Dowgate Wealth has launched Onward Opportunities Limited, a closed-ended investment company that aims to exploit the ‘structural’ opportunity present in the UK small-cap sector.
The company listed on AIM at 8am this morning (30 March), and has raised £12.8m of initial capital.
The portfolio, which is managed by Dowgate, is concentrated, investing in 20-25 stocks, and has an investment time horizon of three to five years.
Laurence Hulse (pictured), an investment director at the firm, heads up the management team. He joined the firm last year from Gresham House, where he co-managed the Strategic Public Equity Fund LP and LF Gresham House Smaller Companies Fund.
Hulse said the company would incorporate what he called the “three core ingredients to make money: a clear market opportunity, a bespoke strategy to capture it, and the people required to execute the plan”.
He continued: “This launch puts in place the foundations to grow an investment company that can actively engage with UK smaller companies we identify value in. I would like to extend my thanks to our seed investors and the whole team for providing this fantastic onward opportunity to build upon.”
Andrew Henton, chairman Onward Opportunities’ board, spoke of a “structural gap” within the UK smaller companies sector, which he said could be exploited through the “deep industry experience” of the investment team.
Henton added: “Our strategy involves an active approach to identifying investee companies and engaging with them. In so doing we will both support the growth companies that are the driving force of enterprise in the UK whilst also taking advantage of valuation inefficiencies to underpin returns.”
Mark Chadwick, CEO of Dowgate Wealth, concluded: “The market volatility of 2022 has created a statistically interesting time to deploy capital into robust, well-researched investment ideas in the UK. We are confident that Onward Opportunities will prove to be a popular proposition for investors looking for an innovative product that can provide absolute returns.”
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