De La Rue was introduced to the fund’s top-10 portfolio holdings in March, an RNS update published this morning showed. The company is currently at the centre of a row over a contract to produce UK passports and has until 17 April to lodge an appeal with the Home Office over its decision to award the design and production to a Franco-Dutch company.
Sky News reported on Monday Crystal Amber, managed by Richard Bernstein, plans to increase its stake over the coming months.
The latest RNS filing shows that at 31 March, the investment trust held 1.2% of the company; however, Sky News reported that has already been upped to 2% in the intervening period.
Invesco Perpetual is the largest shareholder in the £197.9m investment trust, with a 29% stake as of 14 February, followed by Woodford Investment Management, which holds a 17% stake. Barings, Aviva and Rathbones are also large shareholders.
Woodford Equity Income holds a 0.45% stake in Crystal Amber.
The investment trust is fourth quartile over a one-year period, losing 11.9% compared to a 5.3% gain in the Investment Trust UK All Companies sector over the same period, according to FE. However, it is first quartile over three and five years, returning 46.8% and 90.4% respectively, compared to 23.6% and 50.1% in the sector.
Crystal Amber’s website said the investment trust aims to take an activist approach to all companies. Launched in 2008, the Guernsey-registered investment trust focuses on UK mid and small-cap companies.
Passport controversy
Brexiteers touted the switch from red passports, associated with European countries’ travel documents, to blue as a symbolic win when it was announced by prime minister Theresa May in December. The redesign would come into effect from 2019.
The government’s decision to award Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto with the passport contract was subsequently viewed as a blow to the blue passport campaign, which had been championed by national newspapers, such as the Daily Mail and The Sun.
Taxpayers are set save £120m if the contract goes ahead with Gemalto.
De La Rue had previously designed and produced the passports in a 10-year contract generating about £400m in revenues, but it said the government’s decision would not affect this or next year’s financial performance.
Its share price has fallen about 20% over the last year.
Two days before the government announced it was handing the passports contract to Gemalto shares slid on the departure of De La Rue’s chief financial officer Jitesh Sodha.
