REG-BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust Plc: Statement re Continuation Vote in 2026

Blackrock Energy and Resources Income TrustAnnouncement

26/02/2025 14:45

 

BLACKROCK ENERGY AND RESOURCES INCOME TRUST PLC

(LEI:54930040ALEAVPMMDC31)

CONTINUATION VOTE IN 2026

26 February 2025

 

The Board of BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust plc (“BERI” or
the “Company”) considers that the Company provides investors with access
to a unique strategy, offering exposure to the mining and energy companies
that lie at the heart of the global economy, as well as the long-term energy
transition theme. However, the Board is also aware of the importance of
providing shareholders with a say in the future of the Company as a feature of
good corporate governance, particularly given the issue of persistent share
price discounts facing the Investment Trust sector as a whole.

The Board regularly monitors the Company’s share price discount and actively
repurchases shares, balancing the desire to control the absolute level and
volatility of the discount against the potential adverse impact of buybacks on
longer term trading liquidity. The Board has bought back circa 6.7% of share
capital in the last 12 months and intends to continue to buy back shares when
it is in shareholders’ interests to do so. The discount is disappointing for
the Board given the Company’s excellent long term total return track record,
both in terms of NAV and share price (123% and 128%, respectively over 5 years
to date). Performance continues to be strong over the near term, with the NAV
up by 10% and the share price up by 12% over the one year period to the date
of this announcement.

 

The Board has recently undertaken an extensive exercise to ascertain the views
of different types of shareholders in the Company, including through a survey
targeted to include those shareholders who hold the Company through retail
platforms. The feedback was clear in its endorsement of the unique exposure
that BERI offers to the energy transition theme in the closed-ended sector,
the strong longer term performance and the predictable income stream.

However, the Board is cognisant of a trend towards periodic shareholder votes
on continuation, and has decided to offer shareholders an opportunity to vote
on the continuation of the Company at its AGM in March 2026. This decision has
been made against a backdrop of rapidly evolving developments in the wider
sector, particularly regarding corporate structure and discount control. The
Board considers this to be good governance, but also, critically, provides an
opportunity for all shareholders to express their support, or otherwise, for
the continuation of the Company with its current investment strategy. The
Board continues to have confidence in the investment strategy, which offers
unique active exposure to key drivers of global economic growth through the
closed-ended structure.

 

Enquiries:

Adrian Brown
Chair, BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust plc

Telephone – via Company secretary

Neil Morgan
Winterflood Securities Limited

Telephone – 020 3100 0000

Graham Venables 
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited
Secretary

Telephone: 0203 649 3432
 
 Release (https://mb.cision.com/Main/22395/4111375/3286177.pdf)  



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