Onward Opportunities Limited (ONWD) announced its annual results for the 12 months to 31 December 2024. The company delivered a NAV total return of 21.5%, comfortably outperforming the benchmark UK AIM All-Share’s total return by 25.4%, which fell during the same period. ONWD’s share price total return was 34.2%. During the financial year, the company materially outperformed all 44 small cap funds (Unit Trusts & OEICs) in the Investment Association UK Smaller Companies table; and significantly outperformed its stated target returns of 15% per annum.
The top five contributors to returns in the period, in absolute terms, were Windward (+£2.13m), MPAC Group (+£1.72m), Synectics (+£1.0m), Transense Technologies (+£786k), and Alumasc (+£495k). Upon completion of the cash offer for Windward the estimated realised return on investment is expected to be 134.5% IRR, and a 2.5x multiple of invested capital.
During the period, the company also completed five accretive capital raises, each at a premium to prevailing NAV per share at the time to raise an aggregate additional £9.3m. As a result, the company was amongst the top ten largest capital raisers on the London Stock Exchange amongst investment trusts in FY24. Post period end the company also made significant strategic progress with a £2.1m capital raise in March 2025, growing the company’s capacity for further investments by 6.9%.
Andrew Henton, chair, commented:
“During its short period of existence to date, ONWD to some may seem perverse. Not only does the company invest in an unloved sector of the market, but it successfully floated – and has continued to raise new money – at a time when new issuances on UK equity capital markets have sunk to historic lows. And notwithstanding such deviancy, it closed the calendar year as one of the top performing funds in the UK.
“Your board does not think the company is perverse. Rather, we think ONWD’s success to date reflects the combination of cool-headed financial analysis on the one hand, and warmly supportive, proactive engagement with investee companies on the other. Whilst we are not complacent about the ongoing effort required to sustain and maintain investment performance, we are confident that the strategy, now proven, is capable of long-term application. We therefore believe the company is deserving of further capital allocation by new investors.
“On behalf of the board, I thank all our investors for their support over the past year, and we look forward to welcoming many more new investors over the years and months to come.”
Laurence Hulse, lead fund manager, said:
“There has been so much to be concerned about as an investor in UK equities, but as is often the case this has created rich pickings for single-minded investors. Onward Opportunities has successfully navigated a tough backdrop, outperforming an illustrious peer group through a focus on bottom lines in spite of the headlines. We are delighted to have delivered a NAV return of +21.5% for 2024 and these results add to the emerging record of significant market outperformance since launch. There have been some fantastic achievements by the management teams we have backed, and our thanks must also go to them. The takeover approach for Windward at a material premium is a great example of hidden gems in the UK public markets which we work hard to identify.
“Looking forwards, an eclectic portfolio of opportunities has been built by the team to deliver returns in what is expected to be a tough 2025 domestically. Competition for investment is fiercer than ever, and UK shares will have to command capital on a case-by-case basis; reliance on earnings growth, business as usual or just being cheap is scant. The portfolio has been designed with a particular focus on what we see as two key themes for outperformance: global earnings purchasable at a London valuation or an underscored focus on domestic catalysts that are largely idiosyncratic to conditions in the UK.”
