REG - Literacy Capital PLC - Quarterly trading update and NAV announcement

Literacy CapitalAnnouncement

24/04/2026 07:00

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RNS Number : 7382B  Literacy Capital PLC  24 April 2026

The information contained in this announcement is restricted and is not for
publication, release or distribution in the United States of America, any
member state of the European Economic Area, Canada, Australia, Japan or the
Republic of South Africa.

 

 

24 April 2026

Literacy Capital plc

 

Quarterly trading update and NAV announcement for Q1 2026

 

Significant cash proceeds received in 2026, with BOOK materially reducing
financing costs

 

Literacy Capital plc ("Literacy", "BOOK" or the "Company"), a listed
investment trust primarily focused on investing directly into private
businesses based in the UK, today announces its quarterly trading and NAV
update for the three months ending 31 March 2026 (Q1'26).

 

Q1 Highlights:

 

 ●    Q1'26 Net Asset Value ("NAV") of £289.6m, equating to NAV of 481.3 pence per
      share. Overall, despite a modest valuation uplift across the portfolio, this
      represents a 0.6% decrease in NAV per share (after all expenses and donations)
      in the quarter.
 ●    Bright Ventures was the largest positive contributor in the period, with Q1
      seasonally a very busy trading period for the business and strong growth
      year-on-year. TechPoint also contributed strongly, reflecting its momentum
      since opening its new manufacturing site in Basingstoke.
 ●    Cash inflows totalled £16.0m in Q1'26, largely due to proceeds received from
      the sale of Tyrefix in February. A further £15.0m was received in April,
      following completion of the sale of Wifinity, resulting in BOOK's balance
      sheet being in a net cash position for the first time since 2021, thereby
      reducing financing costs.
 ●    Cash outflows totalled £3.7m in Q1'26, predominantly funding growth
      initiatives within the existing portfolio. Bolt-on acquisitions are expected
      to remain a priority in 2026, whilst remaining open to, but selective,
      regarding new investments.
 ●    Total charitable donations since the inception of Literacy now amount to
      £13.1m, including a charitable donation provision of £364k in Q1'26.

 

Commenting on the Q1 performance, CEO of BOOK's investment manager, Richard
Pindar, said:

 

"It has been a reasonably eventful start to the year, although there has been
relatively little change in the value of individual portfolio companies, and
the portfolio overall.

 

The highlight was the sale of two holdings, with £31.0m of cash proceeds
received by early April. This put Literacy's balance sheet in a net cash
position for the first time since 2021, giving BOOK greater financial
flexibility and reducing financing costs.

 

Externally, there has been significant turbulence in equity markets, driven by
the conflicts in Iran and the Middle East, as well as fears of widespread
value destruction caused by artificial intelligence ("AI").

 

Importantly, these factors have had limited direct impact on the underlying
performance and fundamentals of BOOK's portfolio companies.

 

Despite this, BOOK has not been immune to the sell-off and currently sits on
its widest ever discount to net asset value. A series of marketing and
investor education initiatives are taking place over the next few weeks to
broaden awareness, as we actively look to address and reduce this discount."

 

Net Asset Value

 

The Company announces that, as at 31 March 2026, the NAV per ordinary share
was 481.3 pence. NAV per share decreased 0.6%, or 3.0p per share, since 31
December 2025.

                                                 At 31 Mar 26  At 31 Dec 25  At 31 Mar 25
 Net asset value (£m)                            289.6         291.4         307.8
 NAV per share (pence)                           481.3         484.3         511.5
 Cumulative cash returned to shareholders (£m)   6.0           6.0           -

 

The above NAV calculation is based on the Company's issued ordinary share
capital as at 31 March 2026 of 60,175,000 ordinary shares of £0.001 each.
This NAV calculation includes the cost to ordinary shareholders of the 597,500
warrants in issue. This cost is accrued on a straight-line basis over the
vesting period of the warrants.

 

Portfolio company performance

 

Bright Ventures was the largest positive contributor to NAV in the period,
with Q1 seasonally being a very busy trading period for the business.
Performance and profitability in the quarter showed strong improvement
year-on-year.

 

TechPoint was the next largest positive contributor in Q1, driven by the
continued trading momentum since opening its state-of-the-art facility in
Basingstoke. This has had a substantial impact on the value of orders from
customers and operational efficiencies, with the business showing promising
signs to contribute materially to NAV uplift in the medium term.

 

Moreover, the two 2025 investments, Red Sky and Trinitatum have maintained a
strong upwards trajectory. It is likely that both businesses will be in the
top ten holdings as at 30 June 2026, less than 18 months since Literacy's
original investment. Both these companies demonstrate the value in BOOK's
selective and focused approach to appraising new opportunities that will be
resilient in the current environment.

 

RCI and amplify5 were the largest, albeit modest, detractors in the quarter,
with both businesses experiencing customers taking longer to make decisions
and commit to contracts, which has impacted growth and therefore valuations.
Despite this, the overall portfolio saw a modest valuation uplift before all
expenses and donations, demonstrating our businesses durability in difficult
market conditions.

 

Transactions and investments

 

No new investments were completed in Q1'26 but £3.7m of cash was deployed,
primarily provided to fund growth initiatives within the existing portfolio.

 

Cash & liquidity

 

Cash inflows in Q1 were £16.0m, mostly relating to the exit proceeds from
Tyrefix. This was supplemented by £0.1m of distributions from Literacy's fund
investments and other cash inflows from the rest of the portfolio.

 

Literacy's RCF was £15.5m drawn as at 31 March 2026 (£25.0m on 31 December
2025), with £1.6m held in cash. Following the receipt of cash from the sale
of Wifinity in April 2026, the Company's balance sheet was in a net cash
position for the first time since 2021. This gives BOOK significantly more
financial flexibility and reduces financing costs.

 

Activity since the period end

 

As stated above, in April 2026, BOOK received £15.0m of proceeds from the
sale of Wifinity (5.2x MoM; 22% IRR). The carrying value achieved on the sale
of this asset was reflected in the Q4'25 net asset figures and has been
maintained for Q1'26.

 

Factsheet

 

The Company's factsheet for the three months to 31 March 2026 is now available
on the Company's website: www.literacycapital.com/investors
(https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/___http:/www.literacycapital.com/investors___.bXQtcHJvZC1jcC1ldXcyLTE6bmV4dDE1OmM6bzphNjUwYWQxZDUwODhlOWQ3MmI2NDdhYTkzOTJmNjA0Mzo2OmM0NWE6MTBkZjJiZmU3NGNhNmQwYTc2ZTQ2YjBlNjM2OGJlNTk0N2MyMDZmNzFhNzcxY2ZhOTcxMDVhNGEzNjgwYjhhYjpwOlQ6Tg)
.

 

Master Investor Show

 

Paul Pindar (Chair) and Richard Pindar (CEO) of Literacy's Investment Manager
will be presenting at the Master Investor Show at the Business Design Centre
on 25 April 2026.

 

More information on this event can be found here:
https://www.masterinvestorshow.com/
(https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/r06/___https:/www.masterinvestorshow.com/___.ZXV3MjpuZXh0MTU6YzpvOmNmZDliYjZmZTJmOGQ2ZDIzNjM0NWIwMDZjMjNlYTBlOjc6ZmE2Mzo2MDQ4NzJhZGEwZjVhNzE0OTk5ZTc5NTRiOGVhZDRkYjBkMDMzMmU0YWM5YjQzZWY0NDQxNDQ1OTM0MTQwMTRhOnA6RjpU)

 

Investor Meet Company presentation

 

Paul Pindar (Chair) and Richard Pindar (CEO) of Literacy's Investment Manager
will provide a live presentation and update on 27 April 2026 at 14:00 BST.

 

The presentation is open to all existing and potential shareholders. Questions
can be submitted pre-event via your Investor Meet Company dashboard up until
26 Apr 2026 09:00 BST, or at any time during the live presentation. Investors
can sign up for free at the following link:
https://www.investormeetcompany.com/literacy-capital-plc/register-investor
(https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/r06/___https:/url.uk.m.mimecastprotect.com/xdhDg4HcT5Fy3u3ntkvMvosSA?itrfns=nsAjxytwrjjyhtrufsD.htr___.ZXV3MjpuZXh0MTU6YzpvOmNmZDliYjZmZTJmOGQ2ZDIzNjM0NWIwMDZjMjNlYTBlOjc6ZThkODplODY3NDZjNmE5MjVlOWFlNmIwOTdmZWZhMzU4MTgzYzNiMzM3YTBhMzFjMTAxODYxMjJjNmZjYmM4MzZlOTllOnA6RjpU)
.

 

-ENDS-

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Literacy Capital plc / Book Asset Management LLP

Richard Pindar / Aasha Tailor

+44 (0) 20 3960 0280

 

MHP Group

Reg Hoare / Ollie Hoare / Matthew Taylor

book@mhpgroup.com

+44 (0) 7817 458 804

 

Deutsche Numis

Hugh Jonathan / George Shiel

+44 (0) 20 7260 1000

 

About Literacy Capital plc

 

Literacy Capital (BOOK.L) is a closed-end investment company that was
co-founded by Paul Pindar and Richard Pindar in 2017 with £54m of capital.
Literacy listed on the London Stock Exchange in June 2021, before gaining
Investment Trust status on 1 April 2022. The Company focuses on opportunities
to invest for the long-term in growing private businesses where a clear route
to creating additional value can be seen with its support.

 

It also has a unique charitable objective, to donate 0.5% of annual NAV to
charities focused on improving UK literacy in children. £13.1m has been
donated or reserved for donation to charities since the trust's creation in
2017. For more information, please visit our website: www.literacycapital.com
(https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/___http:/www.literacycapital.com___.bXQtcHJvZC1jcC1ldXcyLTE6bmV4dDE1OmM6bzphNjUwYWQxZDUwODhlOWQ3MmI2NDdhYTkzOTJmNjA0Mzo2OmViNjk6ZTY1ZGRjZjU4MjE2YTJmMjU5YmYzMWZjOTYwMDBjMTI4MzY0YTIxYzQ1YzZkODczYzMwNzQ1YzM1YzI0NTg5YTpwOlQ6Tg)
.

 

A copy of this announcement will be available on the Company's website at
www.literacycapital.com
(https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/___http:/www.literacycapital.com___.bXQtcHJvZC1jcC1ldXcyLTE6bmV4dDE1OmM6bzphNjUwYWQxZDUwODhlOWQ3MmI2NDdhYTkzOTJmNjA0Mzo2OmViNjk6ZTY1ZGRjZjU4MjE2YTJmMjU5YmYzMWZjOTYwMDBjMTI4MzY0YTIxYzQ1YzZkODczYzMwNzQ1YzM1YzI0NTg5YTpwOlQ6Tg)
.

 

The information contained in this announcement regarding the Company's
investments has been provided by the relevant underlying portfolio company and
has not been independently verified by the Company. The information contained
herein is unaudited.

 

This announcement is for information purposes only and is not an offer to
invest. All investments are subject to risk.  Past performance is no
guarantee of future returns.  Prospective investors are advised to seek
expert legal, financial, tax and other professional advice before making any
investment decision.  The value of investments may fluctuate.  Results
achieved in the past are no guarantee of future results. Neither the content
of the Company's website, nor the content on any website accessible from
hyperlinks on its website for any other website, is incorporated into, or
forms part of, this announcement nor, unless previously published by means of
a recognised information service, should any such content be relied upon in
reaching a decision as to whether or not to acquire, continue to hold, or
dispose of, securities in the Company.

 

LEI: 2549006P3DFN5HLFGR54

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