4th Apr 2025 10:31
(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers among London Main Market small-caps on Friday.
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SMALL-CAP - WINNERS
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Global Opportunities Trust PLC, up 2.3% at 296.54 pence, 12-month range 269.39p-314.00p. Net asset value per share with income at December 31 was 374.00 pence, up 2.7% from 364.1p a year prior. The trust declares a total dividend of 10.0p per share for 2024, doubled from 5.0p in 2023, and delivered a NAV total return of 4.1% during 2024, against 7.9% on a comparative AIC flexible investments peer group. Global Opportunities says it does not formally benchmark its performance against a specific index. Its share price total return was negative 2.4%, compared to a 19.8% return for the FTSE all-world total return index. Pretax net return during the year more than doubled to GBP4.5 million from GBP1.9 million.
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SMALL-CAP - LOSERS
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Fidelity Japan Trust PLC, down 3.3% at 161.50p, 12-month range 144.10p-184.00p. Rejects a proposed merger with AVI Japan Opportunity Trust PLC, saying its own investment team is "one of the best resourced in the industry". AVI Japan on Thursday said it proposed a merger with Fidelity Japan to create a larger, more liquid investment trust focused on Japanese equities, but complained that the Fidelity Japan board hasn't engaged in "constructive dialogue" over the idea. AVI Japan argued that Fidelity Japan shareholders would benefit from its own share price's narrower discount to net asset value, which it put at 0.05% on average for its shares since 2018, compared to 9.35% for Fidelity Japan. However, Fidelity Japan early Friday said its board reviewed and rejected the non-binding indicative proposal from AVI Japan and is recommending shareholders vote for continuation of the trust at its annual general meeting on May 21.
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Picton Property Income Ltd, down 0.8% at 73.04p, 12-month range 59.54p-77.40p. Increases the maximum consideration for its share buyback programme to GBP12.5 million from GBP10 million, following the completion of its Cardiff office disposal at the end of March for GBP8.4 million. The programme is due to end no later than May 21. The property investment firm has bought back 11.7 million shares for GBP7.8 million since the launch of the programme in February. "The board continues to believe that the share price materially undervalues the company, and that the programme represents an attractive use of proceeds, alongside continued investment into the existing portfolio," says Picton Property.
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By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
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