REG - CT UK High Inc Tst CT UK High Inc-CHIB - Half-year Financial Report
28/11/2025 07:00
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RNS Number : 3498J CT UK High Income Trust PLC 28 November 2025
To: RNS
From: CT UK High Income Trust PLC
Date: 28 November 2025
LEI: 213800B7D5D7RVZZPV45
Unaudited Half-Year Results
The Board of CT UK High Income Trust PLC (the 'Company') announces the
unaudited half-year results of the Company for the six month period to 30
September 2025.
Financial Highlights for the six months
· Net asset value total return((1)) per share for the six months was
+8.7%, compared to the total return of the Benchmark((2)) of +11.6%.
· Ordinary share price total return for the six months was +12.5%
compared to the total return of the Benchmark of +11.6%.
· B share price total return for the six months was +4.8% compared to
the total return of the Benchmark of +11.6%.
· Distribution yield((1)) of 5.4% on Ordinary shares and 5.9% on B
shares at 30 September 2025, compared to the yield on the FTSE All-Share Index
of 3.3%.
Notes:
1. Yield and total return - see Alternative Performance Measures.
2. Benchmark - FTSE All-Share Index.
Chairman's Statement
Investment Performance and Portfolio Review
For the first six months of our financial year, equity markets globally have
continued to be strong and in sterling terms over the 2025 calendar year to 30
September, the FTSE All-Share has even out-performed the US S&P 500. The
Company, itself, performed well during this six month period with a positive
net asset value (NAV) return of +8.7% although the benchmark index performed
even better, returning +11.6%, thus demonstrating the strength of the UK
market.
Many of the issues that I talked about in our Annual Report remain - war
continues in Ukraine; the Middle East, despite the recent ceasefire, remains
volatile and although we have seen interest rates cut further, inflation still
remains stubbornly above target in the US & UK. The US, of course, started
the calendar year with a new administration as President Trump began his
second term in office and it is fair to say that his actions since have
arguably been the biggest factor influencing investors and the direction of
share prices. It was at the very start of our financial year that President
Trump announced the self-titled 'Liberation Day' with the revealing of tariffs
much higher than anyone had anticipated. As one of the countries imposed with
the highest tariffs, it is perhaps not surprising that China didn't react well
and announced retaliatory tariffs on US goods. This quickly led to tit-for-tat
announcements until tariffs on China reached 125%, a level that precluded any
trade between the two countries. As the FTSE All-Share fell almost 10% in the
next four days, it seemed very unlikely that we would be writing now about a
strong six months. Thankfully, the retaliatory tariffs were quickly suspended
after US bond yields rose sharply and as economies, especially the US,
continued to show reasonable levels of growth leading markets to stage a
strong recovery. We may never know if the suspension of tariffs was due to the
US bond market taking fright or the plan all along, but tariffs remain in
place and while they seem mild compared to the dark days of April, aggregate
US trade tariffs are at levels not seen since the 1930s.
In the context of the UK stock market and the economy, there have been two
other big drivers; the ongoing explosion of AI spending and domestic politics
and economic activity. When the Chinese AI company DeepSeek announced in
January they could get similar results to OpenAI at a fraction of the cost it
looked as though the ever-increasing investment in AI data centres might slow.
In the event, the US hyperscalers (Amazon, Microsoft etc) have announced ever
bigger investments with Meta (Facebook) announcing investment in a data centre
the size of Manhattan. This has led to continued strong performance from all
those industries deemed to benefit such as chip makers, equipment suppliers,
utilities and energy companies. By contrast, attractive starting-point
valuations and broader-based risk concentration makes the UK market a
relatively more attractive place to invest, characterised, in part, by the
high volume of share buybacks and bids for UK-listed companies witnessed in
recent months. What we have also seen this year is a much greater focus on
perceived 'AI losers' with many companies in advertising, publishing and
software seeing precipitous share price falls. Many of these companies have
large, bespoke datasets which had previously seen them labelled as
beneficiaries of AI such as Pearson, RELX, Experian and London Stock Exchange.
While the companies have all responded strongly against this narrative, the
truth will only, unfortunately, be known in time and until that day comes
these shares are likely to remain volatile.
"Volatile" can also be used to describe stocks exposed to the other big
drivers - UK domestic politics and economics. Hopes that a new government with
a clear majority and strong pre-election message to drive growth and not to
raise taxes would be a positive force were already dashed by last year's
budget but, if anything, sentiment continued to deteriorate in the last six
months. The failure of the government to force much-needed welfare reform
through its backbenchers and the lack of immediate support for the Chancellor
from the Prime Minister caused a mini "Liz Truss" moment when bond yields rose
sharply. UK public finances are a constant area of concern as borrowing
continues to rise and, despite many announcements and optimism, we are less
likely to meet Labour's target of building 1.5 million new homes than we were
before the election, with a combination of high interest rates, increasingly
onerous regulations and low levels of confidence stopping housebuilders from
building and consumers from wanting to buy. With this backdrop, it is not
surprising that many of our domestic-focused businesses such as the
housebuilders have been some of the weakest contributors to performance in the
last six months as they simply couldn't keep pace with the globally-led
market.
The performance of the Company has been strong with its NAV total return
rising 8.7% in the six-month period to 30 September 2025 but despite this, it
could not keep up with the buoyant market. Our focus is always first on income
generation to ensure we provide shareholders with a high and growing dividend
that we believe is central to why shareholders invest in the Company, but this
can mean, in short periods, we lag the broader market. As I have stated
before, indices skewed by huge corporates and nascent growth sectors are
difficult to beat on a consistent basis but dividends are an important part of
total return and, as we have demonstrated over the longer term, we can deliver
out-performance, as shown by the one, three, and five-year periods to the
Company's last year end of 31 March 2025.
The Manager's trading activity was, as is the norm, focused on improving the
quality of the investment portfolio and maximising income generation. Notable
purchases include iconic brand Burberry where our Manager believes new
management has made huge progress in re-positioning the brand where it can see
growth return. Other purchases include travel retailer SSP, where the
valuation completely failed to recognise the long-term growth and value in the
separately listed Indian joint venture, and UK Wealth Manager, Rathbones; the
Manager has had a favourable view on this industry in the UK since our
ownership of Brewin Dolphin and has been monitoring Rathbones since its
takeover of Investec Wealth, conscious that integration post-deal is rarely
smooth. The latest set of results gave the Manager confidence that we are past
the peak of uncertainty and with an attractive valuation and dividend yield,
started a position. The purchase was funded by selling Tesco which had been
bought when the fear of Asda being more aggressive on pricing had driven the
share price lower and the dividend yield above market for the first time in a
while. Over the next few months, the Asda impact proved to be negligible and
as the shares rose over 30% and the yield fell back below market, the Manager
sold our shares.
Share Price Performance
Over the six-month period, in part due to increased demand, the price of the
Company's Ordinary shares moved from a discount to NAV of -2.1% to a small
premium of +1.4% at 30 September 2025 and consequently, the Ordinary share
price total return for the period was +12.5%. Conversely, the discount of the
B shares to NAV widened slightly from -4.1% to -7.6% at the period end, thus
generating a B share price total return of +4.8% for the period under review.
In response to the demand for Ordinary shares, during this period, 1,150,000
Ordinary shares were resold out of treasury, at a small premium to NAV to
ensure no dilution to existing shareholders. During the period under review no
Ordinary shares or B shares were bought back for treasury. Since the period
end, a further 1,550,000 Ordinary shares have also been resold out of
treasury.
Earnings, Dividends and Capital Repayments
In the period under review, your Company's revenue earnings per share was
2.49p per share in comparison to 2.65p per share for the six months to 30
September 2024. While this is lower than the equivalent period last year, this
is often impacted by the timing of dividend payments and we believe the
Company's revenue position at the half-year stage is well placed. As I have
previously stated, it was a key objective of the Board and Manager to return
to a covered dividend and rebuild the revenue reserve and this was achieved in
the last financial year ended 31 March 2025.
In the absence of unforeseen circumstances, it is the Board's current
intention that the aggregate dividend and capital repayment for the current
financial year to 31 March 2026 will be at least 5.79p per Ordinary share and
B share respectively. Three quarterly interim dividends and capital repayments
have so far been declared, each of 1.37p per share.
At 30 September 2025, this aggregate distribution represented a yield of 5.4%
and 5.9% on the Ordinary share price and B share price respectively, as
compared with the yield on the FTSE All-Share Index of 3.3%.
Borrowing
Effective 26 September 2025, the Company refinanced its bank borrowings and
entered into a new two-year unsecured revolving credit facility ('RCF') with
The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited ('RBSI') for £20 million.
This replaced the Company's RCF with RBSI for £15 million, which matured. It
is believed that the RCF will continue to provide flexibility for the Board
and Manager and can be utilised when investment opportunities arise and the
increased facility reflects the growth in size of the Company, a positive
development. At 30 September 2025, the Company had drawn down £15 million of
the RCF.
Outlook
I talked earlier that the backdrop in the UK has, if anything, deteriorated,
so it may seem somewhat surprising that the Manager still has a positive view
on investing in UK equities. While sentiment remains weak, the Manager
believes that the reality of the fundamentals is much better than perceived.
While the job market is weakening, employment remains robust, real wages are
still rising and while the pace may be slower than we would like, the Bank of
England's monetary policy committee is cutting rates and the cost of borrowing
for housing is, importantly, falling. While we are building even fewer homes,
we are aware that there has been a lot going on behind the scenes in making
planning easier and removing obstacles. This type of supply-side reform takes
longer to enact and to make a difference but should also have a longer-lasting
impact. At first glance, Wednesday's budget was received reasonably well by
the stock and bond markets, mostly because there was no proposal to increase
government debt and no major tax rises were announced that would negatively
impact the all-important objective of achieving economic growth. Whilst
anticipated, it is nevertheless disappointing that welfare spending has
increased yet again but it is now to be hoped that this budget will prove to
be a clearing event for UK equities and progress can be made from here. If
this is the case, we believe investors will once again focus on fundamentals
and particularly valuations which are a key reason for our continued positive
view of the UK. One standout is the UK housebuilders where dividend yields are
high and valuations very attractive with, for example, portfolio holding
Taylor Wimpey trading below the value of its net assets despite a balance
sheet with net cash. Of course, this is merely one stock but there are many
similar examples that help to drive our positive view on UK equities and our
confidence that we can continue to drive growth in dividends for our
shareholders. As ever, your support of this Company is very much appreciated.
Andrew Watkins Chairman
27 November 2025
Condensed Unaudited Statement of Comprehensive Income
For the six month period to 30 September 2025
Six months to 30 September 2025
Notes Revenue Capital Total
£'000 £'000 £'000
Gains on investments held at fair value - 7,549 7,549
Exchange gains 1 7 8
Income 3,387 - 3,387
2
Investment management fee (111) (258) (369)
3
Other expenses (261) - (261)
Profit before finance costs and taxation 3,016 7,298 10,314
Net finance costs
Interest on bank loans (124) (290) (414)
Total finance costs (124) (290) (414)
Profit before tax 2,892 7,008 9,900
Tax on ordinary (12) - (12)
activities 4
Profit for the period 2,880 7,008 9,888
Total comprehensive income for the period 2,880 7,008 9,888
Earnings per 2.49p 6.06p 8.55p
share
5
The total column of this statement represents the Company's Profit and Loss
Account. The supplementary revenue return and capital return columns are both
prepared under guidance published by the Association of Investment Companies.
All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing
operations.
All of the profit and comprehensive income for the period is attributable to
the owners of the Company.
Condensed Unaudited Statement of Comprehensive Income
Six months to 30 September 2024 Year to 31 March 2025*
Notes Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Gains on investments held at fair value - 4,831 4,831
- 9,678 9,678
Exchange (losses)/gains - (4) (4) (3) 2 (1)
Income 3,529 - 3,529 6,487 - 6,487
2
Investment management fee (100) (233) (333) (201) (469) (670)
3
Other expenses (222) - (222) (488) - (488)
Profit before finance costs and taxation 3,207 4,594 7,801 5,795 9,211 15,006
Net finance costs
Interest on bank loans (144) (336) (480) (279) (652) (931)
Total finance costs (144) (336) (480) (279) (652) (931)
Profit before tax 3,063 4,258 7,321 5,516 8,559 14,075
Tax on ordinary (46) - (46) (32) - (32)
activities 4
Profit for the period 3,017 4,258 7,275
5,484 8,559 14,043
Total comprehensive income for the period 3,017 4,258 7,275 5,484 8,559 14,043
Earnings per 2.65p 3.73p 6.38p 4.80p 7.50p 12.30p
share
5
The total column of this statement represents the Company's Profit and Loss
Account. The supplementary revenue return and capital return columns are both
prepared under guidance published by the Association of Investment Companies.
All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing
operations.
All of the profit and comprehensive income for the period is attributable to
the owners of the Company.
*audited figures
Condensed Unaudited Statement of Financial Position
Notes 30 September 30 September 31 March
2025 2024 2025*
£'000 £'000 £'000
Non-current assets
Investments held at fair value through 134,501 125,626 122,140
profit or
loss
9
134,501 125,626 122,140
Current assets
Receivables 3,811 513 1,287
10
Cash and cash equivalents 3,577 787 9,514
7,388 1,300 10,801
Total assets 141,889 126,926 132,941
Current liabilities
Payables (3,350) (534) (1,875)
11
Bank (15,000) (15,000) (15,000)
loans
12
Total liabilities (18,350) (15,534) (16,875)
Net assets 123,539 111,392 116,066
Capital and reserves
Share 134 134 134
capital
13
Share premium 418 153 262
Capital redemption reserve 5 5 5
Buy back reserve 80,696 78,806 79,682
Special capital reserve 5,626 7,395 6,573
Capital reserves 32,011 20,702 25,003
Revenue reserve 4,649 4,197 4,407
Equity shareholders' funds 123,539 111,392 116,066
Net asset value per Ordinary share 106.56p 97.90p 101.12p
14
Net asset value per B share 106.56p 97.90p 101.12p
14
Approved by the Board, and authorised for issue, on 27 November 2025 and
signed on its behalf by:
Andrew Watkins, Chairman
*audited figures
Condensed Unaudited Statement of Changes in Equity
for the six months to 30 September 2025
Capital Redemption Reserve Buy Back Reserve Special Capital Reserve
Share Capital Share Premium Capital Reserves Revenue Reserve
Total
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Balance as at 1 April 2025 134 262 5 79,682 6,573 25,003 4,407 116,066
Profit for the period - - - - - 7,008 2,880 9,888
Shares sold from treasury - 156 - 1,014 - - - 1,170
Dividends paid on Ordinary shares - - - - - - (2,638) (2,638)
Capital returns paid on B shares - - - - (947) - - (947)
Balance as at 30 September 2025 134 418 5 80,696 5,626 32,011 4,649 123,539
for the six months to 30 September 2024
Capital Redemption Reserve Buy Back Reserve Special Capital Reserve
Share Capital Share Premium Capital Reserves Revenue Reserve
Total
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Balance as at 1 April 2024 134 153 5 79,022 8,320 16,444 3,688 107,766
Profit for the period - - - - - 4,258 3,017 7,275
Shares bought back for treasury - - - (216) - - - (216)
Dividends paid on Ordinary shares - - - - - - (2,508) (2,508)
Capital returns paid on B shares - - - - (925) - - (925)
Balance as at 30 September 2024 134 153 5 78,806 7,395 20,702 4,197 111,392
for the year to 31 March 2025*
Capital Redemption Reserve Buy Back Reserve Special Capital Reserve
Share Capital Share Premium Capital Reserves Revenue Reserve
Total
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Balance as at 1 April 2024 134 153 5 79,022 8,320 16,444 3,688 107,766
Profit for the period - - - - - 8,559 5,484 14,043
Shares bought back for treasury - - - (216) - - - (216)
Shares sold from treasury - 109 - 876 - - - 985
Dividends paid on Ordinary shares - - - - - - (4,765) (4,765)
Capital returns paid on B shares - - - - (1,747) - - (1,747)
Balance as at 31 March 2025 134 262 5 79,682 6,573 25,003 4,407 116,066
*audited figures
Condensed Unaudited Cash Flow Statement
Six months to Six months to Year to
30 September 2025 30 September 2024 31 March
2025*
£'000 £'000 £'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Profit before tax 9,900 7,321 14,075
Adjustments for:
Gains on investments held at fair value through profit or loss (7,549) (4,831)
(9,678)
Exchange (gains)/losses (8) 4 1
Interest income (148) (34) (146)
Interest received 148 34 146
Dividend income (3,239) (3,495) (6,335)
Dividend income received 3,963 4,140 6,133
(Increase)/decrease in receivables (25) 9 (4)
Increase/(decrease) in payables 4 (37) (14)
Finance costs 414 480 931
Overseas tax suffered (3) (20) 69
Cash flows from operating activities 3,457 3,571 5,178
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchases of investments (25,952) (30,519) (52,967)
Sales of investments 19,360 30,782 62,879
Cash flows from investing activities (6,592) 263 9,912
Cash flows from financing activities
Dividends paid on Ordinary shares (2,638) (2,508) (4,765)
Capital returns paid on B shares (947) (925) (1,747)
Interest on bank loans (395) (480) (918)
Shares purchased for treasury - (216) (216)
Shares sold for treasury 1,170 - 985
Cash flows from financing activities (2,810) (4,129) (6,661)
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash (5,945) (295) 8,429
Equivalents
Effect of movement in foreign exchange 8 (4) (1)
Opening net cash and cash equivalents 9,514 1,086 1,086
Closing cash and cash equivalents 3,577 787 9,514
Represented by:
Cash at bank 97 47 154
Short term deposits 3,480 740 9,360
3,577 787 9,514
*audited figures
Notes to the Condensed Financial Statements (unaudited)
1. Accounting Policies
The condensed unaudited financial statements have been prepared on a going
concern basis and in accordance with UK-adopted International Accounting
Standard 34 "Interim Financial Reporting" and the accounting policies set out
in the statutory financial statements of the Company for the year ended 31
March 2025. Where presentational guidance set out in the Statement of
Recommended Practice ("SORP") for investment trusts issued by the Association
of Investment Companies is consistent with the requirements of UK-adopted
International Accounting Standards, the Directors have sought to prepare the
condensed financial statements on a basis compliant with the recommendations
of the SORP. The condensed financial statements do not include all of the
information required for full annual financial statements and should be read
in conjunction with the financial statements of the Company for the year ended
31 March 2025, which were prepared under UK-adopted International Accounting
Standards.
2. Income
30 September 2025 30 September 2024 31
March 2025
Income comprises: £'000 £'000 £'000
UK dividend income 2,780 2,773 5,235
UK dividend income - special dividends 17 - 74
Overseas dividend income 247 552 653
Property income distributions 195 170 373
3,239 3,495 6,335
Other income
Interest on cash and cash equivalents 148 34 146
Other Income - - 6
3,387 3,529 6,487
3. The Company's investment manager Columbia Threadneedle Investment
Business Limited receives an investment management fee of 0.60 per cent per
annum of the net asset value of the Company payable quarterly in arrears.
4. The taxation charge for the period represents withholding tax
suffered on overseas dividend income.
5. The earnings per share are based on the net profit for the period and
on 115,696,704 shares (period to 30 September 2024 - 114,005,447; year to 31
March 2025 - 114,156,746), being the weighted average number of shares in
issue during the period.
6. Earnings for the six months to 30 September 2025 should not be taken
as a guide to the results of the full year.
7. The Board has considered the requirements of IFRS 8 'Operating
Segments'. The Board is of the view that the Company is engaged in a single
segment of business, of investing in equity, and that therefore the Company
has only a single operating segment. The Board of Directors, as a whole, has
been identified as constituting the chief operating decision maker of the
Company. The key measure of performance used by the Board to assess the
Company's performance is the total return on the Company's net asset value as
calculated under UK-adopted International Accounting Standards and therefore
no reconciliation is required between the measure of profit or loss used by
the Board and that contained in the condensed financial statements.
8. Dividends and capital repayments
Six months to Six months to Year
Payment 30 Sept 2025 30 Sept 2024 to
Date 31 March 2025
Dividends
£'000 £'000 £'000
In respect of the previous period:
Fourth interim dividend at 1.74p (2024: 1.66p) per Ordinary share
2 May 2025 1,467 1,383 1,383
In respect of the period under review:
First interim dividend at 1.37p (2025: 1.35p) per Ordinary share
1 Aug 2025 1,171 1,125 1,125
Second interim dividend (2025: 1.35p) per Ordinary share
- - 1,125
Third interim dividend (2025: 1.35p) per Ordinary share
- - 1,132
2,638 2,508 4,765
A second interim dividend for the year to 31 March 2026, of 1.37p per Ordinary
share, was paid on 7 November 2025 to Ordinary shareholders on the register on
3 October 2025.
Six months to Six months to Year
Payment 30 Sept 2025 30 Sept 2024 to
Date 31 March 2025
Capital repayments
£'000 £'000 £'000
In respect of the previous period:
Fourth capital repayment at 1.74p (2024: 1.66p) per B share
2 May 2025 530 510 510
In respect of the period under review:
First capital repayment at 1.37p (2025: 1.35p) per B share
1 Aug 2025 417 415 415
Second capital repayment (2025: 1.35p) per B share
- - 411
Third capital repayment (2025: 1.35p) per B share
- - 411
947 925 1,747
A second capital repayment for the year to 31 March 2026, of 1.37p per B
share, was paid on 7 November 2025 to B shareholders on the register on 3
October 2025.
Although the above referenced payments on 7 November 2025 relate to the period
ended 30 September 2025, under UK-adopted International Accounting Standards
they will be accounted for in the six months to 31 March 2026, being the
period during which they are paid.
9. Investments held at fair value through profit or loss
Listed/ Subsidiary/
Quoted Unlisted
(Level 1) (Level 3) Total
£'000 £'000 £'000
Cost brought forward 107,301 250 107,551
Gains brought forward 14,589 - 14,589
Fair value of investments at 31 March 2025 121,890 250 122,140
Movement in the period:
Purchases at cost 27,413 - 27,413
Sales proceeds (22,601) - (22,601)
Gains on investments sold in the period 1,743 - 1,743
Losses on investments held at 30 September 2025 5,806 - 5,806
Fair value of investments at 30 September 2025 134,251 250 134,501
Cost at 30 September 2025 113,856 250 114,106
Gains at 30 September 2025 20,395 - 20,395
Fair value of investments at 30 September 2025 134,251 250 134,501
Accounting standards recognise a hierarchy of fair value measurements for
financial instruments which gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted
prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the
lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3). The classification of
financial instruments depends on the lowest significant applicable input, as
follows:
· Level 1 - quoted (unadjusted) prices in active markets for identical
assets or liabilities.
· Level 2 - other techniques for which all inputs that have a
significant effect on the recorded fair value are observable, either directly
or indirectly. The Company held no such instruments during the period under
review.
· Level 3 - techniques that use inputs that have a significant effect
on the recorded fair value that are not based on observable market data. The
Company's investment in its subsidiary undertaking, Investors Securities
Company Limited, is included in Level 3 and is valued at its net asset value.
There were no transfers between levels of the fair value hierarchy during the
six months ended 30 September 2025.
10. Receivables
30 Sept 30 Sept 31 March
2025 2024 2025
£'000 £'000 £'000
Income receivable from shares and securities 445 322 1,169
Amount due from brokers in settlement of sale of Investments 3,241 - -
Withholding tax recoverable 69 153 78
Sundry debtors and prepayments 56 38 40
3,811 513 1,287
11. Payables
30 Sept 30 Sept 31 March
2025 2024 2025
£'000 £'000 £'000
Loan from subsidiary undertaking repayable on 250 250 250
demand
Investment management fee payable to the 187 168 172
investment manager
Amounts due to brokers in settlement of purchase of investments 2,777 - 1,316
Loan Interest 11 - 2
Accrued expenses 125 116 135
3,350 534 1,875
12. Bank Loans
With effect from 26 September 2025, the Company renewed its borrowing facility
with The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited ('RBSI') and now has an
unsecured revolving credit facility ('RCF') for £20 million which is
available until 26 September 2027. Prior to this, the Company had a RCF for
£15 million with RBSI. At 30 September 2025, £15 million was drawn down (30
September 2024: £15 million; 31 March 2025: £15 million).
The loan agreement contains certain financial covenants with which the Company
must comply. These include a financial covenant with respect to the ratio of
the Adjusted Portfolio Value (as defined in the loan agreement) to the level
of debt and also that the Adjusted Portfolio Value does not fall below £50
million. The Company complied with the required financial covenants throughout
the period since drawdown.
13. Share Capital
Allotted, issued and fully paid
Listed Held in Treasury In Issue
Number £ Number £ Number £
Ordinary Shares of 0.1p each
Balance at 1 April 2025 102,067,144 102,067 (17,744,491) (17,744) 84,322,653 84,323
Sold from Treasury - - 1,150,000 1,150 1,150,000 1,150
Balance at 30 September 2025 102,067,144 102,067 (16,594,491) (16,594) 85,472,653 85,473
B Shares of 0.1p each
Balance at 1 April 2025 32,076,703 32,077 (1,617,953) (1,618) 30,458,750 30,459
Balance at 30 September 2025 32,076,703 32,077 (1,617,953) (1,618) 30,458,750 30,459
Total at 30 September 2025 134,143,847 134,144 (18,212,444) (18,212) 115,931,403 115,932
During the period the Company sold 1,150,000 Ordinary shares (period to 30
September 2024: nil Ordinary shares; year to 31 March 2025: 1,000,000 Ordinary
shares) from treasury realising net proceeds of £1,170,000 (period to 30
September 2024: nil; year to 31 March 2025: £985,000).
During the period the Company bought back nil Ordinary shares and bought back
nil B shares to hold in treasury (period to 30 September 2024: nil Ordinary
shares and 250,000 B shares at a cost of £216,000; year to 31 March 2025: nil
Ordinary shares and 250,000 B shares at a cost of £216,000).
At 30 September 2025 the Company held 16,594,491 Ordinary shares and 1,617,953
B shares in treasury (30 September 2024 - 18,744,491 Ordinary shares and
1,617,953 B shares; 31 March 2025 - 17,744,491 Ordinary shares and 1,617,953 B
shares).
14. The net asset value per share is based on shareholders' funds
at the period-end and on 85,472,653 Ordinary shares and 30,458,750 B shares,
being the number of shares in issue at the period end (30 September 2024 -
83,322,653 Ordinary shares and 30,458,750 B shares; 31 March 2025 - 84,322,653
Ordinary shares and 30,458,750 B shares).
15. The fair values of the Company's financial assets and
liabilities are not materially different from their carrying values in the
financial statements.
The Company's financial risk management objectives and policies are consistent
with those disclosed in the Company's financial statements for the year ended
31 March 2025.
16. Changes in liabilities arising from financing activities
Six months to Six months to 30 September Year to
30 September 2024 31 March
2025 2025
£'000 £'000 £'000
Opening net debt at beginning of 15,000 15,000 15,000
period/year
Cash flows:
Drawdown of revolving credit facility - - -
Closing net debt at end of period/year 15,000 15,000 15,000
17. Going concern
In assessing the going concern basis of accounting, the Directors have had
regard to the guidance issued by the Financial Reporting Council and have
undertaken a rigorous review of the Company's ability to continue as a going
concern.
The Company's investment objective and investment policy, which is subject to
regular Board monitoring processes, is designed to ensure that the Company is
invested predominantly in liquid, listed securities. The value of these
investments exceeds the Company's liabilities by a significant margin. The
Company retains title to all assets held by its custodian, and has an
agreement relating to its borrowing facility with which it has complied. Cash
is held only with banks approved and regularly reviewed by the Investment
Manager.
As part of the going concern review, the Directors noted that a borrowing
facility of a £20 million revolving credit facility is committed to the
Company until 26 September 2027 and loan covenants are reviewed by the Board
on a regular basis.
The Directors believe, having assessed the principal risks and other matters,
in light of the controls and review processes noted and bearing in mind the
nature of the Company's business and assets and revenue and expenditure
projections, that the Company has adequate resources to continue in
operational existence for a period of at least twelve months from the date of
approval of the financial statements. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the
going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.
The Company does not have a fixed life. However, in the event that the net
asset value total return performance of the Company is less than that of the
FTSE All-Share Index over the relevant three year period, in accordance with
the Company's articles of association, shareholders will be given the
opportunity to vote on whether the Company should continue in existence, by
ordinary resolution at the Company's Annual General Meeting. The current three
year period for this purpose will run from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2028.
18. Related party transactions
The Directors of the Company are considered a related party. Under the FCA UK
Listing Rules, the Manager is also defined as a related party. However, the
existence of an independent Board of Directors demonstrates that the Company
is free to pursue its own financial and operating policies and therefore under
the AIC SORP, the Manager is not considered a related party for accounting
purposes.
The Directors receive aggregated remuneration for services as Directors and
for which there were no outstanding balances at the period end. There have
been no transactions with related parties during the first six months of the
current financial year that have materially affected the financial position or
performance of the Company during the period and there have been no changes in
the related party transactions described in the last Annual Report and
Financial Statements that could do so.
19. The Company's auditor, Deloitte LLP, has not audited or
reviewed the Half-Year Report and the results for the six months to
30 September 2025 and 30 September 2024 pursuant to the Auditing Practices
Board guidance on 'Review of Interim Financial Information'. These are not
full statutory financial statements in terms of Section 434 of the Companies
Act 2006 and are unaudited. Statutory financial statements for the year ended
31 March 2025, which received an unqualified audit report and which did not
contain a statement under Section 498 of the Companies Act 2006, have been
lodged with the Registrar of Companies. The condensed financial statements
shown for the year ended 31 March 2025 are an extract from those financial
statements. No full statutory financial statements in respect of any period
after 31 March 2025 have been reported on by the Company's auditor or
delivered to the Registrar of Companies.
The Half-Year Report to 30 September 2025 is available on the website
maintained on behalf of the Company at ctukhighincome.co.uk and will shortly
be submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will be available for
inspection at: https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism
Statement of Principal Risks and Uncertainties
As an investment company, investing primarily in listed securities, most of
the Company's principal risks and uncertainties that could threaten the
achievement of its objective, strategy, future performance, liquidity and
solvency are market related.
These risks, and the way in which they are managed, are described under the
heading 'Principal Risks and Uncertainties and Viability Statement' within the
Strategic Report in the Company's Annual Report and Financial Statements for
the year ended 31 March 2025.
The principal risks identified in the Annual Report were:
• Investment performance risk;
• Legal and regulatory risk; and
• Third party service delivery and cyber risks.
The Board continues to review the key risk summary for the Company which
identifies the risks that the Company is exposed to, the controls in place and
the actions being taken to mitigate them. The Board has also considered the
outlook for inflation, ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical concerns, and
the impact on financial markets of US trade tariffs.
The Board considers that the Company's principal risks and uncertainties have
not changed materially since 29 May 2025, the date that the Company's Annual
Report and Financial Statements was approved, and are not expected to change
materially for the remainder of the Company's financial year. The Board has
also considered these principal risks in relation to going concern, as set out
in note 17.
Statement of Directors' Responsibilities in Respect of the Half-Year Report
We confirm that to the best of our knowledge:
· the condensed set of financial statements has been prepared in
accordance with UK-adopted International Accounting Standard 34 "Interim
Financial Reporting" and give a true and fair view of the assets,
liabilities, financial position and return of the Company;
· the Chairman's Statement and the Statement of Principal Risks and
Uncertainties (together constituting the Interim Management Report) include a
fair review of the information required by the Disclosure Guidance and
Transparency Rule ('DTR') 4.2.7R, 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;
· the Statement of Principal Risks and Uncertainties is a fair review
of the principal risks and uncertainties for the remainder of the financial
year; and
· the Half-Year Report includes a fair review of the information
required by DTR 4.2.8R, being related party transactions that have taken place
in the first six months of the current 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.
On behalf of the Board
Andrew Watkins
Chairman
27 November 2025
Alternative Performance Measures ('APMs')
The Company uses the following APMs:
Discount/premium - the share price of an investment company is derived from
buyers and sellers trading their shares on the stock market. This price is not
identical to the net asset value (NAV) per share of the underlying assets less
liabilities of the Company. If the share price is lower than the NAV per
share, the shares are trading at a discount. This usually indicates that there
are more sellers of shares than buyers. Shares trading at a price above NAV
per share are deemed to be at a premium usually indicating there are more
buyers of shares than sellers.
30 September 2025 31 March 2025
Ordinary Shares B Shares Ordinary Shares B Shares
Net asset value per share (a) 106.56p 106.56p 101.12p 101.12p
Share price (b) 108.00p 98.50p 99.00p 97.00p
+Premium/-Discount (c=(b-a)/(a)) (c) +1.4% -7.6% -2.1% -4.1%
Gearing - represents the excess amount above shareholders' funds of total
investments, expressed as a percentage of the shareholders' funds. If the
amount calculated is negative, this is a 'net cash' position and no gearing.
30 September 2025 31 March 2025
£'000 £'000
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss (a) 134,501 122,140
Net assets (b) 123,539 116,066
(Net cash)/gearing (c=(a/b)-1)% (c) 8.9% 5.2%
Total Return - the theoretical return to shareholders calculated on a per
share basis by adding dividends/capital repayments paid in the period to the
increase or decrease in the share price or NAV in the period. The
dividends/capital repayments are assumed to have been re-invested in the form
of shares or net assets, respectively, on the date on which the shares were
quoted ex-dividend.
The effect of reinvesting these dividends/capital repayments on the respective
ex-dividend dates and the NAV total returns and Share price total returns are
shown below.
30 September 2025 31 March 2025
Ordinary shares/B shares Ordinary shares/B shares
NAV per share at start of period/year 101.12p 94.51p
NAV per share at end of period/year 106.56p 101.12p
Change in the period/year +5.4% +7.0%
Impact of dividend/capital repayment reinvestment(†) +3.3% +6.5%
NAV total return +8.7% +13.5%
(†) During the six months to 30 September 2025 dividends/capital repayments
totalling 3.11p (Ordinary shares/B shares) went ex-dividend. During the year
to 31 March 2025 the equivalent figures were 5.71p (Ordinary shares/B shares).
30 September 2025 31 March 2025
Ordinary Shares B Shares Ordinary Shares B Shares
Share price per share at start of period/year 99.0p 97.0p 84.50p 83.5p
Share price per share at end of period/year 108.0p 98.50p 99.0p 97.00p
Change in the period/year +9.1% +1.5% +17.2% +16.2%
Impact of dividend/capital repayment reinvestment(†) +3.4% +3.3% +7.8% +7.8%
Share price total return for the period/year +12.5% +4.8% +25.0% +24.0%
(†) During the six months to 30 September 2025 dividends/capital repayments
totalling 3.11p (Ordinary shares/B shares) went ex-dividend. During the year
to 31 March 2025 the equivalent figures were 5.71p (Ordinary shares/B shares).
Yield - The total annual dividend/capital repayment expressed as a percentage
of the period end share price.
30 September 2025* 31 March 2025
Ordinary Shares B Shares Ordinary Shares B Shares
Annual dividend/capital repayment 5.79p 5.79p 5.79p 5.79p
(a)
Share price (b) 108.00p 98.50p 99.00p 97.00p
Yield (c=a/b) (c) 5.4% 5.9% 5.8% 6.0%
*Based on expected minimum annual dividend/capital repayment of 5.79 pence per
share in respect of the year ending 31 March 2026.
For further information, please contact:
David Moss, Columbia Threadneedle Investment Business Limited
0131 573 8300
Ian Ridge, Columbia Threadneedle Investment Business
Limited 0131 573 8300
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