 197,043
Ongoing Charges excluding synthetic costs (a) ÷ (b) 0.8% 0.8%
Ongoing Charges including the charges of the underlying funds 0.9% 0.9%
(WS Lindsell Train North American Fund) synthetic costs
Revenue return per Share
The revenue return per share is the revenue return profit for the year divided by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year.
SASB
The
SASB Materiality Map©
The Materiality Map was developed by the SASB. It ranks issues by industry based on two types of evidence: evidence that investors in the industry are interested in the issue, and evidence that the issue has the ability to impact companies within the industry.
Share price and NAV total return (APM)
These are the returns on the share price and NAV respectively taking into account both the rise and fall of share prices and valuations and the dividends paid to Shareholders.
Any dividends received by a Shareholder are assumed to have been reinvested in either additional shares (for share price total return) or the Company’s assets (for NAV total return).
The share price and NAV total return are calculated as the returns to Shareholders after reinvesting the net dividend in additional shares on the date that the share price goes ex-dividend.
The figures disclosed on pages 5, 16 and 17 of the Annual Report have been calculated at shown below:
Year Ended 31 March
2026
LTIT Share
LTIT NAV Price
NAV/Share Price at 31 March 2026 (p) a 716.1 550.0
Dividend Adjustment Factor* b 1.0463 1.053
Adjusted closing NAV/Share Price (p) c = a x b 749.3 579.2
NAV/Share Price at 31 March 2025 (p) d 952.1 818.0
Total return ((c/d)-1)) x100 (21.3)% (29.2)%
*
The dividend adjustment factor is calculated on the assumption that the dividends of
LTL total return performance
The total return performance for LTL is calculated as the return after receiving but not reinvesting dividends received over the year.
The figure disclosed on page 6 of the Annual Report has been calculated as shown below:
LTL valuation
Valuation at 31 March 2025 a £7,873
Valuation at 31 March 2026 b £4,564
Dividends paid during the year c £921
Total return {((b-a)+c)/a}x100 (30.3)%
TCFD
Treasury Shares
Shares previously issued by a company that have been bought back from Shareholders to be held by the company for potential sale or cancellation at a later date. Such shares are not capable of being voted and carry no rights to dividends.
2026 Accounts
The figures and financial information for 2026
are extracted from the Annual Report and financial statements for the year ended
2025 Accounts
The figures and financial information for 2025 are extracted from the published Annual Report and financial statements for the period ended 31 March 2025 and do not constitute the statutory accounts for that year. The Annual Report and financial statements have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and included the Report of the Independent Auditor which was unqualified and did not contain a statement under either section 498(2) or section 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006.
Annual report and financial statements
Copies of the Annual Report and financial statements will be posted to shareholders
in mid
The Company's Annual
Report for the period ended
The Annual General Meeting will be
held on Tuesday,
Neither the contents of the Company's website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
- END -
For further information please contact
Company Secretary
For and on behalf of
020 3170 8732
