Unicorn AIM VCT PLC on Friday said its net asset value declined amid ‘a backdrop of heightened inflation and rising interest rates’ its latest financial year, and declared a stable final dividend.

The Teignmouth, England-based venture capital trust said its NAV at September 30 was 122.6 pence per share, down from 134.8p at the same time one year prior.

Shares in Unicorn AIM were trading 5.3% higher at 109.00p each on Friday morning in London.

‘The current uncertain environment is challenging for smaller quoted companies; investment decisions are more likely to be delayed and valuations of higher growth companies have suffered considerable downward pressure,’ explained Chair Tim Woodcock.

More positively, however, Unicorn AIM said delivered a total return of negative 4.3% for the year that ended on September 30. This ‘meaningfully outperformed’ the negative 8.3% return delivered by the FTSE AIM All-Share Total Return Index.

Unicorn declared a 3.5p per share final dividend, unchanged from the previous year. Combined with the interim dividend paid in August, this brought the total payout to 6.5p per share.

For the 12 months that ended on September 30, 2022, Unicorn had in mid-December of that year declared a final dividend of 45.50p. However this was due to a substantial special dividend of 32.0p per share, which Unicorn AIM declared in late July, 2022, on top of the 3.0p interim dividend.

Looking ahead, Woodcock noted the company’s ‘expanding pipeline’ and said the existing portfolio ‘continues to perform creditably’ with Unicorn’s investment holdings likely to weather the uncertain economic environment.

‘On the other hand,’ he added, ‘the persistent threat of inflation, high interest rates and recession could delay an improvement in the performance of smaller quoted companies and the board therefore remains cautious about prospects in the near term.’

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