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Syncona Ltd on Thursday reported a fall in its net asset value but said it is well-positioned to deliver value as market conditions in biotech improve. The London-based investor in life science companies said net asset value per share fell 1.8% to 167.9 pence per share on September 30 from 170.9p at the end of March. It posted a NAV per share return of negative 1.7%. Syncona said the performance was driven by a £15.9 million write-down in the CRT Pioneer Fund. CRT Pioneer Fund is a legacy holding in a private, oncology-focused investment fund, which is a non-core holding in the Life Science portfolio, which is not managed by Syncona Investment Management. Syncona said public market conditions are improving for biotech companies in line with cost of, and access to, capital. ‘There has been a significant period of restructuring, consolidation and rationalisation across the sector which appears largely complete,’ the company said. SIML expects market conditions to start to improve across the private markets, it added. The firm confirmed a set of refined proposals, announced in October, which seek to ‘maximise value for shareholders and to create a sustainable longer-term structure’. The proposals have an initial focus on the return of £250 million of net proceeds to shareholders from the sale of mature private portfolio companies in a timely manner. ‘The portfolio will continue to be proactively managed, and portfolio companies will only be sold when it is in the best interests of shareholders,’ Syncona said. ‘The board is pleased with SIML’s active management of our portfolio companies during the period and the emerging signs of improvement in biotech markets. Significant progress has also been made during the period in formulating proposals for a new investment objective and policy,’ said Chair Melanie Gee. ‘We are starting a consultation on the incentive arrangements for SIML to support the new policy and, once this is complete, we will be sending out a circular to convene a general meeting.’ Shares in Syncona were down 0.3% at 99.90 pence on Thursday afternoon in London. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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