Activist Robert Naylor has taken over the wind-down of Aquila European Renewables (AERI) having been appointed chair on Friday to replace Ian Nolan who had served at the helm of the fund’s board since launch in 2019. Shares in the £141m renewables fund jumped from 35 euro cents to 37.3 at the news, narrowing their discount to around 36%. Naylor set up Achilles Investment Company (AIC) with Harwood Capital’s Chris Mills this year to target investment companies on wide share price discounts. He was previously instrumental in the sales of PSR REIT (PRSR), Urban Logistics, Hipgnosis Songs Fund and Round Hill Music Royalty.

Odyssean (OIT), the £227m UK smaller companies trust managed by Stuart Widdowson and Edward Wielechowski at Harwood-backed Odyssean Capital, has flagged confidence in prospects for growth in net asset value next year. Two companies, NCC and Spire, accounting for 17% of NAV are currently going through sales processes. “Whilst any outcome is uncertain, a disposal of one or both of these names in the next six months at a material uplift to current value is quite likely. The board also shares the portfolio manager’s view that other portfolio companies are vulnerable to M&A approaches given improving end markets have not been matched by step-ups in share prices.” The comment came in half-year results showing a 21.3% total underlying NAV return in the six months to 30 September that beat the 16.9% advance of its benchmark, the Deutsche Numis Smaller Companies and AIM index. Since September, the investment company’s shares have re-rated to stand on a 1% premium over NAV, having eliminated their previous 5.9% discount.

JPMorgan European Discovery Trust (JEDT) outperformed a buoyant European smaller companies sector in the six months to 30 September with a total underlying investment return of 20.7% and shareholder return of 21% that beat the 15.4% gain in the MSCI Europe (ex-UK) Small Cap index. In half-year results, the £545m investment trust said European smaller companies proved relatively resilient thanks to their comparative immunity from US tariffs, greater reliance on domestic revenues and gains in areas set to benefit from increased government spending and the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). Under JP Morgan fund managers Jon Ingram, Jack Featherby and Jules Bloch, JEDT is the top of three European small-cap trusts over one year with a total shareholder return of 36.8%. Over five years it ranks second with 40.4%. Revenue per share jumped from 10.7p to 15.6p and the interim dividend was held at 3p per share.

Worldwide Healthcare Fund (WWH) comments on the shareholder votes of over 20% against the re-election of chair Doug McCutcheon and co-manager Sven Borho at the AGM in July. The company says some shareholders deemed McCutcheon not to be independent due to his 12 years on the board and that Borho should not be a director as a managing partner at OrbiMed Capital, the company’s portfolio manager. The board shares the “widely accepted view” that length of service does not in itself impair a independence. The board asked McCutcheon to take on the role of chair from July 2022 for three to five years to oversee the renewal of its composition. This is now largely complete and, as previously announced, McCutcheon will retire next July and be replaced by William Hemmings. Having a senior OrbiMed representative on the board dates back to WWH’s launch in 1995. It says the arrangement has worked well and is in accordance with the AIC Code of Corporate Governance. Borho was appointed in June 2018 as a non-independent director and the company says it has benefited from his knowledge and experience and he does not sit on any of the board’s committees or receive a fee.

Target Healthcare (THRL) has redeployed £45m of recent sales proceeds into a portfolio of four care homes in central Scotland on a blended net initial yield of over 6%. The £600m real estate investment trust has bought three operational homes with strong rent cover of over two times and and one under development from the same operator. This uses more than half of the £85.9m raised from the sale of nine care homes, its largest-ever disposal, which was made in September at an 11.6% premium to carrying value.

Patria Private Equity Trust (PPET) has invested $13.5m into Omilia, a Greek software company providing a conversational AI tool to blue-chip, enterprise clients for use in customer care. The investment alongside Expedition Growth Capital in London leaves PPET with cash and undrawn credit of £283.9m. Net assets rose 0.7% to £1.2bn last month with net asset value (NAV) per share of 827.3p at 31 October up from 821.7 at 30 September. At 604.5p, the shares stand on a discount of around 27%.