North Atlantic Smaller Companies Investment Trust (NAS) reported a 7.7% increase in NAV over the six months to 31 July 2026, while the share price rose by 18.1% as the discount narrowed materially. NAV per share increased from 555.4p at the end of January to 598.1p, while adjusted NAV (which reflects Oryx International Growth Fund (OIG) under the equity method of accounting) rose by 8.0% to 639.0p. The shares ended the period at 424.0p, reducing the discount to reported NAV from 35.4% to 29.1%. Chief executive Christopher Mills said the trust’s total shareholder return of 9% was only marginally behind the sterling-adjusted S&P 500 over the period. Corporate activity provided a significant tailwind. Animalcare rose following a takeover approach, while Spire and Tate & Lyle also benefited from bid activity. Polar Capital and TP ICAP were among the other stronger performers, while Gleeson was the main disappointment after weakness across the housebuilding sector. The trust also generated cash from its unquoted portfolio. The majority of its investments in Coventbridge and Medica Packaging were sold during the period, raising around £23m at what the manager described as good profits to original cost. A further disposal process is under way which could generate another £9m by Christmas if completed.
Some of this capital has been redeployed into public-to-private transactions. North Atlantic participated in the take-privates of Frenkel Topping and Animalcare, investing £34m and £17m respectively, including its share through Harwood Private Equity VI. The trust continued to make use of its wide discount through buybacks. It repurchased 5.3m shares for cancellation during the six months, reducing the number of shares in issue to 125.2m. The shares were bought at a discount to NAV of just over 30%, which the manager said was accretive for continuing shareholders. Income profit fell to £6.0m from £8.5m in the comparable period, reflecting lower short-term interest rates and the sale of higher-yielding securities to fund buybacks. No interim dividend was declared, although the board said it currently expects the full-year payment to be at least 6p per share and hopes to maintain last year’s 7p level. Looking ahead, Mills remains cautious on the UK market, citing persistent outflows from small- and mid-cap funds and pressure on domestic sectors. However, he also pointed to the continued pace of takeovers of UK-listed companies, which is helping to crystallise value across the portfolio.
