REG - Murray Inc Trust PLC - Outcome of Strategic Review

Murray Income TrustAnnouncement

20/11/2025 07:00

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RNS Number : 2638I  Murray Income Trust PLC  20 November 2025

Murray Income Trust PLC ("the Company")

Legal Entity Identifier (LEI):  549300IRNFGVQIQHUI13

 

20 November 2025

 

Outcome of Strategic Review

Introduction

The Board of Murray Income Trust PLC (the "Company"), the FTSE 250 investment
company with net assets of approximately £942 million, is pleased to announce
that following a comprehensive review of the Company's strategic options in
pursuit of delivering improved performance and returns for shareholders,
whilst continuing to provide an attractive yield, it has entered into heads of
terms to appoint Artemis Fund Managers Limited ("Artemis") as the Company's
new AIFM.

The Company's investment objective - to achieve a high and growing income
combined with capital growth, primarily through investment in UK equities -
and investment policy will not change as a result of this appointment. There
will also be no changes to the Company's benchmark, gearing, dividend or
buyback polices.

The Company will be managed by Artemis' market-leading UK equity income team
of Andy Marsh, Nick Shenton and Adrian Frost. The team has delivered sustained
top quartile returns for over 20 years.

The Board believes Artemis' disciplined, long-term approach to value creation
and their focus on compounding income and capital are a strong fit for Murray
Income Trust's objectives and is confident that this appointment will position
the Company to deliver sustainable value for shareholders in the years
ahead.

Subject to necessary approvals and finalisation of transitional arrangements,
the change of investment manager is expected to take effect in Q1 2026. The
Company will make further announcements on the transition in due course.

Benefits

The Board believes that the change in investment manager will provide the
following benefits to shareholders:

·    UK equity strategy expertise: The Artemis Income team manages £5.3
billion(1) in their leading UK equity income fund. The strategy is
characterised by being long-term, style- and benchmark- agnostic, and
cash-flow focused.

·    Long-term track record: The strategy is top quartile in the IA UK
Equity Income sector over 1, 3, 5 and 10 years. The net total return of the
strategy has exceeded the return of the FTSE All Share on a rolling five-year
basis for 97% of monthly periods from inception in June 2000 to October
2025(2).

·    Maintenance of Dividend Hero status: The Company has a 52-year
unbroken record of progressive dividends and recently announced that it
expects to extend this track record for the current financial year. The
Company's dividend will be supported by the cash-flow of the portfolio
selected by Artemis.

·    Continued low ongoing expenses: The Company will benefit from a
highly competitive fee structure, with greater alignment with its investment
manager with the fees payable on the lower of net assets or market cap. The
Company expects that its pro forma Ongoing Charges Ratio (OCR) will continue
to be below 50 bps p.a.

·    Marketing and promotion: The Company will benefit from the Artemis UK
sales team of 14 covering all UK wealth channels and a strong profile in the
direct retail space. Moreover, Artemis will make a significant contribution to
the ongoing marketing costs of the Company.

The investment strategy

The strategy is centred on long-term investing, with a particular emphasis on
identifying and harnessing underappreciated free cash flow and high returns on
capital as a key driver of value. Designed as a core UK equity solution, it
aims to achieve compelling total returns through both sustained income and
capital growth. The investment philosophy is resolutely bottom-up, allowing
the team to focus on companies capable of generating robust and growing cash
flows that are often overlooked by the market. With an investment horizon
measured in years, the team seeks to capitalise on short-term market
inefficiencies while maintaining ownership of businesses that can compound
value steadily over time. The strategy of selectively investing up to 20% of
the Company into non-UK equities will remain in place.

Performance track record

 Total Returns (%)             1 year   3 years  5 years  10 years  15 years  20 years
 Cumulative Gross performance    26.8     62.6    117.9    148.6     309.5     486.0
 Annualised                    26.8     17.6     16.9     9.5       9.9       9.2
 FTSE All Share                  22.5     50.9     98.6    116.3     205.3     301.8
 Annualised                    22.5     14.7     14.7     8.0       7.7       7.2

Source: Artemis/FactSet as at 31 October 2025. Gross performance is based on
the representative share class of the Artemis Income Fund. Net returns have
been grossed-up for annual management charges.

The past performance of Artemis Fund Managers, the Artemis Income Team and/or
the Artemis Income Fund is not a guide to the future performance of the
Company. The Artemis Income Fund is an open-ended UCITS fund which has a
different investment objective and policy from the Company.

The investment manager

Artemis is an independent fund manager with over £35 billion AUM(1), offering
a broad range of investment strategies. As a dedicated, active investment
house, it specialises in investment management for both retail and
institutional investors.

The Artemis UK Equity Income team comprises lead managers Andy Marsh, Nick
Shenton and Adrian Frost who combined have over 80 years' investment
experience. They jointly manage the Artemis UK Income Fund, an open-ended unit
trust and associated portfolios, with total assets of over £8 billion(1). The
team focus on undervalued cashflows to drive total return.

Andy Marsh

·    Having trained with Ernst & Young, Andy qualified as an
accountant in 1997 before working as an analyst for ING Charterhouse and then
for Merrill Lynch. In 2005 he moved to Investec Investment Bank as head of
equity sales. From 2006 - 2017, Andy managed money at Polar Capital, where he
was a partner. He joined Artemis' income team, to work alongside Adrian Frost
and Nick Shenton, in February 2018.

Nick Shenton

·    Nick manages income mandates alongside Adrian Frost and Andy Marsh.
After studying economics with French at the University of Nottingham, he
started his career at F&C Asset Management in 2003. He spent four years
there as an analyst and assistant fund manager on the UK and pan-European
equities desks. In 2007 Nick moved to Polar Capital as a fund manager on the
UK long/short equity hedge fund. He joined Artemis in 2012.

Adrian Frost

·    Alongside co-managers Nick Shenton and Andy Marsh, Adrian manages
Artemis' UK equity income strategies, which he has done since he joined the
firm in January 2002. After graduating from Jesus College, Cambridge, Adrian
began his career at Deutsche Asset Management (Morgan Grenfell) in 1983. He
was appointed a director there in 1990 and head of UK equities in 1996. In
2020, Adrian received Investment Week's 'Outstanding Fund Manager Over 25
Years' award.

Details on the appointment of Artemis

Artemis will receive an annual management fee of 0.40% p.a. on the first £750
million, 0.375% p.a. on the next £250 million, and 0.35% p.a. above. Such
fees will be charged on the lesser of market capitalisation or net assets. The
management fees will be inclusive of the expected cost to the Company of the
provision of Company Secretary services and administration.

As a contribution to the costs of the change of investment manager, Artemis
will waive the management fee payable for a period of nine months from its
appointment as AIFM, as well as making a significant contribution to the
Company's marketing budget.

The investment management agreement shall be terminable by either party
serving three months' notice.

The appointment of Artemis on the terms set out in the heads of terms is
conditional on the execution of a new investment management agreement and
other contractual documentation and consent of the Company's lender and
noteholders. Artemis will seek the required FCA regulatory clearances to act
as the Company's AIFM.

 

Peter Tait, Chair of Murray Income Trust, commented:

"The Board received a large number of hugely credible proposals as part of the
Strategic Review and after a comprehensive review of the Company's options, we
are confident that Artemis' proven UK equity income investment capability,
track record, and marketing expertise will position Murray Income Trust
strongly for the future. We thank Charles Luke and Aberdeen for their
long-standing service and look forward to working with Artemis to deliver
value for our shareholders."

Teun Johnston, Chief Executive of Artemis, said:

"We are delighted to have been chosen by the Board of Murray Income Trust to
deploy our cash-flow focused strategy. Our objectives align closely with those
of the Trust, and our approach is well-suited for investors seeking long-term
capital and income growth.

"The investment company structure affords us the flexibility to enhance
long-term returns through the prudent use of gearing and to sustain a
progressive dividend even in varied market conditions. Aligned with the
Company's investment objective - to generate a high and growing income
together with capital growth, principally from UK equities - we look forward
to working in partnership with the Company to deliver a resilient and
attractive core investment proposition for shareholders."

Shareholder webinar

To ensure shareholders have the opportunity to meet the new Artemis Income
investment team, the Company will be hosting a dedicated webinar. Details,
including the date and registration information, will be shared with
shareholders shortly.

 

For further information, please contact:

 Murray Income Trust PLC

 Peter Tait (Chair) - enquiries via Camarco

 Camarco (PR Adviser to Murray Income Trust PLC)
 Jennifer Renwick                                            T: 07928 471013

 Phoebe Pugh
 Investec Bank plc (Financial Adviser and Corporate Broker)
 Tom Skinner                                                 T: 020 7597 4000

 David Yovichic

Notes

1. As at 31 October 2025.

2. Source: Artemis/Lipper Limited from 6 June 2000 to 31 October 2025. Data
prior to 7 March 2008 reflects the Artemis Income R Inc share class. Data from
7 March 2008 reflects the Artemis Income I Inc share class. The statistic is
based on total returns with income reinvested, net of all charges, relative to
the FTSE All Share TR Index.

Important information

This announcement contains information that is inside information for the
purposes of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 as implemented in the
UK. The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement
on behalf of the Company is Peter Tait, Chair.

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