Update: The FTSE 100 slid 0.9% as travel and economically sensitive stocks such as banks retreated in response to the joint strikes by US and Israel on Iran at the weekend. However, gains by London-listed oil stocks as crude prices jumped more than 7% supported the UK blue-chip index, which fell less heavily than its […]

Private equity fund manager Hg has sold a €500m (£439m) stake in French legal software firm Septeo to a group of institutional investors but with HgCapital Trust (HGT) maintaining its holding, last valued at £129.6m in September. Hg has not previously disclosed the value of its majority ownership of Septeo, which provides legal software for […]

Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon (BGS) says its 15% tender offer was more than three times over-subscribed with holders of over 122m shares offering to sell compared to the 36.8m shares the company said could be sold in December. That’s nearly half the 245m shares the the underperforming £365m investment trust has in issue, excluding the […]

If shareholders in Herald (HRI), Impax Environmental Markets (IEM) and Edinburgh Worldwide (EWI) investment trusts require any reminding of the peril they could face under Saba Capital, they only need look at the “cautionary tale” of the US activist’s record on one of its own funds, says broker Investec. Alan Brierley, head of investment company […]

Impax Environmental Markets: The US government’s action to shift the national diet towards nutrient-rich foods provides tailwinds for companies in ‘real food’ supply chains and reformulation The start of 2026 marks a significant pivot in US federal nutrition policy. By placing ‘real food’ at the centre of new dietary guidelines, the US government is signalling a […]

Tritax Big Box REIT (BBOX) has marked its promotion to the FTSE 100 with annual results demonstrating the momentum in the £4.6bn logistics fund after a year in which it advanced on its strategic fronts. Shares in BBOX have have risen 20% since October when it bought a £1bn portfolio from Blackstone, ensuring its promotion […]

Impax Environmental Markets (IEM) chair Glen Suarez has published an open letter to Saba boss Boaz Weinstein after his activist hedge fund refused to sell its 21% stake in a continuation tender offer, threatening the future of the £843m investment trust. In the letter Suarez says he was surprised to learn from Saba portfolio manager […]

The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) will present a “fulsome update on strategy” at a capital markets seminar in May, one month before shareholders vote in its first continuation vote at the annual general meeting in June. Announcing TRIG’s annual results, chair Richard Morse hoped this would “give investors the opportunity to support the company’s long-term future […]

Pantheon International (PIN), the £1.5bn private equity fund under pressure from activists Metage and Saba, is looking to improve performance by refocusing on its top 25 external managers. Following “detailed strategic analysis”, Pantheon continues to believe that private equity remains an attractive asset class but has decided a “significant reduction” is necessary in the number […]

Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) has promised to sell more assets, buy back more shares while reducing borrowing after another “challenging” year delivered a 4.9% loss to shareholders. However, in a sign of the conflicting pressures the £2bn alternative income fund is under as it faces another continuation vote in two months, the investment company said […]

JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) has added a Europe strategy to its range of actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETF) using call options to generate higher income. The JPMorgan Europe Equity Premium Income Active UCITS ETF (JEPE) is managed by Hamilton Reiner, the firm’s chief investment officer for US core equity and head of US derivatives. […]

Diageo (DGE), the struggling Guinness to Johnnie Walker drinks giant, has halved its dividend in a blow to equity income funds such as Nick Train’s Finsbury Growth & Income (FGT). New chief executive Dave Lewis said the £39bn company’s board had taken the difficult decision to reduce the pay-out in order to strengthen its balance […]

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 […]

US funds group Alliance Bernstein has received European regulatory approval for three global active exchange-traded funds (ETFs) covering credit, equities and a disruptor theme. The AB SICAV I – Global Corporate Bond Portfolio UCITS ETF, AB SICAV I – Global Research Advanced Equity Portfolio UCITS ETF and AB SICAV I – Global Disruptors Portfolio UCITS […]

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 […]

Saba Capital, the scourge of UK investment companies, has joined efforts to throw a lifeline to investors stuck in three US listed private credit funds run by Blue Owl which have been hit by the recent sell-off in software companies. Saba, the New York-based activist hedge fund, has joined with Cox Capital Partners, a provider […]

Well over half, or 58.6%, of Smithson (SSON) shareholders have opted to take cash rather than roll over into the new open-ended Smithson Equity Fund. In an update on the liquidation of the £1.5bn global smaller companies investment trust announced in November, Smithson said holders of 58.6%, or over 62.9m, of its shares had chosen […]

Chrysalis (CHRY) has denied its fund managers’ claim that dismissing them will endanger its biggest holding in Starling bank. On Friday, in an angry response to the investment company serving notice on them, fund managers Richard Watts and Nick Williamson said the move risked the fund’s recently acquired seat on the board of Starling, a […]

Abrdn European Logistics Income (ASLI) will complete its wind-down after shareholders overwhelmingly voted against proposals from Polish logistics group DL Invest, an 18% shareholder, which wanted to replace Aberdeen as fund manager and resume the listed fund’s investment activities. Nearly three quarters, or 72.6% of shares, were voted in the general meeting requisitioned by DL […]

Fidelity Special Values (FSV) fund manager Alex Wright has told The Times that this month’s “AI scare” has created some of the best investment opportunities since the 2020 pandemic. While he believed that some of the sell-down in highly-rated stocks such as London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), Relx (RELX) and Experian (EXPN) was “a valid […]