- Onward Opportunities makes IPO debut
- Sees structural market opportunity in UK smaller companies
- The Investment Company shifts focus to small caps
Smaller companies-focused investment trust Onward Opportunities (ONWD:AIM) began trading on AIM today after raising £12.8 million from its IPO (initial public offering) at a price of 100p per share.
The fund’s investment manager is Dowgate Wealth, a private company founded in 2020 by former Hargreave Hale employees. At the end of January, the company has assets under administration of more than £495 million.
The board and investment manager believe there is a structural market opportunity in the UK smaller companies sector which can be exploited through the ‘deep’ industry experience of the manager.
Andrew Henton, chairman of Onward Opportunities, commented: ‘Our strategy involves an active approach to identifying investee companies and engaging with them.
‘In so doing we will both support the growth companies that are the driving force of enterprise in the UK whilst also taking advantage of valuation inefficiencies to underpin returns.’
The company is looking to generate risk-adjusted absolute returns for shareholders by investing in UK smaller companies and creating a portfolio consisting of between 20 to 25 companies predominantly listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
WHO IS THE INVESTMENT TEAM?
The investment team is led by investment director Lawrence Hulse and brings a wealth of experience to the sector and track record of building businesses.
Hulse was previously at Gresham House (GHE) and co-managed the Strategic Public Equity Fund LP and LF Gresham House Smaller Companies Fund (FUND:BH416G5).
The wider investment team includes Tom Teichman, Jay Patel, Mark Chadwick and David Poutney. They are ‘high conviction’ investors who use a specialist approach consisting of proprietary due diligence followed by active company engagement.
CHANGE OF FOCUS AND NEW MANAGER
The attractions of UK smaller companies were echoed by The Investment Company (INV) today after it proposed a change of strategy and the appointment of Chelverton Asset Management, news which helped the shares 2.4% higher to 302p.
The company intends to pursue an investment strategy of investing in cash-generative UK small and mid-cap quoted companies that are expected to grow faster than the UK stock market over the long term and can finance their own organic growth.
Chairman Ian Dighe said: ‘The directors believe that the proposals offer existing shareholders two appropriate alternatives: either to retain their shareholding in the company whilst it pursues a growth mandate managed by a team with a proven track record, or to have their capital returned to them.’
