Montanaro European Smaller Companies (MTE) has launched its third tender offer in 16 months, giving shareholders the opportunity to sell 5% of its shares back to the company at a 5% discount to net asset value (NAV). Shares in the £202m investment trust managed by George Cooke and Stefan Fischerfeier currently stand 8.7% below NAV. The closing date for tender forms is 18 November with the share price of purchases to be announced on 30 November. The shares will be bought and money sent to selling shareholders in the first three weeks of December.
QuotedData senior analyst Matthew Read said: “Montanaro European Smaller Companies’ bi-annual tender offers are part of the board’s commitment to addressing the discount and improving liquidity for shareholders, alongside an active buyback programme and the previous management fee reduction. While only 5% of shares are eligible for repurchase, this is designed to keep the sales process manageable given the less liquid nature of the stocks MTE holds and has been effective at keeping MTE trading at single digit discounts for most of the last 12 months. Ultimately, the greater opportunity should be in MTE’s portfolio of European smaller companies, which have been out of favour for some time despite attractive valuations and, in many cases, resilient earnings growth. There are tentative signs that sentiment is improving, and Montanaro’s emphasis on high-quality, profitable businesses should leave it well placed to benefit if the recovery gathers momentum.”
Golden Prospect Precious Metals (GPM), the £85m specialist mining fund, said new fund manager Baker Steel will contribute to the costs of its move to the Main Market this month. The new commitment came as Baker Steel’s Mark Burridge and Trevor Steel officially took over the portfolio yesterday after the board announced the firm’s appointment in July having decided not to follow its previous managers Keith Watson and Robert Crayfourd to Tufton Investment Management. The financial support will extend the fee waiver that Baker Steel is making while the previous investment adviser CQS continues to be paid until next March.
QuotedData’s Matthew Read said: “GPM’s arrival at Baker Steel finally draws a line under a period of uncertainty for the trust following the previous managers’ departure from CQS. Baker Steel is a highly regarded specialist with a strong long-term track record in precious metals mining equities, and its expertise should complement GPM’s focus on smaller mining companies, where detailed geological knowledge and stock selection can make a significant difference. As we have previously highlighted, shareholders will benefit from a meaningful reduction in management fees – around 21% on a like-for-like basis – while the shorter notice period is another welcome improvement. Furthermore, with around three-quarters of the portfolio expected to remain broadly unchanged, this should be a case of continuity, rather than wholesale upheaval, and the proposed move to the Main Market should also help broaden GPM’s appeal.”
ICG-Longbow Senior Secured UK Property Debt Investments (LBOW) has cut the value of its two last remaining loans by £3.4m as its managed wind-down approaches its sixth year. The reduction announced in half-year results follows a reassessment of current market pricing driven by bidding activity. It lowers net asset value (NAV) per share to 14.19p at 31 July from 17.1p at 31 January. LBOW began its wind-down in January 2021.
Matthew Read said: “There is a depressing familiarity to these results from ICG-Longbow, with further write-downs and more delays to the realisation of its two remaining investments. The latest impairments are disappointing as they reflect actual bids for the RoyaleLife assets, suggesting that hopes of recovering materially more from these investments were overly optimistic. On the plus side, the settlement of the RoyaleLife litigation has added 1.31p to the NAV and both assets are at an advanced stage in their sales processes, although shareholders have heard encouraging noises about disposals before, particularly in relation to the Southport hotel. With the assets generating no income for shareholders, and costs continuing to eat into recoveries, the priority must be to bring this increasingly protracted wind-down to a conclusion.”
You’ve read the news. Now have your say. Which investment trusts, fund managers and ETFs deserve to win? You decide in the Investors’ Choice Awards 2026. Vote now.
