Tritax Big Box declares its cash and shares offer for Warehouse REIT final, which means victory for Blackstone’s improved and recommended 115p per share cash offer. Middlefield Canadian Income finalises plans for its conversion to an exchange-traded fund and suspended Home Reit renegotiates the contract with its wind-down fund manager AEW. Tritax Big Box (BBOX) […]

Shares in NextEnergy Solar (NESF) have tumbled nearly 5% after the high-yielding renewables fund disclosed another quarterly fall in net asset value (NAV) that pushed its level of borrowing close to a 50% cap that analysts said could restrict its room for manoeuvre.  A valuation decline for the three months to 30 June was expected […]

Update of yesterday’s story: RM Funds calls on the chair of £308m battery fund to resign after 30% of votes at yesterday’s general meeting supported its attempt to shake up the board. Gore Street Energy Storage (GSF) has pledged to make two changes to its board after the battery fund survived a serious challenge at […]

NextEnergy Solar sees over 12% of shares vote for a wind-up and reports another valuation fall; Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square hedge fund reports strong half-year results, as does Sandy Nairn’s Global Opportunities Trust; while Pacific Assets fund manager David Gait resigns; plus updates from Biotech Growth, Primary Health Properties and TwentyFour Income Fund. NextEnergy Solar […]

Baillie Gifford investment trusts Scottish Mortgage, Schiehallion and Baillie Gifford US Growth have made a 60% gain on Databricks, one of their artificial intelligence (AI) investments, in just nine months. The San Francisco company – which accounts for 0.8% of the £14.6bn Scottish Mortgage (SMT) portfolio, 2.6% of £1.1bn private equity fund Schiehallion (MNTN) and […]

Temple Bar (TMPL) has held its top spot in the UK Equity Income sector after generating a total 14.2% investment return in the first half of the year to beat the 9.1% gain in the FTSE All-Share index. A bid for Direct Line and other successful value-style stock picks of Redwheel fund managers Ian Lance […]

A higher-than-expected rise in inflation to 3.8% last month intensifies the pressure on the chancellor ahead of her autumn budget, but alleviates some of the stress on over-sold infrastructure funds. The annual rate of growth in the consumer prices index (CPI) jumped from 3.6% in June, the Office for National Statistics said today, its highest […]

Takeover Panel says it will hold an auction for Warehouse REIT next week; top-performing Temple Bar publishes strong half-year results; plus updates from Blackfinch Spring VCT, Ashoka Whiteoak Emerging Markets and dividends from Aberdeen Equity Income and LondonMetric Property. The Takeover Panel says it will hold an auction for Warehouse REIT (WHR) if neither Blackstone […]

An anti-deflation campaign in China helped steer BlackRock World Mining (BRWM) to its third monthly gain in a row in July. The £1bn flagship BlackRock trust said the mining sector had reacted positively to Beijing announcing an “anti-involution” push to take out surplus capacity in loss-making industries. Last month its net asset value rose (NAV) […]

Payouts from London Stock Exchange Group and Japan’s video gaming giant are set to grow and alleviate the dividend pressure on Lindsell Train investment trust, says co-manager Michael Lindsell. Lindsell Train (LTI), the highest-yielding global equity investment trust, has reassured shareholders that pressure on its dividend from the decline in Nick Train and Michael Lindsell’s […]

Temple Bar (TMPL), the best performing UK equity income trust over one and five years, notched up another 3.5% of investment gains last month as the UK stock market rallied on the back of tariff agreements between the US and the EU and Japan. The underlying gain in the investment trust’s net asset value backed […]

US investors have bought more than $15bn (£11bn) of UK equities this year, more than they have allocated to other overseas markets, according to analysis by Schroders that could bode well for undervalued shares in investment trusts. “We are currently seeing increased interest in UK companies from our US and international investors, with many noting […]

Deutsche Numis dismissed after criticising Third Point Investors’ treatment of shareholders in the Malibu Life acquisition; HICL Infrastructure sells £225m of assets to fund share buybacks, Bluefield Solar makes £38m of disposals to pension fund partners and Land Securities sells a £245m office block. International Public Partnerships has a new lead manager at Amber Infrastructure. […]

Update: Third Point Investors (TPOU) has won shareholder approval for its controversial acquisition of Malibu Life, angering the rebel investor group which accused it of ignoring the wishes of independent shareholders. At an extraordinary general meeting on Thursday, 66.67% of votes cast were in favour of the reverse takeover that will see Dan Loeb’s £329m […]

European Opportunities Trust cuts the fee it pays fund manager Alexander Darwall after another year of underperformance largely caused by the slump in its top holding Novo Nordisk; Murray International beats its benchmark in the first half; plus results and updates from European Assets, Invesco Bond Income Plus, Vietnam Enterprise and JPMorgan Emerging Europe. European […]

Aquila Renewables (AERI) pausing its sales process with a preferred bidder last month was a “major disappointment” for MIGO Opportunities (MIGO), weighing on returns after two strong months for the bargain-hunting closed-end fund investor, although it did benefit from a positive update from Chrysalis Investments (CHRY). Chrysalis’ announcement of a 14% increase in net asset […]

Empiric Student Property agrees to takeover by Unite; Riverstone Energy sets “adjustment payments” to its fund manager ahead of next week’s wind-down vote; and JPMorgan American and JPMorgan Claverhouse issue half-year results. Unite (UTG) is to buy Empiric Student Property (ESP) after the two companies agreed a recommended cash and share offer in talks that […]

Veteran small-cap fund manager Paul Jourdan’s attempt to get on the board of Maven Renovar (MRV), the former Amati AIM VCT that sacked him and his company last year, has failed with around 60% of votes against him and fellow requisitionists at a general meeting of shareholders today. Chair Fiona Wollocombe, who has been under […]

Good stock picking by Diverse Income (DIVI) fund managers Gervais Williams and Martin Turner saw the £238m UK equity income trust outperform the domestic stock market for the first time in four years, but with 31% of investors having recently chosen to sell their holdings, time may be running out for the small-cap focused portfolio. […]

Primary Health Properties (PHP) has won the battle for rival NHS landlord Assura (AGR) with 62.9% of Assura shareholders accepting its cash and shares offer by yesterday’s 1pm deadline. The offer of £460m in cahs and a 48% stake in the enlarged business has been declared unconditional while the rival £1.7bn private equity cash offer […]

Baillie Gifford US Growth (USA) fund managers Gary Robinson and Kirsty Gibson have promised to take profits more often and monitor the balance of their high-growth portfolio to avoid a repeat of the 2022 crash from which the £757m investment trust is still recovering. In annual results to 31 May, the company admitted its five-year […]

Our monthly review of investment companies returning capital and raising new money shows the £12bn Baillie Gifford flagship has greatly exceeded its £2bn minimum buyback target as its shares continue to lag the underlying growth in its global portfolio. Scottish Mortgage (SMT) has bought back more than £2.5bn of its shares since activist hedge fund […]

International Public Partnerships (INPP), the £2.3bn infrastructure fund that surprised investors with a £250m investment in Sizewell C nuclear power plant project last month, has sold down part of its 10% stake in Angel Trains. The investment company has agreed to sell 1.6% of the rolling stock leasing company to London-based Arjun Infrastructure Partners for […]

Allianz Technology Trust’s focus on “emerging” technology leaders paid off in the first half as tech titans Apple and Amazon struggled against the turmoil of US tariff policy. A breakdown in the dominance of “Magnificent Seven” stocks helped Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) beat its benchmark in the first half of the year, holding out the […]

Half-year results from Allianz Technology, Ruffer Investment Company trims equities, Assura rebuffs KKR and continues to back the offer from Primary Health Properties, plus updates from CVC Income & Growth, Develop North, LMS Capital, Menhaden Resource Efficiency and JPMorgan Emerging Europe. Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) made a 2.9% investment return in the first half of […]