Pre-Annual General Meeting Information • May 19, 2025
Pre-Annual General Meeting Information
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THIS DOCUMENT IS IMPORTANT AND REQUIRES YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. If you are in any doubt about the contents of this document or as to the action you should take, you are recommended immediately to seek your own independent financial advice from your stockbroker, solicitor, accountant, bank manager or other appropriately qualified independent financial adviser authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended) if you are in the United Kingdom, or from another appropriately authorised independent financial adviser if you are outside the United Kingdom.
If you have sold or otherwise transferred all of your Ordinary Shares in the Company please send this document together with the accompanying documents, as soon as possible, to the purchaser or transferee, or to the bank, stockbroker or other agent through whom the sale or transfer was effected for transmission to the purchaser or transferee.
The distribution of this document and any accompanying documents into jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom may be restricted by law and therefore persons into whose possession this document and any accompanying documents come should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
Winterflood Securities Limited, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting as financial adviser for the Company in connection with the Waiver Resolution and no-one else and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to clients of Winterflood Securities Limited nor for providing advice to any other person in relation to the contents of this document or on any other matter referred to in this document. Persons other than the Company are recommended to seek their own financial and other professional advice.
_________________________________________________________________________________
(an authorised closed-ended investment company incorporated in England and Wales with registered number 01091347)
Notice of Annual General Meeting and proposed approval of waiver of Rule 9 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers
This document should be read as a whole. Your attention is drawn to the letter from the Chairman of the Company which is set out in Part I of this document in which the Directors (or the Independent Directors in the case of the Waiver Resolution) recommend you to vote in favour of each of the Resolutions to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting referred to below.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Shareholders can vote electronically via the Investor Centre app or by accessing the web browser at https://uk.investorcentre.mpms.mufg.com/. Alternatively, a Form of Proxy may be requested from the Company's registrars, MUFG Corporate Markets. To be valid, the Form of Proxy must be completed, signed and returned in accordance with the instructions printed thereon to the Company's registrars, PXS 1, MUFG Corporate Markets, by hand (during normal business hours only) or by post to PXS 1, MUFG Corporate Markets, Central Square, 29 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL as soon as possible and, in any event, by no later than 11:00 a.m. on 10 June 2025. If you hold Ordinary Shares in CREST, you may appoint a proxy by completing and transmitting a CREST proxy instruction to the Company's registrars, MUFG Corporate Markets (under CREST participant ID RA10) so that it is received by no later than 11:00 a.m. on 10 June 2025. If you are an institutional investor you may also be able to appoint a proxy electronically via the Proxymity platform, a process which has been agreed by the Company and approved by the Registrar. For further information regarding Proxymity, please go to www.proxymity.io.
| EXPECTED TIMETABLE OF PRINCIPAL EVENTS 3 | |
|---|---|
| KEY STATISTICS 4 | |
| DEFINITIONS 5 | |
| PART I: LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN 7 | |
| PART II: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 14 | |
| NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 25 |
despatched
Circular posted to Shareholders Thursday, 15 May 2025 Latest time and date for receipt of Forms of Proxy 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, 10 June 2025 General Meeting 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, 12 June 2025 Announcement of results of General Meeting Thursday, 12 June 2025 6:00 p.m. on Thursday 12 June 2025 8:00 a.m. on Friday, 13 June 2025 Friday, 13 June 2025 Record Date for the Share Subdivision Expected date on which the New Ordinary Shares will be admitted to trading on Main Market Expected date on which CREST accounts credited with New Ordinary Shares Expected date by which definitive new share certificates are to be Week commencing 16 June 2025
3
| Number of existing Ordinary Shares in issue | 13,200,000 |
|---|---|
| ISIN code for the existing Ordinary Shares | GB0006439003 |
| SEDOL code for the existing Ordinary Shares | 0643900 |
| Number of New Ordinary Shares in issue following the Share Subdivision |
132,000,000 |
| ISIN code for the New Ordinary Shares | GB00BRDXZ870 |
| SEDOL code for the New Ordinary Shares | BRDXZ87 |
LEI 213800HYQEOS2281RR86
The following definitions apply throughout this document unless the context requires otherwise.
| 2006 Act | the Companies Act 2006 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual General Meeting or AGM |
the annual general meeting of the Company which is due to be held on 12 June 2025 at 11:00 a.m. and notice of which is given at the end of this document, and any adjournment thereof |
||
| Annual Report | the annual report and financial statements of the Company for the financial year ended 31 January 2025 |
||
| Articles | the articles of association of the Company | ||
| Board of Directors or Board |
the directors of the Company, whose names appear on page 7 of this document |
||
| Business Day | a day on which the London Stock Exchange plc is open for transaction of business |
||
| Company | North Atlantic Smaller Companies Investment Trust PLC | ||
| Concert Party | means Christopher Mills and persons presumed to be acting in concert with him, details of which are set out in paragraph 3 of Part II of this document |
||
| CREST | the system for the paperless settlement of trades in securities operated by Euroclear in accordance with the CREST Regulations |
||
| CREST Regulations | the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/3755) | ||
| FCA | the financial conduct authority in the United Kingdom | ||
| Form of Proxy | the form of proxy that may be requested to be used by Shareholders in connection with the Annual General Meeting |
||
| Independent Directors | the Directors excluding Christopher Mills | ||
| Independent Shareholders |
the Shareholders other than the Concert Party | ||
| Latest Practicable Date |
6 May 2025, being the latest practicable date prior to the publication of this document |
||
| New Ordinary Shares | the proposed new Ordinary Shares of £0.005 each in the capital of the Company which will be created as a result of the Share Subdivision |
||
| Notice of Annual General Meeting or Notice |
the notice of Annual General Meeting set out at the end of this document | ||
| Official List | the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority |
| Ordinary Shares or Shares |
the ordinary shares of £0.05 each in the share capital of the Company | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Panel | the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers | ||
| Resolutions | the resolutions to be proposed at the AGM, the full text of which is set out in the Notice of Annual General Meeting |
||
| Share Buyback Resolution |
Resolution 15 in the form set out in the Notice of Annual General Meeting | ||
| Shareholders | holders of Ordinary Shares | ||
| Share Subdivision | the proposed subdivision of each Ordinary Share into 10 New Ordinary Shares |
||
| Subdivision Resolution |
Resolution 13 in the form set out in the Notice of Annual General Meeting | ||
| Takeover Code | the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers | ||
| UK Corporate Governance Code |
the UK Corporate Governance Code published by the Financial Reporting Council in July 2018 |
||
| United Kingdom | the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | ||
| Waiver Resolution | Resolution 17 in the form set out in the Notice of Annual General Meeting | ||
| Winterflood Securities | Winterflood Securities Limited |
(an authorised closed-ended investment company incorporated in England and Wales with registered number 01091347)
| Directors | Registered Office |
|---|---|
| Sir Charles Wake (Non-Executive Chairman) | 6 Stratton Street |
| Christopher Mills (Chief Executive and Investment Manager)* | London |
| George Loewenbaum (Non-Executive Director) | W1J 8LD |
| The Lord Howard of Rising (Non-Executive Director) | |
| Peregrine Moncreiffe (Non-Executive Director) | |
| Professor Fiona Gilbert (Non-Executive Director) | |
| Julian Fagge (Non-Executive Director) | |
| *A member of the Concert Party |
15 May 2025
To all Shareholders
Dear Shareholder,
The purpose of this document is to provide you with details of the Resolutions to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting of North Atlantic Smaller Companies Investment Trust PLC (the Company) to be held on 12 June 2025 at 11:00 a.m. and convened by the formal Notice of Annual General Meeting set out at the end of this document.
On 7 May 2025, the Company announced its final results for the year ended 31 January 2025 and a copy of the Annual Report for that period is being sent to Shareholders along with this document and is also available on https://www.nascit.co.uk/results-reports.
The Company is an authorised closed-ended investment trust incorporated in England and Wales, as a company limited by shares, whose shares are admitted to the Official List and to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange plc.
The investment objective of the Company is to provide capital appreciation to its Shareholders through investing in a portfolio of smaller companies which are based primarily in countries bordering the North Atlantic Ocean. The Company invests in both listed and unlisted companies. It is an alternative investment fund under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive. The Company was authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority on 1 October 2021 as an Internally Managed Alternative Investment Fund.
In the Company's Annual Report, the Company reported net assets of £713.5 million, which comprised total assets of £719.1 million and total liabilities of £5.6 million. As at the Latest Practicable Date, the Company had a market capitalisation of approximately £475.2 million.
The Directors are required to lay before the AGM the Company's Annual Report, including the annual financial statements and the respective reports of the Directors and the Company's auditors for the year ended 31 January 2025.
Resolution 2 seeks shareholder approval of the Directors' remuneration report, for the year ended 31 January 2025 as set out on pages 36 to 41 of the Annual Report. The Company's auditors, RSM UK Audit LLP, have audited those parts of the Directors' remuneration report that are required to be audited and their report may be found on pages 42 to 48 of the Annual Report.
In accordance with the UK Corporate Governance Code, all Directors of the Company are required to be subject to annual re-election by the Shareholders. At this Annual General Meeting, Christopher Mills, Peregrine Moncreiffe, George Loewenbaum, The Lord Howard of Rising, Professor Fiona Gilbert, Julian Fagge and Sir Charles Wake will all stand for re-election by the Shareholders.
The Board is satisfied that each of the Directors proposed for re-election have the appropriate balance of skills, experience, independence and knowledge of the Company to enable them to discharge the duties and responsibilities of the Board effectively.
Biographical details for each of the Directors are given on page 3 of the Annual Report.
The Company is required to appoint auditors at each general meeting at which accounts are laid before the Company. The appointed auditors are to hold office until the next such meeting. Following the recommendation of the Company's audit committee, the Directors propose that RSM UK Audit LLP be reappointed as auditors of the Company and that the Directors be authorised to determine the remuneration of the auditors.
The authority given to the Directors at the last annual general meeting of the Company to allot Shares expires at the conclusion of this Annual General Meeting. This resolution will renew the authority to allot Shares of the Company on similar terms. If this resolution is passed the Directors will have authority to allot Shares up to the aggregate nominal amount of £220,000 representing one third of the Company's current issued share capital. This authority will expire at the next annual general meeting of the Company or, if earlier, 15 months after the passing of this resolution.
The Board has considered whether a recommendation of a subdivision of the Company's shares is in the best interest of the Shareholders. Following consideration, in conjunction with Harwood Capital LLP, it is believed that the subdivision could potentially increase the marketability of the Shares, and therefore potentially increase the liquidity profile of the Shares accordingly The Board therefore believes that it is appropriate to recommend a subdivision of each Ordinary Share of £0.05 into 10 New Ordinary Shares of £0.005 each.
The Share Subdivision would result in Shareholders holding 10 Ordinary Shares for each Ordinary Share they held immediately prior to the Share Subdivision. This resolution is conditional upon the New Ordinary Shares being admitted to the Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market for listed securities.
If the proposed Share Subdivision proceeds, it is expected that the price of each New Ordinary Share will become one tenth of the price of the Ordinary Share. This will reflect the fact that Shareholders will own ten times as many Ordinary Shares. Shareholders should, however, note that, subject to market movements, the aggregate value of their shareholdings should remain the same. Additionally, the Share Subdivision will not have any impact on the Company's net assets as no change in the total aggregate nominal value of the Company's issued share capital will occur.
The New Ordinary Shares will carry the same rights in all respects as the Ordinary Shares, including voting rights. Mandates and other instructions for the payment of dividends and communication preferences will continue to apply to the New Ordinary Shares.
The New Ordinary Shares will be in registered form and may be held in certificated or uncertificated form. Following the Share Subdivision becoming effective, share certificates in respect of the Ordinary Shares will cease to be valid and will be cancelled. New certificates in respect of the New Ordinary Shares will be issued to those shareholders who hold their Ordinary Shares in certificated form.
The authority given to the Directors at the last annual general meeting of the Company to disapply pre-emption rights expires at the Annual General Meeting. This resolution will renew the authority to disapply pre-emption rights thereby authorising the Directors to allot equity securities for cash up to a maximum aggregate renewal amount of £33,000 (following the passing of Resolution 13), being equivalent to 5% of the current issued share capital, without first offering such securities to existing Shareholders.
The authority given to the Directors at the last annual general meeting of the Company to purchase the Company's Ordinary Shares in the market expires at the Annual General Meeting. This resolution therefore seeks the authority of Shareholders to purchase, following and subject to the passing of Resolution 13, a maximum of 13,200,000 Ordinary Shares, representing 10% of the issued share capital of the Company (based on the current issued share capital as amended following the passing of Resolution 13). The Directors intend to exercise this authority in the year following the Annual General Meeting but they will only do so when, in light of market conditions prevailing at the time and taking into account investment opportunities, appropriate gearing levels and the overall financial position of the Company, they believe the effect of such
purchases will be to increase the underlying value per Ordinary Share having regard to the interest of the Shareholders generally. Shares will not be bought at a price of less than £0.005 each being the nominal value of each Share nor more than 5% above the average middle market quotation of the Shares over the preceding five Business Days nor will they be purchased during periods when the Company would be prohibited from making such purchases. Purchases will be made within the guidelines set by the Board and using available reserves. Ordinary Shares purchased will be cancelled and the number of Ordinary Shares in issue reduced accordingly.
The authority given to the Directors at the last annual general meeting to call a general meeting (other than an annual general meeting) on 14 days' notice will expire at the Annual General Meeting. This resolution therefore seeks to renew such authority. This authority will be effective until the Company's next annual general meeting, when it is intended that a similar resolution will be proposed. The Company will also need to meet the requirements for electronic voting before it can call a general meeting on 14 days' notice.
Under Rule 9 of the Takeover Code, when:
such a person is normally required to make a general offer in cash for all the remaining equity share capital of the company at the highest price paid by him, or any persons acting in concert with him, for shares in the company within the twelve months prior to announcement of the offer.
Under Rule 37 of the Takeover Code, when a company redeems or purchases its own voting shares, any resulting increase in the percentage of shares carrying voting rights in which a person or group of persons acting in concert is interested will be treated as an acquisition for the purpose of Rule 9 of the Takeover Code (although a shareholder who is neither a director nor acting in concert with a director will not normally incur an obligation to make an offer under Rule 9 of the Takeover Code).
At the last annual general meeting of the Company, the Independent Shareholders approved a waiver by the Panel of any requirement under Rule 9 of the Takeover Code for the Concert Party to make a general offer to the Shareholders as a result of market purchases by the Company of up to 1,338,229 Ordinary Shares pursuant to the share buyback authority approved by the Shareholders at the last annual general meeting of the Company. Between the last annual general meeting of the Company and the date of this document, the Company
made market purchases of 182,290 Ordinary Shares. As this authority will expire at the Annual General Meeting, the Company has again applied to the Panel for a waiver of Rule 9 of the Takeover Code in order to permit the Company to make market purchases as proposed under the Share Buyback Resolution to be exercised by the Directors (if such authority is approved by Shareholders) without triggering an obligation under Rule 9 of the Takeover Code for the Concert Party to make a general offer to Shareholders. The Panel has agreed, subject to the Independent Shareholders' approval on a poll, to waive the requirement for the Concert Party to make a general offer to all Shareholders where such an obligation would arise as a result of purchases by the Company of up to 13,200,000 Ordinary Shares (following the passing of Resolution 13), representing 10% of the issued share capital of the Company (based on the current issued share capital as amended following the passing of Resolution 13).
Christopher Mills is the Chief Executive and Investment Manager of the Company. The Concert Party (which includes Christopher Mills) is currently interested in an aggregate of 4,165,321 Ordinary Shares, representing 31.555% of the current issued share capital of the Company (which would become 41,653,210 Ordinary Shares following the passing of Resolution 13, representing 31.555% of the current issued share capital of the Company as amended following the passing of Resolution 13). If the Company were to repurchase from persons other than the Concert Party all the Ordinary Shares for which it is seeking authority under the Share Buyback Resolution, the Concert Party's interest in Shares would (assuming no other allotments of Ordinary Shares) increase to 35.062% of the issued share capital of the Company by virtue of such actions.
An increase in the percentage of the Ordinary Shares carrying voting rights in which the Concert Party is interested, as a result of any exercise by the Company of the authority to make market purchases under the Share Buyback Resolution, would ordinarily result in the Concert Party being under an obligation to make a general offer to all Shareholders under Rule 9 of the Takeover Code.
The Company intends to seek the separate approval of the Independent Shareholders for this Waiver Resolution (Resolution 17), which will be proposed as an ordinary resolution taken on a poll. The Concert Party will not be entitled to vote on this Waiver Resolution at the Annual General Meeting.
If this Waiver Resolution is approved, no member of the Concert Party will be restricted from making an offer for the Company following such approval.
If this Waiver Resolution is approved, such approval shall expire at the conclusion of the Company's next annual general meeting.
Note that each separate member of the Concert Party will not be able to increase their percentage interest of Ordinary Shares over 30% of the issued share capital of the Company without consulting the Panel.
You will find set out at the end of this document a notice convening the Annual General Meeting to be held at 6 Stratton Street, London W1J 8LD on 12 June 2025 at 11:00 a.m.
Please also refer to the additional information set out in Part II of this document.
Resolutions numbered 1 to 13 (inclusive), and 17 require the approval of Shareholders by the passing of an ordinary resolution (which requires that 50% of the votes cast be cast in favour). Resolutions 14 to 16 (inclusive) require the approval of Shareholders by the passing of a special resolution (which require that 75% of the votes cast be cast in favour). Resolution 17 will be taken on a poll of the Independent Shareholders.
Whether or not you intend to be present at the Annual General Meeting in the event that attendance is permissible, you are requested to complete and return a Form of Proxy in accordance with the instructions printed thereon.
If you wish to appoint a proxy, you are requested to cast your proxy vote online via the Investor Centre app or by accessing the web browser at https://uk.investorcentre.mpms.mufg.com/. You may request a hard copy Form of Proxy and return the Form of Proxy by hand (during normal business hours only) or by post, to PXS 1, MUFG Corporate Markets, Central Square, 29 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL as soon as possible and, in any event, so as to be received not later than 48 hours before the Annual General Meeting (that is, by 11:00 a.m. on 10 June 2025) or any adjournment thereof. Unless a proxy appointment is received by this date and time it will be invalid.
If you hold shares in CREST, you may appoint a proxy by completing and transmitting a CREST proxy instruction to MUFG Corporate Markets (CREST participant ID RA10) so that it is received no later than 48 hours before the Annual General Meeting (that is, by 11:00 a.m. on 10 June 2025). Unless the CREST proxy instruction is received by this date and time it will be invalid.
If you are an institutional investor you may also be able to appoint a proxy electronically via the Proxymity platform, a process which has been agreed by the Company and approved by the Registrar. For further information regarding Proxymity, please go to www.proxymity.io. Your proxy must be lodged by 11:00 a.m. on 10 June 2025 in order to be considered valid or, if the meeting is adjourned, by the time which is 48 hours before the time of the adjourned meeting. Before you can appoint a proxy via this process you will need to have agreed to Proxymity's associated terms and conditions. It is important that you read these carefully as you will be bound by them and they will govern the electronic appointment of your proxy. An electronic proxy appointment via the Proxymity platform may be revoked completely by sending an authenticated message via the platform instructing the removal of your proxy vote.
Further information is set out in the notes to the Notice of Annual General Meeting.
The return of the completed Form of Proxy via the Investor Centre app or website, CREST proxy instruction or appointing a proxy via Proxymity will not affect your right as a Shareholder to attend the Annual General Meeting and vote in person in the event that attendance is permissible and you wish to do so.
The Directors consider Resolutions 1 to 17 (inclusive) to be in the best interests of the Company and the Shareholders as a whole, save that Christopher Mills makes no recommendation with regard to the Waiver Resolution as, in accordance with the provisions of the Takeover Code, Christopher Mills is considered to be interested in the outcome of the Waiver Resolution.
Accordingly, the Directors unanimously recommend that the Shareholders vote in favour of Resolutions 1 to 17 (inclusive) to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting, as they intend to do in respect of their own personal beneficial holdings of Ordinary Shares, amounting to in aggregate 4,652,946 Ordinary Shares (representing approximately 35.250% of the current issued share capital of the Company) including the beneficial holdings of Ordinary Shares of their close relatives and the Concert Party.
The Independent Directors, who have been so advised by Winterflood Securities, consider the waiver of the obligation that may arise for the Concert Party to make an offer under Rule 9 of the Takeover Code in relation to the authority to make market purchases (under Resolution 154) to be fair and reasonable and in the best interests of the Company and the Independent Shareholders as a whole. In providing its advice to the Independent Directors, Winterflood Securities has taken into account the Independent Directors' commercial assessments. Accordingly, the Independent Directors unanimously recommend that the Independent Shareholders vote in favour of the Waiver Resolution (Resolution 16) to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting, as they intend to do in respect of their own personal beneficial holdings of Ordinary Shares, amounting to in aggregate 483,482 Ordinary Shares (representing approximately 3.663% of the current issued share capital of the Company) including the beneficial holdings of Ordinary Shares of their close relatives (but excluding the beneficial holdings of Ordinary Shares of the Concert Party).
Yours sincerely
Chairman
acquisition of Harwood Capital from JO Hambro Capital Management Group Limited. Harwood Capital's principal activity is the provision of discretionary investment management and advisory services. Christopher Mills is also a director and investment manager of Oryx International Growth Fund Limited. He has a long and successful investing track record and is a non-executive director of a number of both public and private companies. Prior to joining JO Hambro Capital Management Group Limited which he co-founded in 1993, he worked from 1975 to 1993 for Samuel Montagu Limited, Montagu Investment Management Limited and its successor company, Invesco MIM, latterly as Head of North American Investments and Head of North American Venture Capital.
| Note: All figures rounded to three decimal places | ||
|---|---|---|
| Current position | Position following full implementation of the Subdivision Resolution |
Position following full implementation of the share buyback authority |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of Ordinary Shares |
% of issued share capital |
No. of Ordinary Shares |
% of issued share capital |
No. of Ordinary Shares |
% of issued share capital |
|
| Christopher Mills | 2,532,000 | 19.182% | 25,320,000 | 19.182% | 25,320,000 | 21.313% |
| Lynne Mills | 114,000 | 0.864% | 1,140,000 | 0.864% | 1,140,000 | 0.960% |
| Sandra Menzies | 12,240 | 0.093% | 122,400 | 0.093% | 122,400 | 0.103% |
| Harry Mills | 114,500 | 0.857% | 1,145,000 | 0.857% | 1,145,000 | 0.964% |
| Nicholas Mills | 114,500 | 0.857% | 1,145,000 | 0.857% | 1,145,000 | 0.964% |
| Charles Mills | 114,500 | 0.857% | 1,145,000 | 0.857% | 1,145,000 | 0.964% |
| Joint holding of Christopher Mills and Sandra Menzies |
20,000 | 0.152% | 200,000 | 0.152% | 200,000 | 0.168% |
| Eveswise Limited Retirement Benefit Scheme |
500,000 | 3.788% | 5,000,000 | 3.788% | 5,000,000 | 4.209% |
| Harwood Holdco Limited |
600,000 | 4.545% | 6,000,000 | 4.545% | 6,000,000 | 5.051% |
| Harwood Capital Nominees Limited |
43,581 | 0.330% | 435,810 | 0.330% | 435,810 | 0.367% |
| Total | 4,165,321 | 31.555% | 41,653,210 | 31.555% | 41,653,210 | 35.062% |
3.6 Christopher Mills and the other members of the Concert Party have no intentions other than to see the continuation of the Company's business and will continue their support of the Board. In particular, Christopher Mills and the other members of the Concert Party have no intentions to make any changes in relation to:
Christopher Mills and the other members of the Concert Party have no intention to purchase any additional Ordinary Shares during the period covered by the share buyback authority under the Share Buyback Resolution.
Christopher Mills and the other members of the Concert Party have no intention of making an offer for the Company but, if any of them choose to, they will not be restricted from making an offer.
No new management incentive arrangements in the Company have been entered into, nor are there any proposals for such.
The names of the Directors are set out on page 7 of this document.
As at close of business on the Latest Practicable Date, the interests in Ordinary Shares of the Directors and persons connected with them were as follows:
| No. of Ordinary Shares |
% of issued share capital |
|
|---|---|---|
| Christopher Mills* | 2,532,000 | 19.182% |
| Lynne Mills* | 114,000 | 0.864% |
| Sandra Menzies* | 12,240 | 0.093% |
| Harry Mills* | 114,500 | 0.867% |
| Nicholas Mills* | 114,500 | 0.867% |
| Charles Mills* | 114,500 | 0.867% |
| Joint holding of Christopher Mills and Sandra Menzies* |
20,000 | 0.152% |
| Eveswise Limited Retirement Benefit Scheme* |
500,000 | 3.788% |
|---|---|---|
| Harwood Holdco Limited* | 600,000 | 4.545% |
| Harwood Capital Nominees Limited* |
43,581 | 0.330% |
| Peregrine Moncreiffe | 405,630 | 3.073% |
| Miranda Moncreiffe | 11,401 | 0.086% |
| Ossian Moncreiffe | 5,318 | 0.040% |
| Idina Moncreiffe | 6,035 | 0.046% |
| Eliza Moncreiffe | 4,318 | 0.033% |
| Alexandra Moncreiffe | 5,356 | 0.041% |
| Lily Moncreiffe | 5,325 | 0.040% |
| Euan Moncreiffe | 4,506 | 0.034% |
| George Loewenbaum | 15,000 | 0.114% |
| The Lord Howard of Rising | 5,000 | 0.038% |
| Sir Charles Wake | 8,170 | 0.062% |
| Professor Fiona Gilbert | 1,800 | 0.014% |
| Mhairi Jane Davidson Gilbert |
700 | 0.005% |
| Kirstin Carey Davidson Gilbert |
700 | 0.005% |
| Julian Fagge | 523 | 0.004% |
| Total | 4,645,103 | 35.190% |
Note:
* A member of the Concert Party
All figures rounded to three decimal places
During the period beginning twelve months prior to the Latest Practicable Date and ending with the Latest Practicable Date, the only dealings in Ordinary Shares by Directors and persons connected with them was the following: on 24 October 2024, Peregrine Moncreiffe and connected persons to Peregrine Moncreiffe purchased 2,120 Ordinary Shares, bringing his total holding of Ordinary Shares to 447,709. On 29 October 2024, a further purchase was made by a connected person to Peregrine Moncreiffe of 180 Ordinary Shares, bringing his total holdings of Ordinary Shares to 447,889. On 10 July 2024 the Company bought back 843 Ordinary Shares from Harwood Capital Nominees Limited.
As at close of business on the Latest Practicable Date, the interests in Ordinary Shares of the Concert Party were as follows:
| No. of Ordinary Shares |
% of issued share capital |
|
|---|---|---|
| Christopher Mills | 2,532,000 | 19.182% |
| Lynne Mills | 114,000 | 0.864% |
| Sandra Menzies | 12,240 | 0.093% |
| Harry Mills | 114,500 | 0.867% |
| Nicholas Mills | 114,500 | 0.867% |
| Charles Mills | 114,500 | 0.867% |
| Joint holding of Christopher Mills and Sandra Menzies |
20,000 | 0.152% |
| Eveswise Limited Retirement Benefit Scheme | 500,000 | 3.788% |
| Harwood Holdco Limited | 600,000 | 4.545% |
| Harwood Capital Nominees Limited | 43,581 | 0.330% |
| Total | 4,165,321 | 31.555% |
Note: All figures rounded to three decimal places
There have been no dealings in the Concert Party's interests during the period beginning twelve months prior to the Latest Practicable Date and ending with the Latest Practicable Date, other than the buyback of 843 Ordinary Shares by the Company from Harwood Capital Nominees Limited on 10 July 2024.
As at close of business on the Latest Practicable Date, the total number of voting rights attributable to the issued share capital of the Company was 13,200,000 and (other than the Directors and the persons connected with them, detailed above) the following persons have notified the Company in accordance with Rule 5 of the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules that they hold, directly or indirectly, 3% or more of the voting rights attributable to the issued share capital of the Company:
| Shareholder | No. of Ordinary Shares |
% of issued share capital |
|---|---|---|
| CG Asset Management Limited | 914,559 | 6.928% |
| Butterfield Bank (Guernsey) Group | 524,060 | 3.970% |
| Interactive Investor (Manchester) | 512,207 | 3.880% |
| Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Mgt (Bristol) | 446,093 | 3.379% |
| Charles Stanley Group (UK) | 413,380 | 3.132% |
| Total | 2,810,299 | 21.29% |
As at the close of business on the Latest Practicable Date, there were no warrants or share options outstanding over the Company's Ordinary Shares.
The following table shows the closing middle market quotations of Ordinary Shares, as derived from the London Stock Exchange plc at close of business on the first Business Day of each of the six months immediately before the date of this document and the Latest Practicable Date:
| Date | Share price (£) |
|---|---|
| 6 May 2025 (Latest Practicable Date) |
37.00 |
| 1 May 2025 | 36.00 |
| 1 April 2025 | 35.50 |
| 3 March 2025 | 36.60 |
| 3 February 2025 | 37.00 |
| 2 January 2025 | 37.00 |
| 2 December 2024 | 37.60 |
6.1 Winterflood Securities has given and not withdrawn its written consent to the issue of this document with the inclusion of references to its name and references to it in the form and context in which they appear.
In this paragraph 6.3 reference to:
"control" means an interest, or aggregate interests, in shares carrying in aggregate 30% or more of the voting rights of a company, irrespective of whether such interest or interests give de facto control;
"dealing" or "dealt" includes the following:
"derivatives" include any financial product, whose value in whole or in part is determined directly or indirectly by reference to the price of an underlying security;
"relevant securities" means Ordinary Shares and securities carrying conversion or subscription rights into Ordinary Shares; and
"short position" means a short position, whether conditional or absolute and whether in the money or otherwise, and includes any short position under a derivative, any agreement to sell or any delivery obligation or right to require another person to purchase or take delivery.
For the purposes of this paragraph 6.3, a person is treated as "interested" in securities if he has long economic exposure, whether absolute or conditional, to changes in the price of those securities (and a person who only has a short position in securities is not treated as interested in those securities). In particular, a person is treated as "interested" in securities if:
The Company has not entered into a material contract (not being a contract entered into in the ordinary course of business) within the two-year period immediately preceding the date of this document.
No Director has a service contract with the Company nor are any such service contracts proposed.
The contract for the services of Christopher Mills, as the Chief Executive Officer, and the carrying out of day-to-day investment decisions is with Growth Financial Services Limited (GFSL) and contained in a secondment services agreement between GFSL and the Company. Christopher Mills is a director of GFSL which is entitled to receive part of the investment management and related fees payable to GFSL and Harwood Capital LLP as may be agreed between them from time to time. This secondment services agreement continues until terminated by the Company or GFSL on not less than 12 months' notice.
The Company has not been rated by the rating agencies.
Copies of the documents listed below are available for inspection on www.nascit.co.uk or from the company secretary at [email protected] or 6 Stratton Street, London, United Kingdom, W1J 8LD:
The annual reports for the financial years ended 31 January 2024 and 31 January 2025 are incorporated into this document by reference.
Hard copies of the annual report for the financial year ended 31 January 2024 have already been sent to Shareholders and will not be sent to Shareholders again unless requested by contacting the Company Secretary at [email protected] or 6 Stratton Street, London, United Kingdom, W1J 8LD or by telephoning 020 7640 3200.
Hard copies of the annual report for the financial year ended 31 January 2025 are being sent to Shareholders with this document and are also available on request by contacting the
Company Secretary at [email protected] or 6 Stratton Street, London, United Kingdom, W1J 8LD or by telephoning 020 7640 3200.
The table below is intended to enable Shareholders to identify easily specific items of historical financial information in relation to the Company for the financial years ended 31 January 2024 and 31 January 2025 that are incorporated by reference into this document. These documents will be published on the Company's website, and are also available in hard copy, as set out above.
| Document | Section | Page number |
|---|---|---|
| Annual report for the Company for year ended 31 January 2024 |
Income statement | 49 |
| Balance sheet | 51 | |
| Cash flow statement | 52 | |
| Statement of changes in equity | 50 | |
| Accounting policies | 53 | |
| Notes to the financial statements | 53 | |
| Independent auditor's report | 42 | |
| Annual report for the Company for year ended 31 January 2025 |
Income statement | 49 |
| Balance sheet | 51 | |
| Cash flow statement | 52 | |
| Statement of changes in equity | 50 | |
| Accounting policies | 53 | |
| Notes to the financial statements | 53 | |
| Independent auditor's report | 42 |
(an authorised closed-ended investment company incorporated in England and Wales with registered number 01091347)
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT the annual general meeting of North Atlantic Smaller Companies Investment Trust PLC (the Company) will be held at 6 Stratton Street, London W1J 8LD at 11:00 a.m. on 12 June 2025 for the purpose of considering the following resolutions (the Annual General Meeting). Resolutions 1 to 13 (inclusive) and 17 will be proposed as ordinary resolutions. Resolutions 14 to 16 (inclusive) will be proposed as special resolutions. Resolution 17 will be taken on a poll of the Independent Shareholders (as defined in the circular sent by the Company to its shareholders on 15 May 2025).
1 To receive the Company's annual financial statements and the reports of the directors and of the auditors for the financial year ended 31 January 2025 (the Annual Report).
2 To approve the directors' remuneration report set out on pages 36 to 41 of the Annual Report for the financial year ended 31 January 2025.
12 THAT the directors of the Company be generally and unconditionally authorised to exercise all the powers of the Company to allot relevant securities for the purposes of section 551 of the Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act) up to an aggregate nominal amount of £220,000 provided that this authority shall expire at the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company after the date of the passing of this resolution, except that the Company may before such expiry make an offer or agreement which would or might require relevant securities to be allotted after such expiry and the directors of the Company may allot relevant securities in pursuance of any such offer or agreement as if the authority conferred by this resolution had not expired and that this authority shall be in substitution for all previous authorities conferred upon the directors of the Company pursuant to section 551 of the 2006 Act but without prejudice to the allotment of any relevant securities already made or to be made pursuant to such authorities.
13 THAT, in accordance with section 618 of the Companies Act 2006, 13,200,000 Ordinary shares of £0.05 each in the issued share capital of the Company be subdivided into 132,000,000 Ordinary shares of £0.005 each, such shares having the same rights and being subject to the same restrictions (save as to nominal value) as the Ordinary Shares of £0.05 each in the capital of the Company as set out in the Company's articles of association for the time being, provided that such subdivision shall be conditional upon, and shall take effect on, admission to the Official List of the FCA and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities of the new Ordinary shares arising from such subdivision on such other time and date as the Directors may, in their absolute discretion, determine.
expedient to deal with fractional entitlements or legal, regulatory or practical difficulties under the laws of any territory or the requirements of a regulatory body; and
(b) the allotment (otherwise than pursuant to sub-paragraph (a) above) of equity securities up to an aggregate nominal amount of £33,000,
and such authority shall expire at the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company after the date of the passing of this resolution except that the Company may before such expiry make an offer or agreement which would or might require equity securities to be allotted after such expiry and the directors of the Company may allot equity securities in pursuance of such offer or agreement as if the power conferred by this resolution had not expired.
16 THAT a general meeting other than an annual general meeting may be called on no less than 14 clear days' notice.
17 To approve the waiver by the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers of any requirement under Rule 9 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the Takeover Code) for Christopher Mills and persons presumed to be acting in concert with him under the Takeover Code (the Concert Party) to make a general offer to shareholders of the Company as a result of market purchases by the Company of up to 13,200,000 Ordinary Shares in the capital of the Company pursuant to the authority to be sought under Resolution 14 above which would have the effect of increasing the Concert Party's aggregate interest to 35.062% of the Company's voting rights.
By order of the Board
SGH Company Secretaries Limited Secretary
Registered Office: 6 Stratton Street London W1J 8LD Registered No. 01091347
Dated: 15 May 2024
2 Shareholders can vote electronically via the Investor Centre app, a free app for smartphone and tablet provided by MUFG Corporate Markets (the company's registrar). It allows you to securely manage and monitor your shareholdings in real time, take part in online voting, keep your details up to date, access a range of information including payment history and much more. The app is available to download on both the Apple App Store and Google Play, or by scanning the relevant QR code below. Alternatively, you may access the Investor Centre via a web browser at: https://uk.investorcentre.mpms.mufg.com/.

3 If you need help with voting online, or require a paper proxy form, please contact our Registrar, MUFG Corporate Markets by email at [email protected], or you may call on 0371 664 0391. Calls are charged at the standard geographic rate and will vary by provider. Calls outside the United Kingdom will be charged at the applicable international rate. Lines are open between 09:00 - 17:30, Monday to Friday excluding public holidays in England and Wales.
To be valid any proxy form or other instrument appointing a proxy must be received by post or (during normal business hours only) by hand at the Company's registrars, PXS 1, MUFG Corporate Markets, Central Square, 29 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL no later than forty-eight hours before the time fixed for the meeting.
those CREST members who have appointed (a) voting service provider(s), should refer to their CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s), who will be able to take the appropriate action on their behalf.
accordance with section 437 of the Companies Act 2006. The Company may not require the shareholders who have requested any such website publication to pay its expenses in complying with sections 527 or 528 of the Companies Act 2006. Where the Company is required to place a statement on a website under section 527 of the Companies Act 2006, it must forward the statement to the Company's auditors not later than the time when it makes the statement available on the website. The business which may be dealt with at the Annual General Meeting includes any statement that the Company has been required under section 527 of the Companies Act 2006 to publish on a website.
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