Interim Management Statement

BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC Interim Management Statement - 3 months to 31 May 2010 To the members of BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust plc This interim management statement has been produced solely to provide additional information to shareholders as a body to meet the relevant requirements of the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure & Transparency Rules. It should not be relied on by any other party for any other reason. This interim management statement relates to the period from 1 March 2010 to 31 May 2010, and contains information that covers this period, and up to the date of publication of this interim management statement. Please note more detailed performance information is available on the Manager's website - www.blackrock.co.uk/its. The Company invests mainly in smaller UK quoted companies, and seeks to achieve long term capital growth for shareholders. The Company is managed by Mike Prentis of BlackRock. Stock Performance Cumulative Performance (%): One Three One Three Five Month Months Year Years Years Net Asset Value -8.0% 5.8% 42.8% -18.5% 51.1% Share Price -9.5% 10.0% 38.0% -22.3% 54.7% HGSC ex Investment Trusts & AIM* -7.3% 1.9% 28.6% -31.5% -0.2% *With effect from 1 September 2007 the Hoare Govett Smaller Companies plus AIM (ex Investment Companies) Index replaced the FTSE SmallCap Index (ex Investment Companies) as the Company's benchmark. For three year and five year periods above the index has been blended to reflect this. All performance figures are in £ on a capital only basis. Ten Largest Equity Holdings (in alphabetical order) at 31 May 2010 Abcam Group Aveva Group Brewin Dolphin Holdings Domino Printing Sciences Fidessa group ITE Group Rotork Spirax-Sarco Engineering Victrex Western Coal Financial position and performance as at 31 May 2010 Gross Assets (£m)* 214.4 Short term borrowings (£m) 7.9 7.75% Debenture 2022 at par value (£m) 14.8 7.75% Debenture 2022 at fair value (£m) 16.9 Net asset value - capital only (at par) 397.03p Net asset value - capital only (at fair value) 392.77p Net asset value - cum income (at par) 400.47p Net asset value - cum income (at fair value) 396.21p Share Price 323.00p Ordinary Shares in Issue** 47,879,792 Actual Gearing 11.5% Discount to NAV*** 18.6% Average Discount over the Period 19.6% *Includes current year revenue ** Excluding 2,113,731 shares held in treasury ***Calculated on a capital only (at par) basis Material Events & Transactions There were no material events or transactions during the three months to 31 May 2010, other than the purchase and sale of securities undertaken in the normal course of business. The Board is not aware of any significant events or transactions, except as disclosed herein, occurring between 31 May 2010 and the date of publication of this interim management statement which would have a material impact on the financial position of the Company. Latest information is available by typing, www.blackrock.co.uk/its on the internet, "BLRKINDEX" on Reuters, "BLRK" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV terminal). Contact details: Caroline Driscoll Secretary Tel: 020 7743 2427 15 June 2010
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