Gore Street Energy Storage (GSF) chair Patrick Cox is to step down in January, six months earlier than previously indicated, with Angus Gordon Lennox, one of two board appointments made last month, succeeding him on 19 January. Lennox, chair of Aberforth Geared Value & Income (AGVI), former chair of Mercantile (MRC) investment trust and former […]

The growing inference capabilities of AI models can enhance business-critical software used by companies to analyse data, automate workflows and optimise processes. Rapid progress in ‘training’ artificial intelligence models paves the way for AI’s deployment in a spectrum of real-world applications. As trained models become capable of independently making decisions or predictions based on new […]

The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has urged shareholders in Edinburgh Worldwide (EWI) to vote in the forthcoming general meeting called by Saba Capital yesterday as its board rejected the activist hedge fund’s renewed attempt to replace its board. Jonathan Simpson-Dent, chair of the £700m global smaller companies investment trust, said the board was “disappointed” […]

Fund management group M&G, a 3.4% shareholder in HICL Infrastructure (HICL), has joined rebel investors in calling for it to abandon a planned £5.3bn merger with The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG). According to The Times, M&G managers have written to the HICL board saying they can see “no strategic nor financial rationale for the combination” […]

The flotation of Mexican gas pipeline operator Esentia Energy has proven a disappointment for Partners Group Private Equity (PEY) which has had to write down the value of what was its 11th biggest holding. The £708m London-listed fund invests in the private equity funds of Switzerland’s Partners Group, the majority owner of Esentia, which cut […]

Macau Property Opportunities (MPO) has plunged to a new all-time low after shareholders in the specialist property fund refused to support its emergency fund raising. Shares in the company, which owns residential properties in Macau, a special administrative region on the south coast of China, crashed 55%, or 7.3p, to just over 6p after MPO […]

Saba Capital has warned Edinburgh Worldwide (EWI) of its plans to requisition a general meeting in a second attempt to remove the board of the £700m investment trust. The activist hedge fund, which owns 30% of the trust’s shares, failed to get its representatives elected at an EGM in February. It says it remains “profoundly […]

Digital 9 Infrastructure (DGI9) shares fell nearly 30% yesterday after the company said Macquarie European Infrastructure fund had sold its 26.5% stake in Arqiva, the UK broadcasting platform for £16.5m, as part of its liquidation. The price is well below the £213.2m valuation of DGI9’s 51.8% stake in Arqiva. DGI9, whose wind-down is being managed […]

Reports that the Treasury was targeting salary sacrifice pension arrangements proved well founded as the chancellor announced she would charge both employers and employees national insurance (NI) on contributions over £2,000 from 2029. Given that individuals agree to divert some of their pay into their pension in order to lower NI payments, a benefit that […]

The chancellor’s need to fill the budget “black hole” trumped over her wish to encourage investing and saving as she lifted income tax on dividends and interest by 2% and created new bands for rental income. Increasing tax on the income from property, investment and cash assets will raise £2.2bn by 2029/30. The government believes […]

Venture capital trust (VCT) providers have questioned the chancellor’s commitment to a “startup” Britian after she cut upfront income tax relief on investments in their tax shelters from 30% to 20%. The Treasury said the measure was aimed at achieving a better balance in the amount of tax relief given to VCTs compared to enterprise […]

In another effort to support London’s moribund capital markets, the chancellor announced a three-year stamp duty exemption on trading in shares in companies listing in the UK. The relief from 0.5% stamp duty reserve tax applied to the value of purchases in newly listed companies begins tomorrow. In her speech, Rachel Reeves made it sound […]

The amount savers under 65 can put into cash ISAs will be slashed from £20,000 to £12,000 as the chancellor tries to revive the UK stock market after a five-year investor exodus. Although the overall £20,000 ISA allowance will remain, Rachel Reeves said from April 2027 £8,000 of that must go into a stocks and […]

The Office for Budget Responsibility has published details of the Budget early. In an extraordinary development, minutes before the chancellor’s speech, the Budget watchdog revealed the government’s plans to: The OBR also lifted its inflation forecast from 2.1% to 2.5% next year. The pound rose in anticipation that interest rates will not be cut as […]

Alarm bells are not ringing yet for Edinburgh (EDIN) shareholders but the £1.1bn UK equity income investment trust has just recorded its second period of underperformance under fund managers Imran Sattar and Emily Barnard.  Their underweight to banks, the absence of Rolls-Royce‘s (RR) stunning recovery from the portfolio and the unexciting performance of Haleon (HLN), the Sensodyne toothpaste to […]

NextEnergy Solar (NESF), the highest yielding but in share price terms one of the worst performing renewables funds, has appointed a new chair with mergers and acquisitions experience, raising the possibility the company may look for a buyer. Tony Quinlan, a former chief executive of Laird who sold the engineer to private equity group Advent […]

Polar Capital Global Healthcare (PCGH) has received a massive endorsement from shareholders and will proceed to the next stage of its journey after less than a quarter of shares were tendered in the company’s 100% exit. Shareholders were free to sell all their stakes in the £508m investment trust’s tender offer but only 22.5% did […]

GCP Asset Backed Income (GABI), the £147m debt fund in wind-down since July last year, will return £33.5m to shareholders through a third compulsory partial redemption of shares. The price per share will reflect their net asset value of 79.79p at 30 June minus costs. Payment is expected in December. US Solar Fund (USF) said […]

AVI Japan Opportunity (AJOT) fund manager Asset Value Investors (AVI) has sold 1m shares in the £226m investment trust shortly before it expands from the takeover of Fidelity Japan (FJV). Since launching the small-cap activist fund seven years ago, AVI has invested at least a quarter of its annual management fee into AJOT shares, building […]

CG Asset Management has gained the support of stockbroker Albert E Sharp and Hawksmoor Investment Management for its campaign against the proposed merger of HICL Infrastructure (HICL) and Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG), for which it has launched a dedicated website.  CGAM says the concernedhiclshareholders website is designed to be a forum for shareholders to share their views and to encourage HICL investors […]

Montanaro UK Smaller Companies (MTU) fund manager Charles Montanaro says the “value” headwinds blowing against the company’s quality growth style and depressing its returns won’t last forever. The question is, can the 30-year-old investment trust afford to wait for a revival in its founder’s tried-and-tested approach to stock picking? MTU’s long-term performance is highly impressive. […]

Strong half-year results from Cordiant Digital Infrastructure; Seraphim Space pauses for breath in its first quarter after previous valuation hikes; Caledonia Investments breaks down a 4.4% return six-month return; Molten Ventures is on a roll; Macau Property Opportunities will close its emergency fund raise tomorrow; and Premier Miton Global Renewables shares are temporarily suspended. Cordiant […]

AI chipmaker Nvidia has bought a stake in Revolut valuing the 10-year-old fintech company at $75bn (£57bn), more than the market values of listed high street banks Barclays (BARC), Lloyds (LLOY) and NatWest (NWG).  Nvidia’s venture capital arm NVentures took part in a fundraise led by Coatue, Greenoaks, Dragoneer and Fidelity that provided employees a fifth opportunity to sell some of their shares in the unquoted company.  Revolut did […]

Shires Income (SHRS), a £112m, high-yielding UK equity and bond income fund, saw all the sectors in its portfolio rise in the six months to 30 September as it handsomely beat the FTSE All-Share.   The investment trust achieved an underlying net asset value total return of 15% that outperformed the UK benchmark’s 11.6% by 3.4%, although shareholders had to make do […]

Activist Saba Capital has increased the pressure on Pantheon International (PIN) to do more to narrow its 29% share price discount by taking a 5% stake in the £1.5bn listed private equity fund. A filing on Friday showed the hedge fund held the £80m position in Pantheon Ventures’ flagship mostly through swap derivatives rather than […]

Vietnam Holding (VNH) says net asset value fell 3.1% in October, underperforming the Vietnam Index which dipped 0.7%. The country suffered severe weather with typhoons battering the north and central regions leading to flooding that claimed 90 lives and persisted into early November. As a result, retail sales growth eased to 7.2% as consumers stayed […]

AEW UK (AEWU) real estate investment trust says commercial property capital values are “at their lowest point” in its 10-year history, providing the £165m top performer, which won a QuotedData Investors’ Choice award last month, with plenty of attractive opportunities if only it could raise more money. At the end of September, AEWU had £13.2m […]

VH Global Energy Infrastructure (ENRG), the £300m international renewables fund, increased net asset value (NAV) by 5.8% in the third quarter in an encouraging start to the three-year wind-down approved by shareholders in August. NAV per share rose 5.8p from 100.9p at 30 June to 106.7p on 30 September as a result of market feedback […]

Montanaro European Smaller Companies (MTE), the £239m investment trust run by George Cooke and Stefan Fischerfeier at Montanaro Asset Management (MAM), saw 20.5% of its shares put up for sale in the 5% tender offer announced last month. Winterflood analyst Emma Bird said the level of over-subscription for the first semi-annual tender suggested a lack […]