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Herald Investment Trust PLC on Monday said that there ‘has been marked volatility in technology stocks, especially software companies’ as it reported a rise in net asset value. London-based Herald, which aims to achieve capital appreciation through investments in smaller, quoted technology and communications companies, said net asset value per share was 2,700.5 pence as at December 31, up 8.5% from 2,488.2p a year prior. NAV total return was 8.5% in 2025. This was lower than the total return of 11.8% of the Deutsche Numis Smaller Companies plus AIM excluding investment companies index, but better than the Russell 2000 Technology index small cap in sterling terms, which had a return of minus 0.3%. The company said: ‘2025 was a year dominated by the unwanted attentions of Saba Capital Management LP. Saba have blocked the board’s proposal to give shareholders the choice between selling back to the company at or close to NAV or staying with the current successful mandate. At the time of writing, it is therefore unclear whether a solution can be found to reconcile the interests of Saba, who have a blocking minority shareholding, and of the rest of the shareholders who form the majority. The board continues to work hard in an attempt to find such a solution, as they have done for many months.’ Herald Chair Andrew Roy said: ‘Since the year end, there has been marked volatility in technology stocks, especially software companies. The company’s own portfolio has not been immune but is up 2% at the time of writing, reflecting the benefit of the shift away from software in favour of hardware noted above.’ Looking ahead, he said: ‘Provided that the company’s shareholder register can be sorted out, with short term investors given the opportunity to leave and genuine medium and long-term savers remaining, there remains good reason to have continued confidence in the long-term prospects for the company.’ Herald proposed no final or total dividend for 2025, unchanged from 2024. Herald shares were 0.9% lower at 2,536.53 pence each on Wednesday morning in London. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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