27th Feb 2026 07:00
The information contained in this announcement is restricted and is not for publication, release or distribution in the United States of America, any member state of the European Economic Area, Canada, Australia, Japan or the Republic of South Africa.
27 February 2026
Literacy Capital plc
Quarterly trading update and NAV announcement for Q4 2025
NAV +0.3% in 2025, with significant cash proceeds due in Q1 2026 from recent disposals
Literacy Capital plc ("Literacy", "BOOK" or the "Company"), a listed investment trust primarily focused on investing directly into private businesses based in the UK, today announces its quarterly trading and NAV update for the three months ending 31 December 2025 (Q4'25).
Q4 Highlights:
● | Q4'25 net asset value ("NAV") of £291.4m, equating to NAV of 484.3 pence per share. This represents a 4.5% decrease in NAV per share in the quarter and a modest gain of 0.3% for 2025 (after all expenses and donations), including the return of £6.0m to shareholders via the B share scheme during the period. |
● | Red Sky was the largest positive contributor in the period, making its first appearance in the top ten holdings, following its recent acquisition and improvements to the business. Tyrefix also contributed positively, due to the 59% premium to Q3'25 carrying value achieved on the sale announced in January 2026. |
● | Cash inflows totalled £8.0m in Q4'25, largely due to the refinancing of Bright Ventures Education. Literacy remains focused on actively managing and recycling capital from the portfolio to maximise returns. |
● | Following the sale of Wifinity and Tyrefix announced in January 2026, Q1'26 cash inflows are expected to exceed all prior quarters, enabling repayment of a significant portion of the drawn RCF. |
● | Literacy completed its first capital distribution to shareholders in November 2025, returning approximately £6m via the Company's B Share scheme. BOOK does not currently expect to make a further return of capital until additional exits complete. |
● | Total charitable donations since the inception of Literacy now amount to £12.7m, including a charitable donation provision of £301k in Q4'25. |
Commenting on the Q4 performance, CEO of BOOK's investment manager, Richard Pindar, said:
"We were pleased to announce two disposals in the first three weeks of 2026. Together with the significant exit of Velociti in Q3 2025, these transactions generated substantial cash proceeds for BOOK, demonstrating both the strength of our portfolio and conservative valuation methodology.
In total, the three transactions realised £81.2m of value, representing a 39% premium to their carrying value and more than 25% of BOOK's 30 June 2025 NAV, which reflects a very healthy distribution rate relative to the broader private equity market.
Despite this strong realisation activity, overall NAV return in Q4 and 2025 as a whole was disappointing, reflecting the volatile and uncertain economic backdrop. Public data reflects the fragile and inconsistent nature of UK economic growth in 2025, alongside subdued confidence, business and hiring activity.
Across our diverse portfolio, we saw clear effects of slower decision making and a reduced willingness to commit to spending and investment across both private and public sector customers. While these conditions stem from multiple external factors, our focus remains on the elements within our control - protecting and creating value within our portfolio companies."
Net Asset Value
The Company announces that, as at 31 December 2025, the NAV per ordinary share was 484.3 pence. £6 million (10p per share) was returned to shareholders during Q4 2025, reducing NAV by the equivalent amount at 31 December 2025. Taking this cash return to shareholders into account, NAV per share decreased 4.5%, or 23.5p per share, since 30 September 2025.
| At 31 Dec 25 | At 30 Sep 25 | At 31 Dec 24 |
Net asset value (£m) | 291.4 | 311.6 | 296.6 |
NAV per share (pence) | 484.3 | 517.8 | 492.8 |
Cash returned to shareholders (£m) | 6.0 | - | - |
The above NAV calculation is based on the Company's issued ordinary share capital as at 31 December 2025 of 60,175,000 ordinary shares of £0.001 each. This NAV calculation includes the cost to ordinary shareholders of the 597,500 warrants in issue. This cost is accrued on a straight-line basis over the vesting period of the warrants.
Portfolio company performance
Red Sky was the largest positive contributor to NAV in the period, continuing its strong momentum since Literacy invested in April 2025, entering Literacy's top ten holdings for the first time during the period. This uplift was driven in part by the acquisition of Delenco Foods, as well as broader improvements to the business overall. The group will continue to assess further acquisitions throughout 2026, as well as looking to drive organic growth in each of the individual businesses.
Tyrefix was the next largest positive contributor in Q4, driven by the 59% premium to September 2025 carrying value achieved on the sale of the business to Citira AB. The investment was initially completed in November 2020 and therefore was held for just over five years.
RCI and Grayce were the largest detractors in the quarter, as market conditions and their trading performance softened. Due to the size of these holdings, this had a material impact on overall NAV and the growth rates reported by the top ten holdings. Plans are in place to improve the performance of both businesses during 2026.
Transactions and investments
No new investments were completed in Q4'25 but £11.8m of cash was deployed, primarily provided to fund bolt-on acquisitions or other growth initiatives within the existing portfolio.
Cash & liquidity
Cash inflows in Q4 were £8.0m, mostly relating to the refinancing of Bright Ventures Education. This was supplemented by £0.6m of distributions from Literacy's fund investments.
Literacy's RCF was £25.0m drawn as at 31 December 2025 (£14.1m on 30 September 2025), with £1.2m held in cash. As a result of the cash already received from the sale of Tyrefix, the balance drawn today on the RCF is less than £14.0m, substantially reducing financing costs for BOOK. This current position is prior to the receipt of £15.0m of cash proceeds from the sale of Wifinity, which have not yet been received.
Activity since the period end
In January 2026, BOOK announced the sales of both Wifinity (5.2x MoM; 22% IRR) and Tyrefix (2.5x MoM; 25% IRR). The carrying value achieved on the sale of each asset has been reflected in the Q4 net asset figures.
These two disposals are expected to result in BOOK receiving £29.7m in Q1, with the proceeds from the Tyrefix transaction received in early February. This will be the highest amount received by BOOK in any quarter since inception, surpassing the £28.7m received in Q3'25.
Factsheet
The Company's factsheet for the three months to 31 December 2025 is now available on the Company's website: www.literacycapital.com/investors.
Master Investor Show
Paul Pindar (Chair) and Richard Pindar (CEO) of Literacy's Investment Manager will be presenting at the Master Investor Show at the Business Design Centre on 25 April 2026.
More information on this event can be found here: https://www.masterinvestorshow.com/
Investor Meet Company presentation
Paul Pindar (Chair) and Richard Pindar (CEO) of Literacy's Investment Manager will provide a live presentation and update on 27 April 2026 at 14:00 BST. This will follow the publication of BOOK's Q1 2026 factsheet.
The presentation is open to all existing and potential shareholders. Questions can be submitted pre-event via your Investor Meet Company dashboard up until 26 Apr 2026 09:00 BST, or at any time during the live presentation. Investors can sign up for free at the following link: https://www.investormeetcompany.com/literacy-capital-plc/register-investor.
-ENDS-
For further information, please contact:
Literacy Capital plc / Book Asset Management LLP
Richard Pindar / Aasha Tailor
+44 (0) 20 3960 0280
MHP Group
Reg Hoare / Ollie Hoare / Matthew Taylor
+44 (0) 7817 458 804
Deutsche Numis
Hugh Jonathan / George Shiel
+44 (0) 20 7260 1000
About Literacy Capital plc
Literacy Capital (BOOK.L) is a closed-end investment company that was co-founded by Paul Pindar and Richard Pindar in 2017 with £54m of capital. Literacy listed on the London Stock Exchange in June 2021, before gaining Investment Trust status on 1 April 2022. The Company focuses on opportunities to invest for the long-term in growing private businesses where a clear route to creating additional value can be seen with its support.
It also has a unique charitable objective, to donate 0.5% of annual NAV to charities focused on improving UK literacy in children. £12.7m has been donated or reserved for donation to charities since the trust's creation in 2017. For more information, please visit our website: www.literacycapital.com.
A copy of this announcement will be available on the Company's website at www.literacycapital.com.
The information contained in this announcement regarding the Company's investments has been provided by the relevant underlying portfolio company and has not been independently verified by the Company. The information contained herein is unaudited.
This announcement is for information purposes only and is not an offer to invest. All investments are subject to risk. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Prospective investors are advised to seek expert legal, financial, tax and other professional advice before making any investment decision. The value of investments may fluctuate. Results achieved in the past are no guarantee of future results. Neither the content of the Company's website, nor the content on any website accessible from hyperlinks on its website for any other website, is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement nor, unless previously published by means of a recognised information service, should any such content be relied upon in reaching a decision as to whether or not to acquire, continue to hold, or dispose of, securities in the Company.
LEI: 2549006P3DFN5HLFGR54
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