Oryx International Growth (OIG), the £174m UK smaller companies trust managed by activist chief executive Chris Mills, essentially flatlined in the year to 31 March after a turbulent second half hit by the US-led war on Iran and the sell-off of software stocks wiped out an “exceptional” 15.7% gain in the first half of the financial year. Annual results showed net asset value (NAV) per share was “broadly unchanged” at £16.22 although the share price rose 9.6% from £10.95 to £12 as the discount, or gap, to NAV narrowed from 32% to 26%. Avingtrans, Pebble Group, Hargreaves Services, Tribal Group and Elementis were the “standout performers” on gains of 60% to 16% but these were offset by falls in MJ Gleeson, hurt by weakness in the housing market; NIOX Group after a bid approach from Keensight lapsed; and Pinewood Technologies which halved after Apax Partners abandoned its approach during the AI software scare, said Mills, founder and chief executive of Harwood Capital.
James Carthew, head of investment company research at QuotedData, said: “Oryx’s results encapsulate many of the themes of the past year and a bit. A flat NAV gives a misleading impression of inactivity – it was caught by the agentic AI sell off of software stocks, knocked by reaction to the US attack on Iran, a beneficiary of a wave of M&A hitting the UK market and the resurgence of biotech, and a casualty of the change to IHT rules on AIM stocks. I’m sorry to report that the saving grace – the narrower year-end discount – has unwound, and once again Oryx sits on one of the widest discounts in the sector.
North Atlantic Smaller Companies (NAS), the £530m global smaller companies trust also run by Chris Mills, says Medication Packaging Holdco Limited has been sold from Harwood Private Equity 5 in which it invests. NAS will receive £9.75m cash representing a 2.45 times gain on its investment and a 19% internal rate of return. “As the uplift in the valuation was taken earlier, there will be no impact on the net asset value as at the end of June/July,” the company said.
Alternative Income REIT (AIRE) says Glenstone director Adam Smith has resigned from its board. The announcement yesterday came after Glenstone, AIRE’s largest shareholder with a 24% stake, improved its cash offer for the company by 2% to 71.4p per share, or £57.4m. In response, AIRE’s two other directors Simon Bennett and Stephanie Eastment, who last month rejected the previous offer of 70p per share, published a valuation report from Knight Frank stating that the net asset value (NAV) of the portfolio’s 19 properties remained at the 31 March level of £103.45m or 84.4p per share. AIRE shares rose 1p to 71p in early trading today.
Finsbury Growth & Income (FGT) shareholders yesterday renewed the UK equity income trust’s share buyback authority with 97.7% of votes in favour on a 34.8% turnout. The board has been a huge buyer of the trust’s shares during a long period of underperformance by fund manager Nick Train. This has reduced the trust’s market value to £773m but has kept the share price discount in single digits, currently 6.9%.
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