The board of the £1.6bn Finsbury Growth & Income trust, managed by Nick Train, has published a circular and announced a general meeting next month, to ask shareholders to approve the renewal of the trust’s buyback policy.
Within normal market conditions, the board will buy back ordinary shares when the trust’s discount to NAV approaches 5%. AIC data shows that FGT’s discount stands at 9.5%, with the investment company’s net asset value residing at £911.3m.
See also: “Nick Train: The one ‘obvious failing’ that’s been holding me back“
Since the trust’s 2024 AGM, which took place on the 23 January this year, the company has bought back £175.1m worth of shares – amounting to 20,633,230 in total – which represents 70% of FGT’s existing authority.
In a stock exchange announcement published today (23 July 2024), the board said: “To avoid a situation arising whereby the existing authority is fully utilised prior to the company’s next annual general meeting, resulting in the board being unable to implement the buyback policy, the board believes that it is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders for the buyback authority to be renewed prior to the next annual general meeting.”
The general meeting will take place on 23 August at 25 Southampton Buildings, London, at 9.30am.
Over one, three and five years, FGT’s share price has fallen by 7%, 1.3% and 1.8%, respectively according to AIC data. Its average peer in the IT UK Equity Income sector has gained 9.8%, 21.4% and 32.1% over the same time frames.
A total of five holdings account for more than a 10% weighting each within the trust; London Stock Exchange Group at 12.7%; RELX at 12.5%; Experian at 12.1%, Sage Group at 11.3%; and Diageo at 10.6%.
