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City Of London Investment Trust PLC on Friday said the outlook for growth in Europe was weak amid uncertainty in France and Germany, but it noted that many listed companies are taking advantage of their low valuations to buy back shares cheaply. The FTSE 250-listed investment firm, which targets long-term growth through equities listed on the London Stock Exchange, said net asset value per share with debt at fair value ticked up 0.3% to 430.8 pence as at December 31 from 429.6p at June 30. NAV total return was 2.8% in the six months to December 31, outperforming the trust’s benchmark, the FTSE all-share index, which had a return of 1.9%. The company declared an interim dividend of 10.5p per share, up 4.0% from 10.1p a year ago. Looking ahead, City of London Investment Trust said the UK economy was struggling to grow, amid a weak growth outlook for Europe, particularly with ‘considerable’ political uncertainty in France and Germany. The company noted that many domestic UK stocks remained relatively depressed. More positively, it highlighted that many companies were taking advantage of their low valuations to buy back their shares ‘on the cheap’. Chair Laurie Magnus said: ‘More takeovers can be expected from overseas companies and private equity firms while this low relative value of UK equities persists. The dividend yield of UK equities will also become increasingly attractive relative to bank deposit rates as interest rates decline.’ City Of London Investment Trust shares were 0.1% lower at 438.00 pence each on Friday morning in London. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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