Legal
Entity Identifier:
213800NN42KX2LG1GQ40
28 May 2024
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT
Finsbury
Growth & Income Trust PLC
Unaudited
Half Year Results For The Six Months Ended
31 March 2024
This
Announcement is not the Company’s Half Year Report & Accounts.
It is an abridged version of the Company’s full Half Year Report
& Accounts for the six months ended 31
March 2024. The full Half Year Report & Accounts,
together with a copy of this announcement, will shortly be
available on the Company’s website at
www.finsburygt.com where up
to date information on the Company, including daily NAV, share
prices and fact sheets, can also be found.
The
Company's Half Year Report & Accounts for the six months ended
31 March 2024 has been submitted to
the UK Listing Authority, and will shortly be available for
inspection on the National Storage Mechanism (NSM):
https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism
COMPANY
SUMMARY
Finsbury
Growth & Income Trust PLC is a listed investment company; its
shares are quoted on the premium segment of the Official List and
traded on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. The Company
is a member of the Association of Investment Companies
(“AIC”).
INVESTMENT
OBJECTIVE AND PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT
The
Company aims to achieve capital and income growth and to provide
Shareholders with a total return in excess of that of the FTSE
All-Share Index (the Company’s benchmark).
INVESTMENT
POLICY
The
Company’s investment policy is to invest principally in the
securities of companies either listed in the UK or otherwise
incorporated, domiciled or having significant business operations
within the UK. Up to a maximum of 20% of the Company’s portfolio,
at the time of acquisition, can be invested in companies not
meeting these criteria.
The
portfolio will normally comprise up to 30 investments. This level
of concentration is likely to lead to an investment return which is
materially different from the Company’s benchmark index and is
likely to be more volatile and carry more risk.*
Unless
driven by market movements, securities in FTSE 100 companies and
comparable companies listed on an overseas stock exchange will
normally represent between 50% and 100% of the portfolio;
securities in FTSE 350 companies and comparable companies listed on
overseas stock exchanges will normally represent at least 70% of
the portfolio.
The
Company will not invest more than 15% of the Company’s net assets,
at the time of acquisition, in the securities of any single issuer.
For the purposes of this limit only, net assets shall exclude the
value of the Company’s investment in Frostrow Capital
LLP.
The
Company does not and will not invest more than 15%, in aggregate,
of the value of the gross assets of the Company in other listed
closed ended investment companies. Further, the Company does not
and will not invest more than 10%, in aggregate, of the value of
its gross assets in other listed closed ended investment companies
except where the investment companies themselves have stated
investment policies to invest no more than 15% of their gross
assets in other listed closed ended investment
companies.
The
Company has the ability to invest up to 25% of its gross assets in
preference shares, bonds and other debt instruments, although no
more than 10% of any one issue may be held.
In
addition, a maximum of 10% of the Company’s gross assets can be
held in cash, where the Portfolio Manager believes market or
economic conditions make equity investment unattractive or while
seeking appropriate investment opportunities or to maintain
liquidity.
The
Company’s gearing policy is that gearing will not exceed 25% of the
Company’s net assets.
No
investment will be made in any fund or investment company managed
by Lindsell Train Limited without the prior approval of the
Board.
In
accordance with the Listing Rules of the Financial Conduct
Authority (“FCA”), the Company can only make a material change to
its investment policy with the approval of its Shareholders and
HMRC.
* The
Company publishes its Active Share scores in its monthly fact sheet
for investors and in both the annual and half-yearly reports to
highlight how different the portfolio is from the Company's
benchmark index.
PERFORMANCE
Whilst
performance is measured against the FTSE All-Share Index, the
Company's portfolio is constructed and managed without reference to
a stock market index with the Portfolio Manager selecting
investments based on their assessment of their long-term
value.
The
Company’s net assets as at 31 March
2024 were £1,747.3 million (30
September 2023: £1,822.7 million) and the market
capitalisation was £1,619.5 million (30
September 2023: £1,742.5 million).
MANAGEMENT
Frostrow
Capital LLP (“Frostrow”) is the appointed Alternative Investment
Fund Manager (“AIFM”) and provides company management, company
secretarial, administrative and marketing services. Lindsell Train
Limited (“Lindsell Train”) is the appointed Portfolio
Manager.
DIVIDENDS
An interim
dividend of 8.8p per share (2023: 8.5p) was paid on 17 May 2024 to Shareholders who were registered
at the close of business on 5 April
2024. The associated ex-dividend date was 4 April 2024.
It is
expected that a second interim dividend will be declared and paid
in the Autumn.
DIVIDEND
POLICY
The
Company’s aim is to increase or at least maintain the total
dividend each year. A first interim dividend is typically paid in
May and a second interim in November in lieu of a final
dividend.
The level
of dividend growth is dependent upon the growth and performance of
the companies within the investment portfolio. The decision as to
the level of dividend paid takes into account the income forecasts
maintained by the Company’s AIFM and Portfolio Manager as well as
the level of revenue reserves. These forecasts consider dividends
earned from the portfolio together with predicted future earnings
and are regularly reviewed by the Board.
All
dividends have been distributed from current year income and
revenue reserves.
CAPITAL
STRUCTURE
At
31 March 2024 the Company had
187,444,294 shares of 25p each in issue (excluding 37,547,009
shares held in treasury) (30 September
2023: 204,519,434; excluding 20,471,869 shares held in
treasury). During the six months under review 17,075,140 shares
were bought back to be held in treasury. Since the end of the half
year to 23 May 2024, being the latest
practicable date, a further 4,839,479 shares were bought back to be
held in treasury.
GEARING
As at the
half year end the Company was in the second year of its three-year
secured fixed term revolving credit facility (the “facility”) of
£60 million with Scotiabank Europe PLC (“Scotiabank”) and there is
an additional £40 million facility available if required. As at
31 March 2024 £29.2 million has been
drawn down from this facility.
COMPANY
PERFORMANCE
AS AT
31 MARCH 2024
KEY
FACTS
|
|
|
932.2p
|
5.9%
|
2.7%
|
Net
Asset Value Per Share†
30
September 2023: 891.2p
(change
4.6%)
|
Net
Asset value per share total return*^
30
September 2023: 7.2%
|
Share
price total return*^
30
September 2023: 7.5%
|
864.0p
|
£1.747bn
|
187,444,294
|
Share
price
30
September 2023: 852.0p
(change
1.4%)
|
Shareholders’
funds†
30
September 2023: £1.823bn
(change
-4.2%)
|
Number
of shares in issue (excluding 37,547,009 shares held
in treasury)
30 September 2023: 204,519,434 (excluding 20,471,869 shares held in
treasury)
(change
-8.3%)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
7.3%
|
0.6%
|
1.1%
|
Discount
of share price to net asset value per
share^
30
September 2023: 4.4%
|
Ongoing
charges^
30
September 2023: 0.6%
|
Gearing^
30
September 2023: 0.8%
|
|
|
|
45.6p
|
84.7%
|
8.8p
|
Return
per share†
31
March 2023: 102.6p
|
Active
Share^*
30
September 2023: 85.3%
|
First
interim dividend per share
2023:
8.5p
(change
3.5%)
|
^ Alternative
Performance Measure (see glossary)
† UK GAAP
Measure
* Source –
Morningstar
** Source –
FTSE International Limited (“FTSE”) © FTSE 2024* (see
glossary)
CHAIRMAN’S
STATEMENT
PERFORMANCE
In the six
months to 31 March 2024 the Company
delivered a net asset value per share total
return^
of 5.9%
and a share price total return^
of 2.7%.
It is disappointing to report that the Company underperformed its
benchmark, the FTSE All-Share Index, which, measured on a total
return basis, rose by 6.9% over the same period. The principal
contributors to the Company’s net asset value performance were
RELX, Experian and Sage. The main detractors were Burberry,
Remy Cointreau and
Schroders.
Further
information on the Company’s portfolio can be found in our
Portfolio Manager’s Review.
Your Board
takes the recent performance record of the Company’s portfolio
extremely seriously, and shares the Portfolio Manager’s and, no
doubt, Shareholders’ disappointment with recent results. We
continue to hold the Portfolio Manager to account for the Company’s
performance and support the evolution of the companies and themes
represented in the portfolio. We believe the companies we own have
the capacity to deliver both attractive returns and outperformance
that Shareholders should expect.
SHARE
CAPITAL
The Board
continues to keep the Company’s discount under close review and is
committed to buying back its own shares when the discount
approaches or exceeds the 5% level. While share buy-backs will not
necessarily prevent the discount from widening beyond this level,
the Board believes that buy-backs
enhance the net asset value per share for remaining Shareholders,
provide some additional liquidity and help to mitigate discount
volatility which can damage shareholder returns.
During the
six months under review the Company bought back a total of
17,075,140 shares into treasury at a cost of £144 million. As at
31 March 2024 the discount was 7.3%
and at the time of writing (at the close of the UK market on
23 May 2024), the discount was 8.4%.
Over the six months the discount averaged 6.5%, compared with 4.5%
over the course of the previous financial year.
Since
1 April 2024 to the date of this
report, a further 4,839,479 shares were bought back into treasury
at a cost of £40.5 million. As at 23 May
2024, the Company had 182,604,815 shares in issue (excluding
42,386,488 shares held in treasury).
DIVIDEND
The Board
declared a first interim dividend of 8.8p per share (2023: 8.5p)
with respect to the year ending 30 September
2024. That dividend was paid on Friday, 17 May 2024 to Shareholders who were on the
register on Friday, 5 April 2024. The
associated ex-dividend date was Thursday, 4
April 2024.
The Board
expects to declare the second interim dividend for the year ending
30 September 2024 in the
Autumn.
BOARD
CHANGES
After nine
years as a Director of the Company, I have notified the Board of my
intention to stand down at the conclusion of the Company’s Annual
General Meeting in January 2025. I am
delighted that Pars Purewal, who joined the Board in November 2022, has been chosen by my Board
colleagues to succeed me as Chairman.
CHANGE OF
AUDITOR
During the
period the Board initiated a formal competitive tender process for
our external audit engagement and appointed Deloitte LLP as its
auditor. At the next Annual General Meeting, the Board will propose
that Deloitte LLP be appointed as the Company’s external auditor.
Full details of this process will be reported in the Company’s
Annual Report for the year ending 30
September 2024.
A copy of
the resignation statement from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”)
has been sent to Shareholders for information and is available to
view on the Company’s website. The Board would like to take this
opportunity to thank PwC for its services to the
Company.
OUTLOOK
Your
Company owns what we and the Portfolio Manager believe to be a
portfolio of high-quality companies, with durable and
market-leading franchises or data assets which offer the potential
for significant long-term returns. This potential
is augmented by the fact that many of these companies currently
trade at valuations that represent a substantial discount to peers
listed elsewhere.
The Board
believes this combination of a portfolio of world-class companies
held for the long term and attractively priced offers real grounds
for optimism and the capacity to generate significant returns for
Shareholders.
Simon Hayes
Chairman
24 May 2024
^ Alternative
Performance Measure (see glossary).
PORTFOLIO
MANAGER’S REVIEW
To be
candid I find this a difficult report to write. As you will have
seen from the Chairman’s Statement, this was yet another six month
period when I, with my colleagues at Lindsell Train Limited,
underperformed our benchmark, the total return on the UK FTSE
All-Share Index. We really should be able to do better than this
and if we can’t, then I absolutely share Shareholders’ growing
impatience.
At the
same time, as a career-long UK Equity manager, I am frustrated by
the malaise gripping the UK Equity market. A malaise which is, in
my opinion, only partly justified.
What I
find difficult to write is not the acknowledging of our poor
investment performance or apologising for it. We do acknowledge and
apologise for it. No, what is difficult is finding a credible way
to convey to Shareholders why we remain optimistic about the
Company’s investment portfolio. It is difficult, because I am
conscious that I have been vocally optimistic about its prospects
throughout the three years and more of underperformance. So why
should I be right this time?
Nonetheless,
I must retry to convey that optimism, because, in my opinion, there
is tremendous value building in the portfolio. Specifically, I
believe we own significant positions in a number of businesses that
could grow their market capitalisations multiple times over the
next decade or more.
There are
always many factors behind any sustained period of poor performance
and here I must acknowledge that not owning UK-listed Oil and
Mining company shares has been a persistent drag on our performance
since the world economy emerged from Covid-19 lockdowns. But in my
comments here I want to focus on just one factor. To my mind it is
the overarching reason we have had a tough time over the last three
years. In addressing the issue, I will also illustrate how we have
addressed it in terms of changes in portfolio construction and
constituents.
In
January 2020 your portfolio had
delivered a decade of strong relative returns. But as I look back
at its structure in early 2020, just before Covid-19 hit, I am
struck by what now seems an obvious failing. The portfolio did not,
with the benefit of hindsight, have enough exposure to companies
with products and services likely to become more relevant and
valuable to their customers as we proceed deeper in the 21st
century. To put no finer point on it, the portfolio in 2020 did not
have enough exposure to technology or companies well-positioned to
exploit technology. It had some, but evidently not
enough.
At this
point I make two assertions, because the conclusions we derive from
them explain the investment decisions we have subsequently
taken.
First, we
cannot conceive how to generate the returns we aspire to for the
Company’s Shareholders over the next, say, five years without
meaningful portfolio exposure to technology-advantaged companies.
In addition, I also believe the portfolio needs exposure to
consumer-serving companies whose products consumers actually aspire
to purchase and enjoy. What I mean is that the opportunities for
the owners of luxury or premium brands should be better than ever
as the 21st century progresses.
The second
assertion is that, contrary to popular perception and despite its
dismal recent performance, the UK stock market is in fact home to
several world-class companies that offer full participation in the
global growth themes described above. What is more, the valuations
currently accorded these UK companies are often lower, sometimes
much lower, than those of similar businesses quoted on more
fashionable stock markets.
The shape
of your portfolio has changed since 2020 and is increasingly
structured around companies that benefit from those themes of data
and luxury. The shift in portfolio construction has been driven, in
part, by starting new holdings, but also by adding to the data,
analytics and software companies that were already constituents in
2020.
In fact,
we have initiated only three new holdings since 2020 and I list
them here as examples of the type of company we have been
researching and where we have confidence to commit capital in the
third decade of the 21st century. By some
margin, the most meaningful shift in the portfolio since 2020 is
the establishment of a major, top three, holding in Experian.
Experian is one of the best positioned companies in the world to
take advantage of new data analytic tools; in short, to take
advantage of artificial intelligence. As the biggest credit bureau
in the world – including being the biggest in the biggest market
for credit, the US – Experian probably has more data on more
companies and individuals than any other institution, at a time
when the demand for commercially relevant learnings, derived from
raw data, is growing faster than ever.
There is a
similar justification for our most recent new holding, Rightmove.
This company is by orders of magnitude the most visited residential
property portal in the UK – 2.2bn visits in 2023. As a result,
Rightmove aggregates more data about the property market and about
individuals interested in the property market than any other.
Rightmove continues to demonstrate how valuable that data is to its
customers. Its revenues were up over 10% in 2023, despite completed
housing transactions in the UK being at a ten year low. Finally, we
have accumulated a 2.5% position in Fever-Tree, which is one of the
UK’s very few global premium brand owners. The company has, without
doubt, a significant first mover advantage in the creation of a new
and highly profitable beverage category, which it dominates
globally; premium mixers, of course. There have been headwinds for
Fever-Tree in the last two years, perhaps moderating in 2024, but
the company has continued to grow internationally, with 2023 a
significant milestone as its revenues in the US exceed those of the
UK for the first time.
Following
on from that discussion of Fever-Tree and its role in your
portfolio as a rare UK company that owns a premium global brand, I
must confess that two other holdings of this type have been notably
unhelpful for our investment performance over the past six months.
These are the still sizeable positions in Burberry and Diageo. It
is mortifying that Burberry shares are now trading at below half
the peak price set as recently as May
2023. What has particularly undermined them has been
justified concerns about weakening Chinese demand for western
luxury products. Nonetheless, we believe Burberry’s core franchise,
its iconic trench coats, remains hugely valuable and that the
company has every chance of participating in the next upswing in
Asian and global consumer confidence. Meanwhile, Diageo’s
collection of premium spirit brands has suffered a slowdown in its
previous multi-year growth rate, as rising global interest rates
have impinged on consumer confidence. As with Burberry, we expect
Diageo shares will be beneficiaries of any pick-up in global wealth
creation. Even more importantly, looking further ahead,
we believe
investors will and should place a high value on the enduring
relevance to consumers of unique, heritage brands like Burberry,
Guinness, Johnnie Walker,
Don Julio and Tanqueray.
In early
2020 roughly c.30% of your portfolio was exposed to companies we
judge to have first-class data or technology assets. Today, as a
result of the actions I have described above, the proportion is the
biggest portfolio allocation, at over 55% and growing. It is so
important to emphasize that we have not established this weighting
by investing in small, speculative or start-up tech companies. In
fact, the biggest holdings in your portfolio are some of the
biggest and most successful companies listed on the London Stock
Exchange. In addition to Experian, which is the 18th largest and
Rightmove, capitalised at £4.5bn and 78th in the FTSE, we have
major holdings in RELX, 8th biggest, LSEG, 12th and Sage,
35th.
Today Sage
is a top five holding in the portfolio, after strong recent share
price gains and, at c.£12.0bn market value, is the biggest software
company listed on the London
market. Sage’s share price performance has been driven by its
recent announcement of its launch of an AI-powered Accounting
Assistant, developed in partnership with Microsoft and delivered
using AWS technology. This new product has the potential to bring
significant productivity benefits to the millions of existing small
and mid-size companies around the world that already subscribe to
Sage software. The scale
of the opportunity explains the involvement of these giant US
technology companies in the development of Sage’s new
tools.
When you
sum the market values of the holdings we have in this category of
data and software winners, you arrive at a total of just under 8%
of the FTSE All-Share Index. To repeat, the Company’s exposure is
over 55%. I do not know if that 55% is yet “enough”. Enough to
deliver the returns we aspire to deliver. But it is evident the
exposure is already notably and deliberately higher than it was
back in 2020. It is also evidently already highly differentiated
from the shape of the UK stock market itself, giving the potential
for seriously differentiated investment performance if our optimism
in these companies is well-founded.
I have
three final observations.
I
mentioned the gap that exists between the valuations of
tech-advantaged UK-listed companies and those of peers listed
elsewhere. One example, admittedly an extreme one, is indicative of
the scale of the opportunity. One reason we have been able to
accumulate a meaningful investment in Rightmove since we initiated
in the second half of 2023 without moving the price against us, is
that the company has a new competitor. This is US business CoStar,
which has recently acquired the distant #3 property portal in the
UK, On The Market. We will see what success CoStar enjoys – others
have tried and failed to take lasting share of eyeballs away from
Rightmove. But it is startling to note that CoStar, a successful US
digital platform business, is valued by US investors at over 60x
prospective earnings. That is the price you have to pay in a
roaring US tech bull market to own equity in a, no doubt, excellent
business. Meanwhile, UK investors value Rightmove, also an
excellent business, on less than 22x prospective earnings. The same
is true, to a greater or lesser extent for Experian, LSEG, RELX and
Sage.
A smart
shareholder asked me recently – which of your holdings really has
the potential to double or treble profits over the next decade or
more and, as a result, become a much bigger market capitalized
company and higher share price? My answer was that amongst the
large-cap holdings it is readily conceivable that RELX and Sage
have truly transformative profit potential ahead. And of our mid
and smaller capped holdings, Fever-Tree, Hargreaves Lansdown and
Rightmove have clear roadmaps to becoming much bigger businesses,
if, of course, they can execute on their opportunities.
Finally,
your portfolio has three non-UK holdings, which were either
inherited from takeover or arrived from deliberate investment
decisions (Heineken, Mondelez and Remy
Cointreau). For the last 12 months we have been deliberately
reducing the size of these non-UK holdings, with their combined
weighting halving to around 9% of the portfolio over that period.
This is because the opportunity we see in the valuation of
world-class, London-listed
businesses is so great, after a long period of sub-par market
returns, that we feel we have to take advantage.
Nick Train
Director
Lindsell
Train Limited
Portfolio
Manager
24 May 2024
INVESTMENTS
AS AT 31 MARCH
2024
SECTOR
|
INVESTMENTS
|
FAIR
VALUE
30
SEPTEMBER
2023
£’000
|
NET
INVESTMENTS
£’000
|
CAPITAL
APPRECIATION/
(DEPRECIATION)
£’000
|
FAIR
VALUE
31 MARCH
2024
£’000
|
%
OF
INVESTMENTS
|
·
|
F
|
London
Stock Exchange
|
212,962
|
(22,096)
|
31,532
|
222,398
|
12.6
|
·
|
CD
|
RELX
|
227,828
|
(56,775)
|
47,278
|
218,331
|
12.4
|
·
|
I
|
Experian
|
144,803
|
19,525
|
46,366
|
210,694
|
11.9
|
·
|
T
|
Sage
|
154,066
|
508
|
43,110
|
197,684
|
11.2
|
·
|
CS
|
Diageo
|
182,495
|
9,300
|
(6,070)
|
185,725
|
10.5
|
·
|
CS
|
Unilever
|
163,699
|
(5,618)
|
(3,573)
|
154,508
|
8.7
|
·
|
CD
|
Burberry
|
147,145
|
(1,843)
|
(53,441)
|
91,861
|
5.2
|
·
|
F
|
Schroders
|
101,313
|
(7,226)
|
(7,275)
|
86,812
|
4.9
|
·
|
CS
|
Mondelez
International #
|
133,956
|
(56,700)
|
(2,184)
|
75,072
|
4.3
|
·
|
CD
|
Rightmove
|
4,821
|
57,411
|
(361)
|
61,871
|
3.5
|
|
|
Top
10 Investments
|
|
|
|
1,504,956
|
85.2
|
·
|
F
|
Hargreaves
Lansdown
|
58,334
|
652
|
(2,752)
|
56,234
|
3.2
|
·
|
CS
|
Heineken
†
|
88,569
|
(45,961)
|
2,381
|
44,989
|
2.6
|
·
|
CS
|
Fever-Tree
|
40,908
|
1,225
|
47
|
42,180
|
2.4
|
·
|
CS
|
Remy
Cointreau
^
|
68,168
|
(18,702)
|
(12,280)
|
37,186
|
2.1
|
·
|
CS
|
A.G
Barr
|
21,702
|
(1,930)
|
3,860
|
23,632
|
1.3
|
·
|
CD
|
Manchester
United #
|
37,334
|
(16,676)
|
(2,707)
|
17,951
|
1.0
|
·
|
F
|
Rathbone
Brothers
|
23,298
|
(2,975)
|
(2,521)
|
17,802
|
1.0
|
·
|
F
|
The
Lindsell Train Investment Trust
|
8,760
|
|
(840)
|
7,920
|
0.5
|
·
|
CD
|
Young &
Co’s Brewery (non-voting)
|
7,108
|
(523)
|
(1,239)
|
5,346
|
0.3
|
·
|
CD
|
Celtic
*
|
4,331
|
|
(76)
|
4,255
|
0.2
|
|
|
Top
20 Investments
|
|
|
|
1,762,451
|
99.8
|
·
|
F
|
Frostrow
Capital LLP (unquoted) **
|
3,725
|
|
|
3,725
|
0.2
|
·
|
CD
|
Cazoo
#
|
79
|
(12)
|
(67)
|
|
0.0
|
·
|
CD
|
Fuller
Smith & Turner
|
1,256
|
(1,351)
|
95
|
|
0.0
|
|
|
Total
Investments
|
1,836,660
|
(149,767)
|
79,283
|
1,766,176
|
100.0
|
# Listed in
the United States
† Listed in
Netherlands
^ Listed in
France
* Includes
Celtic 6% cumulative preference shares, fair value £256,000
(Sept 2023: £267,000)
** Includes
Frostrow Capital LLP AIFM Investment , fair value £125,000
(Sept 2023:
£125,000)
FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS
INCOME
STATEMENT
for the
six months ended 31 March
2024
|
(UNAUDITED)
SIX MONTHS
ENDED
31 MARCH
2024
|
(UNAUDITED)
SIX MONTHS
ENDED
31 MARCH
2023
|
|
REVENUE
|
CAPITAL
|
TOTAL
|
REVENUE
|
CAPITAL
|
TOTAL
|
|
£’000
|
£’000
|
£’000
|
£’000
|
£’000
|
£’000
|
Gains on
investments at fair value through profit or loss
|
–
|
79,283
|
79,283
|
–
|
207,567
|
207,567
|
Currency
translations
|
–
|
(80)
|
(80)
|
–
|
(42)
|
(42)
|
Income
(note 2)
|
17,339
|
–
|
17,339
|
15,921
|
–
|
15,921
|
AIFM and
Portfolio Management fees (note 3)
|
(1,184)
|
(3,552)
|
(4,736)
|
(1,292)
|
(3,878)
|
(5,170)
|
Other
expenses
|
(613)
|
–
|
(613)
|
(585)
|
(17)
|
(602)
|
Return
on ordinary activities before finance charges and
taxation
|
15,542
|
75,651
|
91,193
|
14,044
|
203,630
|
217,674
|
Finance
charges
|
(303)
|
(910)
|
(1,213)
|
(230)
|
(687)
|
(917)
|
Return
on ordinary activities before taxation
|
15,239
|
74,741
|
89,980
|
13,814
|
202,943
|
216,757
|
Taxation
on ordinary activities
|
(3)
|
–
|
(3)
|
(259)
|
–
|
(259)
|
Return
on ordinary activities after taxation
|
15,236
|
74,741
|
89,977
|
13,555
|
202,943
|
216,498
|
Return
per share – basic and diluted (note 4)
|
7.7p
|
37.9p
|
45.6p
|
6.4p
|
96.2p
|
102.6p
|
The
“Total” column of this statement represents the Company’s Income
Statement.
The
“Revenue” and “Capital” columns are supplementary to this and are
prepared under guidance published by The Association of Investment
Companies (“AIC”).
All items
in the above statement derive from continuing operations. The
Company had no recognised gains or losses other than those declared
in the Income Statement; therefore no separate Statement of
Comprehensive Income has been presented.
STATEMENT
OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
for the
six months ended 31 March
2024
(Unaudited)
Six months
ended 31 March
2024
|
CALLED UP
SHARE
CAPITAL
£’000
|
SHARE
PREMIUM
ACCOUNT
£’000
|
CAPITAL
REDEMPTION
RESERVE
£’000
|
CAPITAL
RESERVE
£’000
|
REVENUE
RESERVE
£’000
|
TOTAL
SHAREHOLDERS
FUNDS
£’000
|
At 1
October 2023
|
56,248
|
1,099,847
|
3,453
|
604,212
|
58,969
|
1,822,729
|
Net return
from ordinary activities
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
74,741
|
15,236
|
89,977
|
Second
interim dividend (10.5p per share) for the year ended
30 September
2023
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
(21,454)
|
(21,454)
|
Repurchase
of shares into Treasury
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
(143,951)
|
–
|
(143,951)
|
At
31 March 2024
|
56,248
|
1,099,847
|
3,453
|
535,002
|
52,751
|
1,747,301
|
(Unaudited)
Six months
ended 31 March
2023
|
CALLED
UP
|
SHARE
|
CAPITAL
|
|
|
TOTAL
|
SHARE
|
PREMIUM
|
REDEMPTION
|
CAPITAL
|
REVENUE
|
SHAREHOLDERS
|
CAPITAL
£’000
|
ACCOUNT
£’000
|
RESERVE
£’000
|
RESERVE
£’000
|
RESERVE
£’000
|
FUNDS
£’000
|
At 1
October 2022
|
56,248
|
1,099,847
|
3,453
|
614,947
|
55,889
|
1,830,384
|
Net
(loss)/return from ordinary activities
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
202,943
|
13,555
|
216,498
|
Second
interim dividend (9.8p per share) for the year ended
30 September
2022
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
(21,182)
|
(21,182)
|
Repurchase
of shares into Treasury
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
(67,410)
|
–
|
(67,410)
|
At
31 March 2023
|
56,248
|
1,099,847
|
3,453
|
750,480
|
48,262
|
1,958,290
|
STATEMENT
OF FINANCIAL POSITION
as at
31 March 2024
|
(UNAUDITED)
|
(AUDITED)
|
|
31
MARCH
|
30
SEPTEMBER
|
|
2024
|
2023
|
|
£’000
|
£’000
|
Fixed
assets
|
|
|
Investments
held at fair value through profit or loss (note 1)
|
1,766,176
|
1,836,660
|
Current
assets
|
|
|
Debtors
|
10,305
|
10,209
|
Cash and
cash equivalents
|
6,766
|
17,426
|
|
17,071
|
27,635
|
Current
liabilities
|
|
|
Creditors:
amounts falling due within one year
|
(6,746)
|
(4,866)
|
|
(6,746)
|
(4,866)
|
Net
current assets
|
10,325
|
22,769
|
Total
assets less current liabilities
|
1,776,501
|
1,859,429
|
Creditors:
amounts falling due after one year
|
|
|
Bank
loan
|
(29,200)
|
(36,700)
|
Net
assets
|
1,747,301
|
1,822,729
|
Capital
and reserves
|
|
|
Called up
share capital
|
56,248
|
56,248
|
Share
premium account
|
1,099,847
|
1,099,847
|
Capital
redemption reserve
|
3,453
|
3,453
|
Capital
reserve
|
535,002
|
604,212
|
Revenue
reserve
|
52,751
|
58,969
|
Total
Shareholders’ funds
|
1,747,301
|
1,822,729
|
Net
asset value per share (note 5)
|
932.2p
|
891.2p
|
STATEMENT
OF CASH FLOWS
for the
six months ended 31 March
2024
|
(UNAUDITED)
|
(UNAUDITED)
|
|
31
MARCH
|
31
MARCH
|
|
2024
|
2023
|
|
£’000
|
£’000
|
Net
cash inflow from operating activities before interest (note
7)
|
12,110
|
15,349
|
Investing
activities
|
|
|
Purchase
of investments
|
(76,946)
|
(14,924)
|
Sale of
investments
|
226,391
|
84,545
|
Net
cash inflow from investing activities
|
149,445
|
69,621
|
Financing
activities
|
|
|
Equity
dividends paid
|
(21,454)
|
(21,182)
|
Repayment
of loans
|
(7,500)
|
–
|
Repurchase
of Shares into Treasury
|
(141,968)
|
(68,523)
|
Interest
paid
|
(1,213)
|
(917)
|
Net
cash outflow from financing activities
|
(172,135)
|
(90,622)
|
Decrease
in cash and cash equivalents
|
(10,580)
|
(5,652)
|
Currency
translations
|
(80)
|
(42)
|
Cash and
cash equivalents at 1 October
|
17,426
|
7,835
|
Cash and
cash equivalents at 31 March
|
6,766
|
2,141
|
NOTES
TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1. BASIS
OF PREPARATION
The
condensed Financial Statements for the six months to 31 March 2024 have been prepared under the
historical cost convention, modified to include the revaluation of
investments and in accordance with FRS 104 ‘Interim Financial
Reporting’ and with the AIC’s Statement of Recommended Practice
(“the SORP”) for Investment Trust Companies and Venture Capital
Trusts dated July 2022 and the
Companies Act 2006.
The
accounting policies used for the year ended 30 September 2023 have been applied.
FAIR
VALUE
Under FRS
102 and FRS 104 investments have been classified using the
following fair value hierarchy:
Level 1 –
quoted prices in active markets
Level 2 –
prices of recent transactions for identical instruments
Level 3 –
valuation techniques using observable and unobservable market
data.
The
financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value in the
Statement of Financial Position are grouped into the fair value
hierarchy at the reporting date as follows:
|
(UNAUDITED)
AS AT 31 MARCH 2024
|
AS AT 31
MARCH 2024
|
LEVEL
1
|
LEVEL
2
|
LEVEL
3
|
TOTAL
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Equity
investments
|
1,762,195
|
–
|
–
|
1,762,195
|
Limited
liability partnership interest (Frostrow)
|
–
|
–
|
3,600
|
3,600
|
AIFM
Capital contribution (Frostrow)
|
–
|
–
|
125
|
125
|
Preference
share investments
|
256
|
–
|
–
|
256
|
|
1,762,451
|
–
|
3,725
|
1,766,176
|
|
(AUDITED)
AS AT 30 SEPTEMBER 2023
|
AS AT 30
SEPTEMBER 2023
|
LEVEL
1
|
LEVEL
2
|
LEVEL
3
|
TOTAL
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Equity
investments
|
1,832,668
|
–
|
–
|
1,832,668
|
Limited
liability partnership interest (Frostrow)
|
–
|
–
|
3,600
|
3,600
|
AIFM
Capital contribution (Frostrow)
|
–
|
–
|
125
|
125
|
Preference
share investments
|
267
|
–
|
–
|
267
|
|
1,832,935
|
–
|
3,725
|
1,836,660
|
2.
INCOME
|
(UNAUDITED)
|
(UNAUDITED)
|
|
SIX
MONTHS
|
SIX
MONTHS
|
|
ENDED
|
ENDED
|
|
31 MARCH
2024
|
31 MARCH
2023
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Income
from investments
|
|
|
UK listed
dividends
|
16,050
|
14,207
|
Overseas
dividends
|
1,131
|
1,684
|
Other
operating income
|
158
|
30
|
Total
income
|
17,339
|
15,921
|
3. AIFM
AND PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT FEES
|
(UNAUDITED)
SIX MONTHS
TO 31 MARCH 2024
|
(UNAUDITED)
SIX MONTHS
TO 31 MARCH 2023
|
|
REVENUE
|
CAPITAL
|
TOTAL
|
REVENUE
|
CAPITAL
|
TOTAL
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
AIFM
fee
|
296
|
888
|
1,184
|
323
|
969
|
1,292
|
Portfolio
management fee
|
888
|
2,664
|
3,552
|
969
|
2,909
|
3,878
|
Total
fees
|
1,184
|
3,552
|
4,736
|
1,292
|
3,878
|
5,170
|
4. RETURN
PER SHARE – BASIC AND DILUTED
|
(UNAUDITED)
|
(UNAUDITED)
|
|
SIX
MONTHS
|
SIX
MONTHS
|
|
TO 31
MARCH
|
TO 31
MARCH
|
|
2024
|
2023
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
The return
per share is based on the following figures:
|
|
|
Revenue
return
|
15,236
|
13,555
|
Capital
return
|
74,741
|
202,943
|
Total
return
|
89,977
|
216,498
|
Weighted
average number of shares in issue for the period
|
197,249,523
|
210,888,032
|
Revenue
return per share
|
7.7p
|
6.4p
|
Capital
return per share
|
37.9p
|
96.2p
|
Total
return per share
|
45.6p
|
102.6p
|
The
calculation of the total, revenue and capital returns per ordinary
share is carried out in accordance with IAS 33, ”Earnings per
Share”.
During the
period there were no dilutive instruments held, therefore the basic
and diluted return per share are the same.
5. NET
ASSET VALUE PER SHARE
|
(UNAUDITED)
|
(AUDITED)
|
|
AS
AT
|
AS
AT
|
|
31
MARCH
|
30
SEPTEMBER
|
|
2024
|
2023
|
Net Assets
(£'000)
|
1,747,301
|
1,822,729
|
Number of
shares in issue
|
187,444,294
|
204,519,434
|
Net asset
value per share
|
932.2p
|
891.2p
|
6.
TRANSACTION COSTS
Purchase
transaction costs for the six months ended 31 March 2024 were £394,000 (six months ended
31 March 2023: £14,000). These
comprise stamp duty costs of £354,000 (31
March 2023: £8,000) and commission of £40,000 (31 March 2023: £6,000).
Sales
transaction costs for the six months ended 31 March 2024 were £72,000 (six months ended
31 March 2023: £32,000). These
comprise commission.
These
transaction costs are included within the gains and losses on
investments within the Income Statement.
7.
RECONCILIATION OF TOTAL RETURN BEFORE FINANCE COSTS AND TAXATION TO
NET CASH INFLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
|
(UNAUDITED)
|
(UNAUDITED)
|
|
SIX
MONTHS
|
SIX
MONTHS
|
|
ENDED
|
ENDED
|
|
31 MARCH
2024
|
31 MARCH
2023
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Total
return before finance charges and taxation
|
91,193
|
217,674
|
Deduct
capital return before finance charges and taxation
|
(75,651)
|
(203,630)
|
Net
revenue before finance costs and taxation
|
15,542
|
14,044
|
Increase
in accrued income and prepayments
|
282
|
5,912
|
Increase
in creditors
|
390
|
13
|
Taxation –
irrecoverable overseas tax paid
|
(552)
|
(725)
|
AIFM,
Portfolio management and other fees charged to capital
|
(3,552)
|
(3,895)
|
Net cash
inflow from operating activities
|
12,110
|
15,349
|
8. GOING
CONCERN
The
Directors believe, having considered the Company’s financial
position, investment objective, risk management policies, capital
management policies and procedures, as well as the nature of the
portfolio and the expenditure projections, that the Company has
adequate resources, an appropriate financial structure and suitable
management arrangements in place to continue in operational
existence for the foreseeable future. In addition, there are no
material uncertainties relating to the Company that would prevent
its ability to continue in such operational existence for at least
twelve months from the date of the approval of this half year
financial report. For these reasons, the Directors consider there
is reasonable evidence to continue to adopt the going concern basis
in preparing the Financial Statements. In reviewing the position as
at the date of this report, the Board has considered the guidance
on this matter issued by the Financial Reporting
Council.
As part of
their assessment, the Directors have given careful consideration to
the consequences for the Company of continuing uncertainty created
by the increase in global inflation and rising interest rates,
together with the consequences of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and subsequent long-term effects
on economies and international relations. As previously reported,
stress testing was carried out in November
2023 to establish the impact of a significant and prolonged
decline in the Company’s performance and prospects. This included a
range of plausible downside scenarios such as reviewing the effects
of substantial falls in investment values and the impact on the
Company’s ongoing charges ratio. It is recognised that the Company
is mainly invested in readily realisable, listed securities that
can be sold, if necessary, to repay indebtedness.
9.
COMPARATIVE INFORMATION
The
financial information contained in this Half Year Report does not
constitute statutory accounts as defined in sections 434 to 436 of
the Companies Act 2006. The financial information for the six
months ended 31 March 2024 and 2023
has not been audited by the Company’s auditor.
The
information for the year ended 30 September
2023 has been extracted from the latest published audited
financial statements. The audited financial statements for the year
ended 30 September 2023 have been
filed with the Registrar of the Companies. The report of
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP on those accounts was unqualified, did
not include a reference to any matters to which
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP drew attention by way of emphasis
without qualifying the report and did not contain statements under
section 498(2) or 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006.
GOVERNANCE
/ INTERIM MANAGEMENT REPORT
INTERIM
MANAGEMENT REPORT
The
Directors are required to provide an Interim Management Report in
accordance with the UK Listing Authority’s Disclosure and
Transparency Rules. They consider that the Chairman’s Statement and
the Portfolio Manager’s Review, the following statements and the
Directors’ Responsibility Statement together constitute the Interim
Management Report for the Company for the six months ended
31 March 2024.
PRINCIPAL
RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES
A review
of the half year, including reference to the risks and
uncertainties that existed during the period and the outlook for
the Company can be found in the Chairman’s Statement and in the
Portfolio Manager’s Review.The principal risks faced by the Company
fall into the following broad categories: market risk; portfolio
performance; share price performance; cyber risk; key person risk;
valuation risk; climate change; geopolitical or natural event risk;
and operational disruption. Information on each of these areas is
given in the Strategic Report/Business Review within the Annual
Report for the year ended 30 September
2023.
The
Company’s principal risks and uncertainties have not changed
materially since the date of that report and are not expected to
change materially for the remaining six months of the Company’s
financial year.
The Board,
the AIFM and the Portfolio Manager discuss and identify emerging
risks as part of the risk identification process and have
considered the impact of technological breakthroughs, such as AI,
may have on the operations of the portfolio companies.
RELATED
PARTY TRANSACTIONS
During the
first six months of the current financial year, no transactions
with related parties have taken place which have materially
affected the financial position or the performance of the
Company.
DIRECTORS’
RESPONSIBILITIES
The Board
of Directors confirms that, to the best of its
knowledge:
(i) the
condensed set of financial statements contained within the Half
Year Report have been prepared in accordance with applicable United
Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice standards;
and
(ii) the
interim management report includes a true and fair review of the
information required by:
(a) DTR
4.2.7R of the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, being an
indication of important events that have occurred during the first
six months of the financial year and their impact on the condensed
set of financial statements; and a description of the principal
risks and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the year;
and
(b) DTR
4.2.8R of the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, being
related party transactions that have taken place in the first six
months of the current financial year and that have materially
affected the financial position or performance of the entity during
that period and any changes in the related party transactions
described in the last annual report that could do so.
The Half
Year Report has not been audited by the Company’s
auditors.
This Half
Year 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 date of this report and
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.
For and on
behalf of the Board
Simon Hayes
Chairman
24 May 2024
FURTHER
INFORMATION
GLOSSARY
OF TERMS AND ALTERNATIVE PERFORMANCE MEASURES
(“APM”)
ACTIVE
SHARE (APM)
Active
Share is expressed as a percentage and shows the extent to which a
fund’s holdings and their weightings differ from those of the
fund’s benchmark index. A fund that closely tracks its index might
have an Active Share of less than 20% and be considered passive,
while a fund with an Active Share of 60% or higher is generally
considered to be actively managed. The Company has a distinctive
strategy: a concentrated portfolio of holdings invested across a
small number of sectors and themes. Active Share helps quantify the
extent to which the portfolio differs from the benchmark
index.
The Active
Share performance is sourced from Morningstar.
AIC
Association
of Investment Companies. The AIC represents a broad range of
investment companies, investment trusts, VCTs and other
closed-ended funds.
ALTERNATIVE
INVESTMENT FUND MANAGERS DIRECTIVE (“AIFMD”)
Agreed by
the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union and
transposed into UK legislation, the AIFMD classifies certain
investment vehicles, including investment companies, as Alternative
Investment Funds (“AIFs”) and requires them to appoint an
Alternative Investment Fund Manager (“AIFM”) and depositary to
manage and oversee the operations of the investment vehicle. The
Board of the Company retains responsibility for strategy,
operations and compliance and the Directors retain a fiduciary duty
to Shareholders.
ALTERNATIVE
PERFORMANCE MEASURE (“APM”)
An
Alternative Performance Measure is a numerical measure of the
Company’s current, historical or future financial performance,
financial position or cash flows other than a financial measure
defined or specified in the applicable financial framework. In
selecting these Alternative Performance Measures, the Directors
considered the key objectives and expectations of typical investors
and believe that each APM gives the reader useful and relevant
information in judging the Company's performance and in comparing
other Investment Companies.
BENCHMARK
RETURN
Total
return on the benchmark, assuming that all dividends received were
re-invested, without transaction costs, into the shares of the
underlying companies at the time the shares were quoted
ex-dividend.
DISCOUNT
OR PREMIUM (APM)
A
description of the difference between the share price and the net
asset value per share. The size of the discount or premium is
calculated by subtracting the share price from the net asset value
per share and is usually expressed as a percentage (%) of the net
asset value per share. If the share price is higher than the net
asset value per share the result is a premium. If the share price
is lower than the net asset value per share, the shares are trading
at a discount. 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 buy-backs,
where appropriate.
DISCOUNT
OR PREMIUM (APM)
|
|
31
MARCH
|
30
SEPTEMBER
|
|
2024
|
2023
|
Share
Price (p)
|
|
864.0
|
852.0
|
Net Asset
value per share (p)
|
|
932.2
|
891.2
|
Discount
|
|
7.3%
|
4.4%
|
FTSE
DISCLAIMER
“FTSE©” is
a trade mark of the London Stock Exchange Group companies and is
used by FTSE International Limited under licence. All rights in the
FTSE indices and/or FTSE ratings vest in FTSE and/or its licensors.
Neither FTSE nor its licensors accept any liability for any errors
or omissions in the FTSE indices and/or FTSE ratings or underlying
data. No further distributions of FTSE data is permitted without
FTSE’s express written consent.
GEARING
(APM)
Gearing
represents prior charges, adjusted for net current assets expressed
as a percentage of net assets (AIC methodology). The Directors
believe that it is appropriate to show net gearing in relation to
Shareholders’ funds as it represents the amount of debt funding on
the investment portfolio. The gearing policy is that borrowing will
not exceed 25% of the Company’s net assets.
Prior
charges include all loans and bank overdrafts for investment
purposes.
|
|
31
MARCH
|
30
SEPTEMBER
|
|
|
2024
|
2023
|
|
|
£’000
|
£’000
|
Bank loan
(prior charges)
|
|
(29,200)
|
(36,700)
|
Less net
current assets
|
|
10,325
|
22,769
|
|
|
(18,875)
|
(13,931)
|
Net
assets
|
|
1,747,301
|
1,822,729
|
Gearing
|
|
1.1%
|
0.8%
|
NET ASSET
VALUE (“NAV”)
The value
of the Company’s assets, principally investments made in other
companies and cash being held, less any liabilities. The NAV is
also described as “Shareholders’ funds”. The NAV is often expressed
in pence per share after being divided by the number of shares that
have been issued. The NAV per share is unlikely to be the same as
the share price which is the price at which the Company’s shares
can be bought or sold by an investor. The share price is determined
by the relationship between the demand and supply of the
shares.
NET ASSET
VALUE TOTAL RETURN PER SHARE (APM)
The
theoretical total return on an investment over a specified period
assuming dividends paid to Shareholders were reinvested at net
asset value per share at the time the shares were quoted
ex-dividend. This is a way of measuring investment management
performance of investment trusts which is not affected by movements
in discounts or premiums. The Directors regard the Company’s net
asset value total return per share as being the overall measure of
value delivered to Shareholders over the long term. The Board
considers the principal comparator to be its benchmark, the FTSE
All-Share Index.
|
|
31
MARCH
|
30
SEPTEMBER
|
|
|
2024
|
2023
|
Opening
NAV per share (p)
|
|
891.2
|
848.4
|
Increase
in NAV per share (p)
|
|
41.0
|
42.8
|
Closing
NAV per share (p)
|
|
932.2
|
891.2
|
Increase
in NAV per share
|
|
4.6%
|
5.0%
|
Impact of
dividends re-invested*
|
|
+1.3%
|
+2.2%
|
NAV per
share total return
|
|
5.9%
|
7.2%
|
* Total
dividends declared during the period of 10.5p (2023: 18.3p declared
during the 2023 financial year) were re-invested at the cum income
NAV per share at the ex-dividend
date. The treasury shares held by the Company have been excluded
from this calculation.
In
accordance with FRS 102 dividends are included in the Financial
Statements in the period in which they are paid or approved by
Shareholders.
The source
is Morningstar which has calculated the return on an industry
comparative basis.
ONGOING
CHARGES (APM)
Ongoing
charges are calculated by taking the Company’s annualised operating
expenses expressed as a proportion of the average daily net asset
value of the Company over the year. The costs of buying and selling
investments are excluded, as are interest costs, taxation, cost of
buying back or issuing ordinary shares and other non-recurring
costs. 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.
|
|
31
MARCH
|
30
SEPTEMBER
|
|
|
2024
|
2023
|
|
|
£’000
|
£’000
|
AIFM and
portfolio management fees
|
|
9,171
|
10,437
|
Operating
expenses
|
|
1,157
|
1,167
|
Total
expenses
|
|
10,328*
|
11,604
|
Average
net assets during the period/year
|
|
1,765,240
|
1,907,121
|
Ongoing
charges
|
|
0.59%**
|
0.61%
|
*
Estimated expenses as reported in the Company’s latest revenue
forecasts for the year ending 30 September
2024.
** Assumes
no change in the average assets.
OTHER COST
RATIOS
Please see
the 2023 Annual Report for further details.
PEER
GROUP
Finsbury
Growth & Income Trust PLC is part of the AIC’s UK Equity Income
Investment Trust Sector. The trusts in this universe are defined as
trusts whose investment objective is to achieve a total return for
Shareholders through both capital and dividend growth.
REVERSE
STRESS TEST
Reverse
stress tests are stress tests that identify scenarios and
circumstances which would make a business unworkable and identify
potential business vulnerabilities.
SHARE
PRICE TOTAL RETURN (APM)
The change
in capital value of a company’s shares over a given period, plus
dividends paid to Shareholders, expressed as a percentage of the
opening value. The assumption is that dividends paid to
Shareholders are re-invested in the shares at the time the shares
are quoted ex dividend. The Directors 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.
SHARE
PRICE TOTAL RETURN
|
|
31
MARCH
|
30
SEPTEMBER
|
|
2024
|
2023
|
Opening
share price (p)
|
|
852.0
|
800.0
|
Increase
in share price (p)
|
|
12.0
|
52.0
|
Closing
share price (p)
|
|
864.0
|
852.0
|
% Increase
in share price
|
|
1.4%
|
6.5%
|
% Impact
of dividends re-invested*
|
|
+1.3%
|
+1.0%
|
Share
price total return
|
|
2.7%
|
7.5%
|
* Total
dividends declared during the period of 10.5p (2023: 18.3p declared
during the 2023 financial year) were re-invested at the share price
at the ex-dividend date.
The source
is Morningstar which has calculated the return on an industry
comparative basis.
STRESS
TESTING
Stress
testing is a forward-looking analysis technique that considers the
impact of a variety of extreme but plausible economic scenarios on
the financial position of the Company.
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.
-
END-
Victoria Hale
Frostrow
Capital LLP
Company
Secretary – 0203 170 8732
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