REG-BlackRock Income and Growth Investment Trust Plc: Portfolio Update

Blackrock Income and Growth Investment TrustAnnouncement

24/11/2025 12:30

The information contained in this release was correct as at 31 October 2025.
Information on the Company's up to date net asset values can be found on the
London Stock Exchange Website at:

 

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-home.html
                              .

 

BLACKROCK INCOME & GROWTH INVESTMENT TRUST PLC (LEI:5493003YBY59H9EJLJ16      
                        )

All information is at                                  31 October 2025        
                       and unaudited.

 

Performance at month end with net income reinvested

 

                              One   Month  Three   Months  One   Year  Three   Years  Five   Years  Since   1 April   2012  
 Sterling                                                                                                                   
 Share price                  7.4%         5.8%            17.3%       43.6%          63.3%         170.2%                  
 Net asset value              3.9%         5.0%            14.3%       42.0%          81.0%         171.4%                  
 FTSE All-Share Total Return  3.7%         6.6%            22.5%       50.9%          98.6%         184.6%                  
                                                                                                                            
 Source: BlackRock                                                                                                          

 

BlackRock took over the investment management of the Company with effect from
1 April 2012.

 

At month end

Sterling:

 Net asset value - capital only:        241.08p     
 Net asset value - cum income*:         245.85p     
 Share price:                           219.00p     
 Total assets (including income):       £52.7m      
 Discount to cum-income NAV:            10.9%       
 Gearing:                               6.2%        
 Net yield**:                           3.5%        
 Ordinary shares in issue***:           18,991,794  
 Gearing range (as a % of net assets):  0-20%       
 Ongoing charges****:                   1.15%       
 *  Includes net revenue of 4.77  pence per share   
 ** The Company's yield based on dividends announced in the last 12 months as at the date of the release of this announcement is 3.5% and includes the 2024 final dividend of 4.90p per share declared on 07 January 2025 with pay date 14 March 2025 and the Interim Dividend of 2.70p per share declared on 19 June 2025 with pay date 02 September 2025. 
 *** excludes 10,081,532  shares held in treasury.  
 **** The Company's ongoing charges are calculated as a percentage of average daily net assets and using management fee and all other operating expenses excluding finance costs, direct transaction costs, custody transaction charges, VAT recovered, taxation and certain non-recurring items for the year ended 31 October 2024.  In addition, the Company's Manager has also agreed to cap ongoing charges by rebating a portion of the management fee to the extent that the Company's ongoing charges exceed 1.15% of 
 average net assets.                                

 

 Sector Analysis                      Total assets (%)  
 Banks                                11.9              
 Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology      8.0               
 Oil & Gas Producers                  5.8               
 Nonequity Investment Instruments     5.7               
 Nonlife Insurance                    5.6               
 Financial Services                   5.6               
 Aerospace & Defense                  5.5               
 Support Services                     5.3               
 Mining                               4.9               
 Software & Computer Services         4.9               
 General Retailers                    4.5               
 Household Goods & Home Construction  4.0               
 Real Estate Investment Trusts        3.6               
 Personal Goods                       3.5               
 Electronic & Electrical Equipment    3.0               
 Travel & Leisure                     2.6               
 Life Insurance                       2.4               
 Industrial Engineering               2.4               
 Tobacco                              2.4               
 General Industrials                  1.1               
 Food Producers                       0.9               
 Beverages                            0.5               
 Net Current Assets                   5.9               
                                      -----             
 Total                                100.0             
                                      =====             
 Country Analysis                     Percentage        
 United Kingdom                       92.0              
 United States                        2.1               
 Net Current Assets                   5.9               
                                      -----             
                                      100.0             
                                                        
 Top 10 Holdings                      Fund %            
 AstraZeneca                          7.5               
 RELX                                 5.2               
 Shell                                4.5               
 Standard Chartered                   4.0               
 Lloyds Banking Group                 3.8               
 Unilever                             3.7               
 HSBC                                 3.6               
 Rio Tinto                            3.5               
 Reckitt                              3.4               
 3i Group                             3.3               
                                                        
                                                        
                                                        

Commenting on the markets, representing the Investment Manager noted:

 

Market Summary:

 

October was broadly positive for global equities, though volatility persisted
amid geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty. The month opened with strong
gains across major US indices: the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs,
supported by broad-based strength and small-cap outperformance as investors
embraced a risk-on stance.

 

Markets largely shrugged off early political noise from a partial US
government shutdown, but mid-month saw sharp declines after tariff threats and
cancelled talks between the US and China reignited trade tensions. These fears
were compounded by anxiety around US regional banks and credit concerns, which
triggered a global bank sell-off halfway through the month. Sentiment later
improved as US-China negotiations resumed, and US inflation data came in lower
than expected. Q3 earnings also remained robust, with technology and
semiconductor stocks leading gains. By month-end, US equities closed near
all-time highs, with the S&P 500 up roughly 2.3%, supported by optimism around
Federal Reserve policy and easing inflation pressures.

 

UK equities mirrored this resilience, with the FTSE 100 setting successive
record highs and the FTSE All-Share advancing about 3.7%, outperforming most
developed peers. AstraZeneca's surge early in the month and strength in mining
stocks - helped by gold prices - provided tailwinds, while falling gilt yields
supported rate-sensitive sectors. Softer inflation prints and dovish
commentary from Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey fuelled expectations of
a December rate cut, even as macro signals remained mixed: inflation stayed
above target at 3.8%, GDP growth was minimal, and government borrowing hit its
highest level since 2020. Chancellor Rachel Reeves signalled higher taxes and
spending restraint in the upcoming November Budget to rebuild fiscal headroom,
alongside plans to accelerate investment through planning reforms.

            

Overall, developed market equities ended October higher, supported by easing
inflation, resilient earnings, and optimism around trade policy. However,
looking forwards, valuations now reflect much of the good news, leaving little
margin for error as geopolitical risks, record fiscal deficits and
tariff-related inflation pressures remain live concerns heading into year-end.

 

Stock comments

 

The top contributor for the month was                      Next               
    , which delivered a standout performance in October with full-price sales
rising by 10.5% year-over-year, significantly ahead of its +4.5% guidance.
This outperformance prompted the company to upgrade both its Q4 sales guidance
and full-year profit before tax forecast. The primary growth engine continues
to be the international online segment, which surged by 38.8%, far exceeding
the +19.4% guidance. This was driven by a 50% increase in digital marketing
spend, double the previously planned 25%, as management capitalized on strong
returns from performance marketing channels                     . Standard
Chartered                     was another top contributor, the company beat
earnings forecasts through the month. Their Wealth channel remains a standout
and guidance has been upgraded for revenue growth to the top end of the
previously guided 5-7% range. Both NII and fees are ahead of expectations by
2-3%,                      Weir Group's                     shares performed
well through the month, ticking up into their Q3'25 trading update at the
start of November. Results were as expected with FY25 guidance reiterated and
commentary remains encouraging, however management noted a fx headwind to
continue through Q4.

 

RELX                     was the top detractor during the period, with shares
continuing to de-rate amid rising investor concerns that the company may be
vulnerable to disruption from artificial intelligence. Although RELX later
issued a positive trading update confirming full-year guidance and reiterating
its improving growth trajectory, the stock remained under pressure and
continued to pull back through the month. ICG has been under pressure amid
growing concerns about a potential private credit default cycle, following a
recent default on one of its loans.                      Tate and Lyle        
            was the third largest detractor for the month after the company
released a profit warning pointing to a slowdown in market demand in the past
2 months. This has led to lower revenues in Americas and mid-single digit
declines in EMEA compared to initial guidance.

 

 

Changes

 

We have started a position in                      Babcock                    
through the month, which                                         appears well
positioned to deliver further upgrades driven by international marine orders,
growth in its nuclear division and exposure to NATO's rearmament and training
initiatives. We added to                      Rolls-Royce                    
as we see potential for the company to exceed expectations over the next
12-18months, most notably from a combination of continued improvement in time
on wing initiatives, growing contribution from DC revenues in power systems,
and a pick-up in Defence orders while SMRs offer longer-term optionality. To
offset this, we trimmed                      BAE                     as we see
Babcock and Rolls-Royce as having greater upside at present given BAE's
improvement, while significant, will be slower to materialise.

 

We also trimmed                      Weir Group                     on recent
strength. High copper and gold prices should support increased activity and
there is still significant production growth targeted by the copper producers
which combined with Weir's move into software solutions should provide plenty
of opportunities for growth.

 

Outlook

 

The outlook for investment markets continues to be driven by a complex
interplay of elevated geopolitical uncertainty, easing monetary policy and
strong thematic winds in AI and the defence and financials sectors. 1H25 saw
global markets fall sharply as tariffs were threatened only to be followed by
an impressive recovery as proposed tariff levels were lowered and their
implementation delayed. However, tariffs remain a key source of market
volatility with the potential for outsized impacts on specific industries and
companies. Expectations of Fed rate cuts have consistently been pushed out
this year. US President Trump's unpredictability, whether tariff related or
more generally, suggests volatility in both equity and bond markets is likely
to remain elevated. These factors have also driven weakness in the US Dollar
impacting companies with USD earnings. Our response is to focus on those
companies that have strong and sustainable competitive advantages alongside
sufficient pricing power to navigate these uncertain times while seeking
opportunities that may result from elevated volatility in markets.

 

The outlook for Europe is buoyed by a combination of rate cuts by the ECB
(from 3.0% to 2.0%) and significant fiscal expansion from Germany with an
emphasis on defence and infrastructure spending. This has already led to the
significant outperformance of European defence exposed companies though the
question is whether this spend stimulates economic activity more broadly in
Germany and then Europe as a whole. In our conversations with corporates,
those exposed to highlighted industries, such as defence, are very optimistic,
yet the outlook more generally suggests stabilisation rather than anything
more for now. Meanwhile, China continues to fight weak domestic demand and
deflationary pressures with a broad range of fiscal and monetary tools with
limited success to date; the uncertainty created by US tariffs clearly
hampering their efforts.

 

In the UK, the Labour government seeks to thread the needle of stimulating
growth while preserving fiscal credibility and adhering to its election
pledges, a challenge not helped by external pressures such as US tariffs.
Meanwhile, UK savings rates remain elevated and real wages continue to grow
highlighting the potential for UK economic recovery when consumer and business
confidence improves. Whilst the UK's hard data has showed stability, the lack
of visibility ahead of the Autumn budget restrains business confidence and
risk appetite.           

 

The UK stock market remains very depressed in valuation terms relative to
other developed markets offering double-digit discounts across a range of
valuation metrics. This valuation anomaly saw further reactions from UK
corporates who continue to use excess cashflows to fund buybacks. Combining
this with a dividend yield of 3.2% (FTSE All Share Index yield as at end of
October 2025; source: FT), the cash return of the UK market is attractive in
absolute terms and higher than other developed markets. This valuation anomaly
has also been evidenced by the continuation of inbound M&A for UK listed
companies. Although we anticipate further volatility ahead, we believe that
risk appetite will return and opportunities are emerging. We have identified
several potential opportunities with new positions initiated throughout the
year in both UK domestic and midcap companies.

 

We continue to focus the portfolio on cash generative businesses that we
believe offer durable, competitive advantages as we believe these companies
are best placed to drive returns over the long term. Whilst we anticipate
economic and market volatility will persist throughout the year, we are
excited by the opportunities this will likely create; by seeking to identify
the companies that strengthen their long-term prospects as well as attractive
turnaround situations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

24 November 2025

 

 



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