Miton UK MicroCap Trust plc share price, company news, analysis and interviews
Miton UK MicroCap Trust plc (LON:MINI) intends to invest primarily in the smallest companies, measured by their market capitalisation, quoted or traded on an exchange in the United Kingdom at the time of investment.
It is likely that the majority of the micro cap companies held in the Company’s portfolio will be quoted on the FTSE AIM All-Share Index (an index consisting of all companies listed on the Alternative Investment Market which meet the FTSE’s eligibility criteria) and will typically have a market capitalisation of less than £150 million at the time of investment.
Miton UK MicroCap Trust (LON:MINI) has released its August 2024 Factsheet. Discover key insights on global market fluctuations and company performances.
TPXimpact Holdings plc (LON:TPX) was discussed by Miton UK MicroCap Trust plc (LON:MINI) Co-Fund Manager Gervais Williamsin a wide-ranging exclusive interview about the Trust and some of its portfolio holdings.
DirectorsTalk asked:
TPXimpact Holdings plc has seen their share price rise over 30% in a year*. What’s behind the company’s success?
* Share price rose from 35 GBX on 7/7/23 to 53.5 GBX over a year later on 18/7/24.
Gervais Williams commented:
What we’ve got is quite a lot of micro-caps here, which are, in many cases, somewhat overlooked. That’s partly because, they’re not growing particularly well, or they’ve had some problems, and TPXimpact Holdings is one of those where a simplified and reinvigorated management team have really delivered a step change in terms of the culture of the business.
Basically, it’s aiming to do what it calls people-powered transformation. That’s really allowing organisations, particularly government offices, to get motivation of staff and enthusiasm and all that rebuilt, and it’s got some very good businesses. It’s a B Corp at its heart, which is obviously very aligned with their customer base but most particularly, it’s got a very strong pipeline of new opportunities. I think it booked something like £140 million of business last year, it does have some net debt, which has come down very hard, it’s down to about £7.5 million this year.
Most particularly, you’re going to see its sales come through, its profits come through so although its PE ratio might be, according to Bloomberg, something like 12.4 times this year, actually for the year to March ‘25, it might be as low as 7.5.
TPXimpact Holdings PLC help public, private and third-sector organisations with their digital transformation journey to build a better future for people, places and the planet.
Miton UK MicroCap Trust plc (LON:MINI) has announced its Factsheet for July 2024 is now available.
Manager commentary
During July and August last year, global interest rates reached their peak, normally they dampen down economic activity gradually over time. In general, UK economic growth has slowed subsequently, but as yet it hasn’t fallen back into recession. Meanwhile, inflationary pressures that were excessive last year, have also slowed. Investors now anticipate that UK interest rates will start to be cut soon.
Even as UK interest rates are reduced, UK economic growth may continue to slow a little further, because like interest rate rises, there is a time lag before interest rate cuts start to have an impact.
During July, the worst portfolio detractor was Trufin. Last year, one of Trufin’s subsidiaries won a software contract from Lloyds Bank, that improves the operational efficiencies of administering loans. Unfortunately, during July, Trufin announced that Lloyds had chosen to reverse their prior decision, for reasons unrelated to the effectiveness of the software.
As it was, one of Trufin’s other subsidiaries has been trading ahead of expectations, so its profit forecasts for the coming year were unchanged. Trufin also subsequently announced a new software contract with a challenger bank during July. But even so, although the company remains upbeat, investors were disappointed with the loss of the Lloyds Bank contact, and Trufin’s share price fell 38% during July.
Elsewhere there were upbeat announcements during July from Beeks Financial Cloud Group, Totally, TPXimpact (a new holding added prior to its appreciation), Concurrent Technologies and Supreme. Whilst the share prices of all these appreciated by between 14 and 55%, the Trust’s NAV was held back by the setback in Trufin.
Miton UK MicroCap Trust (LON:MINI) intends to invest primarily in the smallest companies, measured by their market capitalisation and quoted or traded on an exchange in the United Kingdom.
Miton UK MicroCap Trust (LON:MINI) co-fund manager, Gervais Williams joins DirectorsTalk Interviews to take a closer look current market trends and investment opportunities.
In this insightful interview with Gervais Williams, Co-Fund Manager of the Miton UK MicroCap Trust, we take a closer look at a range of pertinent topics impacting the financial markets today. Williams shares his perspectives on the current instability in the US stock market, the potential for market leadership transitions, and the implications of recent interest rate cut by the Bank of England. Additionally, he offers an in-depth analysis of several standout microcap stocks, including Beeks Financial Cloud Group, TPXimpact, Concurrent Technologies, and more. Watch now as we explore the trends and strategies shaping the future of these promising investments.
In this interview, Gervais Williams, co-fund manager of Miton UK MicroCap Trust, discusses navigating the economic landscape and standout companies in 2024. Find out more here. #investment #microcap
Miton UK MicroCap Trust (LON:MINI) Co-Fund manager Gervais Williams joins DirectorsTalk Interviews to discuss the markets and investment opportunities in the UK smaller companies sector.
In this interview Gervais gives us an overview of how the UK economy is doing and the effect on listed companies, with investors still overweight in large caps how the risk reward opportunity in the smaller companies space is even more attractive. Gervais also shares his thoughts on the prospects of several companies including CyanConnode Holdings, Saietta, Secure Trust Bank, Riverfort Global Opportunities, Autins and Tirupati Graphite. As well as several other companies in the gold mining sector such as KEFI Minerals, Serabi Gold, Amaroq Minerals and Shanta Gold.
Miton UK MicroCap Trust invests primarily in the smallest companies, measured by their market capitalisation, quoted or traded on an exchange in the United Kingdom at the time of investment.
Secure Trust Bank is a British retail and commercial banking group listed on the London Stock Exchange, where it is a constituent of the Main Market.
RiverFort Global Opportunities plc is an investment company listed on AIM, part of the London Stock Exchange, seeking to generate returns for shareholders through capital growth and income by way of dividends. It invests by providing equity-linked debt funding to public and private small cap growth companies in the technology, natural resources, energy, financial, healthcare, property and specialist industry sectors.
The Autins Group develop and manufacture lightweight thermal, filtration and acoustic insulation materials and components for a range of industries. These materials enable manufacturers to make products that are lighter, quieter, more thermally efficient and more environmentally friendly.
Miton UK MicroCap Trust (LON:MINI) Co Fund Manager Gervais Williams joins DirectorsTalk Interviews to discuss the current market situation.
In this interview Gervais shares his thoughts on the high number of companies that have issued profit warnings, explains why the UK stock market is more attractive now and discusses several companies that he believes have been overlooked by investors, including:
Coral Products (LON:CRU) Van Elle Holdings (LON:VANL) Braemar Plc (LON:BMS) Me Group International (LON:MEGP) Velocys (LON:VLS) Dekel Agri-Vision (LON:DKL)
Miton UK MicroCap Trust intends to invest primarily in the smallest companies, measured by their market capitalisation and quoted or traded on an exchange in the United Kingdom.
Coral Products PLC is a manufacturer and distributor of plastic products within a wide range of sectors.
Business summary. Van Elle Holdings plc is a geotechnical contractor, which offers a range of ground engineering techniques and services, including site investigation; driven, bored, drilled and augured piling, and ground stabilization services.
Braemar Plc operates as an international ship-brokerage company. The Company offers advisory services in shipping investment, chartering, and risk management. Braemar serves customers worldwide.
ME Group International plc based in Epsom, Surrey is a vending machine operator. Long known as a photobooth operator, it has since expanded to laundry, digital printing and food.
Velocys is an international UK-based sustainable fuels technology company. Velocys designed, developed and now licenses proprietary Fischer-Tropsch technology for the generation of clean, low carbon, synthetic drop-in aviation and road transport fuel from residual woody biomass and municipal solid waste.
Dekel Agri-Vision PLC aspires to become a leading agro-industrial company in West Africa.
Explore CyanConnode Holdings plc’s (LON:CYAN) impressive growth and potential as discussed by Miton UK Microcap Trust’s co-fund manager, Gervais Williams.
Gervais Williams of Miton UK MicroCap Trust plc discusses US stock market trends, their impact on the London Stock Exchange, and the effect of interest rate cuts.
Amaroq Minerals is a new holding in MINI’s portfolio, focusing on gold properties in Greenland. It offers a strategic advantage due to its location and potential for high profitability. With a large mineral portfolio, it is poised for growth in the region. #goldmining
Learn about Journeo plc (LON:JNEO), a provider of integrated transport systems to fleet operators, with impressive revenue growth and a soaring share price.
Miton UK MicroCap (LON:MINI) provides investors with rare exposure to the exponential growth potential on offer at the very smallest end of the UK equity market. As discussed in Portfolio, the strategy is less correlated to the market than typical large-cap focussed UK equity strategies, with 77% allocated to the more obscure AIM market. Additionally, the average market cap is £56m, significantly lower than the £412m average of the Numis Smaller Companies ex Investment Companies Index. MINI is managed by longstanding UK equities specialists, Gervais Williams and Martin Turner, who aim to minimise stock specific and sector risks associated with the investment universe through diversification across a wide range of sectors and 140 holdings.
The investment companies team at Kepler Trust Intelligence has produced a new piece of investment bank quality research about the trust, designed to provide a clear and comprehensive reference for long term investors. This note is free to read for UK investors.
It’s difficult to believe that small- and micro-cap UK equities have much further to fall. Although there are always risks associated with small- and micro-cap investing, we believe the strong performance of several stocks in MINI’s portfolio, including Yu Group which has risen over ten-fold over the last three years to mid-August 2023, highlights the potential asymmetric returns that can be achieved. With inflation sticky and the cost of debt higher than it has been over the last decade, the strength of a company’s management team and ability to allocate capital effectively, alongside high customer satisfaction ratings, may be able to help dampen margin pressures. Given the attractiveness of valuations and underweight allocations to the UK and the sector, there may be opportunities for surplus cash-generating companies to acquire debt-free businesses at knock-down valuations, which could boost returns in the sector.
Kepler View
We believe Miton UK MicroCap offers investors a genuine diversification opportunity that should complement an investor’s more traditional exposure to more highly valued, large-cap focussed strategies which may be vulnerable to a price correction. Over the long run, in our view, the relatively low levels of discount volatility and the voluntary annual redemption facility ensure shareholders can buy and sell relatively close to par which enhances the risk/reward characteristics of the strategy. Although the environment may remain challenging for MINI and the sector in the short term, Gervais and Martin’s diversified allocations across sectors and holdings means they are well positioned to manage the risks and capture a shift in investor sentiment should it occur. That said, in recent weeks, MINI’s NAV has made strong gains while the share price has been muted. This could prove to be the beginning of a rebound, with the potential for a narrowing discount to add to returns.
Miton UK MicroCap Trust plc (LON:MINI) is the topic of conversation when Callum Stokeld Investment Trust Research Analyst at Kepler joins DirectorsTalk. Callum explains the MINI strategy, considerations around stock selection, potential performance and can it be sustained going forward.
Miton UK MicroCap Trust plc invest primarily in the smallest companies, measured by their market capitalisation, quoted or traded on an exchange in the United Kingdom at the time of investment.
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