The Investment Company (INV) has released its final results for the period ending 30 June 2023.
- INV reported a NAV return of 1.39% and share price return of 15.7% for the period.
- Mindful of the size and illiquidity of the trust, in July 2023 the board implemented a tender offer to allow shareholders to easily exit their holding in the trust, and Chelverton Asset Management was appointed as the trust’s investment manager (having been self managed previously).
- INV also adopted a new investment policy to maximise capital growth for shareholders over the long term by investing in high quality quoted UK small and mid-cap companies. The legacy portfolio has been largely realised, with the capital being recycled into Chelverton’s preferred companies.
- Chelverton will aim to invest in companies that can grow faster than the market through the economic cycle, that self-fund their organic growth because they are cash generative and have high levels of revenue visibility.
- Examples of INV’s new holdings include: Auction Technology Group, a leading provider of online bidding services to auctioneers; Globaldata, which provides what it regards as “gold standard” online data and analytics across a wide range of industry sectors; Aquis Exchange, which provides an equity trading exchange across most European equity market; Severfield, the UK’s leading structural steel manufacturer; and Ebiquity, which audits the effectiveness of advertisers’ campaigns for many of the leading global brands.
- The board is not proposing a dividend be paid for the year given the tender offer that was implemented.
I. R. Dighé, INV’s chairman, commented:
“Whilst we start the Company’s next chapter still as a modest sized investment trust, the Company’s assets are now being managed by an award-winning asset manager in Chelverton, with a strong track record of creating value for investors, whilst increasing the Company’s’ size. I look forward to working with the Chelverton team as we look to maximise capital growth over the long term by investing in high quality small and mid-cap companies.”