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Finsbury Growth & Income Trust PLC on Wednesday acknowledged the ‘frustration’ caused by its ‘disappointing’ performance in 2025, as net asset value slipped below the year prior, but reaffirmed the company’s investment approach. Its shares fell 0.6% to 807.55 pence on Wednesday morning in London, having lost 9.0% in the past year. The Edinburgh-based investment firm mainly targets UK companies, which at present comprise its entire portfolio. NAV per share was 923.0 pence at September 30, down from 943.4p a year earlier. For the year ended September 30, NAV declined 0.1%, compared with a total return of 8.2% the previous year. Share price total return was 2.3%, well below the 16.2% return posted by the firm’s benchmark, the FTSE All-Share index. The firm declared no final dividend, instead paying two interim dividends in financial 2025, which bring the total dividend per share to 20.2 pence, edged up from 19.6p the previous year. The firm plans to continue this payout policy, ‘rather than wait several months to secure shareholder approval to pay a final dividend,’ it said. Finsbury Growth & Income is due to vote on continuation at its annual general meeting in January. The board intends to vote in favour of continuation, and has recommended shareholders do the same. In his first annual statement as chair, Pars Purewal said: ‘The board acknowledges this extended period of underperformance and the understandable frustration this has caused among shareholders. In the face of this poor performance, your board has subjected the portfolio manager‘s investment process and the resulting portfolio holdings to close scrutiny. We remain confident in the long-term investment process. Pars stressed that ’a highly concentrated portfolio means higher risk, particularly in the short-term.‘ Nick Train, director of the firm’s manager, Lindsell Train Ltd, called attention to a ’torrid‘ year for major investee, Diageo PLC, ’with bad news or uncertainty everywhere.‘ ‘Shareholders will also know that Diageo has had a wretched time of it as an investment over the last three years. It is still a substantial holding in FGT and I must acknowledge that its dismal performance has hurt FGT’s performance and tested even my patience. ‘Trump’s tariffs, the Chinese government‘s clampdown on corruption and extravagance, financial pressures on consumers, questions about consumers’ long-term relationship with alcohol and the loss of its CEO have all weighed. Nonetheless, despite it all, it is worth noting Diageo‘s revenues for the year were, effectively, unchanged,’ Train commented. Train reaffirmed an optimistic view of UK-listed stocks and noted: ‘Ironically we see one of the most exciting opportunities on the London stock market as being the owner of the London Stock Exchange itself, LSEG.’ He pointed to LSEG’s ‘forecast double digit growth and operating profit margins of close to 50%’ as well as a recent tie-up with Microsoft Corp for AI deployment. Chair Purewal added: ‘While many of our portfolio companies are listed in the UK, they are, in reality, global businesses with leading positions in their respective industries. We share the portfolio manager’s belief, both in the quality of these companies and in the belief that this quality will, ultimately, be reflected in their share price performance.’ Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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