Temple Bar (TMPL) had a good October, outperforming the FTSE All-Share’s 1.1% rise with a 4% increase in net asset value as UK equities benefited from a broadening in global markets in response to mounting concerns over sustainability of expenditure on artificial intelligence. Shares in the £1.3bn UK equity income trust rose 3.4% taking their six-year total return since Redwheel fund managers Nicholas Purves and Ian Lance were appointed to 289%, more than double the All-Shre’s 126% advance. During October, the portfolio benefited from BT rising on its acquisition of TalkTalk and PlatformX Communications, further boosted by reports that Virgin Media O2 was nearing a deal to use its Openreach fibre network. Accenture also spiked after forecast-beating fourth quarter results and reassuring investors that the consultant’s revenue growth and margin expansion targets were not threatened by AI. Financials detracted from performance with NatWest and Standard Chartered undermined by fears of a Budget tax raid although the temporary 3 percentage point rise in the bank surcharge proved to be less than expected.

B P Marsh (BPM), a £240m venture capital fund specialising in early-stage financial services firms, said that founder Brian Marsh had sold £15.2m of shares in the company at 650p, a discount to the 720p price at the start of the week. The shares have fallen to 664p, down 7.8% or 56p today.