Augmentum Fintech (AUGM), the growth capital fund struggling on a 45% discount, has agreed a £185.7m cash bid from Norwegian buyout group Verdane of 111p per share and a 27% premium to yesterday’s closing price of 87.4p. Shares in the investment trust launched eight years ago to back start-ups looking to shake up financial services […]
Home REIT (HOME), the former homeless accommodation provider that is the subject of a fraud investigation by the police, has published its 2025 results. It says talks announced in November with Patron Capital over a possible £123m sale of 700 properties continue. During the year to 31 August, AEW, the fund manager in charge of […]
In another contraction for the investment company sector, Diverse Income (DIVI), the £278m UK equity income trust run by Premier Miton fund managers Gervais Williams and Martin Turner, will liquidate and offer shareholders a 100% cash exit and rollover into their open-ended Premier Miton UK Multi Cap Income fund. As reported by QuotedData earlier this […]
Unite (UTG), the student accommodation provider that completed the acquisition of rival Empiric last month, saw its shares slide 11% to 495p yesterday as annual results showed a further deterioration in bookings with 68% of rooms (excluding Empiric) sold for 2026/27 compared to 71% a year ago. Engagement with students had been positive in recent […]
Valhalla, the investment vehicle of Preqin founder Mark O’Hare (pictured), has increased its stake in HgCapital (HGT) from 7.2% to 8% as shares in the £1.9bn software focused private equity trust continue to struggle over concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on its companies. Valhalla bought over 3.9m shares last Thursday to take […]
Having extricated itself from the grip of Saba Capital and gobbled up rival European Assets Trust (EAT) last year, European Smaller Companies Trust (ESCT) sounds confident as it looks ahead to the rest of 2026. ESCT, the biggest trust in its sector following the EAT merger that’s lifted its market value to £779m, made a 7.7% […]
The Investment Company (INV), one of the oldest but smallest investment trusts with a market value of just £6.5m, is changing fund manager. Chelverton Asset Management (CAM), manager of the £31m Chelverton UK Dividend (SDIV) trust, has relinquished the mandate for the UK smaller companies minnow after less than three years following a strategic review […]
BlackRock Frontiers (BRFI) has taken a knock but will survive after holders of 13.7% of shares in the £381m investment trust elected to sell in the five-yearly 100% tender offer announced in December. Nearly 25.9m shares were validly tendered and will be put into a tender pool with investors receiving net asset value minus costs […]
Impax Environmental Markets (IEM) has passed the first hurdle in its effort to escape the clutches of Saba Capital, though, like Herald (HRI), the other investment trust being stalked by the activist hedge fund, its future remains uncertain. Yesterday the unique £831m London-listed investment company got almost unanimous approval from the 38.9% of its shares […]
Herald (HRI), the £1.2bn global technology trust in a fight for survival with Saba Capital, has complained to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) about the actions of its 31% shareholder, which it “deplores”. Saba, an activist hedge fund with stakes in dozens of UK investment companies, was pushing to take control of Herald by “a […]
