Athelney Tst. Regulatory News (ATY)

Athelney Trust PLC

Legal Entity Identifier:

213800ON67TJC7F4DL05

The unaudited net asset value of Athelney Trust was 296.1p at 30 November 2021.

Fund Manager's comment for November 2021

The Christmas holiday shopping season in the US got off to an early start following reports of struggling supply chains and low inventories with retail sales in October increasing by 1.7%, the largest gain since the last round of stimulus checks were deployed in March. In the UK, October retail sales were a little more subdued, rising by only 0.8%. Inflationary pressures continue to build led by higher electricity prices with the October CPI at 4.2% surprising on the upside.

In the U.K., PMIs were strong with manufacturing up to 58.2 while the services PMI declined a little to 58.6 in spite of an increase in new orders. Employment remains elevated as are cost and price pressures, especially in manufacturing. Overall, those figures would suggest that the economy is growing at a reasonably steady pace in the 4th quarter, which combined with other activity and price data has led some economists to forecast that the Bank of England is likely to raise its policy interest rate as early as December.

During the past month, the market value of our investments increased by 0.96% and, after paying expenses, the NAV per share increased by 0.68%. An excellent result when compared to a 2.46% decline in the FTSE 100 index and a 2.54% decline in the broader FTSE 250 index. The Fledgling Index declined by 1.80% while both the Small Cap Index and the AIM All-Share Index were down during the month by 2.10% and 2.91% respectively. The US market did not perform as badly with the broad S&P500 index only down by 0.83% whereas the other global markets assisted in dragging the MSCI down to end the month down by 2.30%

During the month we top sliced our position in Liontrust Asset Management and added to our positions in Fevertree Drinks, JD Sports and Treatt. The overall cash position increased during the month with cash on hand at the end of November comprising 3.8% of the portfolio value.

Fact Sheet

An accompanying fact sheet which includes the information above as well as wider details on the portfolio can be found on the Fund's website www.athelneytrust.co.uk under "About" then select "Latest Monthly Fact Sheet".

Background Information

Dr. Emmanuel (Manny) Pohl AM

Manny is Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of E C Pohl & Co ("ECP"), an investment management company and has been a major shareholder in Athelney trust for many years.

E C Pohl & co is licensed by the Australian Financial services (licence no.421704).

www.ecpohl.com

www.ecpam.com

Manny Pohl and the ECP group has AUD2.7bn (£1.5 billion) under its management including four listed investment companies, three listed in Australia and one in the UK:

· Flagship Investments (ASX code:FSI)

AUD95m https://flagshipinvestments.com.au

· Barrack St Investments (ASX code: BST)

AUD37m www.barrackst.com

· Global Masters Fund Limited (ASX code: GFL)

AUD33m www.globalmastersfund.com.au

· Athelney Trust plc (LSE code: ATY)

GBP6m www.athelneytrust.co.uk

Athelney Trust plc Investment Policy

 The investment objective of the Trust is to provide shareholders with prospects of long-term capital growth with the risks inherent in small cap investment minimised through a spread of holdings in quality small cap companies that operate in various industries and sectors. The Fund Manager also considers that it is important to maintain a progressive dividend record.

The assets of the Trust are allocated predominantly to companies with either a full listing on the London Stock Exchange or a trading facility on AIM or ISDX. The assets of the Trust have been allocated in two main ways: first, to the shares of those companies which have grown steadily over the years in terms of profits and dividends but, despite this progress, the market rating is favourable when compared to future earnings and dividends; second, to those companies whose shares are standing at a favourable level compared with the value of land, buildings or cash in the balance sheet.

Athelney Trust was founded in 1994. In 1996 it was one of the ten pioneer members of the Alternative Investment Market ("AIM"). In 2008 the shares became fully listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. Athelney Trust has a successful progressive dividend growth record and the dividend has grown every year since 2004. According to the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) Athelney Trust is one of only "22 investment companies that have increased their dividend every year between 10 and 20 years - the next generation of dividend heroes" (as at 20/03/2018). See link

https://www.theaic.co.uk/aic/news/press-releases/seven-investment-companies-join-the-next-generation-of-dividend-heroes

Website

www.athelneytrust.co.uk