Final Results

North Atlantic Smaller Companies Investment Trust plc Annual Report for the year ended 31 January 2026

All page references relate to the page numbering in the North Atlantic Smaller Companies Investment Trust plc Report and Accounts, available on the Company's website at: https://www.nascit.co.uk/results-reports

objective of the company and financial highlights

The objective of the Company is to provide capital appreciation through investment in a portfolio of smaller companies principally based in countries bordering the North Atlantic Ocean.

* Please refer to note 7 for details on how the basic return per 0.5p Ordinary Share and net asset value per 0.5p Ordinary Share are

calculated.

** Declared 18 February 2026.

†  Adjusted to reflect Oryx International Growth Fund Limited ("Oryx") under the equity method of accounting. See Note 7.

‡ Figures for comparative periods restated for the sub-division of each Ordinary Share into 10 new Ordinary Shares, approved at the AGM held on 12 June 2025 and completed on 13 June 2025.

strategic report - corporate summary

introduction

North Atlantic Smaller Companies Investment Trust plc ("NASCIT") is an investment trust, the shares of which are listed on the London Stock Exchange.

objective and investment strategy

The objective of the Company is to provide capital appreciation through investment in a portfolio of smaller companies principally based in countries bordering the North Atlantic Ocean. The Company invests in both listed and unquoted companies.

company's business

The Company is an investment company within the meaning of Section 833 of the Companies Act 2006 and its business is that

of an investment trust.

risk

Investment in small companies is generally perceived to carry a greater risk than investment in large companies. This is reasonable when comparing individual companies, but is much less so when comparing the volatility of returns from a diversified portfolio of companies. The Board believe that the Company's portfolio is diversified although considerably less liquid than a portfolio of large-cap listed equities.

The Company has the ability to utilise gearing in the form of term loan facilities, although no facility currently exists. Gearing

has the effect of accentuating market falls and gains.

The Company outsources all of its main operational activities to recognised third party providers.

AIFMD

The Company is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The Company has been a full scope internally managed AIF with effect from 1 October 2021 under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Regulations 2013. For further information see page 22.

company secretary

SGH Company Secretary - Resigned 23rd May 2025.

Ben Harber - Appointed 23rd May 2025.

website

www.nascit.co.uk

strategic report - directors

Sir Charles Wake ¹ Independent Non-Executive Chairman. Appointed 27 June 2018 and became Chairman on 25 February 2022. Started as a management trainee with Whitbread's in 1972 and left in 1980. Since then he has been a director of various companies including sheet metal engineers, motor retailers, off-licences, pubs, bonded warehouses, farming and healthcare. He was chairman of St Andrew's Healthcare from 2004-2014 having been on the board since 1991.

Christopher H B Mills Chief Executive and Investment Manager. Appointed January 1984. He is Chief Investment Officer of Harwood Capital LLP including it's subsidiaries. In addition, he is a non-executive director of numerous UK companies which are either now or have in the past six years been publicly quoted, further details of which are included in note 14 of the financial statements.

The Lord Howard of Rising ¹ Non-Executive Director. Appointed November 2015. He is a member of the House of Lords and a District Councillor for the Borough Council of Kings Lynn & West Norfolk, as well as being a landowner and farmer. He was formerly a director of The Keep Trust and Fortress Trust.

G Walter Loewenbaum (USA) ¹²³ Independent Non-Executive Director. Appointed on 31 October 2017. As an investment banker and private equity investor, Mr Loewenbaum has worked with multiple companies in a variety of different industries at different phases of organisational development, ranging from startup to publicly traded. He brings a depth of knowledge in serving as chairman for public and private companies, building stockholder value and capital market considerations. The Board acknowledges that Mr Loewenbaum will no longer be considered independent from 1 November 2026 and therefore will be reviewing the succession of Mr Loewenbaum ahead of the 2027 AGM.

Peregrine D E M Moncreiffe Non-Executive Director. Appointed November 2008 (having previously been a Director of the Company from 1993-2006) and served as Chairman from June 2009 until 25 February 2022. He has over the years worked in London, New York and East Asia, with Credit Suisse First Boston, Lehman Brothers and Buchanan Partners.

Professor Fiona Gilbert 1234 Independent Non-Executive Director. Appointed 6 September 2022. She is Professor of Radiology and Head of the Department at the University of Cambridge. Professor Gilbert leads a team of researchers in various fields of radiology assessing new imaging technologies and has over 250 scientific publications and over £20M in research income. She works in the NHS as an honorary consultant with expertise in musculoskeletal and breast imaging. She holds non-executive positions on several private company boards.

Julian Fagge 1234 Independent Non-Executive Director. Appointed 20 June 2023. Mr Fagge has over 25 years' experience within global blue-chip and FTSE 100 plc environments. He is currently Chief Financial Officer and Board Director of Smiths Group Plc, having formerly held positions within Smiths including President of Smiths Interconnect, President of Flex-Tek, and Strategy & M&A Director. Prior to joining Smiths, he held roles at Royal Caribbean Cruises, Procter & Gamble and PwC and brings deep experience across industrial technology, energy aerospace and consumer facing businesses. Mr Fagge qualified as a Chartered Accountant (ICAS) and holds a degree from the University of Edinburgh.

¹ Independent on appointment

² Member of the Audit Committee

³ Member of the Remuneration Committee

4 Member of the ESG Committee

strategic report - chairman's statement

The Trust's net asset value, adjusted for the dividend, rose by 4.6% during the period under review - ahead of the sterling-adjusted S&P Composite Index. In a world not exactly short of economic anxiety, that is a respectable result.

The revenue account recorded a post-tax surplus of £12,150,000 (2025: £15,042,000). The fall reflects lower cash balances, lower interest rates and a weaker dollar relative to sterling. An interim dividend of 7.0p (2026: 8.8p) was declared and paid post year end which will be recognised in 2027 accounts. The dividend rate from the prior year has been restated due to the 10 for 1 share split. Your directors are not proposing a final dividend.

During the year the Company repurchased 1,396,241 shares (2025: 241,575) at a substantial discount to net asset value and cancelled them. This policy continues. Buying one's own shares at a discount is one of the few manoeuvres in finance that is both simple and unequivocally beneficial to long-term shareholders: the net asset value per share rises immediately.

At the forthcoming AGM shareholders will again be asked to approve a Rule 9 waiver allowing the Company to continue repurchasing shares without triggering a mandatory offer under the Takeover Code by our Chief Executive and those presumed to be acting in concert with him. The necessary detail is contained in a separate circular sent to shareholders (with the exception of the largest shareholder, who is precluded from voting).

One of the more curious features of Britain's economic debate is the government's fondness for reminding the public that the UK remains the world's sixth-largest economy. The statistic is generally deployed as reassurance whenever another costly spending commitment is announced. The message is simple: Britain is still rich, therefore Britain can still afford it.

This is soothing - but deeply misleading.

Aggregate GDP flatters large countries. The more revealing measure is wealth per person. By that yardstick, adjusted for purchasing power, Britain's relative prosperity has slipped alarmingly. In 1990 the UK ranked among the world's five richest nations. Today it languishes somewhere around 28th. On present trends it will fall further before the decade is out.

In other words, Britain is no longer the country its political rhetoric assumes it to be.

That reality demands a more serious economic conversation than the one currently taking place. The nation faces an ageing population, a shrinking ratio of taxpayers to dependants and public finances that have deteriorated steadily since the financial crisis. Government debt has more than tripled since 2007-08.

For years this was disguised by the monetary anaesthetic of ultra-low interest rates and quantitative easing. Cheap money encouraged the comforting illusion that borrowing did not matter very much. It does now.

Even today's interest rate of roughly 3.75% remains modest by historical standards. During the entire eleven-year tenure of Margaret Thatcher, rates never dipped below 7.5%. Yet the political debate already treats current levels as though they were punitive.

The uncomfortable arithmetic is that Britain may soon be borrowing more than £100bn each year simply to finance the gap between what it spends and what it earns. Meanwhile inflation - long thought tamed - has reasserted itself. That is awkward for a government which, over the decades, has issued large quantities of index-linked gilts. Foreign investors were happy to buy them because repayments rise with inflation. But the arrangement becomes rather less attractive if Britain's inflation persistently outpaces that of its peers.

As a former Governor of the Bank of England once remarked, relying on "the kindness of strangers" is not an ideal fiscal

strategy.

Over time Britain has quietly made a collective bargain: tomorrow's taxpayers will pay for today's political convenience. Such arrangements can persist for longer than expected. But they rarely end gracefully. At some point the country may face an abrupt fiscal reckoning. The alternative - arguably more likely - is a long, weary stretch of stagnation accompanied by gradually declining living standards.

Neither scenario is particularly bullish for domestically exposed UK equities.

Fortunately many of the Trust's largest holdings are international businesses whose fortunes are not tied exclusively to the health of the British economy. Although recent dollar weakness has affected valuations, their underlying prospects remain tied to global rather than purely domestic demand.

The Board continues to monitor closely the discount at which the Company's shares trade relative to net asset value. Greater transparency should help. Accordingly, we have increased the frequency of announcements relating to new investments, disposals and developments within portfolio companies that are already public knowledge. Investors tend to value what they understand.

Our share buy-back programme should also narrow the discount over time, though it comes with an unavoidable trade-off: fewer shares mean less liquidity, which can itself widen the discount. Finance, like physics, rarely allows a free lunch.

The Board nevertheless believes it remains important to continue making selective new investments and to support existing holdings where appropriate. Over the long term we expect this to create more value than relying solely on share buy-backs. However, the Board has agreed that, although there are no immediate plans for Mr Mills to retire, it will, upon his eventual retirement, prioritise share repurchases over new investments.

The world, meanwhile, provides no shortage of complications. Two major wars continue, energy markets remain volatile and British economic policy has shown little enthusiasm for the health of the domestic equity market.

Yet the Trust has navigated difficult conditions before. Our Chief Executive has demonstrated an ability to do so repeatedly. With several potential realisations anticipated in the coming months, I remain cautiously optimistic that the coming year may yet produce further progress - despite the broader economic weather.

Sir Charles Wake Chairman

28 April 2026

strategic report - investment manager's report

Whilst the UK market performed well in 2025, this was mainly driven by large banks and natural resource companies to which the Trust has no exposure. A further headwind has been the endless redemption in funds holding small and medium capitalisation companies stocks which the fund specialises in. Sadly, there is no evidence that this trend is reversing and, of course, the Chancellor's decision in her first budget to restrict the tax relief on companies listed on the AIM market was less than helpful.

quoted UK portfolio

Our two holdings in funds, Odyssean and Oryx performed satisfactorily rising by 14.1% and 10.6% respectively. Corporate activity resulted in Urban Logistics and PRS Reit being taken over at good profits whilst the sale of a division at Carrs Group resulted in a satisfactory return of capital and an uplift in the valuation.

Individual stock's that performed well include Hargreaves Services following a number of profit upgrades, Polar Capital on better than expected profits and flow of funds and Frenkel Topping following a bid which the Trust is participating in. A recent investment in ZIG was also successful but this position is now being sold. Another recent investment Animalcare also performed well after purchase rising by over 20%.

Sadly, three stocks in particular performed poorly - Conduit had a poor year following the Californian fire storms, although the share price has recovered strongly in recent weeks. Paypoint fell for no obvious reason as profit targets were met. The worst performer was however MJ Gleeson which fell 21% as expectations for a recovery in the house building sector failed to materialise.

In our healthcare portfolio EKF and NIOX were little changed despite both companies reporting good results whilst Spire fell due to problems with the NHS despite announcing a sales process.

unquoted UK portfolio

There was little overall activity in the unquoted UK portfolio although we participated with other investors in the take private of Benchmark which we expect will deliver a very satisfactory return over a three year period. The Trust is the lead investor in the take private of Frenkel Topping which in the short term will have challenges adapting the business for Artificial Intelligence but has, in our opinion, excellent prospects over a three to four year time horizon.

Three of the Trust's private companies have or are close to starting a sales process which could add meaningfully to our cash balances whilst increasing the net asset value during the current year.

US quoted portfolio

Mountain Commerce - The Trust's only holding is currently subject to a takeover bid which is expected to close in the second quarter.

US unquoted portfolio

Coventbridge is in discussions to sell part of its business which would result, if successful, in a substantial write up on the current valuation. SMT saw a major recovery in its operating profits last year and the outlook for the current year is good but is obviously tied to defense expenditure in the USA.

The bid for Jaguar fell through but the business has won some major new contracts which augurs well for the future.

Finally, Crest continues to perform well and we remain optimistic that this investment can create significant value for the Fund

in the future.

liquidity

The Trust continues to have a very strong cash position with cash and US Treasury Bills of approximately £44m. Since the year end, we have been selling some of our holdings which will have increased this still further, despite the payment of the dividend and ongoing share buy backs.

conclusion

It is a statement of the obvious that there is a great deal of uncertainty and risk in equity markets. Two wars and economic policies which in the UK are fundamentally failing to deliver economic growth are, to say the least, unhelpful. Notwithstanding this, there are grounds for optimism that the Trust will have a reasonably good year in the year to January 2027 as corporate activity and subsequent share buy backs drive a further improvement in the Trust's net asset value.

Christopher Mills Chief Executive & Investment Manager

28 April 2026

* Includes unquoted loan notes in these companies with a total value of £38,055,000 (2025: £49,845,000).

strategic report

The Directors present the strategic report of the Company for the year ended 31 January 2026.

principal activity

The Company carries on business as an investment trust and its principal activity is portfolio investment.

objective

The Company's objective 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.

strategy

In order to achieve the Company's investment objective, the Manager uses a stock specific approach in managing the Company's portfolio, selecting investments that he believes will increase in value over a period of time, whether that be due to issues in the management of the businesses which he believes can be improved by shareholder engagement and involvement or simply due to the fact that the stock is undervalued and he can see potential for improvement in value over the long term. The Company may invest in both quoted and unquoted companies. At present, the investments in the portfolio are principally in companies which are located either in the United Kingdom or the United States of America. Typically the investment portfolio will comprise between 40 and 50 securities

investment policy

While pursuing the Company's objective, the Manager adheres to the following:

1 the maximum investment limit is 15% of the Company's investments in any one company at the time of the investment;

2 gearing is limited to a maximum of 30% of net assets;

3 the Company may invest on both sides of the Atlantic, with the weighting varying from time to time;

4 the Company may invest in unquoted securities as and when opportunities arise and again the weighting will vary from time

to time.

investment restrictions

The Company has not adopted any specific investment restrictions, and the Company's investments may be highly concentrated. However, the Manager has put in place internal limitations to control risk and to manage diversification with the aim of allowing it to operate within parameters that it believes are wide enough for it to generate target returns but which are suitable to prevent undue risk.

investment approach

The Company invests in a diversified range of companies, both quoted and unquoted, on both sides of the Atlantic in accordance with its objective and investment policy.

Christopher Mills, the Company's Chief Executive and Investment Manager, is responsible for the construction of the portfolio and principle investments are discussed in his report on pages 6 and 7. The top twenty largest investments by current valuation are listed on page 9.

When analysing a potential investment, the Manager will employ a number of valuation techniques depending on their relevance to the particular investment. A key consideration when deciding on a potential investment would be the sustainability and growth of long term cash flow. The Manager will consider the balance of quoted and unquoted securities in the portfolio when deciding whether to invest in an unquoted stock as he is aware that the level of risk in unquoted securities may be considered higher.

In respect of the unquoted portfolio, regular contact is maintained with the management of prospective and existing investments and rigorous financial and business analysis of these companies is undertaken. It is recognised that different types of business perform better than others depending on economic cycles and market conditions and this is taken into consideration when the Manager selects investments and is therefore reflected within the range of investments in the portfolio. The Company attempts to minimise its risk by investing in a diversified spread of investments whether that spread be geographical, industry type or quoted or unquoted companies.

best execution

The Company as the operator of a closed-ended investment trust has considered the rules on best execution as noted in the Financial Services Markets Act 2000 and COBS 11.2 of the FCA Handbook. The Company has determined that the rules on performing best execution do not apply to the Company when, acting in the capacity of operator of an internally managed AIF (regulated collective investment scheme), it purchases or sells units in that AIF/scheme.

borrowing and leverage

The Company does not intend to incur borrowings as part of its investment strategy.

However, in the event that it did employ leverage for working capital purposes, any such borrowings incurred will not remain outstanding for more than 60 calendar days. In each such case, leverage may be obtained on an unsecured or secured/ collateralised basis. The Company is not otherwise expected to engage in borrowing or make use of leverage.

The Company's borrowing and leveraging capacity is limited to an amount equal to: 30% of the net asset value of the Company when calculated in accordance with the "commitment" method set out in the AIFMD Rules.

The calculation and disclosure of such maximum leverage limits is required in order to satisfy the requirements of the AIFMD Rules. However, the Investment Manager expects the typical leverage levels to be lower than the maximum levels stated above, and generally not to exceed 10% of the Company's net asset value. The Investment Manager will inform investors to the extent such leverage limits are exceeded in accordance with the AIFMD Rules.

The Company does not currently grant any guarantee under any leveraging arrangement. The grant of any such guarantee would be disclosed to investors in accordance with the AIFMD Rules. Save as set out herein, there are no restrictions on the Company's use of leverage, by borrowing or otherwise, other than those which may be imposed by applicable law, rule or regulation.

changes to the investment policy, investment restrictions and investment approach

Changes to the investment policy, investment restrictions and investment approach of the Company as set out above may be made by the Directors. Changes believed by the Directors to be material will be notified to investors in advance of the change taking effect.

financial instruments

The financial instruments employed by the Company primarily comprise equity and loan stock investments, although it does hold cash and liquid instruments. Further details of the Company's risk management objectives and policies relating to the use of financial instruments can be found in note 13 to the financial statements on pages 70 to 79.

delegated activities

The Company being internally managed has not delegated the provision of portfolio management and risk management functions but does rely on third party services providers to provide ancillary services to support the activities of the company. As a result, the Company will continue to act as an internally managed AIFM of the Company for the purposes of the FCA Rules in accordance with the Investment Management Agreement.

depositary

The Company has appointed Bank of New York Mellon (BNYM) as depositary for the quoted securities deposited for safekeeping with BNYM or with any third party appointed by BNYM and to hold cash in accordance with the terms of its agreement.

any conflicts of interest that may arise from such delegations

From time to time conflicts may arise between the Depositary and the delegates, for example where an appointed delegate is an affiliated group company which receives remuneration for another custodial service it provides to the Company. In the event of any potential conflict of interest which may arise during the normal course of business, the Depositary will have regard to the applicable laws.

performance

At 31 January 2026, the NAV per share was 555.4p (2025: 539.7p), an increase of 2.9% during the year, compared to an increase of 4.4% during the year in the Standard & Poor's 500 Composite Index (Sterling adjusted). The NAV per share from 2025 has been restated due to the 10 for 1 share split.

Net assets attributable to equity holders at 31 January 2026 amounted to £724,805,000 compared with £713,504,000 at 31 January 2025.

The ongoing charges relating to the Company are 1.2% (2025: 1.1%), based on total expenses, excluding finance charges and

non-recurring items for the year and average monthly net assets.

results and dividends

The total net return after taxation for the financial year ended 31 January 2026 amounted to £29,301,000 (2025: £41,920,000). The Board has declared an interim dividend of 7.0p per ordinary share (2025: 8.80p). The dividend rate from 2025 has been restated due to the 10 for 1 share split.

key performance indicators

The Directors regard the following as the main key indicators pertaining to the Company's performance:

(i) Net asset value per Ordinary Share: the following chart illustrates the movement in the net asset value per Ordinary Share

over the past five years:

net asset value in pence

[chart on page 18 of the Annual Report and Accounts]

(ii) Share price return: the following chart illustrates the movement in the share price per Ordinary Share over the past five

years:

share price return in pence

[chart on page 18 of the Annual Report and Accounts]

(iii) Performance against benchmark

The performance of the Company's share price is measured against the Standard & Poor's 500 Composite Index (Sterling adjusted), the Company's benchmark. A graph comparing performance can be found in the Directors' Remuneration Report on page 41.

* Figures for comparative periods restated for a 10 for 1 share split.

principal risks and uncertainties

The Board has carried out a robust assessment of the emerging and principal risks facing the Company including those that

would threaten the Company's business model, future performance, solvency of liquidity and reputation.

The key risks faced by the Company are set out below. The Board regularly reviews these and agrees policies for managing

these risks.

• Performance risk: the Board is responsible for deciding the investment strategy in order to fulfil the Company's objectives and for monitoring the performance of the Manager. An inappropriate investment strategy may result in under-performance against the companies in the peer group or against the benchmark indices. The Board manages this risk by ensuring that the investments are appropriately diverse and by receiving reports from the Manager at every board meeting explaining his investment decisions and the composition and performance of the portfolio.

• Market risk: this category of risk includes currency risk, market price risk and interest rate risk. The fair value of all future cash flows of a financial investment held by the Company may fluctuate. Also, the valuations of the investments in the portfolio may be subject to fluctuation due to exchange rates or general market prices. The Manager monitors these fluctuations and the markets on a daily basis. The performance of the investment portfolio against its benchmarks is also closely monitored by the Manager. The afore-mentioned graph on page 41 of the Directors' Remuneration Report illustrates the Company's performance against its benchmarks over the last ten years.

• Investments in unquoted stocks, by their nature may involve a higher degree of risk than investments in the listed market. The valuation of unquoted investments can include a significant element of estimation based on professional assumptions that is not always supported by prices from current market transactions. Recognised valuation techniques are used and recent arm's length transactions in the same or similar entities may be taken into account. Clearly the valuation of such investments is therefore a key uncertainty but the Board manages this risk by regularly reviewing the valuation principles applied by the Manager to ensure that they comply with the Company's accounting policies and with fair value principles. Harwood Capital Management Limited, a firm which is ultimately owned by Christopher Mills, the Company's Manager, and which provides services through the group such as dealing, administration and compliance to the Company, operates a Valuations and Pricing Committee which meets regularly throughout the year to review and agree the valuations of the investments in the portfolio for onward submission to the Board.

• Regulatory risk: any breach of a number of regulations applicable to the Company, the UKLA's Listing Rules, the FCA compliance regime and the Companies Act could lead to a number of detrimental effects on the Company as well as reputational damage. The Audit Committee monitors compliance with these regulations in close alliance with the Manager and Secretary.

• Custodial and Banking risk: there is a risk that the custodians and banks used by the Company to hold assets and cash balances could fail and the Company's assets may not be returned. Associated with this is the additional risk of fraud or theft by employees of those third parties. The Board exercises monitoring through the Manager and North Atlantic Investment Services Limited ("NAIS") over the financial position of its custodial banks.

• Credit risk/Counterparty risk: the Company holds preference shares in some investee companies and provides other forms of debt or loan guarantees where deemed necessary. There is a risk of those counterparties being unable to meet their obligations. The financial position and performance of those investee companies are continually monitored by the Manager and actions are taken to protect the Company's investment if needed.

professional negligence

The Company covers professional liability risks set out in Article 9(7) of Directive 2011/61/EU on Alternative Investment Fund Managers (the "Directive") and article 12 and 13 of the AIFMD level 2 regulation (professional liability risks) by holding professional indemnity insurance and maintaining an amount of own funds to meet the PII capital requirement under the Directive; and comply with the qualitative requirements addressing professional liability risks.

section 172 statement

Under Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006, directors are required to promote the success of the Company for the benefit of the stakeholders. In accordance with the requirements of the Companies (Miscellaneous Reporting) Regulations, 2018, the Company has to detail how this duty has been performed with regard to the matters set out in Section 172 (1) (a) to (f).

• The directors have to consider the likely consequences of their decisions in the long term taking into account the interests

of the various different stakeholders of the Company.

• A company's stakeholders are normally considered to comprise of its shareholders, employees, customers and suppliers as well as the wider community in which the company operates. As the Company is an internally managed investment company it does not have any employees as its activities are outsourced. Its customers are its shareholders and details of those owning more than 3% of the Company's shares are shown on page 24. The Company's relations with its shareholders are detailed on page 33.

• The main stakeholders are therefore the Company's shareholders and a small number of key third party suppliers, principally the Investment Manager, together with the company secretary, accountants, brokers, depositary, bankers and auditors, to whom the day to day functions are delegated.

• The Board works closely with the Investment Manager to promote the long-term success of the Company as effectively and responsibly as possible and he in turn interacts directly with the investee companies. Details of the investment policy and investment approach can be found on pages 15 and 16.

• The Company has a limited impact on the environment and has no greenhouse gas emissions to report as indicated on page 26. Its impact on social, community and human rights issues are detailed on page 22, and a statement on the Modern Slavery Act is given on page 22.

• The Directors take care to ensure that the Company maintains a reputation for high standards of business conduct.

• The Directors ensure that the Company always acts fairly between members of the Company.

• To summarise, the Directors are fully aware of their duty under Section 172 in all their deliberations, and decisions made always take into account the interests of the key stakeholders.

viability statement

In accordance with the UK Corporate Governance Code the Board has considered the longer term prospects for the Company.

The Directors have reviewed the Company over the next five years to May 2031, which is generally a reasonable investment horizon for many investment trust shareholders. This assessment took into account the Company's current position as well as its continuing investment strategy. Additional factors under review included the principal risks inherent in its management and portfolio structure, contractual arrangements and cost base.

The Directors have noted the following elements as part of its evaluation:

• the Company invests in a combination of listed and unquoted companies, most of which have positive EBITDA and/or net tangible asset values which support their valuations;

• as at 31 March 2026, the company held more than £47.92m of its portfolio in cash and US Treasury Bills which are readily realisable and intends to continue to hold liquidity comfortably in excess of any contingent liabilities, including any requirements to fund any future drawdowns resulting from private equity or put option commitments; and

• the Company's expenses are relatively stable, except for the Investment Manager's fee which is positively correlated with the Company's net asset value and relative performance, giving comfort that the Company could easily cover costs in the event of a substantial decline in net asset value.

The Directors have also assessed the Company's principal risks and uncertainties and believe that appropriate measures are in place to minimise the likelihood of their potential to impact the viability of the Company. These measures include:

• the Manager's reports on compliance with the investment objective;

• the Manager's control of counterparty and custodial risk;

• the Board's monitoring of gearing (if any), compliance with specific investment guidelines and liquidity risk; and

• monitoring the share price's discount to net asset value and the stability of the shareholder base.

Based on the results of this analysis, the Directors have concluded that there is a reasonable expectation that the Company

can continue in operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due during the period to May 2031.

future prospects

The directors remain confident that the underlying portfolio will provide shareholders with significant upside over the mid-term both through asset realisation and a narrowing of the substantial discount to fair market value of our publicly listed assets.

social, community and human rights issues

As an investment trust with no employees the Company has no direct social or community responsibilities or impact on the environment. The Company, however, takes into account the impact of environmental, social and governance factors when selecting and managing its investments within the context of its obligation to manage investments in the financial interests of its shareholders.

modern slavery act

The Company is committed to the highest standards of ethical, moral and legal business conduct and we expect those that we do business with to uphold the same values. As an investment vehicle the Company does not provide goods or services in the normal course of business. We have adopted an ethical approach to investing which prohibits modern slavery in our business and supply chains, and are committed to implementing systems and controls aimed at ensuring that modern slavery is recognised and eradicated.

AIFMD

The Company is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The Company has been a full scope internally

managed AIF with effect from 1 October 2021 under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Regulations 2013.

For AIFMD purposes the Company is internally managed with Christopher Mills making the investment decisions in his capacity as Chief Executive. The Company must not perform any activities other than the internal management of the AIF in accordance with Annex I of the Directive:

ANNEX I

1 Investment management functions which an AIFM shall at least perform when managing an AIF:

(a) portfolio management;

(b) risk management.

2 Other functions that an AIFM may additionally perform in the course of the collective management of an AIF:

(a) Administration:

(i) legal and fund management accounting services;

(ii) customer inquiries;

(iii) valuation and pricing, including tax returns;

(iv) regulatory compliance monitoring;

(v) maintenance of unit-/shareholder register;

(vi) distribution of income;

(vii) unit/shares issues and redemptions;

(viii) contract settlements, including certificate dispatch;

(ix) record keeping;

(b) Marketing;

(c) Activities related to the assets of AIFs, namely services necessary to meet the fiduciary duties of the AIFM, facilities management, real estate administration activities, advice to undertakings on capital structure, industrial strategy and related matters, advice and services relating to mergers and the purchase of undertakings and other services connected to the management of the AIF and the companies and other assets in which it has invested.

periodic and regular disclosure

1.  The following information is available to investors in the annual report:

(i) the percentage of the Company's assets that are subject to special arrangements arising from their illiquid nature;

(ii) any material changes to the arrangements for managing the liquidity of the Company;

(iii) the current risk profile of the Company and the risk management systems employed by the Company to manage

those risks;

(iv) the total amount of leverage employed by the Company if applicable; and

(v) details of the Company's policy towards best execution.

2.  Any changes to the following information will be provided by the Company to investors without undue delay (and may be provided by email) in accordance with the AIFMD Rules:

(i) the maximum level of leverage which the Company may employ on behalf of the Company;

(ii) the grant of or any changes to any right of re-use of collateral or any changes to any guarantee granted under any

leveraging arrangement; and

(iii) activation of liquidity management tools.

By Order of the Board

Ben Harber

Company Secretary

28 April 2026

report of the directors

for the year ended 31 January

The Directors present their report to shareholders and the financial statements for the year ended 31 January 2026. Certain information that is required to be disclosed in this report has been provided in other sections of this Annual Report and accordingly, these are incorporated into this report by reference.

taxation status

In the opinion of the Directors, the Company has conducted its affairs during the period under review, and subsequently, so as to maintain its status as an investment trust for the purposes of Chapter 4 of Part 24 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010. The Company made a successful application under Regulation 5 of the Investment Trust (Approved Company) (Tax) Regulations 2011 for investment trust status to apply to all accounting periods starting on or after 1 February 2013 subject to the Company continuing to meet the eligibility conditions contained in Section 1158 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 and the ongoing requirements outlined in Chapter 3 of Part 2 of the Regulations.

share capital

The Company's issued share capital consisted of 130,500,000 Ordinary Shares of 0.5p nominal value each on 31 January 2026. Since the year end, 1,400,000 Ordinary Shares have been repurchased for cancellation. All shares hold equal rights with no restrictions and no shares carry special rights with regard to the control of the Company. There are no special rights attached to the shares in the event that the Company is wound up.

During the year, the Company purchased 1,396,241 (2025: 241,575) Ordinary Shares for £6.4m (2025: £9.5m) for cancellation to

improve net asset value per Share. This comprised 1.3% (2025: 1.8%) of the issued share capital.

A subdivision of the Company's Ordinary Shares on a ten for one basis took effect from 13 June 2025.

share valuations

On 31 January 2026, the quoted price and the net asset value per 0.5p Ordinary Share were 359.0p and 555.4p respectively. The comparable figures, restated for the 10 for 1 share split, at 31 January 2025 were 375.0p and 539.7p respectively.

substantial shareholders

As at 31 January 2026, the following interests in the Ordinary Shares of the Company which exceed 3.0% of the issued share capital had been notified to the Company:

The Company has not been informed of any changes to the above interests between 31 January 2026 and the date of this report. Since 31 January 2026, the Company has purchased and cancelled 1,400,000 Ordinary Shares reducing the Ordinary Shares in issue to 129,100,000, which increases the % of issued share capital held by all shareholders listed above.

* Inclusive of 435,810 shares for a private client account managed by Christopher Mills and 6,000,000 shares for Harwood Holdco Limited.

directors

The biographical details for Directors currently in office are shown on page 3.

The Company's Articles of Association require that Directors should submit themselves for election at the first Annual General Meeting following their appointment and thereafter for re-election at least every three years. However, the Company is adopting the requirements of the UK Corporate Governance Code in relation to the annual re-election of directors. Therefore, in accordance with provision 18 of the UK Corporate Governance Code all of the Directors will retire at the Annual General Meeting and being eligible, offer themselves up for re-election.

directors' interests

The interests of the Directors as notified to the Company, including those of their connected persons, in the Ordinary Shares of

the Company as at 31 January 2026 and 31 January 2025 were as follows:

* Inclusive of 435,810 (43,581 pre-stock split in 2025) shares for a private client account managed by Christopher Mills and 6,000,000 (600,000 pre-stock split in 2025) shares for Harwood Holdco Limited.

Since 31 January 2026 and as at the date of this report, there have been no further share purchases from the Directors or their

connected persons, other than the following:

Details of Directors' remuneration are described in the Directors' Remuneration Report on pages 36 to 41.

Save as disclosed on page 36 or in notes 3 and 14 to the financial statements, no Director was party to or had any interest in any contract or arrangement with the Company at any time during the year.

significant agreements

The Company is required to disclose details of any agreement that it considers to be essential to the business and the two agreements detailed below are considered by the Board to be significant.

Pursuant to the Sub Advisory, Administration and Transmission Services Agreement dated 27 February 2023, North Atlantic Investment Services Limited provides administration services to the Company which were previously provided by Harwood Capital LLP under a similar agreement. The Sub Advisory, Administration and Transmission Services Agreement continues unless thereafter terminated by either party on not less than twelve months' notice in writing or may be terminated forthwith as a result of a material breach of the agreement or the insolvency of either party. No compensation is payable on termination of the Agreement.

Pursuant to the Secondment Services Agreement between the Company, Growth Financial Services Limited ("GFS") and Christopher Mills and the Sub Advisory, Administration and Transmission Services Agreement between the Company and North Atlantic Investment Services Limited, Christopher Mills is responsible for the day-to-day investment decisions. The Secondment Services Agreement continues until terminated by the Company or GFS on not less than twelve months' notice.

The Board reviews the activities of the Manager. The Chief Executive carries out day-to-day investment decisions for and on behalf of the Company. As part of this review, the Board is satisfied that the continuing appointment of the Manager, on the terms agreed, is in the best interests of shareholders. Christopher Mills has been Chief Executive of the Company since 1984 and the Board consider it is in the best interest of the Company for this arrangement to continue.

As part of this review, the Board has given consideration to the experience, skills and commitment of the Chief Executive in addition to the personnel, services and resources provided by NAIS. The Company's performance over the last year is described in the Chairman's Statement on page 4.

related party transactions

Christopher Mills makes day-to-day investment decisions for the Company in his capacity as its Chief Executive and this position is distinct from his position as Chief Investment Officer of NAIS. Christopher Mills is a director of Growth Financial Services Limited ("GFS"). GFS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Harwood Capital Management Limited, which is the holding company of the Harwood group of companies and is, in turn, 100% owned by Christopher Mills.

Details of the related party transactions and fees payable are disclosed in note 14 on pages 78 and 80 and in the Directors' Remuneration Report on pages 36 to 41. The Investment Management Fees are disclosed in note 3 on page 59. Any Performance Fee payable to GFS is disclosed in the Directors' Remuneration Report on pages 36 to 41 and note 3 of the financial statements on page 59.

With the exception of the matters referred to above, during the year no Director was materially interested in any contract of significance (as defined by the UK Listing Authority Listing Rules) entered into by the Company.

institutional investors - use of voting rights

The Chief Executive, in the absence of explicit instruction from the Board, is empowered to exercise discretion in the use of the Company's voting rights in respect of investments and to then report to the Board, where appropriate, regarding decisions taken. The Board has considered whether it is appropriate to adopt a new voting policy and an investment policy with regard to social, ethical and environmental issues and concluded that it is not appropriate to change the existing arrangements.

donations

The Company does not make any political or charitable donations.

creditors' payment policy

It is the Company's policy to settle investment transactions according to the settlement periods operating for the relevant markets. For other creditors, it is the Company's policy to pay amounts due to them as and when they become due. All supplier invoices received in the year had been paid by 31 January 2026 (31 January 2025: all supplier invoices received).

greenhouse gas emissions

The Company has no physical assets, operations, premises or employees of its own. Consequently it consumed less than 40,000 kWh of energy during the year so has no greenhouse gas emissions to report.

task force on climate-related financial disclosures (TCFD)

The Company has not included any climate-related disclosures consistent with the TCFD Recommendations and Recommended Disclosures in this annual report as the Company is a closed-ended investment company, with no premises or staff. The Board do not believe that such disclosures would be of any benefit to its shareholders or other stakeholders.

corporate governance

The Corporate Governance Statement on pages 30 to 35 forms part of this report.

auditors

Resolutions to re-appoint RSM UK Audit LLP as the Company's auditors and to authorise the Board to determine their remuneration will be proposed at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

In the case of each of the persons who are directors at the time the report is approved, so far as each director is aware there is no relevant audit information of which the Company's auditor is unaware, and they have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as a director in order to make themself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the Company's auditor is aware of that information.

going concern

The Company's assets largely comprise readily realisable securities which can be sold to meet funding commitments if necessary and it also has sufficient cash reserves so the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operation for the foreseeable future. They have, therefore, adopted the going concern basis in preparing these financial statements.

additional disclosures

The following further information is disclosed in accordance with the Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008:

• the Company's capital structure and voting rights are summarised on page 24 and note 11;

• details of the substantial shareholders in the Company are listed on page 24;

• the rules concerning the appointment and replacement of directors are contained in the Company's Articles of Association and are discussed on pages 30 and 31;

• amendment of the Company's Articles of Association and powers to issue on a pre-emptive basis or buy back the Company's shares require a special resolution to be passed by the shareholders; and

• there are: no restrictions concerning the transfer of securities in the Company; no special rights with regard to control attached to securities; no agreements between holders of securities regarding their transfer known to the Company; no agreements which the Company is party to that might affect its control following a takeover bid; no agreements between the Company and its Directors concerning compensation for loss of office; and no qualifying third party indemnities in place.

By Order of the Board

Ben Harber

Company Secretary

28 April 2026

statement of directors' responsibilities in respect of the annual report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 January

The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law

and regulations.

Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. The Directors elected under company law are required under the Listing Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority to prepare the financial statements in accordance with UK-adopted International Accounting Standards.

The financial statements are required by law and UK-adopted International Accounting Standards to present fairly the financial position and performance of the company. The Companies Act 2006 provides in relation to such financial statements that references in the relevant part of that Act to financial statements giving a true and fair view are references to their achieving a fair presentation.

Under company law the Directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and of the profit or loss for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Directors are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• state whether they have been prepared in accordance with UK-adopted International Accounting Standards;

• assess the Company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern;

and

• use the going concern basis of accounting unless they either intend to liquidate the Company or to cease operations, or

have no realistic alternative but to do so.

The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and enable them to ensure that its financial statements and the Directors' Remuneration Report comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are responsible for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and have general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of the Company and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.

Under applicable law and regulations, the Directors are also responsible for preparing a Strategic Report, Directors' Report, Directors' Remuneration Report and Corporate Governance Statement that complies with that law and those regulations.

The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the company's website. Legislation in the UK governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

responsibility statement of the directors in respect of the annual financial report

Each of the directors, whose names and functions are listed in the strategic report on page 3 confirm that to the best of each person's knowledge:

• the financial statements, prepared in accordance with UK-adopted International Accounting Standards, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the Company taken as a whole; and

• the Strategic Report and the Report of the Directors includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the company, together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that they face.

We consider the Annual Report and financial statements, taken as a whole, are fair, balanced and understandable and provide the information necessary for shareholders to assess the Company's position and performance, business model and strategy.

For and on behalf of the Board

Sir Charles Wake

Chairman

28 April 2026

corporate governance

statement of compliance with the uk corporate governance code

The Company's policy is to achieve best practice in its standards of business integrity in all of its activities. This includes a commitment to follow the highest standards of corporate governance wherever possible. This section of the Annual Report describes how the Company has complied with the applicable provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code published by the Financial Reporting Council ("FRC") in January 2024 (the "Code") and is available from the FRC website (www.frc.org.uk). Provision 29 of the 2024 code is only applicable from 1 January 2026, so the Company continues to apply provision 29 of the 2018 code. The Board considers that it has complied with the provisions of the Code throughout the year with few exceptions: these are detailed on page 35.

directors Brief biographical details of the Directors in office are set out on page 3. The Board consists of seven Directors, four of whom are considered independent non-executive Directors for the purposes of the Code, to include the Chairman - Sir Charles Wake, Fiona Gilbert, Julian Fagge and G Walter Loewenbaum, who are each free of any relationship that could materially interfere with the exercise of their independent judgment on issues concerning strategy, performance and standards of conduct. The other Non-Executive Directors are Peregrine Moncreiffe (the former Chairman) and Lord Howard of Rising.

Christopher Mills, the Chief Executive Officer, also serves as a member of the Board. The Board considers that it has the appropriate balance of skills, experience, ages and length of service in the circumstances and values highly the experience of those Directors who have served on the Board for a longer period.

The Board has determined that, in light of the Company's strategic priorities and the value of continuity and deep institutional knowledge, it is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders for Lord Howard of Rising to continue to serve on the Board beyond nine years. Accordingly, in line with the provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code, the Board no longer considers Lord Howard of Rising to be independent.

Fiona Gilbert was appointed as the Company's Senior Independent Director on 4 January 2023. As the Senior Independent Director, Fiona provides a sounding Board for the Chairman and serves as an intermediary for the other Directors and shareholders. Fiona also provides a channel for any shareholder concerns regarding the Chairman.

The Board comprises of 6 male Directors and 1 female Director.

The Company has effective procedures in place to monitor and deal with conflicts of interest. All declared conflicts will be discussed by the Board. The Board is aware of the other commitments and interests of the Directors.

The Board is made up of individual members who have a wide range of qualifications and expertise to bring to any debate. The Board normally meets four times a year and at other times as necessary. The terms and conditions of their appointment, including the expected time commitment, are available for inspection at the Registered Office of the Company during normal business hours and will also be available for at least fifteen minutes prior to and during the Annual General Meeting. The contract for Christopher Mills' services as a Director is with GFS.

The Chairman and other members of the Board recommend that all of the Directors be re-elected. The Chairman has confirmed that all Directors have been subject to a performance evaluation in 2024 and following that evaluation, the Chairman confirms that their performance continues to be effective and that they continue to demonstrate commitment to their role and in his view responsibly fulfil their functions. The performance evaluation programme took the form of a questionnaire circulated to and completed by all Directors. The performance evaluation provides an anonymous vehicle for Directors to highlight any concerns or issues to the Board. The Chairman then discussed the results with the Board and the individual Directors and any requests for further training or action were complied with. The non-executive Directors evaluated the performance of the Chairman and can confirm that they were satisfied with his performance and with his leadership of the Board. The next performance evaluation would be conducted during 2026.

board meetings

The Board conducts its affairs in accordance with its schedule of matters for consideration which is agreed once annually by the whole Board. The Chief Executive carries out day-to-day activities pursuant to the terms of the management arrangements in place. These day-to-day activities relate to the management of the Company's investment portfolio on a discretionary basis within guidelines that have been set by the Board. These guidelines include, amongst other things, maximum exposure to any one investment and total exposure to unquoted investments. The management of the investment portfolio also includes the monitoring of the performance and activities of the investee companies in the portfolio and detailed research into any prospective investment. In addition to scheduled Board Meetings, the Board may carry out certain urgent matters not requiring debate by way of delegation to a Committee of the Board or by resolution in writing of all Directors.

remuneration committee

The Remuneration Committee is chaired by G Walter Loewenbaum and the other members are Julian Fagge and Fiona Gilbert. The Remuneration Committee reviews the remuneration paid to NAIS and GFS pursuant to the Management Agreements. The remuneration of GFS is disclosed in the Directors' Remuneration Report on pages 36 to 41 and also in note 3 on page 59.

audit committee

The Board is supported by an Audit Committee which is chaired by Julian Fagge and during the year the other members were G Walter Loewenbaum and Fiona Gilbert. The Audit Committee meets representatives of NAIS twice a year, who report on the proper conduct of business in accordance with the regulatory environment in which the Company operates. The Company's Auditors also attend the Committee at its request, at least once a year, and report on their findings in relation to the Company's statutory audit. The responsibilities of the Audit Committee include monitoring the integrity of the financial statements including Annual and Half-Yearly reports, reviewing the effectiveness of the Company's internal controls and risk management, making recommendations in relation to the appointment of the auditors and reporting to the Board on all matters within its duties and responsibilities.

The Committee monitors the performance of the Auditors on a regular basis (at least annually) and if satisfied, recommends their re-appointment to the Board. The Audit Committee is authorised to take such independent professional advice (including legal advice) and to secure the attendance of any external advisers with relevant expertise as it considers necessary. The Audit Committee is also responsible for the review of the Annual and Half-Yearly Reports, the nature and scope of the external audit, its findings and the provision of any non-audit services. The Audit Committee is satisfied that RSM UK Audit LLP, the Company's Auditor, is independent and that it has adequate policies and safeguards in place to ensure that its objectivity and independence is maintained. The Audit Committee receive each year a report from the Auditor as to any matters the Auditor considers bear on its independence and which require disclosure to the Company.

RSM UK Audit LLP were appointed as the Company's auditors in 2020 and carried out their first audit on the accounts for the

year ended 31 January 2020.

There has been no interaction between the Company and the Financial Reporting Council's Corporate Reporting Review team

during the period.

The Committee's terms of reference are available from the Company Secretary. The Audit Committee met twice during the year to review the Half-Yearly and Annual financial statements and to review reports and hold discussions with the Chief Executive and NAIS. In carrying out its duties during this review, the Audit Committee has considered inter alia the annual budget, internal control reports, the risk management framework, the effectiveness of the external audit process, the independence and objectivity of the External Auditor, the Audit Plan, Audit Reports and Corporate Governance Report including the Code. The Board is satisfied that all of the Committee's members have recent and relevant commercial and financial knowledge and experience to satisfy the Code, by virtue of their having held various executive and non-executive roles in investment management and business management.

financial report and significant issues

The Audit Committee met with the Auditor during the year to discuss the audit plan and strategy for the year and identify the significant issues to be dealt with in the review of the year end results. The principal issues identified as presenting the greatest risks were the valuation of the unquoted investments in the portfolio.

Listed investments are valued using stock exchange prices provided by third party financial data vendors. Unquoted investments are recognised on a fair value basis as set out in the statement of accounting policies on page 55 and are reviewed by NAIS Valuations and Pricing Committee before being approved by the Board and being made available to the Auditor.

These and other matters, identified as posing less of a risk, were considered and discussed with the Manager and the Auditor

as part of the year end process.

Throughout the year the Board has considered, as part of its ongoing Risk Management Review, the principal risks facing the Company. This has included specifically assessing those risks which would threaten its business model, future performance, solvency or liquidity. The Company carries out its activities using the services of third party service providers; it has no staff of its own.

shareholder relations

The Company, through its Chief Executive, has regular contact with its Institutional shareholders. The Board supports the principle that the Annual General Meeting be used to communicate with private shareholders and encourages them to participate. The Annual General Meeting is attended by Directors and the Chief Executive. During the year, the Board engaged in dialogue with dissenting investors as part of an outreach campaign to offer the opportunity for further engagement and to answer any questions or queries they may have and the Directors continue to engage positively with interested parties on this matter.

ESG committee

The ESG Committee was established to enhance the Board's oversight of environmental, social and governance issues. The committee, currently chaired by Fiona Gilbert with members Julian Fagge and Nicholas Mills, a Director and Fund Manager at Harwood Capital, has met several times to review the governance structure and environmental policy. Board training has been undertaken in governance to ensure all procedures are in place.

nominations committee

The Board is a small Board and previously fulfilled the function of the Nominations Committee. During 2025 the Board established a formal Nominations Committee who was responsible for reviewing the composition and make-up of the Board and its committees and considers the leadership needs and succession of the Board when making decisions on new appointments. The Committee, is currently chaired by Julian Fagge with members Fiona Gilbert and G Walter Loewenbaum. The committee will continuously review the structure, size and composition of the Board and its committees and made recommendations for changes to the membership of the committees. The Committee will actively participate in the recruitment process, and contribute to the on-boarding and induction of newly appointed Directors, assisted by the Company Secretary. The Committee oversees succession planning for directors and senior management and ensures that appointments are made on merit against objective criteria, with due regard to the benefits of diversity and the skills, experience, independence and knowledge required to support the Company's long-term success, in line with the principles of the UK Corporate Governance Code 2024.

diversity

Due to the size of the Board and the fact that there are no employees, the Company does not have a diversity policy.

the company secretary

The Board has direct access to the advice and services of the Company Secretary, Ben Harber, which is responsible for ensuring that the Board and Committee procedures are followed and that the applicable regulations are complied with. The Company Secretary is also responsible to the Board for ensuring timely delivery of information and reports.

accountability and audit

The statement of going concern is given on page 27 and the Board's responsibilities with regard to the financial statements are set out on pages 28 and 29. The Independent Auditor's Report is on pages 42 to 48. The principal risks and uncertainties, s172 statement and viability statement are set out in the Strategic Report on pages 19 to 21.

share capital

Shareholders' attention is drawn to the further information on page 27 which is disclosed in accordance with the Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Account and Reports) Regulations 2008 and rule 7.2.6 of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

internal control

The Board is responsible for the Company's system of internal control and for reviewing its effectiveness. The Board has regularly reviewed the effectiveness of the system of internal control in place. The Board believes that the key risks identified and implementation of the system to monitor and manage those risks are appropriate to the Company's business as an investment trust. The ongoing risk assessment includes the monitoring of the financial, operational and compliance risks as well as an evaluation of the scope and quality of the system of internal control adopted by the third party service providers. The Board regularly reviews the delegated services to ensure their continued competitiveness and effectiveness. The system is designed to ensure regular communication of the results of monitoring by the third parties to the Board and the incidence of any significant control failings or weaknesses that have been identified and the extent to which they have resulted in unforeseen outcomes or contingencies that may have a material impact on the Company's performance or operations.

This review process was in place throughout the year under review and including the period to the date of the approval of the Annual Report and there were no problems identified from this review. The Board believes that, although robust, the Company's system of internal control is designed to manage rather than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve business objectives. Any system can provide only reasonable and not absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss. The principal features of the internal control systems in respect of financial reporting include segregation of duties between the processing and approval of investment transactions and the recording of these transactions in the accounting records as well as the production and review of monthly management accounts. The annual and interim reports are reviewed and approved by the Board. The Company does not have an internal audit function as it uses third party service providers and does not employ any staff, nor does the Board consider it appropriate to do so.

compliance statement

Throughout the year ended 31 January 2026 the Company has complied with the Code (apart from the workforce provisions 2, 5 and 6 which are not applicable as the Company has no employees other than the Directors), except as follows:

Provision 3 - The Chairman does not routinely engage directly with shareholders to understand their views on governance or the Company's performance against its strategy. Whilst the Board acknowledges the potential for market perception risk, this is mitigated by the Chief Executive maintaining an ongoing programme of engagement with major shareholders, through which feedback and any concerns are communicated to the Board. Where appropriate, the Chairman is available to meet with shareholders to discuss specific issues. In addition, the Directors, including the Chairman and Chief Executive, attend the Annual General Meeting, where they are available to engage with shareholders and respond to questions. This approach will continue to be reviewed.

Provision 21 and 22 - The Board does not currently conduct a formal annual evaluation of its own performance, its committees, or individual directors. Instead, an informal evaluation is carried out every two years, complemented by ongoing oversight of Board performance by the Chairman. This approach enables the Board to monitor effectiveness in a flexible manner while considering the views of directors and key stakeholders. The Board keeps the effectiveness of this evaluation process under review to ensure it continues to meet the principles of good governance.

Provision 41 - As the Company has only one Executive Director, the scope of the Remuneration Committee's work and the corresponding disclosures differ from the requirements of Provision 41. The Committee nevertheless ensures that the remuneration of the Executive Director is determined in a fair, transparent, and structured manner, with independent oversight and alignment to the Company's long-term strategy. The Committee keeps its approach under review to ensure that it continues to meet the principles of good governance and provides meaningful information to shareholders.

By Order of the Board

Ben Harber

Company Secretary

28 April 2026

directors' remuneration report for the year ended 31 January

This Report has been prepared in accordance with the Large and Medium sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, Schedule 8. The Directors' Remuneration Report will be put to an advisory shareholder vote at this year's annual general meeting.

The law requires the Company's Auditor to audit certain of the disclosures provided and to state whether, in their opinion, those parts of the report have been properly prepared in accordance with the Accounting Regulations. Where disclosures have been audited, they are indicated as such. The Auditor's opinion is included in their report on pages 42 to 48.

role and composition

The Remuneration Committee consists of Julian Fagge, G Walter Loewenbaum and Fiona Gilbert. Christopher Mills, the Company's Chief Executive, does not attend meetings of the Remuneration Committee.

The Remuneration Committee is responsible for determining all aspects of Director's remuneration. The Remuneration Committee in the year did not propose that there should be any change to the level of remuneration paid to the Directors. In making this decision, consideration of the scope of work undertaken and input required by the Directors was considered. No Director participates in discussions on their own remuneration. The Committee takes independent professional advice where it considers this is appropriate. No such advice has been received in the year.

The Remuneration Committee held a meeting on 21 February 2025 to discuss the policy on Director's Remuneration.

directors' interests (audited)

* Shareholding before the ten for one share split that took effect on 13 June 2025.

** Inclusive of 435,810 shares for a private client account managed by Christopher Mills and 6,000,000 shares for Harwood Holdco Limited.

policy on directors' remuneration

The Company's Articles of Association were amended by a special resolution passed by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting on 23 June 2021 which increased the aggregate total of Directors' fees that can be paid during the year from £150,000 to £250,000. The Remuneration Committee's policy, subject to this overall limit, is to determine the level of Directors' fees having regard to the level of fees payable to non-executive directors in other investment trusts, the rate of inflation and the increasing amount of time that individual Directors must commit to the Company's affairs. The Committee is also concerned that the remuneration of the non-executive Directors should reflect the experience of those Directors and believes that the level of remuneration should be sufficient to attract and retain non-executive Directors to oversee the Company.

The Directors are entitled to be reimbursed for any reasonable expenses properly incurred by them in connection with the performance of their duties and attendance at meetings. Non-executive Directors are not eligible for bonuses, pension benefits, share options or any other incentives or benefits. There are no agreements between the Company and its Directors concerning compensation for loss of office.

The Directors' Remuneration Policy is the same in all material aspects as that implemented by the Board during the year under review and as summarised in last year's Directors' Remuneration Report. The Board will consider, where raised, shareholders' views on Directors' remuneration.

The Company has no employees and therefore has no policy on the remuneration of employees.

The performance graph on page 41 measures the Company's share price and net asset value performance against the Sterling adjusted Russell 2000 and the Sterling adjusted Standard & Poor's 500 Composite Index. An explanation of the Company's performance is given in the Chairman's Statement and the Investment Manager's Report.

The policy is to review Directors' fees from time to time, but reviews will not necessarily result in the level of Directors' fees changing. Since 1 August 2021, the Directors have been paid at a rate of £30,000 per annum with the exception of Peregrine Moncreiffe, the former Chairman whose emoluments amount to £37,500 per annum which reflects his contribution to stakeholder engagement and supporting Sir Charles Wake as Chairman. The Directors' Remuneration Policy was last presented to the shareholders for approval in 2024 and therefore will be presented for approval by the shareholders at the Company's AGM in 2027.

* This figure reflects the change in total pay Julian Fagge received given that the appointment was part way through the year ending 31 January 2024.

chief executive

The Chief Executive is responsible for the day-to-day investment decisions. He has no service contract with the Company; his appointment is pursuant to the Secondment Services Agreement dated 7 January 1993 between the Company, the Chief Executive and GFS. The Remuneration Committee has no plans to alter the remuneration structure for the Chief Executive. As stated in note 14 on pages 78 and 80, the Chief Executive is entitled to retain any fees received from investee companies in respect of his role as a non-executive director of these entities; such a role is considered to benefit shareholders as it allows the Chief Executive to monitor the performance of the investee company more closely than would be possible under other circumstances

The total fees of £3,592,000, in respect of Christopher Mills' services as a Director and Chief Executive are payable to GFS, as described on page 26. GFS receives, and is contractually entitled to receive, part of the Annual Fee payable to the GFS and NAIS in respect of the investment management activities of the Chief Executive pursuant to the Investment Management Agreements described on page 25 and note 3 on page 59 to the financial statements.

Christopher Mills is a director of GFS. GFS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Harwood Capital Management Limited, which is in turn wholly owned by Christopher Mills. Christopher Mills is also the Chief Investment Officer of NAIS.

The Performance Fee is a contractual entitlement pursuant to the Secondment Services Agreement dated 7 January 1993 as amended and is paid to GFS. Calculation of the Performance Fee includes Oryx at the adjusted price (using equity accounting methods).

Explanations of the calculation of the Investment Management and Performance fees can be found in note 3 on page 59 to the financial statements.

No pension or other benefits are paid to the Chief Executive.

[chart on page 40 of the Annual Report and Accounts]

The fixed element represents the director's fee of £30,000 per annum.

Included within the 'On-target' bar is the investment management fee, £3,036,000 and performance fee of £526,000 that are

payable to GFS and NAIS for the year ended 31 January 2026.

The difference between the "On-target" bar and the "Max" bar is the maximum payment under the performance fee arrangements which could have fallen due in respect of the year. This is explained in more detail in note 3(iii) to the financial statements.

Christopher Mills is deemed to have received these fees due to the fact that he is a director of and the ultimate beneficial owner of GFS and NAIS. These amounts are included in the 'On Target' bar as the fees were only payable if performance related hurdles were met. The NAIS fee is excluded from Christopher's reported remuneration, as it relates to operational services, including business management and the disbursement of staff salaries.

single total figure of remuneration for each director (audited)

The Directors who served during the years ended 31 January 2026 and 31 January 2025 received the following emoluments:

The Directors are aware that it is a statutory requirement that this report provides shareholders and other interested parties with an analysis of Directors' Remuneration against the remuneration of employees or the amount of distributions to shareholders. However, the Company has no employees and has a long-standing policy of not paying dividends (except to ensure compliance with Investment Trust rules) so it is not possible to provide any such analysis. The Directors also do not consider that such a comparison would be a meaningful measure of the Company's overall performance.

service contracts

No Director has a service contract. The contract for the Chief Executive's services and the carrying on day-to-day investment decisions is with GFS and contained in the Secondment Services Agreement between GFS and the Company as noted in the paragraph describing the Chief Executive's activities.

company's performance

The following graph compares over a ten year period the total shareholder return on the Company's Shares with a hypothetical holding of Shares of the same kinds and number as those by reference to which a broad equity market index is calculated.

Graph showing total shareholder return over 10 years as compared to total shareholder return of a broad equity market index over the last 10 years. (Source: Financial Data/Datastream)

[chart on page 41 of the Annual Report and Accounts]

NASCIT NAV is the diluted NAV at each balance sheet date.

The equity market indexes chosen are the Sterling adjusted Russell 2000 and the Sterling adjusted Standard & Poor's 500 Composite Index.

voting

The Directors' Remuneration Report for the year ended 31 January 2025 was approved by shareholders at the Annual General

Meeting held on 12 June 2025. The votes cast by proxy were as follows:

Directors' Remuneration Report

This Report was approved by the Board on 28 April 2026 and signed by:

On behalf of the Board

G Walter Loewenbaum, Remuneration Committee Chairman

28 April 2026

independent auditor's report

to the members of North Atlantic Smaller Companies Investment Trust plc

opinion

We have audited the financial statements of North Atlantic Smaller Companies investment Trust plc (the 'company') for the year ended 31 January 2026 which comprise the statement of comprehensive income, statement of changes in equity, balance sheet, cash flow statement and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and UK-adopted International Accounting Standards.

In our opinion the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the company's affairs as at 31 January 2026 and of its return for the year then ended;

• have been properly prepared in accordance with UK-adopted International Accounting Standards; and

• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard as applied to listed public interest entities and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

summary of our audit approach

key audit matters

Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most significance in our audit of the financial statements of the current period and include the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement (whether or not due to fraud) we identified, including those which had the greatest effect on the overall audit strategy, the allocation of resources in the audit and directing the efforts of the engagement team. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.

Valuation of Unquoted Investments

Valuation of Quoted Investments

our application of materiality

When establishing our overall audit strategy, we set certain thresholds which help us to determine the nature, timing and extent of our audit procedures. When evaluating whether the effects of misstatements, both individually and on the financial statements as a whole, could reasonably influence the economic decisions of the users we take into account the qualitative nature and the size of the misstatements. Based on our professional judgement, we determined materiality as follows:

an overview of the scope of our audit

The company has been subject to a full scope audit. The company is a single entity, subject to local statutory audit, and our audit work was designed to address the risks of material misstatements identified to the level of materiality indicated above.

conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. Our evaluation of the directors' assessment of the company's ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting included:

• reviewing, evaluating and challenging the company's going concern disclosures in note 1(b) to the financial statements and the company's viability statement on page 21 of the annual report; and

• corroborating the cash and treasury bills as at 31 January 2026 and at the date of approval of the financial statements.

Our key observation in relation to going concern is that the company has sufficient cash and liquid investments to continue as

a going concern for the foreseeable future.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

In relation to the entity's reporting on how it has applied the UK Corporate Governance Code, we have nothing material to add or draw attention to in relation to the Directors' statement in the financial statements about whether the Directors considered it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections

of this report.

other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

opinions on other matters prescribed by the companies act 2006

In our opinion, the part of the directors' remuneration report to be audited has been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006.

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

• the information given in the Strategic Report and the Directors' Report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements;

• the Strategic Report and the Directors' Report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we

have not identified material misstatements in the Strategic Report or the Directors' Report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• adequate accounting records have not been kept by the company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

• the financial statements and the part of the directors' remuneration report to be audited are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

• certain disclosures of directors' remuneration specified by law are not made; or

• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

corporate governance statement

We have reviewed the directors' statement in relation to going concern, longer-term viability and that part of the Corporate Governance Statement relating to the company's compliance with the provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code specified for our review by the Listing Rules.

Based on the work undertaken as part of our audit, we have concluded that each of the following elements of the Corporate Governance Statement is materially consistent with the financial statements and our knowledge obtained during the audit:

• Directors' statement with regards the appropriateness of adopting the going concern basis of accounting and any material uncertainties identified set out on page 27;

• Directors' explanation as to their assessment of the company's prospects, the period this assessment covers and why the period is appropriate set out on page 21;

• Directors' statement on whether it has a reasonable expectation that the company will be able to continue in operation and meets its liabilities set out on page 21;

• Directors' statement on fair, balanced and understandable set out on page 29;

• Board's confirmation that it has carried out a robust assessment of the emerging and principal risks set out on page 19;

• Section of the annual report that describes the review of effectiveness of risk management and internal control systems set out on page 34; and,

• Section describing the work of the audit committee set out on page 31.

responsibilities of directors

As explained more fully in the directors' responsibilities statement set out on page 28, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

the extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

Irregularities are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. The objectives of our audit are to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding compliance with laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, to perform audit procedures to help identify instances of non-compliance with other laws and regulations that may have a material effect on the financial statements, and to respond appropriately to identified or suspected non-compliance with laws and regulations identified during the audit.

In relation to fraud, the objectives of our audit are to identify and assess the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud, to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of material misstatement due to fraud through designing and implementing appropriate responses and to respond appropriately to fraud or suspected fraud identified during the audit.

However, it is the primary responsibility of management, with the oversight of those charged with governance, to ensure that the entity's operations are conducted in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations and for the prevention and detection of fraud.

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud, the audit engagement

team:

• obtained an understanding of the nature of the industry and sector, including the legal and regulatory framework that the company operates in and how the company is complying with the legal and regulatory framework;

• inquired of management, and those charged with governance, about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, including any known actual, suspected or alleged instances of fraud;

• discussed matters about non-compliance with laws and regulations and how fraud might occur including assessment of how and where the financial statements may be susceptible to fraud having obtained an understanding of the overall control environment.

The most significant laws and regulations were determined as follows:

The areas that we identified as being susceptible to material misstatement due to fraud were:

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting

Council's website at: http://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.

other matters which we are required to address

Following the recommendation of the audit committee, we were appointed by the Directors on 28 February 2020 to audit the

financial statements for the year ended 31 January 2020 and subsequent financial periods.

The period of total uninterrupted consecutive appointment is 7 years, covering the years ending 31 January 2020 to 2026. The non-audit services prohibited by the FRC's Ethical Standard were not provided to the company and we remain

independent of the company in conducting our audit.

Our audit opinion is consistent with the additional report to the audit committee in accordance with ISAs (UK).

use of our report

This report is made solely to the company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

As required by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, these financial statements will form part of the Annual Financial Report prepared in Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML) format and filed on the National Storage Mechanism of the UK FCA. This auditor's report provides no assurance over whether the annual financial report has been prepared in XHTML format.

Andrew Allchin (Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of RSM UK Audit LLP, Statutory Auditor

Chartered Accountants 25 Farringdon Street London

EC4A 4AB

28 April 2026

The total column of the statement is the Statement of Comprehensive Income of the Company, prepared in accordance with UK-adopted International Accounting Standards. The supplementary revenue and capital columns are presented in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice issued by the Association of Investment Companies ("AIC SORP").

All items in the above Statement derive from continuing operations. No operations were acquired or discontinued in the year. There is no other comprehensive income, and therefore the return for the year is also the comprehensive income.

The notes on pages 53 to 80 form part of these financial statements.

* In accordance with IAS 33 'Earnings per Share', the comparative return per Ordinary Share figures have been restated using the new number of shares in issue following the ten for one share split. For weighted average purposes, the share split has been treated as happening on the first day of the accounting period. See note 7 for further details.