Interim Management Statement

BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC Interim Management Statement - 3 months to 31 May 2011 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 2011 to 31 May 2011, 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/brsc. 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 -1.2% 1.3% 56.7% 41.2% 74.7% Share Price 0.4% -3.5% 61.9% 42.3% 76.4% HGSC ex Investment Trusts & AIM* -1.0% 1.4% 28.2% 11.9% 6.9% *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 the five year period 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 2011 Abcam Group Aveva Group Bellway City of London Investment Group Domino Printing Sciences Fidessa group Hargreaves Services Hutchison China Meditech ITE Group Oxford Instruments Financial position and performance as at 31 May 2011 Gross Assets (£m)* 325.5 Short term borrowings (£m) 11.1 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) 622.11p Net asset value - capital only (at fair value) 617.89p Net asset value - cum income (at par) 625.58p Net asset value - cum income (at fair value) 621.35p Share Price 523.00p Ordinary Shares in Issue** 47,879,792 Actual Gearing 8.6% Discount to NAV*** 15.9% Average Discount over the Period*** 12.8% *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 2011, other than the purchase and sale of securities undertaken in the normal course of business. Annual Results The Company announced its annual results for the year ended 28 February 2011 on 14 April 2011. Final Dividend A final dividend in respect of the year ended 28 February 2011 of 4.80p per ordinary share was recommended by the Directors. Shareholders approved the resolution in respect of the dividend at the Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, 14 June 2011, and the dividend will be payable on 21 June 2011 to shareholders on the register on 13 May 2011 (ex dividend date 11 May 2011). The Board is not aware of any significant events or transactions, except as disclosed herein, occurring between 31 May 2011 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/brsc 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 23 June 2011
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