Last checked at 
(Alliance News) - Baillie Gifford UK Growth Trust PLC on Friday said it enjoyed a strong first financial half, while the second half was "poor", as it announced a higher dividend.
The London-based investment firm focused on mid and smaller cap growth companies said net asset value per share rose 4.2% to 201.2 pence as at April 30 from 193.0p a year prior.
NAV total return was 7.1% in the financial year ended April 30, underperforming against the FTSE All Share index, which had a total return of 7.5%.
The company said the financial year "felt like one step forward and one step back. Relative performance was strong in the first half of the year but poor in the second half."
It said 4imprint Group PLC and Renishaw PLC were the largest detractors to relative performance.
4imprint is a London-based direct marketer and distributor of promotional merchandise, which in May said it expected disruption to its supply chain in the second half of 2025.
Renishaw is a Gloucestershire, England-based provider of manufacturing technologies, analytical instruments, and medical devices. The company in May noted a "volatile economic backdrop" but said it entered the final quarter of its financial year to June 30 "with good momentum".
Games Workshop Group PLC, meanwhile, was among the notable positive contributors to relative performance. The Nottingham, England-based board game maker in May forecast double-digit annual sales and profit growth, although it cautioned it saw no repeat of the record licensing revenue achieved in financial 2025, which later ended in early June.
Baillie Gifford UK Growth recommended a dividend of 5.70p per share for financial 2025, up 1.8% from 5.60p a year ago.
Looking ahead, the company said that any outlook will date quickly, highlighting "US policy announcements almost daily." It added that it will focus on long-term drivers.
Chair Neil Rogan said: "The UK market as a whole is widely regarded as unusually cheap both by comparison with its own history and with global markets. That alone is a case for optimism. If growth stocks start to outperform, either because they are so cheap already or because UK economic growth accelerates from its very low current levels, then the Baillie Gifford tailwind should be felt again. And if all this coincides with investment trust discounts reverting to normal levels, then the case for BGUK is compelling."
Baillie Gifford UK Growth shares were 1.4% lower at 194.75 pence each on Friday afternoon in London.
By Tom Budszus, Alliance News slot editor
Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
