Half-yearly Report

BlackRock Throgmorton Trust plc

Half Yearly Financial Report for period ending 31 May 2015

PERFORMANCE RECORD

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Attributable to ordinary shareholders	31 May 2015  (unaudited)	30 November 2014  (audited)	Change  %
Assets
Net assets	£279.3m	£235.5m	+18.6
Net asset value per share	381.91p	321.97p	+18.6
– with income reinvested			+19.8
Ordinary share price (mid-market)	330.00p	270.00p	+22.2
– with income reinvested			+23.8
Numis Smaller Companies excluding AIM (excluding Investment Companies) Index*	17,675.43	15,272.50	+15.7
	For the  six months ended  31 May 2015  (unaudited)	For the  six months ended  31 May 2014  (unaudited)	Change  %
Revenue
Net revenue return after taxation (£’000)	3,340	1,634	+104.4
Revenue return per ordinary share	4.57p	2.23p	+104.9
	--------	--------	--------
Dividend per ordinary share
	--------	--------	--------
Interim	1.10p	0.80p	+37.5
	======	=====	=====
*   with income reinvested

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

PERFORMANCE

I am pleased to report that for the six months ended 31 May 2015 the Company’s net asset value (NAV) total return per share was 19.8%. The share price total return was 23.8% benefiting from a narrowing of the discount. The growth in the NAV comfortably outperformed our benchmark, the Numis Smaller Companies excluding AIM (excluding Investment Companies) Index (the benchmark index) which returned 15.7% (all percentages with income reinvested).

The Company’s outperformance relative to the benchmark index was largely due to stock selection and sector allocation in both the long only and CFD portfolios. Further details on investment performance are given in the Investment Manager’s Report.

At 22 July 2015 the Company’s NAV was unchanged.  Since the period end, to 22 July 2015, the benchmark fell by 0.9% and the Company’s share price increased by 0.7% (all percentages with income reinvested).

OVERVIEW

Against a background of economic and political uncertainties, UK mid and small cap equities performed well over the six months ended 31 May 2015, with the benchmark index outperforming the FTSE 100 Index by 9.9%.

Over the period, the advance of UK equity markets was held back by a number of factors, including concerns over the outcome of the UK general election, US macroeconomic data which, at times, presented a conflicting outlook for the state of US economic recovery and by the ongoing negotiations between Greece and its creditors. These concerns eased towards the end of the period, buoyed by food and oil price deflation, and by the unexpected majority victory by the Conservatives in the UK election.

Encouragingly, European equity markets also received a welcome boost following the decision by the Swiss National Bank to end the Swiss franc currency cap ahead of the European Central Bank launching a much needed Quantitative Easing programme. However, the escalation of the Greek crisis and expectations that the US could begin to increase interest rates have tempered enthusiasm for corporate investment.

REVENUE EARNINGS AND DIVIDENDS

The revenue return per share for the period amounted to 4.57p (2014: 2.23p). The Board is pleased to declare an interim dividend of [1.10] pence per share (2014: 0.80 pence per share) payable on 21 August 2015 to shareholders on the register on 7 August 2015 (ex-dividend date is 6 August 2015). The increase in revenue from the portfolio for the period is attributable to the receipt of a number of large special dividends and a rise of 31% in regular dividends.

PORTFOLIO MANAGER

In March the Board announced that Ralph Cox, the lead CFD portfolio manager, had decided to take an extended career break and would be leaving BlackRock, and that Dan Whitestone, a senior member of the UK small/mid cap equity team, had assumed full responsibility for the CFD portfolio.

MANAGEMENT FEE

The Board also announced on 20 May 2015 that the Company and the Manager agreed certain amendments to the fees payable to the Manager under the Investment Management Agreement. Effective 1 June 2015, the performance fee cap in the event that the NAV total return over the annual performance period is zero or positive was reduced from 2% to 1% of the Performance Fee Market Value and effective 1 December 2015, the applicable percentage to be applied to the outperformance of the NAV total return over the benchmark return will be reduced from 12.5% to 10%. All other fees payable to the Manager remain unchanged.

PROSPECTS

Whilst it is encouraging to see the advance made by equity markets over the period under review, one of the main concerns for the newly elected Conservative government, and investors in UK equities, will be the long term future of the UK in Europe. Market volatility is likely to remain whilst the uncertainty between Greece and its creditors persists. Over the longer term, slower growth in China is also likely to impact market sentiment. However, these challenges should also create attractive investment opportunities.

On a relative basis, we are encouraged by the fact that small and mid cap company valuations continue to be supportive and growth expectations are looking more attractive for these companies, than their larger counterparts. In addition, we continue to see good results from many of our portfolio holdings and more recent updates have indicated that these growth rates should be sustainable.

Crispin Latymer
Chairman
24 July 2015

INTERIM MANAGEMENT REPORT AND RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT

The Chairman’s Statement and the Investment Manager’s Report give details of the important events which have occurred during the period and their impact on the financial statements.

PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

The principal risks faced by the Company can be divided into various areas as follows:

-   Performance;
-   Market;
-   Income/dividend;
-   Financial;
-   Operational; and
-   Regulatory.

The Board reported on the principal risks and uncertainties faced by the Company in the Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 30 November 2014. A detailed explanation can be found in the Strategic Report on pages 7 and 8 and in note 17 on pages 49 to 58 of the Annual Report and Financial Statements which are available on the website at blackrock.co.uk/thrg.

In the view of the Board, there have not been any changes to the fundamental nature of these risks since the previous report and these principal risks and uncertainties are equally applicable to the remaining six months of the financial year as they were to the six months under review.

RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURE AND TRANSACTIONS WITH THE INVESTMENT MANAGER

BlackRock Fund Managers Limited (BFM) was appointed as the Company’s Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) with effect from 2 July 2014. BFM has (with the Company’s consent) delegated certain portfolio and risk management services, and other ancillary services, to BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited (BIM (UK)). Both BFM and BIM (UK) are regarded as related parties under the Listing Rules. Details of the fees payable are set out in note 4 and note 9. The related party transactions with the Directors are set out in note 10.

GOING CONCERN

The Directors are satisfied that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and is financially sound. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements. The Company has a portfolio of investments which is considered to be readily realisable and is able to meet all of its liabilities from its assets and the income generated from these assets. Ongoing charges, including performance fees and interest costs, for the year ended 30 November 2014 were 1.2% of net assets.

DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT

The Disclosure and Transparency Rules (DTR) of the UK Listing Authority require the Directors to confirm their responsibilities in relation to the preparation and publication of the Interim Management Report and Financial Statements.

The Directors confirm to the best of their knowledge that:

-   the condensed set of financial statements contained within the half yearly financial report has been prepared in accordance with applicable International Accounting Standard 34 “Interim Financial Reporting”; and

-   the Interim Management Report, together with the Chairman’s Statement and Investment Manager’s Report, include a fair review of the information required by 4.2.7R and 4.2.8R of the FCA’s Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

The half yearly financial report has been reviewed by the Company’s Auditor.

The half yearly financial report was approved by the Board on 24 July 2015 and the above responsibility statement was signed on its behalf by the Chairman.

Crispin Latymer
For and on behalf of the Board
24 July 2015

INVESTMENT MANAGER'S REPORT
six months ended 31 May 2015

MARKET REVIEW AND OVERALL INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE

This has been a strong period for UK small and mid cap equities. During the six months ended 31 May 2015 the Company’s NAV per share rose by 19.8% to 381.91p whilst the benchmark index rose by 15.7%. Over the same period, the FTSE 100 Index rose by 5.8%, all on a total return basis with income reinvested.

PERFORMANCE REVIEW

The Company’s NAV per share saw strong absolute gains, outperformance of the benchmark index by the long only portfolio, and good gains by the CFD portfolio.

The long only portfolio increased in value by 18.1%, outperforming the benchmark index by 2.4%. Net gains in the CFD portfolio amounted to £5.8 million, 2.5% of opening net assets. Gains on long CFDs were 3.7% of opening net assets and were partly offset by losses of 1.2% on short CFDs. These figures are all before costs which were 0.8% of opening net assets.

The long only portfolio benefited from strong share price performances from CVS Group, Savills, Fevertree Drinks, Incadea and Betfair. The largest contributor to relative outperformance came from CVS Group, which operates veterinary surgeries around the UK. Interim results showed sales up by 19%, with like for like sales growth of 10%, and earnings per share growth of 34%. CVS Group management continue to grow their veterinary business both organically and by mainly small bolt-on acquisitions. The company still has only 11% of the UK veterinary surgery market.

Savills performed well throughout the period and full year results showed that earnings per share rose by 28%. A subsequent AGM indication was that trading has been slightly ahead of expectations. We see Savills as a strong brand in property services with an increasingly global footprint.

Fevertree Drinks share price has performed well since its IPO late in 2014. The company’s full year sales were up by 49%, all organic, and we see significant potential. Incadea was subject to a takeover bid late in 2014. Betfair’s third quarter revenues were up by 20%, the fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.

The largest detractors from relative outperformance during the period were our holdings in Northbridge Industrial Services and Polar Capital Holdings. Northbridge was impacted by the decline in the oil price which is affecting their rental operations in Singapore and Dubai, and the company’s oil tools business in Australia. Forecasts have been substantially reduced. Polar Capital’s share price has underperformed a strong market as the company has seen outflows from its large Japanese fund, whilst many of their other funds have seen net inflows. We believe that the company remains well placed to grow the funds under management over the medium term.

Turning to sector allocation, our overweight positions in housebuilders and chemicals companies were significant positive contributors to outperformance. Countering this, our overweight position in general financials and our underweight position in food retailers detracted from relative performance.

Within the CFD portfolio, total gains on long CFD positions were £8.6 million, of which our long positions in CVS Group, 4imprint, Scapa, Savills, Robert Walters, Ted Baker and Workspace Group each added in excess of £0.4 million. Our largest loss, on an individual long position, was in Skyepharma, which was less than £0.2 million.

In a period when markets were strong, in aggregate, our short CFD book lost just under £3.0 million during the period. Our largest individual loss on a short CFD was just over £0.3 million and was in respect of a company, which was subject to a bid during the period. Four other short positions each lost more than £0.2 million. Our most profitable short position during the period was in a loss making technology company, which continued to disappoint investors; our gain during the period was in excess of £0.2 million.

ACTIVITY

We sold holdings in Restaurant Group and Telecom Plus. We are nervous about industry supply growth in the UK eating out market. Telecom Plus disappointed investors although we had already significantly reduced our position before the profit warning.

We added new holdings in Eurocell and Shawbrook, both IPOs. Eurocell is a leading vertically integrated manufacturer and merchant of PVC profiles for doors, windows and roofline products in the UK. Shawbrook is a niche banking business which is growing well. We remain impressed by the management of both companies.

Two new holdings, JD Sports and SSP Group, were added to both the long only and CFD portfolios during the period. We also opened a number of new short CFD positions with the usual focus on companies which have weak and/or deteriorating fundamentals.

JD Sports is a leading retailer and distributor of branded sportswear and fashion wear. Growth has been strong with recent results showing earnings per share up by 26%. We believe JD Sports has the potential to be a multi-year growth story as they expand the UK store footprint, increase multi-channel penetration, and drive international roll-out.

SSP Group is a leading operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations worldwide. The relatively new CEO of SSP Group, Kate Swann, formerly of WH Smith, is someone we regard highly and, under her leadership, we believe the business is well placed to benefit from cyclical recovery, structural growth in travel related food service, and to drive margin expansion on efficiency gains.

Within the CFD portfolio we maintained a net long position throughout the period. The Company’s overall exposure to the market was between 105% and 108% for most of the period.

PORTFOLIO POSITIONING

We believe better quality UK consumer stocks should continue to do well due to rising employment, better job security, lower energy costs and some signs of wage growth. Both portfolios are positioned accordingly. Our exposure in this area includes housebuilders, housing related activity, and other consumer stocks such as CVS Group, Young & Co’s Brewery, Fuller Smith & Turner and Cineworld. We are also exposed to non-prime London through Workspace Group, Telford Homes and Quintain Estates & Development. We remain wary of government spending related stocks. The UK election is likely to have held back corporate investment plans.

Whilst US GDP growth was weak during the first quarter of 2015, we expect this to recover in subsequent quarters. Our portfolio exposure to the US includes 4imprint Group, Tyman, Hill & Smith and Gemfields. Turning to Continental Europe, the European Central Bank is now taking action to stimulate the Continental Europe economy. Growth is picking up in Spain and Ireland. Our exposure is through various recovery stocks such as Northgate, Lavendon, SIG and Bodycote. Concerns remain about Greece and its ability to service its debts over the long term.

More generally, we hold stocks exposed to stronger global growth such as Victrex, Savills and Robert Walters. We like businesses with highly predictable revenues such as Rathbone Brothers, Restore and Dechra Pharmaceuticals. We also like new technology and practices, with holdings such as Advanced Medical Solutions, Avon Rubber and Consort Medical.

We remain underweight oil stocks, but the oil price has recovered strongly from the lows. We are wary of being too underweight although we struggle to identify high conviction positions.

OUTLOOK

There remain various economic and political issues for markets to worry about, notably the prospects for the Chinese economy and developments in Greece. However, our portfolio is overweight UK consumer goods and services companies, where we have investments in many high quality companies with market leading positions and superior earnings growth prospects. These are exposed to an economy that continues to strengthen with employment and wages rising, whilst energy costs have fallen. We have witnessed encouraging results from these companies in recent months, and held good meetings with the management of most of these. We expect these good performances to be sustained, although we are mindful of impending rises in UK interest rates. We also consider that we have identified some good shorting opportunities in companies that we perceive to carry significant earnings risk which should generate good returns in the months to come. The CFD portfolio also provides the ability to flex our net market exposure. As ever, we continue to focus on fundamentals, and our bottom up stock picking approach should serve us well in potentially more uncertain markets.

Mike Prentis and Dan Whitestone
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited
24 July 2015

TWENTY LARGEST INVESTMENTS
as at 31 May 2015

		Market  value  £’000	% of net  assets	Description
Company
CVS Group*	Ordinary shares Long CFD position	5,935 1,517	2.7	Provision of veterinary services
4imprint Group	Ordinary shares Long CFD position	5,618 1,645	2.6	Supply of promotional merchandise in the US
Workspace Group	Ordinary shares Long CFD position	5,291 1,565	2.5	Supply of flexible workspace to businesses in London
Savills	Ordinary shares Long CFD position	5,569 1,269	2.4	Provision of property services
Lookers	Ordinary shares Long CFD position	4,889 1,472	2.3	Supply of cars and after market parts and services
Rathbone Brothers	Ordinary shares Long CFD position	4,517 1,597	2.2	Private client fund management
Northgate	Ordinary shares Long CFD position	4,342 1,472	2.1	Van rental
Tyman	Ordinary shares Long CFD position	4,401 1,285	2.0	Manufacture and supply of window and door components
Ted Baker	Ordinary shares Long CFD position	4,538 879	1.9	Design and sale of fashion clothing
Topps Tiles	Ordinary shares Long CFD position	3,988 1,276	1.9	Sourcing and retail of ceramic tiles
Cineworld	Ordinary shares Long CFD position	3,646 1,605	1.9	Operation of cinemas
Bodycote	Ordinary shares Long CFD position	4,119 1,016	1.8	Provision of thermal processing services
Polar Capital Holdings*	Ordinary shares Long CFD position	4,390 719	1.8	Investment management
Avon Rubber	Ordinary shares	4,789	1.7	Design and manufacture of safety masks and dairy related products
Headlam Group	Ordinary shares	4,467	1.6	Distribution of carpets and other floor coverings
Restore*	Ordinary shares Long CFD position	2,996 1,393	1.6	Storage and management of business information in both paper and digital form
Hutchison China Meditech*	Ordinary shares	4,220	1.5	Development and supply of traditional Chinese medicines to the Chinese market
Victrex	Ordinary shares Long CFD position	3,585 635	1.5	Manufacture and supply of PEEK thermoplastic products
Lavendon	Ordinary shares Long CFD position	3,109 1,064	1.5	Rental of powered access platforms
Bovis Homes Group	Ordinary shares Long CFD position	3,285 810	1.5	Housebuilding
		----------	-------
20 largest investments		108,913	39.0
		======	====
In addition, the Company had long only equity investments in 166 companies and 100 long and short CFD positions at 31 May 2015. The long CFD positions in the table above state the market value of the securities underlying the long CFD positions as at 31 May 2015. * Traded on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange. All investments are in equity shares unless otherwise stated. A list of the Company’s long only portfolio holdings and long CFD positions is available on the Company’s website.

DISTRIBUTION OF INVESTMENTS
as at 31 May 2015

Sector	long  only  portfolio  %	long  CFD  portfolio  %	short  CFD  portfolio  %	net  portfolio  %
Oil & Gas
Oil & Gas Producers	3.4	0.2	–	3.6
Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution	–	0.1	(0.1)	–
	--------	--------	--------	--------
	3.4	0.3	(0.1)	3.6
	--------	--------	--------	--------
Basic Materials
Chemicals	4.3	1.0	–	5.3
Mining	3.3	–	(0.2)	3.1
	--------	--------	--------	--------
	7.6	1.0	(0.2)	8.4
	--------	--------	--------	--------
Industrials
Construction & Materials	4.2	0.8	(0.1)	4.9
Aerospace & Defence	3.2	–	–	3.2
General Industrials	–	–	(0.1)	(0.1)
Electronic & Electrical Equipment	2.8	–	(0.5)	2.3
Industrial Engineering	3.4	0.5	(0.2)	3.7
Industrial Transportation	2.4	–	(0.3)	2.1
Support Services	9.1	3.7	(2.1)	10.7
	--------	--------	--------	--------
	25.1	5.0	(3.3)	26.8
	--------	--------	--------	--------
Consumer Goods
Beverages	0.7	–	(0.3)	0.4
Food Producers	–	–	(0.5)	(0.5)
Household Goods & Home Construction	6.1	0.3	–	6.4
Leisure Goods	0.1	–	–	0.1
Personal Goods	1.5	0.3	(0.4)	1.4
	--------	--------	--------	--------
	8.4	0.6	(1.2)	7.8
	--------	--------	--------	--------
Health Care
Health Care Equipment & Services	2.5	0.3	(0.2)	2.6
Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology	4.4	–	(0.2)	4.2
	--------	--------	--------	--------
	6.9	0.3	(0.4)	6.8
	--------	--------	--------	--------
Consumer Services
Food & Drug Retailers	–	–	(0.1)	(0.1)
General Retailers	8.4	2.0	(0.8)	9.6
Media	5.5	0.7	(0.7)	5.5
Travel & Leisure	4.5	1.6	(1.0)	5.1
	--------	--------	--------	--------
	18.4	4.3	(2.6)	20.1
	--------	--------	--------	--------
Telecommunications
Fixed Line Telecommunications	0.5	–	–	0.5
	--------	--------	--------	--------
	0.5	–	–	0.5
	--------	--------	--------	--------
Financials
Banks	1.5	0.3	–	1.8
Equity Investment Instruments	0.2	–	–	0.2
Financial Services	7.2	1.2	(0.7)	7.7
Non-life Insurance	0.4	0.5	(0.2)	0.7
Real Estate Investment & Services	5.6	0.8	–	6.4
Real Estate Investment Trusts	3.0	0.5	–	3.5
	--------	--------	--------	--------
	17.9	3.3	(0.9)	20.3
	--------	--------	--------	--------
Technology
Software & Computer Services	5.0	0.3	(0.1)	5.2
Technology Hardware & Equipment	0.1	–	(0.1)	–
	--------	--------	--------	--------
	5.1	0.3	(0.2)	5.2
	--------	--------	--------	--------
Other
Other	0.5	–	–	0.5
	--------	--------	--------	--------
	0.5	–	–	0.5
	--------	--------	--------	--------
Total Investments	93.8	15.1	(8.9)	100.0
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The above percentages are calculated based on the portfolio at 31 May 2015. The net portfolio is calculated as the long only equity portfolio plus the long CFD portfolio less the short CFD portfolio.

ANALYSIS OF THE PORTFOLIO

Gross Basis (1)

FTSE 250	41.0%
FTSE AIM	24.6%
FTSE Fledgling	0.5%
FTSE Small Cap	27.6%
Other	6.3%

Net Basis (2)

FTSE 250	37.8%
FTSE AIM	27.5%
FTSE Fledgling	0.4%
FTSE Small Cap	28.0%
Other	6.3%

Source: BlackRock.

1.    Long and short CFD portfolios in aggregate plus long only equity portfolio.
2.    Long CFD portfolio less short CFD portfolio plus long only equity portfolio.

MARKET CAPITALISATION
% of net portfolio (2)

	Long positions (1)	Short positions
£1bn+	31.9	-4.3
£400m-£1bn	29.3	-2.3
£100m-£400m	43.1	-2.2
£0m-£100m	4.6	-0.1

Source: BlackRock.

1.    Long positions include the long only equity portfolio plus the long CFD portfolio.
2.    The net portfolio is calculated as the long only equity portfolio plus the long CFD portfolio less the short CFD portfolio.

STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
for the six months ended 31 May 2015

	Notes	Revenue £’000 Six  months  ended  31.05.15  (unaudited)	Revenue £’000 Six  months  ended  31.05.14  (unaudited)	Revenue £’000 Year  ended  30.11.14  (audited)	Capital £’000 Six  months  ended  31.05.15  (unaudited)	Capital £’000 Six  months  ended  31.05.14  (unaudited)	Capital £’000 Year  ended  30.11.14  (audited)	Total £’000 Six  months  ended  31.05.15  (unaudited)	Total £’000 Six  months  ended  31.05.14  (unaudited)	Total £’000 Year  ended  30.11.14  (audited)
Gains/(losses) on investments held at fair value through profit or loss		–	–	–	40,830	8,316	(947)	40,830	8,316	(947)
Net returns on contracts for difference		451	18	110	5,563	(2,574)	(3,291)	6,014	(2,556)	(3,181)
Exchange gains/(losses)		–	–	–	1	1	(1)	1	1	(1)
Income from investments held at fair value through profit or loss	3	3,445	2,189	4,803	–	–	–	3,445	2,189	4,803
Other income	3	3	2	8	–	–	–	3	2	8
		--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------
Total revenue		3,899	2,209	4,921	46,394	5,743	(4,239)	50,293	7,952	682
		--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------
Investment management and performance fees	4	(287)	(280)	(545)	(3,252)	(841)	(1,860)	(3,539)	(1,121)	(2,405)
Other expenses	5	(268)	(290)	(571)	(12)	(8)	(32)	(280)	(298)	(603)
		--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------
Total operating expenses		(555)	(570)	(1,116)	(3,264)	(849)	(1,892)	(3,819)	(1,419)	(3,008)
		--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------
Net profit/(loss) before finance costs and taxation		3,344	1,639	3,805	43,130	4,894	(6,131)	46,474	6,533	(2,326)
Finance costs		(1)	(2)	–	(3)	(7)	(1)	(4)	(9)	(1)
		--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------
Profit/(loss) on ordinary activities before taxation		3,343	1,637	3,805	43,127	4,887	(6,132)	46,470	6,524	(2,327)
Taxation charge on ordinary activities		(3)	(3)	(8)	–	–	–	(3)	(3)	(8)
		--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------
Net profit/(loss) for the period after taxation	7	3,340	1,634	3,797	43,127	4,887	(6,132)	46,467	6,521	(2,335)
		--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------
Earnings per ordinary share	7	4.57p	2.23p	5.19p	58.97p	6.68p	(8.39p)	63.54p	8.91p	(3.20p)
		======	======	======	======	======	======	======	======	======

The total column of this statement represents the Statement of Comprehensive Income, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as adopted by the European Union. The supplementary revenue and capital columns are both prepared under guidance published by the Association of Investment Companies (AIC). All items in the above statement derive from continuing operations. All income is attributable to the equity holders of BlackRock Throgmorton Trust plc.

The Company does not have any other recognised gains or losses. The net profit disclosed above represents the Company’s total comprehensive income. Details of dividends payable are given in note 6.

STATEMENT OF CHANGES OF EQUITY
for the six months ended 31 May 2015

	Called  up  share  capital £’000	Share  premium  account £’000	Special  reserve £’000	Capital  redemption  reserve £’000	Capital  reserves £’000	Revenue  reserve £’000	Total £’000
For the six months ended 31 May 2015 (unaudited)
At 30 November 2014	4,026	21,049	35,272	11,905	156,107	7,096	235,455
Total Comprehensive Income:
Net profit for the period	–	–	–	–	43,127	3,340	46,467
Transactions with owners, recorded directly to equity:
Dividends paid*	–	–	–	–	–	(2,633)	(2,633)
	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------
At 31 May 2015	4,026	21,049	35,272	11,905	199,234	7,803	279,289
	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------
For the six months ended 31 May 2014 (unaudited)
At 30 November 2013	4,026	21,049	35,272	11,905	162,239	6,263	240,754
Total Comprehensive Income:
Net profit for the period	–	–	–	–	4,887	1,634	6,521
Transactions with owners, recorded directly to equity:
Dividends paid**	–	–	–	–	–	(2,377)	(2,377)
	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------
At 31 May 2014	4,026	21,049	35,272	11,905	167,126	5,520	244,898
	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------
For the year ended 30 November 2014 (audited)
At 30 November 2013	4,026	21,049	35,272	11,905	162,239	6,263	240,754
Total Comprehensive Income:
Net (loss)/profit for the year	–	–	–	–	(6,132)	3,797	(2,335)
Transactions with owners, recorded directly to equity:
Dividends paid***	–	–	–	–	–	(2,964)	(2,964)
	--------	--------	--------	--------	----------	--------	----------
At 30 November 2014	4,026	21,049	35,272	11,905	156,107	7,096	235,455
	=====	=====	=====	=====	======	=====	======
*     Final dividend of 3.60p per share for the year ended 30 November 2014, declared on 13 February 2015 and paid on 7 April 2015. **    Final dividend of 3.25p per share for the year ended 30 November 2013, declared on 10 February 2014 and paid on 4 April 2014. ***  Final dividend of 3.25p per share for the year ended 30 November 2013, declared on 10 February 2014 and paid on 4 April 2014 and interim dividend of 0.80p per share for the year ended 30 November 2014, declared on 24 July 2014 and paid on 22 August 2014.

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
as at 31 May 2015

	Notes	31 May 2015 £’000  (unaudited)	31 May 2014  £’000  (unaudited)	30 November 2014 £’000  (audited)
Non current assets
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss		282,229	246,685	237,362
		--------	--------	--------
Current assets
Other receivables		3,157	1,561	4,398
Amounts due in respect of contracts for difference		918	1,920	898
Collateral paid in respect of contracts for difference		–	869	–
Cash		228	315	328
		--------	--------	--------
		4,303	4,665	5,624
		--------	--------	--------
Total assets		286,532	251,350	242,986
		--------	--------	--------
Current liabilities
Other payables		(6,135)	(3,718)	(5,786)
Amounts payable in respect of contracts for difference		–	(2,734)	–
Collateral received in respect of contracts for difference		(1,108)	–	(1,745)
		--------	--------	--------
		(7,243)	(6,452)	(7,531)
		--------	--------	--------
Net current liabilities		(2,940)	(1,787)	(1,907)
		--------	--------	--------
Net assets		279,289	244,898	235,455
		=======	=======	=======
Equity attributable to equity holders
Called up share capital	8	4,026	4,026	4,026
Share premium account		21,049	21,049	21,049
Special reserve		35,272	35,272	35,272
Capital redemption reserve		11,905	11,905	11,905
Capital reserves		199,234	167,126	156,107
Revenue reserve		7,803	5,520	7,096
		--------	--------	--------
Total equity shareholders’ funds	7	279,289	244,898	235,455
		=======	=======	=======
Net asset value per ordinary share	7	381.91p	334.88p	321.97p
		=======	=======	=======

CASH FLOW STATEMENT
for the six months ended 31 May 2015

	Six  months ended  31 May 2015 £’000  (unaudited)	Six  months ended  31 May 2014 £’000  (unaudited)	Year  ended  30 November 2014 £’000  (audited)
Net cash inflow from operating activities	2,536	2,434	3,029
	--------	--------	--------
Financing activities
Servicing of finance	(4)	(9)	(1)
Dividends paid	(2,633)	(2,377)	(2,964)
	--------	--------	--------
Net cash outflow from financing activities	(2,637)	(2,386)	(2,965)
	--------	--------	--------
(Decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents	(101)	48	64
Exchange movements	1	2	(1)
	--------	--------	--------
Change in cash and cash equivalents	(100)	50	63
Cash and cash equivalents at the start of period	328	265	265
	--------	--------	--------
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period	228	315	328
	--------	--------	--------
Comprised of:
Cash	228	315	328
	--------	--------	--------
Total	228	315	328
	=====	====	=====

Reconciliation of net income before finance costs and taxation to net cash flow from operating activities

	Six  months ended  31 May 2015 £’000  (unaudited)	Six  months ended  31 May 2014 £’000  (unaudited)	Year  ended  30 November 2014 £’000  (audited)
Operating activities
Net profit/(loss) before taxation	46,470	6,524	(2,327)
Add back interest paid	202	150	296
Add back finance cost	4	–	1
(Gains)/losses on investments and contracts for difference held at fair value through profit or loss including transaction costs	(46,599)	(5,888)	3,941
Net movement on foreign exchange	(1)	(2)	1
Sales of investments held at fair value through profit or loss	72,244	101,072	176,916
Purchases of investments held at fair value through profit or loss	(76,280)	(92,315)	(168,098)
Net realised gains/(losses) on contracts for difference	5,747	(1,913)	(4,191)
Net movement in collateral (pledged)/received in respect of CFDs	(637)	(865)	1,749
Increase in other receivables	(477)	(352)	(228)
Decrease/(increase) in amounts due from brokers	1,719	(197)	(3,158)
(Decrease)/increase in amounts due to brokers	(1,747)	(60)	2,111
Increase/(decrease) in other payables	2,096	(3,576)	(3,680)
	--------	--------	--------
Net cash inflow from operating activities before interest and taxation	2,741	2,578	3,333
	--------	--------	--------
Interest paid	(202)	(150)	(296)
Taxation on overseas income	(3)	6	(8)
	--------	--------	--------
Net cash inflow from operating activities	2,536	2,434	3,029
	=====	=====	=====

NOTES TO THE FINANCAIL STATEMENTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 31 MAY 2015

1. Principal Activity

The principal activity of the Company is that of an investment trust company within the meaning of section 1158 - 1165 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010.

2. Basis of Preparation

The half yearly financial report has been prepared using the same accounting policies set out in the Company’s annual report and financial statements for the year ended 30 November 2014 (which were prepared in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the European Union and as applied in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006), and in accordance with International Accounting Standard 34. These comprise standards and interpretations of the International Accounting Standards and Standard Interpretations Committee as approved by the International Accounting Standards Committee that remain in effect, to the extent that IFRS have been adopted by the European Union. Insofar as the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) for investment trust companies and venture capital trusts issued by the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), revised in January 2009 is compatible with IFRS, the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the guidance set out in the SORP.

The AIC SORP was revised and reissued in November 2014 (effective 1 January 2015) and where compatible with IFRS will be applied to financial statements in subsequent reporting periods.

In the half yearly financial report for the six months ended 31 May 2015, cash collateral pledged with brokers and cash collateral received from brokers is shown as a receivable from and payable to the broker and does not form part of cash and cash equivalents in the Cash Flow Statement. The comparative numbers in the Cash Flow Statement have been updated to reclassify these amounts from cash and cash equivalents to receivables and payables.

The functional currency of the Company is UK pounds sterling as this is the currency of the primary economic environment in which the Company operates. Accordingly, the financial statements are presented in UK pounds sterling.

3. Income

	Six  months ended  31 May 2015 £’000  (unaudited)	Six  months ended  31 May 2014 £’000  (unaudited)	Year  ended  30 November 2014  £’000  (audited)
Investment income:
UK listed dividends	2,405	1,853	4,288
UK listed dividends – special	855	179	267
Overseas listed dividends	185	157	248
	--------	--------	--------
	3,445	2,189	4,803
	--------	--------	--------
Other income:
Deposit interest	3	2	3
Underwriting commission	–	–	5
	--------	--------	--------
	3	2	8
	--------	--------	--------
Total	3,448	2,191	4,811
	=====	=====	=====

4. Investment Management and Performance Fees

	Six months ended 31 May 2015 (unaudited)  Revenue  £’000	Six months ended 31 May 2015 (unaudited)  Capital  £’000	Six months ended 31 May 2015 (unaudited)  Total  £’000	Six months ended 31 May 2014 (unaudited)  Revenue  £’000	Six months ended 31 May 2014 (unaudited)  Capital  £’000	Six months ended 31 May 2014 (unaudited)  Total  £’000	Year ended 30 November 2014 (audited)  Revenue  £’000	Year ended 30 November 2014 (audited)  Capital  £’000	Year ended 30 November 2014 (audited)  Total  £’000
Investment management fee	287	861	1,148	280	841	1,121	545	1,636	2,181
Performance fee	–	2,391	2,391	–	–	–	–	224	224
	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------
Total	287	3,252	3,539	280	841	1,121	545	1,860	2,405
	=====	=====	=====	=====	=====	=====	=====	=====	=====

BlackRock Fund Managers Limited (BlackRock) provides management and administration services to the Company under a contract which is terminable on six months’ notice.

The terms of the investment management agreement with BlackRock provide for a basic management fee, payable quarterly in arrears, of 0.7% per annum on the gross asset value of the Company’s long only portfolio plus the gross value of the underlying equities, long and short (Performance Fee Market Value), to which the Company is exposed through the CFD portfolio. In addition, BlackRock is entitled to a performance fee of 12.5% of the net asset value (total return) outperformance against the Numis Smaller Companies excluding AIM (excluding Investment Companies) Index (the benchmark index). Effective 1 June 2015, the performance fee cap in the event that the NAV total return over the annual performance period is zero or positive was reduced from 2% to 1% of the Performance Fee Market Value and effective 1 December 2015, the applicable percentage to be applied to the outperformance of the NAV total return over the benchmark return will be reduced from 12.5% to 10%.

The investment management fee is allocated 75% to the capital column and 25% to the revenue column of the Statement of Comprehensive Income in line with the Board’s expected long term split of returns, in the form of capital gains and income respectively, from the investment portfolio. A performance fee of £2,391,000 was accrued for the six months ended 31 May 2015 (six months ended 31 May 2014: £nil; year ended 30 November 2014: £224,000). Performance fees have been allocated wholly to the capital column of the Statement of Comprehensive Income, as performance has been predominantly generated through the capital returns of the investment portfolio.

5. Other Operating Expenses

	Six  months ended  31 May 2015  £’000  (unaudited)	Six  months ended  31 May 2014 £’000  (unaudited)	Year  ended  30 November 2014 £’000  (audited)
(a) Other operating expenses:
Auditor’s remuneration:
– audit services	14	14	34
– other assurance services*	6	6	6
Registrar’s fee	17	11	37
Marketing fees	78	99	197
Directors’ remuneration	68	62	128
Other administrative costs	85	98	169
	--------	--------	--------
	268	290	571
	--------	--------	--------
Transaction charge – capital	12	8	32
	--------	--------	--------
	280	298	603
	=====	=====	=====
* Other assurance services relate to the review of the half yearly financial report.

6. Dividends

The Board has declared an interim dividend of 1.10p per share (2014: 0.80p) payable on 21 August 2015 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 7 August 2015.

7. Earnings and Net Asset Value Per Ordinary Share

Revenue and capital earnings and the net asset value per share are shown below and have been calculated as follows:

	Six  months ended  31 May 2015  (unaudited)	Six  months ended  31 May 2014  (unaudited)	Year  ended  30 November 2014  (audited)
Net revenue profit attributable to ordinary shareholders (£’000)	3,340	1,634	3,797
Net capital profit/(loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders (£’000)	43,127	4,887	(6,132)
	--------	--------	--------
Total profit/(loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders (£’000)	46,467	6,521	(2,335)
	--------	--------	--------
Equity shareholders’ funds (£’000)	279,289	244,898	235,455
	--------	--------	--------
The weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during each period on which the return per ordinary share was calculated was:	73,130,326	73,130,326	73,130,326
	---------------	---------------	---------------
The number of ordinary shares in issue at the end of the period on which the net asset value was calculated was:	73,130,326	73,130,326	73,130,326
	---------------	--------------	--------------
Return per share – basic and diluted
Revenue earnings per share	4.57p	2.23p	5.19p
Capital earnings/(loss) per share	58.97p	6.68p	(8.39p)
	--------	--------	--------
Total earnings/(loss) per share	63.54p	8.91p	(3.20p)
	=======	=======	=======
Net asset value per share	381.91p	334.88p	321.97p
	=======	=======	=======
Ordinary share price	330.00p	291.38p	270.00p
	=======	=======	=======

8. Called Up Share Capital

	Ordinary  shares  in issue number	Treasury  shares number	Total  shares number	Nominal  value £’000
Allotted, called up and fully paid share capital comprised:
Ordinary shares of 5p each
	---------------	-------------	--------------	--------
At 1 December 2014	73,130,326	7,400,000	80,530,326	4,026
	========	========	========	====
At 31 May 2015	73,130,326	7,400,000	80,530,326	4,026
	========	========	========	====

There was no change in the share capital during the period.

9. Transactions with the AIFM and the Investment Manager

Details of the fees receivable by BlackRock in relation to these services for the respective periods are set out in note 4.

Amounts payable to BlackRock at respective balance sheet dates are set out in the table below:

	31 May 2015 £’000  (unaudited)	31 May 2014  £’000  (unaudited)	30 November 2014  £’000  (audited)
Investment management fees payable	598	1,121	1,060
Performance fee payable 2014	224	–	224
Performance fee accrued 2015	2,391	–	–
	--------	--------	--------
	3,213	1,121	1,284
	=====	=====	====

Any performance fee for the year to 30 November 2015 will not crystallise and fall due until the calculation date on 30 November 2015.

In addition to the above services, with effect from 1 November 2013 BlackRock has provided the Company with marketing services. The total fee paid or payable for these services for the period ended 31 May 2015 amounted to £78,000 including VAT (six months ended 31 May 2014: £99,000; year ended 30 November 2014: £197,000). Marketing fees of £291,000 including VAT (31 May 2014: £115,000; 30 November 2014: £213,000) were outstanding at 31 May 2015.

The Company also had an investment in BlackRock’s Institutional Cash Fund - Sterling Liqudity Fund of £1,511,000 at 31 May 2015 (31 May 2014: £1,353,000; 30 November 2014: £1,114,000).

10. Related Party Disclosure

The Board consists of five non-executive Directors, all of whom are considered to be independent. None of the Directors has a service contract with the Company. The Chairman receives an annual fee of £36,000, the Chairman of the Audit Committee receives an annual fee of £27,000 and each of the other Directors receives an annual fee of £24,000. At 31 May 2015, an amount of £11,250 (31 May 2014: £10,400; 30 November 2014: £nil) was outstanding in respect of Directors' fees.

The interests of the Directors and those connected to them in the ordinary shares of the Company are set out in the table below.

At 31 May 2015, the period end, all five members of the Board held shares in the Company as set out below:

	Ordinary  shares  31 May 2015	Ordinary  shares  22 July 2015
Crispin Latymer	31,688	31,733
Simon Beart	35,479(1)	35,778(3)
Loudon Greenlees	10,000	10,000
Jean Matterson	39,500	39,500
Eric Stobart	23,007(2)	23,157(4)
1.    Including 9,890 shares held by Mrs Beart. 2.    Including 10,620 shares held by Mrs Stobart. 3.    Including 10,046 shares held by Mrs Beart. 4.    Including 10,770 shares held by Mrs Stobart.

Since 31 May 2015 there have been a number of changes to the Directors’ interests as shown in the table above.

11. Contingent Liabilities

There were no contingent liabilities at 31 May 2015, 31 May 2014 or 30 November 2014.

12. Publication of Non Statutory Accounts

The financial information contained in this half yearly financial report does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in section 435 of the Companies Act 2006. The financial information for the six months ended 31 May 2015 and 31 May 2014 has not been audited.

The information for the year ended 30 November 2014 has been extracted from the latest published audited financial statements, which have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The report of the Auditor on those financial statements contained no qualification or statement under sections 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

13. Annual Results

The Board expects to announce the annual results for the year ending 30 November 2015, as prepared under IFRS, in February 2016. Copies of the results announcement will be available from the Secretary on 020 7743 3000. The annual report should be available by the beginning of February 2016, with the Annual General Meeting being held in March 2016.

For further information, please contact:

Simon White, Managing Director, Investment Companies, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited
Tel: [phone]

Mike Prentis, Fund Manager, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited
Tel: [phone]

Emma Phillips, Media & Communication, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited
Tel: [phone]

24 July 2015
12 Throgmorton Avenue
London EC2N 2DL

END

The Half Yearly Financial Report will also be available on the BlackRock website at blackrock.co.uk/THROG.  Neither the contents of the Manager’s website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Manager’s website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.