REG - Athelney Trust plc - Half-year Report
25/07/2025 07:00
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RNS Number : 5147S Athelney Trust PLC 24 July 2025
Athelney trust PLC
Legal Entity Identifier:
213800ON67TJC7F4DLO5
24 July 2025
Half Yearly Financial Report for the Period ended 30 June 2025
Athelney Trust PLC (LSE:ATY) is a company making investments in the equity
securities of quoted United Kingdom companies including smaller companies.
Investment Objective
The investment objective of the Trust is to provide long-term growth in
dividends and capital, with the risks inherent in small cap investment
minimised through a spread of holdings in quality small cap companies that
operate in various industries and sectors. The Fund Manager also considers
that it is important to maintain a progressive dividend record.
Investment Policy
The assets of the Trust are allocated predominantly to companies with either a
full listing on the London Stock Exchange or a trading facility on AIM or
AQSE. The assets of the Trust have been allocated in two main ways: first, to
the shares of those companies which have grown steadily over the years in
terms of profits and dividends but, despite this progress are undervalued by
the market when compared to future earnings and dividends; second, those
companies whose shares are undervalued by the market when compared with the
value of land, buildings, other assets or cash on their balance sheet.
Chair's Statement
Dear Shareholder
I am pleased to present the Interim Financial Report for your company Athelney
Trust plc, for the half year to 30 June 2025.
Period Highlights
At 30 June 2025:
• Unaudited Net Asset Value (NAV) has increased to 187.2p, (plus 0.6%) over
the six month period
•The share price at 30 June was 165p compared to 175p on 31 December 2024
•The discount to NAV had increased to 11.9% from 5.9% at 31 December 2024
compared to a sub sector average of 11.3% (for UK Smaller Companies sector of
the AIC)
•The Company ranked third out of 21 investment trusts with a yield of 5.94%
in the AIC's comparison for the UK Smaller Companies' segment
• NAV total return in the six month period was 8.7p (calculated as the
change in net asset value during the half year, including dividend paid)
•Gross revenue increased by 41.1% against the comparative period last year,
to £133,835 (30 Jun 2024: £94,816)
•Revenue return per ordinary share was 5.5p (31 Dec 2024: 7.4p, 30 Jun
2024: 3.0p)
•A final dividend of 7.6p was paid in April 2025 (April 2024: 7.6p) and an
interim dividend of 2.3p was paid in September 2024 (September 2023: 2.2p)
making the total dividend paid for the financial year 9.9p (2023: 9.8p)
•The interim dividend will be 2.4p (2024: 2.3p).
Performance
The Company's investment performance over the six months to 30 June 2025 was
mixed, but still comparable to the wider UK Smaller Companies sector as
reported by the Association of Investment Companies. While some challenges
persisted, the portfolio navigated a volatile but improving economic
environment with resilience.
Despite some underperformance in specific holdings, the broader portfolio
benefitted from recovering investor sentiment towards UK small and mid-cap
equities. This was underpinned by the improving macroeconomic environment,
declining inflation, and increased corporate activity, including M&A
interest in undervalued UK-listed businesses.
I am delighted that gross revenue income increased to £133,835 (up by over
41% compared to the same period last year), providing a very welcome fillip to
our revenue reserves.
The Board remains encouraged by the performance of the Fund Manager in a
period marked by ongoing geopolitical instability, high but easing interest
rates, and cautious consumer behaviour.
The UK economy has been relatively resilient so far in 2025, weathering
volatility driven by US tariff policy announcements and slowdown fears, with
some advantages resulting, including a 'sweetened' US tariff in the US-UK
trade deal. Along with the new trade deal with India, opportunities appear
to be increasing, with promise of external investment from companies like
Nvidia, backing the UK's investment in AI. PMI indicators increased for the
third consecutive month to 47.7 in June however companies report weak market
conditions due to uncertain economic policy, geopolitical backdrops and
tariffs. Jobs were cut for the eighth consecutive month, perhaps resulting
from increases in National Insurance contributions announced last October.
Inflation has been decreasing but remains high, as companies passed on that NI
increase to consumers.
Political uncertainty has been higher than might be expected with a government
that won such a large majority only a year ago. The rising costs of defence,
driven by a more uncertain future and obdurate wars in Ukraine and Gaza,
against a backdrop of domestic price increases and costly government U-turns
on winter fuel payments and disability benefit changes, mean there is next to
no headroom for the Chancellor and less confidence in the Prime Minister.
In this context, the Company's share price lost just 10p over the period,
closing at 165p per ordinary share on 30 June, recovering from the trough
(suffered by nearly all other UK equities) after the announcement of dramatic
increases in US trade tariffs by President Trump on 2 April. There have been
several US tariff flip-flops since then.
For all the above reasons, including higher interest rates leading to higher
yields and strong interest in bonds, the share price discount to NAV widened
to 11.9% by 30 June. Many other Investment Trusts experienced the same
headwind over the period, resulting in the average discount for the AIC UK
Smaller Companies investment trust sector ending the period at 11.3%.
Dividends
As previously noted, revenue income for the first half was £133,835, larger
than for the same periods over the last 4 years.
The Board has declared an interim dividend of 2.4p per share, to be paid on 26
September 2025 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on
Friday 12 September 2025. We will complete the final dividend decision in Q1
2026.
Shareholder Relations
The AGM held on 23 April 2025 included valuable engagement from shareholders
during the meeting and at the informal discussions that followed. We look
forward to welcoming more shareholders to the next AGM, scheduled for 15 April
2026 in London.
Outlook
The UK's outlook, according to many commentators, has contradictions: Tepid
growth, persistent inflation and fiscal tightening arrayed against some
compelling investment opportunities, including some undervalued equities.
UK fiscal policy and geopolitical uncertainties make it harder to forecast
accurately, and we must wait for news from the Chancellor in the Autumn
Budget, on whether she will raise taxes as many predict. These factors may
dampen short-term growth prospects.
"Consumer Price Inflation is expected to remain broadly at current rates
throughout the remainder of the year before falling back towards target next
year", the June Monetary Policy Committee notes said. The Bank of England
said this would inevitably have an impact on interest rates. A short term
increase in interest rates is expected, driven by energy price cap rises which
distort headline inflation.
The Office for Budget Responsibility, the UK's official forecaster, said as a
result in its latest fiscal risks and sustainability report, that the UK's
public finances are in a 'relatively vulnerable position' and that 'the scale
and array of risks to the UK fiscal outlook remains daunting'.
With the discount to NAV, we still believe this is a great opportunity for
investors in Athelney Trust - as undervalued investments produce results and
the discount unwinds in the future.
Your Board continues to monitor developments closely, consider all options to
create value and is confident that the Company remains well-positioned to
achieve its objectives.
Frank Ashton
Chair
24 July 2025
Other Matters
The Interim Financial Report for the six months ended 30 June 2025 comprises
an Interim Management Report, in the form of the Chair's Statement and Other
Matters, the Managing Director's Report, Portfolio Information and a set of
Financial Statements which have not been reviewed or audited by the Company's
Auditor.
The important events that have occurred during the period under review and
their impact on the performance of the Company as shown in the Financial
Statements is given in the Chair's Statement, the Managing Director's Report
and the Notes to the Financial Statements.
Directors' Responsibility Statement
The Directors are responsible for preparing the Interim Financial Report in
accordance with applicable laws and regulations. The Directors confirm that to
the best of their knowledge:
· The condensed set of Financial Statements for the
six months to 30 June 2025 have been prepared in accordance with FRS 104
"Interim Financial Reporting", and gives a fair view of the assets,
liabilities, financial position and profit of the Company.
· The Interim Financial Report includes a fair
review of the information required by:
a) rule 4.2.7R of the Disclosure Guidance and
Transparency Rules, being an indication of important events that have occurred
during the first six months of the financial year and their impact on the
condensed set of financial statements and a description of the principal risks
and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the year; and
b) rule 4.2.8R of the Disclosure Guidance and
Transparency Rules, being related party transactions that have taken place in
the first six months of the financial year and that have materially affected
the financial position or performance of the Company during that period; and
any changes in the related party transactions described in the last Annual
report that could do so.
Principal Risks and Uncertainties
The Board is responsible for the Company's system of internal control and for
reviewing its effectiveness. The Board considers that the principal risks and
uncertainties facing the Company, other than as set out below, remain the same
as those disclosed in the Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2024 on
pages 14 and 15 and page 39. These risks include, but are not limited to,
market risk, investment and strategic risk, regulatory risk, operational risk,
financial risk and liquidity risk.
Global Issues
The ongoing war in Ukraine and other conflicts around the world have emerged
as significant risks which have impacted global commercial activities. The
board have been monitoring the development of these risks and have considered
the impact they have had to date and assessed the impact they may have in the
future. The Chair's Statement and Managing Director's Report cover these in
more detail.
On behalf of the Board
Frank Ashton
Chair
24 July 2025
Managing Director's Report
Review of 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025
While we're fundamentally bottom-up investors - focused on company-level
execution, durable growth, and valuation discipline - we're macro-aware, not
macro driven. However, over the past twelve months there has been a global
reset of cultural norms which continue to affect the share price performance
of a few of our portfolio holdings. As one would expect this has prompted us
to consider if we have missed anything in our deliberations or if there was
anything we should have done differently in our analysis?
Our Investment Philosophy is based on the belief the economics of a business
drives long-term investment returns and is evidenced through our investment
process which delivers a portfolio of high-quality businesses in the growth
stage of their life cycle. However, investment returns over any period
comprises two components, namely the dividends received and the movement in
the value of the investment portfolio. While the earnings and hence the
dividends we are likely to receive from the companies in our portfolio respond
to economic forces and are fairly easy to predict and, for the most part
increase over time, the same cannot be said for the market valuation of the
business. Market valuations in the short term are affected by investors
responding to the context around daily news feeds and commentary on local and
global economic events and how that context is nuanced. To this end, the
following themes stand out:
Politics ignoring the economic outcome
President Donald Trump has taken a combative stance toward both the liberal
elements of society and trade imbalances and has frequently criticized higher
education institutions for what he viewed as liberal bias and inflated costs,
and his administration has imposed restrictions on international student
visas-particularly from China-impacting university revenues and global
collaboration. On trade, Trump sought to correct what he described as
longstanding unfair trade practices, especially with China by imposing tariffs
on hundreds of billions of dollars in imports, aiming to reduce the U.S. trade
deficit and bring manufacturing jobs back to the country. These actions and
those of other government officials significantly reshaped the landscape of
international trade and challenged the global flow of goods and academic
exchange and in the case of tertiary education, decimated a major sector of
the global economy.
AI Hype vs. AI Impact
In AI we're seeing a major bifurcation. Some companies are chasing AI because
they feel they have to - others are quietly embedding it into workflows in
ways that genuinely improve productivity or margin structure. We're excited
about what some of our portfolio companies are doing on the latter. For
example, we hold firms in fintech and logistics tech where AI isn't a
headline, it's already driving lower cost-to-serve, more productive client
solutions, and in the mid-term can drive material margin benefits.
While we don't build portfolios around macro narratives; we use them to
stress-test theses. It's not about making top-down calls - it's about ensuring
the growth we're underwriting is resilient in multiple environments.
The End of "Easy Money" Is Forcing Real Differentiation
We're through the phase where capital was cheap and indiscriminately
allocated. What's emerging is a market that rewards real earnings power,
sustainable unit economics, and operational leverage, all of which are
positive tail-winds for us.
Performance, Positioning & Outlook
While the UK stock market performed positively over the past six months as
shown in the table below, this varied materially from sector to sector with
some negatively affected by ongoing global macro-economic themes while others
benefit from improving economic fundamentals and a market rerating. Inflation
for the most part has declined in response to higher interest rates and
central banks are leaning towards continuing to ease them over the coming
months. In spite of the political turmoil on the global stage, the broad
stock market improved by 4.87% during the period under review. During the same
period, the portfolio increased by 7.26% and, after providing for all expenses
and the payment of a dividend of 7.6p in April, the NAV of our portfolio
increased by 0.59% as shown in the table below.
Month NAV Pence per Share Month on Month Movement Three-month movement Six-month movement FTSE250 Month on Month Movement Three-month movement Six-month movement
Dec 2024 186.1
Jan 2025 189.4 1.77% 1.59%
Feb 2025 182.5 -3.64% -2.98%
Mar 2025 176.6 -3.23% -5.10% -4.19% -5.56%
Apr 2025 170.3 -3.57% 2.10%
May 2025 178.5 4.82% 5.75%
Jun 2025 187.2 4.87% 6.00% 0.59% 2.85% 11.04% 4.87%
If one considers the total return to shareholders which includes the dividend
of 7.6 pence per share, then the total return for the six-month period is
5.1%. During the past six months we added a number of new names to the
portfolio in support of our ability to pay the dividend while maintaining our
bias to quality growth companies:
Spectra Systems
Spectra Systems Corporation is a publicly traded security-technology firm
headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island and listed on the London AIM
market. Founded in 1996, the company designs and produces integrated
optical‑sensor systems, covert materials, and software for high‑speed
banknote authentication, brand protection, gaming, lotteries, and secure
documents. It pioneered banknote cleaning (Aeris™) and polymer‑substrate
(Fusion™) technologies, recently expanding via acquisition of Cartor
Holdings in December 2023 to enter the security printing market (postage
stamps, tax stamps, secure labels). Annual revenues surpassed
US $49 million in 2024 with a strong EBITDA increase, and the company
maintains a healthy cash position and dividend stream.
Dunelm Group
Dunelm Group plc is the UK's largest homewares retailer, founded in 1979 as a
Leicester market stall. Today, it operates around 184-200 superstores plus a
robust online shopping platform, offering around 70,000 products ranging from
soft furnishings to kitchenware and furniture. In FY 2024 it generated
approximately £1.7 billion in sales with a pre-tax profit near
£205 million, buoyed by a 6.3 % rise in Q3 sales to £462 million and
growing digital sales to about 37-41 % of total revenues. The company prides
itself on its own-brand ranges (e.g. Dorma, Fogarty), sustainability efforts,
click‑and‑collect convenience and is expanding via new store openings
(200th store in 2025) and recent acquisition of Irish soft‑furnishing chain
Home Focus.
Mony Group
MONY Group plc (formerly Moneysupermarket.com) is a UK-based tech‑led
savings and price‑comparison platform. Listed on the London Stock Exchange
in May 2024 it operates sites including Money Supermarket, Money Saving
Expert, Quidco, Travel Supermarket, IceLolly, and Decision Tech. The Super
Save Club loyalty scheme surpassed one million members, with estimated
household savings reached £2.9 billion as the group focused on member-based
engagement. In FY 2024, MONY posted record revenues of £439.2 million, a
net profit after tax of £80.2 million and grew earnings per share to 17.1p.
Total dividends increased to 12.5p with the company initiating a
£30 million share buyback as well.
Keystone Law
Keystone Law Group plc is a London‑based tech‑enabled, full‐service law
firm founded in 2002 by James Knight and Charles Stringer (originally Lawyers
Direct) and listed on AIM in November 2017. It operates a platform model where
self‑employed Principal lawyers earn up to 75% of their billings with
Keystone providing central resources and proprietary IT. The firm has grown to
455 Principals and 576 fee‑earners, up from 432 and 549 respectively in
the prior year which highlights the model's scalability. In the year ended 31
January 2025, revenue rose 11.1% to £97.7 million and adjusted PBT climbed
to £12.7 million. The company had net cash of £9.7 million and
returned a total ordinary dividend of 20.2 p per share plus a special
dividend of 15 p per share.
Performance in the first half was weighed down by a disappointing return from
Impax Asset Management, following a protracted period of cash outflows now
offset by a £10m share buyback to the end of the year, and
weaker-than-expected performance from YouGov compared to FTSE 250 and AIM as
it right-sizes its cost base and continues to transition.
Looking Ahead
Markets are prone to extrapolating recent momentum - both positive and
negative. For years now there's been a consistent pattern - companies that
modestly disappoint on execution are being punished heavily, while those
riding current enthusiasm are trading at stretched valuations that leave
little room for error. We think the next six months will favour companies that
combine real operating leverage with misunderstood strategic progress. Our
portfolios remain tilted toward names where near-term scepticism is misaligned
with mid-term fundamentals.
By focusing on finding great businesses - those with high returns on capital,
strong moats, that themselves invest with a long-term mindset, and allocating
capital to the cheapest amongst these high conviction ideas, we can maximise
the likelihood of outperformance. Looking at our portfolio, the recent
improvement in the P/E ratings of the companies from recent lows and the
strong short-term financial metrics for the companies in the portfolio,
including organic sales growth, earnings and dividend growth, gives us
confidence in the outlook and should provide the impetus for a handsome
improvement in valuations.
Dr Manny Pohl AM
Managing Director
24 July 2025
Investment Portfolio at 30 June 2025
Top 20 Holdings
Holding Value %
£ of portfolio
AEW UK 500,000 542,000 13.3
Alpha Group International 8,000 254,800 6.3
Paypoint 30,000 254,100 6.3
Games Workshop 1,500 243,300 6.0
Keystone Law 40,000 240,000 6.0
4Imprint 6,500 237,579 5.9
Mony Group 100,000 221,000 5.5
National Grid 18,083 191,951 4.8
S & U 10,000 178,500 4.4
NWF Group 100,000 168,000 4.2
Liontrust Asset Management 40,000 165,000 4.1
AJ Bell 28,000 143,080 3.6
Impax Asset Management 73,000 135,634 3.4
Auto Trader 14,000 115,276 2.9
Begbies Traynor 100,000 110,000 2.7
Cake Box Holdings 60,000 108,000 2.7
Dunelm 7,900 93,615 2.3
Wise 9,000 93,600 2.3
Fevertree Drinks 10,000 93,400 2.3
Treatt 35,000 90,650 2.3
Total of Top 20 Holdings 3,679,485
Other holdings 249,753
Portfolio Value 3,929,238
Net Current Assets 110,579
TOTAL VALUE 4,039,817
Shares in issue 2,157,881
NAV 187.2p
Income Statement
For the Six Months Ended 30 June 2025
Audited
Year ended
Unaudited Unaudited 31 December
6 months ended 30 June 2025 6 months ended 30 June 2024 2024
Notes Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total Total
£ £ £ £ £ £ £
Gains on investments held at fair value - 44,604 44,604 - (111,919) (111,919) (310,888)
Income from investments 133,835 - 133,835 94,816 - 94,816 202,843
Investment Management expenses - (1,252) (1,252) (1,594) (14,469) (16,063) (33,113)
5
Other expenses (14,902) (58,117) (73,019) (27,520) (51,031) (78,551) (141,538)
Net return on ordinary
activities before taxation 118,933 (14,765) 104,168 65,702 (177,419) (111,717) (282,696)
Taxation 2 (114) - (114) (317) - (317) (448)
Net return on ordinary
activities after taxation 118,819 (14,765) 104,054 65,385 (177,419) (112,034) (283,144)
Dividends Paid:
Dividend (163,999) - (163,999) (163,999) - (163,999) (213,630)
Transferred to reserves (45,180) (14,765) (59,945) (98,614) (177,419) (276,033) (496,774)
Return per ordinary share 3 5.5p (0.7)p 4.8p 3.0p (8.2)p (5.2)p (13.1)p
The total column of this statement is the statement of comprehensive income of
the Company prepared in accordance with Financial Reporting Standards ("FRS").
The supplementary revenue return and capital return columns are prepared in
accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice issued in July 2022 by
the Association of Investment Companies ("AIC SORP").
All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing
operations.
The revenue column of the Income statement includes all income and expenses.
The capital column includes the realised and unrealised profit or loss on
investments
Statement of Changes in Equity
For the Six Months Ended 30 June 2025
For the Six Months Ended 30 June 2025 (Unaudited)
Called-up Capital Capital Total
Share Share Reserve Reserve Retained Shareholders'
Capital Premium Realised Unrealised Earnings Funds
£ £ £ £ £ £
Balance at 1 January 2025 539,470 881,087 2,385,266 93,312 116,061 4,015,196
Net profit on realisation
of investments - - 44,604 - - 44,604
Increase in unrealised
appreciation - - - 84,566 - 84,566
Expenses allocated to
capital - - (59,369) - - (59,369)
Profit for the period - - - - 118,819 118,819
Dividend paid in period - - - - (163,999) (163,999)
Shareholders' Funds at 30 June 2025 539,470 881,087 2,370,501 177,878 70,881 4,039,817
For the Six Months Ended 30 June 2024 (Unaudited)
Called-up Capital Capital Total
Share Share Reserve Reserve Retained Shareholders'
Capital Premium Realised Unrealised Earnings Funds
£ £ £ £ £ £
Balance at 1 January 2024 539,470 881,087 2,467,624 453,206 170,583 4,511,970
Net lossess on realisation - - - -
of investments (111,919) (111,919)
Decrease in unrealised - - - (177,868) - (177,868)
appreciation
Expenses allocated to - - (65,500) - - (65,500)
capital
Profit for the period - - - - 65,385 65,385
Dividend paid in period - - - - (163,999) (163,999)
Shareholders' Funds at 30 June 2024 539,470 881,087 2,290,205 275,338 71,969 4,058,069
For the Year Ended 31 December 2024 (Audited)
Called-up Capital Capital Total
Share Share Reserve Reserve Retained Shareholders'
Capital Premium Realised Unrealised Earnings Funds
£ £ £ £ £ £
Balance at 1 January 2024 539,470 881,087 2,467,624 453,206 170,583 4,511,970
Net profits on realisation
of investments - - 49,006 - - 49,006
Decrease in unrealised
appreciation - - - (359,894) - (359,894)
Expenses allocated to
Capital - - (131,364) - - (131,364)
Profit for the year - - - - 159,108 159,108
Dividend paid in year - - - - (213,630) (213,630)
Shareholders' Funds at 31 December 2024 539,470 881,087 2,385,266 93,312 116,061 4,015,196
Statement of Financial Position As at 30 June 2025
Audited
Notes Unaudited Unaudited 31 December
30 June 2025 30 June 2024 2024
£ £ £
Fixed assets
Investments held at fair value through profit and loss 3,929,238 3,969,785 3,927,180
Current assets
Trade receivables 118,402 105,297 91,471
Cash at bank and in hand 19,401 14,721 43,669
137,803 120,018 135,140
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (27,224) (31,734) (47,124)
Net current assets 110,579 88,284 88,016
Total assets less current liabilities 4,039,817 4,058,069 4,015,196
Provisions for liabilities and charges - - -
Net assets 4,039,817 4,058,069 4,015,196
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital 539,470 539,470 539,470
Share premium account 881,087 881,087 881,087
Other reserves (non distributable)
Capital reserve - realised 2,370,501 2,290,205 2,385,266
Capital reserve - unrealised 177,878 275,338 93,312
Revenue reserves (distributable) 70,881 71,969 116,061
Shareholders' funds - all equity 4,039,817 4,058,069 4,015,196
Net Asset Value per share 4 187.2p 188.1p 186.1p
Number of shares in issue 2,157,881
Approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Directors on 24 July
2025.
Dr Manny Pohl AM
Managing Director
Statement of Cash Flows
For the Six Months Ended 30 June 2025
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
6 months ended 6 months ended Year ended
30 June 2025 30 June 2024 31 December 2024
£ £ £
Cash flows from operating activities
Net revenue return 118,819 65,385 159,108
Adjustments for:
Expenses charged to capital (59,369) (65,500) (131,364)
Increase/(decrease) in creditors (19,901) (8,654) 6,736
Decrease/(increase) in debtors (26,931) 32,412 46,238
Cash from operations 12,618 23,643 80,718
Cash flows from investing activities (1,765,689) (376,627) (998,640)
Purchase of investments
Proceeds from sales of investments 1,892,802 491,357 1,134,874
Net cash from investing activities 127,113 114,730 136,234
Equity dividends paid (163,999) (163,999) (213,630)
Net (decrease)/increase (24,268) (25,626) 3,322
Cash at the beginning of the period 43,669 40,347 40,347
Cash at the end of the period 19,401 14,721 43,669
Notes to the Financial Statements
For the Six Months Ended 30 June 2025
1. Accounting Policies
a) Statement of Compliance
The Company's Financial Statements for the period ended 30 June 2025 have been
prepared under UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (UK GAAP) and the
Statement of Recommended Practice, 'Financial Statements of Investment Trust
Companies and Venture Capital Trusts' issued in July 2022 ('the SORP') issued
by the Association of Investment Companies.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting
policies set out in the statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December
2024.
b) Financial information
The financial information contained in this report does not constitute
statutory accounts as defined in Section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. The
financial information for the period ended 30 June 2025 and 30 June 2024 have
not been audited or reviewed by the Company's Auditor pursuant to the Auditing
Practices Board guidance on such reviews. The information for the year to 31
December 2024 has been extracted from the latest published Annual Report and
Financial Statements, which have been lodged with the Registrar of Companies,
contained an unqualified auditor's report and did not contain a statement
required under Section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.
c) Going concern
The Company's assets consist mainly of equity shares in companies listed on a
recognised stock exchange which, in most circumstances, are realisable within
a short timescale under normal market conditions. The Directors believe that
the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for
the foreseeable future. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern
basis in preparing the financial statements. In assessing the Company's
ability to continue as a going concern, the Board has fully considered the
impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine and other world conflicts in arriving at
this decision.
2. Taxation
The tax charge for the six months to 30 June 2025 is £114 (year to 31
December 2024: £448; six months to 30 June 2024: 317).
The Company has an effective tax rate of 19% for the year
ending 31 December 2024. The estimated effective tax rate is 19% as investment
gains are exempt from tax owing to the Company's status as an Investment Trust
and there is expected to be an excess of management expenses over taxable
income. Tax is however payable on interest received.
3. The calculation of earnings per share for the six months ended 30 June 2025
is based on the attributable return on ordinary activities after taxation and
on the weighted average number of shares in issue during the period.
6 months ended 30 June 2025
Revenue Capital Total
£ £ £
Attributable return on ordinary activities after taxation
118,819 (14,765) 104,054
Weighted average number of shares 2,157,881
Return per ordinary share 5.5p (0.7)p 4.8p
6 months ended 30 June 2024
Revenue Capital Total
£ £ £
Attributable return on ordinary activities after taxation 65,385 (177,419) (111,717)
Weighted average number of shares 2,157,881
Return per ordinary share 3.0p (8.2)p (5.2)p
12 months ended 31 December 2024
Revenue Capital Total
£ £ £
Attributable return on ordinary activities after taxation
159,108 (442,252) (283,144)
Weighted average number of shares 2,157,881
Return per ordinary share 7.4p (20.5)p (13.1)p
4. Net Asset Value per share is calculated by dividing the net assets by
the weighted average number of shares in issue 2,157,881.
5. Investment Management Expenses
Fees & charges (wef 1 Jan 25)
Annual Management fee 0%
Performance fee 10% of outperformance above the return on cash
Ongoing charges (not calculated until 31 Dec 25)
Fees & charges (up to 31 Dec 24)
Annual Management fee 0.75%
Performance fee 0%
Ongoing charges 2.87%
6. Financial Instruments
Fair value hierarchy
The fair value hierarchy consists of the following three classifications:
Classification A - Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or
liabilities. Quoted in an active market in this context means quoted prices
are readily and regularly available and those prices represent actual and
regularly occurring market transactions on an arm's length basis.
Classification B - The price of a recent transaction for an identical asset,
where quoted prices are unavailable. The price of a recent transaction for an
identical asset provides evidence of fair value as long as there has not been
a significant change in economic circumstances or a significant lapse of time
since the transaction took place. If it can be demonstrated that the last
transaction price is not a good estimate of fair value (e.g. because it
reflects the amount that an entity would receive or pay in a forced
transaction, involuntary liquidation or distress sale), that price is
adjusted.
Classification C - Inputs for the asset or liability that are based on
observable market data and unobservable market data, to estimate what the
transaction price would have been on the measurement data in an arm's length
exchange motivated by normal business considerations.
The Company only holds classification A investments (2023: classification A
investments only).
7. Related Party Transactions
Dr. E. C. Pohl is the sole beneficial owner of E C Pohl & Co Pty Limited
and a Director of Astuce Group. E C Pohl & Co Pty Limited held 86,000
(2024: 86,000) shares and Astuce Group held 550,000 (2024: 550,000) shares in
the Company as at 30 June 2025.
Copies of the Interim Financial Statements for the six months ended 30 June
2025 will be available on the Company's website www.athelneytrust.co.uk as
soon as practicable.
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