Gore Street Energy Storage (GSF) chair Patrick Cox is to step down in January, six months earlier than previously indicated, with Angus Gordon Lennox, one of two board appointments made last month, succeeding him on 19 January. Lennox, chair of Aberforth Geared Value & Income (AGVI), former chair of Mercantile (MRC) investment trust and former partner of corporate broker JPMorgan Cazenove, said his immediate focus would be to complete the sales and augmentation of battery assets already under way. “I am clear that delivering best value for shareholders is my and the board’s top priority, and I look forward to working closely with the board, the investment manager, and our shareholders to achieve these goals.” Under pressure to improve returns and transparency following large votes against the re-election of directors and a row over undisclosed fees, GSF is in the process of replacing its board. Last month the company said Cox and senior independent director Caroline Banszky would leave after its annual results next July. Non-execs Thomas Murley and Malcolm King will leave next month following the appointment of Lennox, former Harmony Energy chair Norman Crighton and infrastructure investor Simon Merriweather. It is looking to recruit one more director. Shares in the £321m company stand on a 38% discount to net asset value. Hedge fund Saba Capital took a 5% stake last month to put it just below fellow activist RM Funds on 6%.
Phoenix Spree Deutschland (PSDL) shares have jumped 6%, or 10p, to a 27-month high of 76.4p after the Berlin residential property fund completed a €255m (£223m) refinancing that will enable it speed up disposals and return capital from April next year. Chair Robert Hingley said it was a “significant milestone” in the managed realisation approved by shareholders in March. “We have exceeded our 2025 condominium sales target ahead of schedule and at a premium to latest balance sheet carrying values. Our successful refinancing, together with strong progress in condominium sales, gives us confidence in delivering on our strategy of realising assets and returning capital to shareholders.” The £150m investment company stands on a 35% discount with shareholders sitting on a 33% loss over three years.
Schroders Capital Global Innovation (INOV), the former Woodford Patient Capital Trust that shareholders put into wind-down in February, has reported a flat third quarter with its valuation not yet reflecting last month’s sale of Securiti AI or the $75bn valuation Revolut achieved this week following a funding round. In the three months to 30 September 2025, net asset value (NAV) fell to £136.1m from £173.2m at 30 June following a £37m return of capital in July. However, NAV per share was unchanged at 21.42p as an upward revaluation of Revolut, the money transfer specialist, was offset by write-downs in packaging procurement and design platform Bizongo, AI doctor Ada Health and organic fertiliser provider AgroStar. The holding in Securiti is still held at £3.7m although the company expects the $1.7bn acquisition by Veeam Software will lift this to £7.7m. It said the investment in Revolut rose from £14.5m and 8.4% of assets to £18.8m and 13.8% of assets, its second biggest holding behind Atom bank where it has a 17% exposure. It said the holding in Revolut remains valued at a discount to the recent transaction. This implies that the current 33% discount on the £91m trust should be narrower. Momentum Global Investment Management disclosed a 4.95% stake yesterday.
Baillie Gifford UK Growth (BGUK) has reported half-year results that represent work in progress for a trust under pressure from 5% shareholder Saba Capital and value investors Allspring and City of London. Interim results for the six months to 31 October 2025 showed an underlying total investment return of 16.2%, just ahead of the FTSE All Share’s 16% although shareholders did slightly better with a 17.7% total return as the share price discount narrowed to 9.6% in response to the board buying back 8.6% of the company’s shares. BGUK, which faces a continuation vote in 2027, said top positive contributors to performance included Just Group, which agreed to a bid, St James’s Place, AJ Bell and Renishaw, while detractors included large holdings in Autotrader, Wise and Experian, as well as not owning banks and Rolls Royce.
JPMorgan European Growth and Income (JEGI), currently the top-performing Europe trust over one and five years, beat its benchmark in the six months to 30 September with a 14.2% underlying investment return that underpinned an 18% total shareholder return as the £565m listed fund helped narrow its share price discount to 2.4% by buying back 250,000 shares. Dividends of 2.4p per share were covered by 2.58p of earnings per share, half-year results showed. Fund managers Alexander Fitzalan Howard, Zenah Shuhaiber and Tim Lewis said Heidelberg Materials, a German cement producer, was the biggest contributor to performance, while brewer Carlsberg was the main detractor.
AVI Japan Opportunity (AJOT) has completed the merger with Fidelity Japan Trust (FJV) with AJOT acquiring around £184m of net assets from FJV in consideration for 110.7m new shares.
