Baillie Gifford UK Growth Trust plc Annual Results

Baillie Gifford UK Growth Trust PLC

26 June 2026

 

Baillie Gifford UK Growth Trust plc

Legal Entity Identifier: 549300XX386SYWX8XW22

Results for the year to 30 April 2026

For the year to 30 April 2026, the Company's net asset value ('NAV') total return (capital and income) was 15.6% compared to a total return of 25.2% for the FTSE All-Share Index. The share price total return for the same period was 18.2%.

·  After outperforming in the first half of the Company's financial year, performance was poor in the second half. The portfolio's lack of Oil & Gas, Mining and Banks exposure explains much of the underperformance. Stock selection was also a negative contributor, particularly among the platform and software related businesses which derated notably on fears of disruption from AI.

·  Of the names held, the largest detractors to relative performance were Auto Trader, Experian and Rightmove. Renishaw and Just Group were among the notable positive contributors to relative performance.

·  James Smith is appointed as co-portfolio manager alongside Iain McCombie and Milena Mileva. James has a decade of experience working elsewhere before joining Baillie Gifford in 2022 and will work alongside Iain and Milena. We expect to see a small increase in the number of holdings and an increase in portfolio turnover from less than 5% towards 20% p.a. as a greater emphasis is put on portfolio construction and sell discipline. Importantly, the portfolio will retain its strong growth credentials and should be quicker to adapt to changing conditions.

·  Baillie Gifford has agreed to reduce the management fee from 0.50% to 0.40% of net asset value from 1 July 2026 until the performance triggered tender calculation date of 30 April 2029.

·  The net revenue return for the year was 6.23p per share (2025: 5.32p). A final dividend of 6.20p per share is being recommended (2025: 5.70p). This dividend will be paid by way of a single final payment.

·  Buybacks are used with the aim of maintaining a single digit discount to the Company's NAV per share in normal market conditions. Over the year, a total of 20,949,202 shares, representing 16.2% of the Company's issued share capital as at 30 April 2025, were bought back into treasury. Since period end to 23 June 2026, a further 1,450,997 shares have been bought back into treasury. The Board has asked the Managers to begin the process of cancelling the majority of shares held in treasury; a market notification will be issued once the process is complete.

·  Chairman Neil Rogan commented: "We hear that there is a clear appetite for a UK investment trust with high active share and a long-term approach to growth investing. We recognise that shareholder patience is thin. Ours is too: The Board is mindful of the 2027 Continuation Vote and the 2029 performance conditional tender offer. While we believe that the probability of success has improved, we know that we need to see clear evidence of recovery to pass beyond these two hurdles."

Total return information is sourced from Baillie Gifford/LSEG. See disclaimer at the end of this announcement. For a definition of terms see Glossary of Terms and Alternative Performance Measures at the end of this announcement.

Baillie Gifford UK Growth Trust plc invests to achieve capital growth predominantly from investment in UK equities with the aim of providing a total return in excess of the FTSE All-Share Index.

The Company is managed by Baillie Gifford & Co, an Edinburgh based fund management group with around £179.5 billion under management and advice as at 31 March 2026.

Past performance is not a guide to future performance. Baillie Gifford UK Growth Trust plc is a listed UK company. The value of its shares and any income from them can fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the amount invested. The Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. You can find up to date performance information about Baillie Gifford UK Growth Trust plc at bgukgrowthtrust.com.^‡ See disclaimer at the end of this announcement.

‡        Neither the contents of the Managers' website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Managers' website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

For further information please contact:

Anzelm Cydzik, Baillie Gifford & Co

Tel: [phone]

Jonathan Atkins, Director, Four Communications

Tel: [phone] or 07872 495396

The following is the results announcement for the year to 30 April 2026 which was approved by the Board on 25 June 2026.

Chairman's statement

After outperforming a style headwind in our first half, performance was poor in the second half. For the full year to 30 April 2026, NAV total return was +16%, behind the FTSE All-Share Index total return of +25%. Your share price total return was +18% as the discount narrowed from 10.5% to 8.7%.

Style headwinds persisted in our second half. To give an idea of the strength of the headwind, over the full year the MSCI UK Growth Index total return was +11%, the MSCI UK Value Index was +38%, the MSCI UK Large-Cap Index was +28%, the MSCI Mid-Cap Index was +16%, the MSCI UK Small‑Cap Index was +17%, the FTSE All Share Banks Index was +58% and the FTSE Resources Index was +52%. There was also very little growth in the UK economy, with the latest numbers showing real growth of 0.9% in GDP over the 12 months to 31 March 2026 and a 0.1% contraction in April.

Performance attribution numbers for the year reveal that the absence of any exposure to three sectors (oil, gas and coal; industrial metals and mining; banks) explains the majority of the underperformance. Stock selection was also a negative contributor: The combined effect of the 10 stocks held that contributed most positively was +7.2%. The combined effect of the 10 stocks held that contributed the most to underperformance was -12.7%. For an active stock picker, that is a poor outcome.

Dividend

The Board's dividend policy is unchanged: to pay out at least 85% of earned income in one payment per year, putting any excess into revenue reserves. For the year to 30 April 2026, the revenue return per share was 6.23p (5.32p 2025). A final dividend of 6.20p per share is being recommended to shareholders as part of the business of the Annual General Meeting ('AGM'). This will be payable on 11 September 2026. The Company's focus is on capital growth rather than income; shareholders should not expect a regular or steady level of income to be paid by the Company.

Issuance, Buybacks and Treasury

In January 2025, the Board announced that it had determined to use buybacks with the aim of maintaining a single digit discount to the Company's NAV per share in normal market conditions.

Over the year, the discount averaged 9.9%, ranging between 8.1% and 11.4%, ending the financial year at 8.7% compared to 10.5% a year earlier. The Company bought back into treasury 20,949,202 shares, representing 16% of the Company's issued share capital as at 30 April 2025. Since the financial year end, a further 1,450,997 shares have been bought back. At 30 April 2026, the Company had 52,591,576 shares held in treasury. Following further buybacks after the year end, this had increased to 54,042,573 shares as at 23 June 2026, representing 33.6% of the Company's total ordinary share capital. The Board intends, in the coming weeks, to cancel sufficient treasury shares to reduce the treasury balance to approximately 5% of the Company's total ordinary share capital, and this will be announced to the market by RNS.

Appointment of third Co-Manager

We have pressed Baillie Gifford to bring in a third co-manager, James Smith. James, unusually for them, has a decade of experience working elsewhere before joining Baillie Gifford in 2022 and will work alongside Iain and Milena. We expect to see a small increase in the number of holdings and an increase in portfolio turnover from less than 5% towards 20% p.a. as a greater emphasis is put on portfolio construction and sell discipline. Importantly, the portfolio will retain its strong growth credentials and should be quicker to adapt to changing conditions.

Ongoing Charges

The Board is responsible for the level of ongoing charges which was a competitive 0.76% per annum at 30 April 2026. The main component of this is the 0.50% management fee paid to Baillie Gifford.

In recognition of the specific circumstances of the Company during the period leading up to the 2029 tender assessment, Baillie Gifford has agreed to temporarily reduce its management fee from 0.50% to 0.40% of net asset value with effect from 1 July 2026. This revised fee will apply until the performance triggered tender calculation date of 30 April 2029, at which point the management fee will revert to 0.50%, subject to the Company continuing in its current form following the outcome of the tender process.

Board Composition

Our Audit Committee Chair, Andrew Westenberger, will retire from the Board at the next AGM having completed nine years of service. The Board will continue with just the four remaining Directors and Seema Paterson will take over from Andrew as Audit Committee Chair. We extend our thanks to Andrew for his significant contribution and wise counsel over his whole term.

Annual General Meeting

The Company's AGM is scheduled to take place at noon, Wednesday 2 September at 1 Moorgate Place, City of London, London EC2R 6EA. The meeting will include a presentation by the portfolio managers on the prospects for UK equities and the positioning of the portfolio. They and the Board will be available to answer any questions. Light refreshments will be available. Shareholders may bring a guest to the meeting.

Outlook

Patience has clearly been eroded by the shortfall in relative performance over the last five years. In 2024 we introduced a five-year performance conditional tender offer through which shareholders, if they wish, will be able to sell their entire holding at NAV less 2% if NAV total return over the five years to 30 April 2029 does not beat the FTSE All-Share Index. The first two years of this period (to 30 April 2026) show NAV total return at +24%, behind the Index total return of +35%. This shortfall is concerning so the Board has reviewed the situation with our corporate broker and adviser and will continue to consult with major shareholders.

Our findings show that poor stock selection accounts for around three-quarters of the underperformance against the FTSE All-Share Index over the last five years, with sector allocation responsible for most of the rest. However, in general, the stocks selected five years ago or earlier have gone on to deliver growth rates in the top two quintiles for EPS growth in the UK. So the problem has not been the ability to find the right growth companies, it has been paying too much for them in the first place or not selling them when they became expensive.

Most investors will recognise that large-capitalisation stocks have dominated world markets in recent years. It has been most obvious in the US with the rise of the so-called "Magnificent Seven" and the current round of new listings led by SpaceX. But it has been true in the UK too, with the FTSE 100 Index (containing the UK's largest 100 companies) up 12% p.a. over the last five years whereas the FTSE 250 Index (containing numbers 101-350) is up by only 3% p.a. BGUK's holdings are mostly to be found in the latter. That is a strong style headwind for our Managers. So too is the large outperformance of value stocks versus growth stocks within the UK market. Over five years, the MSCI UK Value Index is up by 16% p.a., well ahead of the MSCI UK Growth Index at 8% p.a. Much of this style headwind is captured in the performance attribution to sector selection, which accounts for the other quarter of our underperformance.

What would a style tailwind look like? Our analysis of monthly returns for the Trust's portfolio in different market conditions suggest that we tend to outperform when growth stocks beat value stocks, when mid-and small-cap stocks beat large caps and when the market goes up. The last year that all three happened simultaneously was 2019.

When could we see a tailwind? The honest answer is we don't know, all we can do is assess probabilities: Considering valuations of growth stocks versus value stocks in the UK, they are now broadly neutral or middle-of-the range on the basis of a 20-year history. But because growth stocks should grow their earnings faster than value stocks, this is a small positive.

I referred earlier to the sharp underperformance of mid- and small-cap stocks relative to large-cap. Historically, investors paid a premium for mid-and small-cap stocks because of their superior earnings growth. For mid-cap stocks that premium is now a discount with the FTSE 100 index trading at a PER of 16x and the mid-cap FTSE 250 trading at 14x. Looking at dividend yields gives the same picture with the FTSE 100 at 3.0% and the FTSE 250 at 3.5%. This is a good indicator of a future tailwind.

As for markets rising, it is supportive that the UK stockmarket is clearly cheap relative to its own history. It is also clear that the UK is at 30-year low valuations relative to the world. You can corroborate this by looking at valuation pairs between some of our holdings and similar American companies: St. James's Place trades on a Forward Price-to-Earnings (Forward P/E)* of 14x versus Charles Schwab on 15x. Bunzl trades on 14x versus Grainger on 26x. Howden Joinery trades on 15x versus Home Depot on 21x. Auto Trader trades on 13x versus CoStar on 23x. Bodycote trades on 13x versus ATI on 33x (and remember that US private equity firm Apollo just withdrew a takeover bid for Bodycote that was priced at a 27% premium to its undisturbed share price).

However well [insert Prime Minister of your choice] does, it is hard to envisage a strong recovery in UK economic growth by 2029. That does not necessarily mean that stock market returns will be poor. After all, the past few years have seen strong absolute market returns despite the deteriorating political and economic environments. Well managed companies can and do deliver good returns in very difficult conditions.

We hear that there is a clear appetite for a UK investment trust with high active share and a long‑term approach to growth investing. We recognise that shareholder patience is thin. Ours is too. The Board is mindful of the 2027 continuation vote and the 2029 performance conditional tender offer. While we believe that the probability of success has improved, we know that we need to see clear evidence of recovery to pass beyond these two hurdles.

Neil Rogan
Chairman
25 June 2026

* Source: FactSet, GBP. Data as at April 30, 2026

Managers' report

It is disappointing to report that the Company's portfolio has underperformed the FTSE All-Share Index as noted by the Chairman, even if the absolute return was strong. We had noted in the interim report, when performance was slightly ahead, that adaptability was key for businesses and management. However, 'events' as interpreted by the stock market, can sometimes play havoc in the short term and in the second half of the Company's financial year there were two notable negative impacts on the portfolio.

The first was the AI induced panic that occurred in the latter part of 2025, which impacted the share prices of a number of our businesses, and which is discussed in more detail below. The other negative was the attack on Iran by the US and Israel, which has led to the strategically important Strait of Hormuz being closed to shipping. This has led to a spike in the oil price and worries about raw material shortages, both of which are inflationary and likely to impact global economic growth. Neither we, nor anybody else, can make sensible predictions about how the situation in the Middle East will play out. What we do know is that the initial market reaction was to shun or mark down growth businesses, and this hurt our performance. Going back to the point of adaptability, we are fairly confident that the businesses in the portfolio will adapt to the tricky backdrop, but demonstrating this will require patience.

Performance

Before addressing some of the challenges, it is worth mentioning some of the stocks that performed well in the year. Our patient style was rewarded with a number of engineering businesses, such as Renishaw and Bodycote, that had performed poorly in the previous year following negative reaction to President Trump's then tariff plans, performing strongly. That the underlying performance of these businesses was fairly resilient in both years illustrates our point that while share prices ultimately follow fundamentals, in the short term they can disconnect and one must be very careful how one reacts.

Another positive was the insurer Just Group. As we mentioned in the interim report, it was subject to a takeover and we used it as a source of funds in the second half of the year. Other notable gainers were Games Workshop, where trading was strong, and our unlisted investment Wayve Technologies was written up following further encouraging news flow. Molten Ventures, which invests in fast growing private businesses, also performed strongly as the operational performance of its biggest investments was strong and its discount to its net asset value narrowed.

Nevertheless, these positives were outweighed by negatives which can be broken down into companies that we owned and those that we didn't. In regard to the latter, we were hurt by the ongoing strong performance in banks, mining and oil stocks that we don't have any exposure to. Their respective business fundamentals have been driven by a period of extremely favourable cyclical conditions. Furthermore, future growth prospects for many of these companies are very heavily dependent on exogenous variables - such as the level of interest rates and commodity prices - over which we have limited predictive powers, as opposed to business model or execution related advantages, drivers which we view as more sustainable in nature. For example, we recently undertook a review of the domestic focused banks to assess whether we were missing something. The output suggested to us that taking a position in these particular businesses would actually lower the long term growth potential and quality of the portfolio that we are managing. To be clear, they are not terrible businesses and might well make the cut if our remit was to manage an 'all weather' or 'value' portfolio. But it is not. We are managing a best ideas 'growth' portfolio.

The other major negative in the period was that the valuation of several of our high-quality compounders - such as auto and property classifieds platforms Auto Trader and Rightmove, credit data and decisioning business Experian, IT value-added reseller Softcat - de-rated sharply as part of a broader sell-off in software companies relating to fears of disruption from AI.

We accept that AI is a momentous technology which will impact all businesses. In a narrow sense, it might well shape how consumers search for and buy cars and properties, how enterprises procure IT, how data is analysed and how decisions are made. These companies will most certainly have to adapt. However, it seems to us that the market is pricing a much more severe outcome - one of structural competitive moat impairment where AI commoditises the core value proposition, erodes customer relationships and permanently reduces value capture. We believe this is far too simplistic. Whilst AI may change the interface through which customers discover and consume information and services, it does not automatically replace the underlying assets which have made these businesses so valuable. Proprietary, high quality, commercially relevant data, trusted brands, network effects, customer and regulatory relationships, workflow integration and habit formation all underpin these companies' competitive advantages and remain highly defensible. In fact, AI may well increase the value of these scarce assets by making them more usable and monetisable. Encouragingly, all of the companies are on the front foot and investing in capabilities. All have launched AI-enabled products, with customer adoption suggesting real utility. We believe their strong strategic position gives them a better chance than most of earning attractive returns on these investments. We, therefore, see the current market panic as providing a potentially compelling investment opportunity.

Portfolio activity

During the second half of the financial year, we bought a new holding in Greggs. The company has built one of the UK's strongest value-led food brands, and we believe this will remain its core growth engine over the next five years. Its scale and vertically integrated model give it a structural cost advantage that should allow it to defend price leadership while improving margins. The heavy investment cycle of more than £1bn from 2022-2026 has strengthened its manufacturing and supply chain base, widening the moat at a time when many competitors have been constrained by inflation and cost pressure. As capex moderates, we expect those investments to translate into better efficiency, stronger cash generation and more profitable store growth. We believe Greggs can continue compounding earnings by combining a trusted national brand, unmatched value and a better-invested operating platform than the rest of the market.

We also made some additions to existing holdings. We increased our holding in Softcat. Within its half year results in January, the company reported 23% gross profit growth and 27% operating profit growth, with management upgrading the full year profit guidance. Yet, the company is trading at a 10-year low valuation reflecting the perception of being an AI "loser". We view the market's worry that AI will reduce the need for channel partners as misplaced. The evidence points to enterprise IT becoming more, rather than less, complex. AI adoption adds complexity for customers across areas such as cloud architecture, data readiness, governance and compliance and cybersecurity. This all plays to the strengths of a business whose value proposition is providing trusted advice and helping customers navigate a complex, multi-vendor technology environment.

We have been keen to steadily build the small position in Spirax Group as we think this high quality engineer is poised to improve after a few years of relatively sluggish growth by its stellar standards, caused by post pandemic destocking by customers in one of its divisions and a slightly tougher backdrop in its core steam business. We think the long-term opportunities created by electrification and decarbonisation are substantial and Spirax's competitive advantage makes it likely that it will be able to capitalise on this profitably.

We made two sales in the period - annuity provider Just Group, following its takeover by private equity, and IT staffing firm FDM. Whilst we recognise the latter has gone through a tough cycle, driven by procurement tightening at its predominantly financial services customers, progress on its strategic growth initiatives - overseas and sector expansion - has disappointed our expectations. We also think there is potentially greater uncertainty on the medium-term impact of AI for this business.

Outlook

Markets remain in a highly febrile state and as noted there has been a continuation of trends that act against our 'growth' style as well as the current AI scare. This is frustrating and will test the patience of even the most long term of shareholders who want to own a portfolio of high conviction UK growth businesses. Classically, this is the point that 'growth' managers often feel obliged to capitulate. What about us? We are not complacent and continue to think hard about whether our conviction in our ideas is wrong.

What we come back to is that our detailed and in‑depth bottom-up work suggests that the portfolio is both high quality and positioned for growth. We have therefore continued to utilise gearing throughout the year - net gearing currently stands at 9.2% of shareholders' funds. Our experience tells us that we should hold our nerve and continue to back our distinctive growth style. We continue to believe that deploying incremental capital into out of favour, high-quality growth companies, now at historically attractive valuations, gives shareholders and us better odds of significant outperformance from here and we remain confident that this discipline will be rewarded over the long term.

Milena Mileva and Iain McCombie
Baillie Gifford & Co
25 June 2026

The managers' core investment principles

Investment philosophy

The following are the three core principles underpinning our investment philosophy. We have a consistent, differentiated long-term investment approach to managing UK equities that should stand investors in the Company in good stead:

Growth

We search for the few companies which have the potential to grow substantially and profitably over many years. Whilst we have no insight into the short-term direction of a company's share price, we believe that, over the longer term, those companies which deliver above average growth in cash flows will be rewarded with above average share price performance and that the power of compounding is often under-appreciated by investors. Successful investments will benefit from a rising share price and also from income accumulated over long periods of time.

Patience

Great growth companies are not built in a day. We firmly believe that investors need to be patient to fully benefit from the scale of the potential. Our investment time horizon, therefore, spans decades rather than quarters and our portfolio turnover is significantly below the UK industry average. This patient, long-term approach affords a greater chance for the superior growth and competitive traits of companies to emerge as the dominant influence on their share prices and allows compounding to work in the investors' favour.

Active investment management

It is our observation that too much attention is paid to the composition of market indices and active managers should make meaningful investments in their best ideas regardless of the weightings of the index. As a result, shareholders should expect the composition of the portfolio to be significantly different from the benchmark and hence the outcome in returns (in both good and bad periods) will also be significantly different from the benchmark. This differentiation is a necessary condition for delivering superior returns over a long-term time horizon.

Portfolio construction flows from the investment beliefs stated above.

Baillie Gifford's stewardship principles

Baillie Gifford's overarching ethos is that we are 'Actual' investors. That means we seek to invest for the long term. Our role as an engaged owner is core to our mission to be effective stewards for our clients. As an active manager, we invest in companies at different stages of their evolution across many industries and geographies, and focus on their unique circumstances and opportunities. Our approach favours a small number of simple principles rather than overly prescriptive policies. This helps shape our interactions with holdings and ensures our investment teams have the freedom and retain the responsibility to act in clients' best interests.

Long-term value creation

We believe that companies that are run for the long term are more likely to be better investments over our clients' time horizons. We encourage our holdings to be ambitious, focusing on long-term value creation and capital deployment for growth. We know events will not always run according to plan. In these instances we expect management to act deliberately and to provide appropriate transparency. We think helping management to resist short-term demands from shareholders often protects returns. We regard it as our responsibility to encourage holdings away from destructive financial engineering towards activities that create genuine value over the long run. Our value will often be in supporting management when others don't.

Alignment in vision and practice

Alignment is at the heart of our stewardship approach. We seek the fair and equitable treatment of all shareholders alongside the interests of management. While assessing alignment with management often comes down to intangible factors and an understanding built over time, we look for clear evidence of alignment in everything from capital allocation decisions in moments of stress to the details of executive remuneration plans and committed share ownership. We expect companies to deepen alignment with us, rather than weaken it, where the opportunity presents itself.

Governance fit for purpose

Corporate governance is a combination of structures and behaviours; a careful balance between systems, processes and people. Good governance is the essential foundation for long-term company success. We firmly believe that there is no single governance model that delivers the best long-term outcomes. We therefore strive to push back against one-dimensional global governance principles in favour of a deep understanding of each company we invest in. We look, very simply, for structures, people and processes which we think can maximise the likelihood of long-term success. We expect to trust the boards and management teams of the companies we select, but demand accountability if that trust is broken.

Sustainable business practices

A company's ability to grow and generate value for our clients relies on a network of interdependencies between the company and the economy, society and environment in which it operates. We expect holdings to consider how their actions impact and rely on these relationships. We believe long-term success depends on maintaining a social licence to operate and look for holdings to work within the spirit and not just the letter of the laws and regulations that govern them. Material factors should be addressed at the board level as appropriate.

List of investments

as at 30 April 2026

Name	Business	Fair value £'000	% of total assets
Consumer discretionary
Games Workshop	Toy manufacturer and retailer	19,397	7.2
4imprint	Direct marketer of promotional merchandise	11,044	4.1
Howden Joinery	Manufacturer and distributor of kitchens to trade customers	10,479	3.9
Moonpig	Online greetings card and gifting platform	8,901	3.3
Inchcape	Car wholesaler and retailer	8,013	3.0
Burberry	Luxury goods retailer	4,626	1.7
Greggs	UK's leading food-on-the-go retailer	2,487	0.9
		64,947	24.1
Consumer staples
Diageo	International drinks company	4,105	1.5
Applied Nutrition	Producer of premium nutrition supplements	2,062	0.8
		6,167	2.3
Financials
AJ Bell	UK wealth manager	12,589	4.7
Prudential	International life insurer	9,942	3.7
St. James's Place	UK wealth manager	9,935	3.7
Legal & General	Insurance and investment management company	9,634	3.6
Molten Ventures	Technology focused venture capital firm	7,183	2.6
Lancashire Holdings	General insurance	6,882	2.5
IntegraFin	Provides platform services to financial clients	6,311	2.3
		62,476	23.1
Healthcare
Genus	World leading animal genetics company	9,198	3.4
Creo Medical	Designer and manufacturer of medical equipment	546	0.2
Oxford Nanopore	Novel DNA sequencing technology	348	0.1
		10,092	3.7
Industrials
Wise	Online platform to send and receive money	13,210	4.9
Volution Group	Supplier of ventilation products	12,740	4.7
Renishaw	Metrology company	10,252	3.8
Experian	Global provider of credit data and analytics	9,766	3.6
Spirax Group	Manufacturer of steam control systems	6,926	2.6
Sunbelt Rentals	Construction and industrial equipment rental company	6,371	2.4
Bunzl	Distributor of consumable products	5,579	2.1
Halma	Specialist engineer	5,149	1.9
Bodycote	Heat treatment and materials testing	4,941	1.8
PageGroup	Recruitment consultancy	1,460	0.5
		76,394	28.3
Real estate
Rightmove	Online property portal	4,534	1.7
Helical	Property developer	3,473	1.3
		8,007	3.0
Technology
Auto Trader Group	Advertising portal for second hand cars in the UK	9,792	3.6
Softcat	IT reseller and infrastructure solutions provider	9,315	3.4
Kainos Group	IT services and implementer	8,690	3.2
Wayve Technologies Ltd Series B Pref.U	Developer of full autonomous driving systems	6,628	2.5
RELX	Professional publications and information provider	4,255	1.6
		38,680	14.3
Total Equities		266,763	98.8
Net Liquid Assets		3,172	1.2
Total Assets		269,935	100.0

^U Denotes unlisted (private company) investment.

Income statement

for the year ended 30 April 2026 (with comparatives for the year ended 30 April 2025)

For the year ended 30 April

	Notes	2026 Revenue £'000	2026 Capital £'000	2026 Total £'000	2025 Revenue £'000	2025 Capital £'000	2025 Total £'000
Gains/(losses) on investments	9	-	29,108	29,108	-	11,412	11,412
Currency gains/(losses)		-	4	4	-	(48)	(48)
Income	2	8,885	-	8,885	8,893	-	8,893
Gross Return		8,885	29,112	37,997	8,893	11,364	20,257
Investment management fee	3	(401)	(935)	(1,336)	(433)	(1,010)	(1,443)
Other administrative expenses	4	(677)	-	(677)	(598)	-	(598)
Net return before finance costs and taxation		7,807	28,177	35,984	7,862	10,354	18,216
Finance costs of borrowings	5	(374)	(873)	(1,247)	(394)	(919)	(1,313)
Net return on ordinary activities before taxation		7,433	27,304	34,737	7,468	9,435	16,903
Tax on ordinary activities	6	-	-	-	-	-	-
Net return of ordinary activities after taxation		7,433	27,304	34,737	7,468	9,435	16,903
Net return per ordinary share	7	6.23p	22.89p	29.12p	5.32p	6.72p	12.04p

Dividends declared in respect of the financial year ended 30 April 2026 amount to 6.20p (2025 - 5.70p). Further information on dividend distributions can be found in note 8 below.

The total column of this statement is the profit and loss account of the Company. The supplementary revenue and capital return columns
are prepared under guidance published by the Association of Investment Companies.

All revenue and capital items in this statement derive from continuing operations.

A Statement of Comprehensive Income is not required as all gains and losses of the Company have been reflected in the above statement.

The accompanying notes below are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

Balance sheet

as at 30 April 2026 (with comparatives as at 30 April 2025)

As at 30 April

	Notes	2026 £'000	2026 £'000	2025 £'000	2025 £'000
Fixed assets
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss	9		266,763		282,957
Current assets
Debtors	10	2,146		1,776
Cash and cash equivalents	18	1,883		823
		4,029		2,599
Creditors
Amounts falling due within one year	11	(25,207)		(25,469)
Net current liabilities			(21,178)		(22,870)
Net assets			245,585		260,087
Capital and reserves
Share capital	12		40,229		40,229
Share premium account	13		11,664		11,664
Capital redemption reserve	13		19,759		19,759
Warrant exercise reserve	13		417		417
Share purchase reserve	13		-		17,522
Capital reserve	13		155,612		152,943
Revenue reserve	13		17,904		17,553
Shareholders' funds			245,585		260,087
Net asset value per ordinary share*	14		226.7p		201.2p

*   See Glossary of Terms and Alternative Performance Measures at the end of this announcement.

The Financial Statements of Baillie Gifford UK Growth Trust plc (Company registration number 2894077) were approved and authorised for issue by the Board and were signed on 25 June 2026.

Neil Rogan
Chairman

The accompanying notes below are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

Statement of changes in equity

For the year ended 30 April 2026

	Notes	Share capital £'000	Share premium account £'000	Capital redemption reserve £'000	Warrant exercise reserve £'000	Share purchase reserve £'000	Capital reserve £'000	Revenue reserve £'000	Shareholders' funds £'000
Shareholders' funds at 1 May 2025		40,229	11,664	19,759	417	17,522	152,943	17,553	260,087
Ordinary shares bought back into treasury	12	-	-	-	-	(17,522)	(24,635)	-	(42,157)
Dividends paid during the year	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	(7,082)	(7,082)
Net return on ordinary activities after taxation	7	-	-	-	-	-	27,304	7,433	34,737
Shareholders' funds at 30 April 2026		40,229	11,664	19,759	417	-	155,612	17,904	245,585

For the year ended 30 April 2025

	Notes	Share capital £'000	Share premium account £'000	Capital redemption reserve £'000	Warrant exercise reserve £'000	Share purchase reserve £'000	Capital reserve £'000	Revenue reserve £'000	Shareholders' funds £'000
Shareholders' funds at 1 May 2024		40,229	11,664	19,759	417	49,380	143,508	18,196	283,153
Ordinary shares bought back into treasury	12	-	-	-	-	(31,858)	-	-	(31,858)
Dividends paid during the year	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	(8,111)	(8,111)
Net return on ordinary activities after taxation	7	-	-	-	-	-	9,435	7,468	16,903
Shareholders' funds at 30 April 2025		40,229	11,664	19,759	417	17,522	152,943	17,553	260,087

The accompanying notes below are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

Cash flow statement

For the year ended 30 April 2026 (with comparatives for the year ended 30 April 2025)

	Notes	2026 £'000	2026 £'000	2025 £'000	2025 £'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Net return on ordinary activities before taxation		34,737		16,903
Adjustments to reconcile company profit before tax to net cash flow from operating activities
Net (gains)/losses on investments	9	(29,108)		(11,412)
Currency (gains)/losses		(4)		48
Finance costs of borrowings		1,247		1,313
Other capital movements
Changes in debtors		(371)		(126)
Changes in creditors		1		(96)
Cash from operations*			6,502		6,630
Interest paid			(1,214)		(1,284)
Net cash inflow from operating activities			5,288		5,346
Cash flows from investing activities
Acquisitions of investments		(15,196)		(7,944)
Disposals of investments		60,498		33,581
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from investing activities			45,302		25,637
Cash flows from financing activities
Bank loan drawn down		-		8,000
Equity dividends paid	8	(7,082)		(8,111)
Ordinary shares bought back into treasury and stamp duty thereon	12	(42,452)		(31,918)
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from financing activities			(49,534)		(32,029)
Increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents			1,056		(1,046)
Exchange movements			4		(48)
Cash and cash equivalents at start of year	15		823		1,917
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year†	15		1,883		823

*   Cash from operations includes dividends received of £8,464,000 (2025 - £8,693,000) and £34,000 deposit interest (2025 - £82,000).

†   Cash and cash equivalents represents cash at bank and short-term deposits repayable on demand.

The accompanying notes below are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

Notes to the Financial Statements

1.       The Financial Statements for the year to 30 April 2026 have been prepared in accordance with FRS 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' on the basis of the accounting policies set out below which are consistent with those applied for the year ended 30 April 2025.

2.       Income

		2026 £'000	2025 £'000
	Income from investments
	UK dividends	7,318	7,282
	Overseas dividends	1,533	1,529
	Other income
	Deposit interest	34	82
	Total income	8,885	8,893

          Special dividends received in the year amounted to £1,663,000 (2025 - £1,303,000) with £1,663,000 (2025 - £1,303,000) classified to revenue and nil (2025 - nil) classified to capital.

3.       Investment management fee

		2026 Revenue £'000	2026 Capital £'000	2026 Total £'000	2025 Revenue £'000	2025 Capital £'000	2025 Total £'000
	Investment management fee	401	935	1,336	433	1,010	1,443

          Baillie Gifford & Co Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Baillie Gifford & Co, has been appointed as the Company's Alternative Investment Fund Manager ('AIFM') and Company Secretary. Baillie Gifford & Co Limited has delegated portfolio management services to Baillie Gifford & Co. Dealing activity and transaction reporting has been further sub-delegated to Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited and Baillie Gifford Asia (Hong Kong) Limited.

          The Investment Management Agreement between the AIFM and the Company sets out the matters over which the Managers have authority in accordance with the policies and directions of, and subject to restrictions imposed by, the Board. The Investment Management Agreement is terminable by the Managers on not less than six months' notice or on shorter notice in certain circumstances. With effect from 6 June 2024, the Investment Management Agreement is terminable by the Company on not less than three months' notice or on shorter notice in certain circumstances. Prior to this, the Investment Management Agreement was terminable by the Company on not less than six months' notice or on shorter notice in certain circumstances. Compensation would only be payable if termination occurred prior to the expiry of the notice period. The annual management fee is 0.5% of net assets, calculated and payable quarterly.

4.       Net return per ordinary share

		2026 Revenue	2026 Capital	2026 Total	2025 Revenue	2025 Capital	2025 Total
	Net return per ordinary share	6.23p	22.89p	29.12p	5.32p	6.72p	12.04p

          Revenue return per ordinary share is based on the net revenue return on ordinary activities after taxation of £7,433,000 (2025 - £7,468,000), and on 119,294,059 (2025 - 140,340,918) ordinary shares, being the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during each year.

          Capital return per ordinary share is based on the net capital gain for the financial year of £27,304,000 (2025 - £9,435,000), and on 119,294,059 (2025 - 140,340,918) ordinary shares, being the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during each year.

          There are no dilutive or potentially dilutive shares in issue.

5.       Ordinary dividends

		2026	2025	2026 £'000	2025 £'000
	Amounts recognised as distributions in the year:
	Previous year's final dividend (paid 12 September 2025)	5.70p	5.60p	7,082	8,111

          Also set out below are the total dividends paid and proposed in respect of the financial year, which is the basis on which the requirements of section 1158 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 are considered. The revenue available for distribution by way of dividend for the year is £7,433,000 (2025 - £7,468,000).

		2026	2025	2026 £'000	2025 £'000
	Dividends paid and payable in respect of the year:
	Proposed final dividend (payable 11 September 2026)	6.20p	5.70p	6,716	7,369

6.       At 30 April 2026, the Company had a £30 million unsecured revolving credit loan facility with BNY Limited. At 30 April 2026, £24,350,000 was drawn down under this facility. At 30 April 2025, £24,350,000 was drawn down under a one year £30 million unsecured revolving credit loan facility with The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited which expired in July 2025.

          The main covenant relating to the above loan is that total borrowings shall not exceed 30% of adjusted portfolio value. There were no breaches of loan covenants during the year.

7.       Transaction costs of £22,000 (2025 - £32,000) and £27,000 (2025 - £11,000) were suffered on purchases and sales respectively.

8.       The Company's shareholder authority permits it to hold shares bought back 'in treasury'. Under such authority, treasury shares may be subsequently either sold for cash (at a premium to net asset value per ordinary share) or cancelled. At the Company's Annual General Meeting held on 3 September 2025 the Company was granted authority to buy back 18,388,802 ordinary shares. During the financial year to 30 April 2026, 20,949,202 shares were bought back into treasury at a total cost of £42,157,000 (2025 - 17,403,697 shares were bought back into treasury at a total cost of £31,858,000).

          In the year to 30 April 2026, no shares were sold from treasury (2025 - no shares were sold from treasury). At 30 April 2026 the Company had authority to issue or sell from treasury 12,267,376 ordinary shares.

9.       The financial information set out above does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the year ended 30 April 2026 or 2025. The financial information for 2025 is derived from the statutory accounts for 2025 which have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The Auditor has reported on the 2025 accounts, their report was (i) unqualified, (ii) did not include a reference to any matters to which the Auditor drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying their report; and (iii) did not contain a statement undersections 498(2) or (3) to 497 of the Companies Act 2006.

10.     The Annual Report and Financial Statements will be available on the Company's websitebgukgrowthtrust.com on or around 9 July 2026. None of the views expressed in this document should be construed as advise to buy or sell a particular investment.

Glossary of terms and Alternative Performance Measures ('APM')

An alternative performance measure ('APM') is a financial measure of historical or future financial performance, financial position, or cash flows, other than a financial measure defined or specified in the applicable financial reporting framework. The APMs noted below are commonly used measures within the investment trust industry and serve to improve comparability between investment trusts.

Total assets

This is the Company's definition of adjusted total assets, being the total value of all assets held less all liabilities (other than liabilities in the form of borrowings).

Net Asset Value

Net Asset Value ('NAV') is the value of total assets less liabilities (including borrowings). The NAV per share is calculated by dividing this amount by the number of ordinary shares in issue (excluding treasury shares).

Net Liquid Assets

Net liquid assets comprise current assets less current liabilities, excluding borrowings.

Discount/premium ('APM')

As stock markets and share prices vary, an investment trust's share price is rarely the same as its NAV. When the share price is lower than the NAV per share it is said to be trading at a discount. The size of the discount is calculated by subtracting the share price from the NAV per share and is usually expressed as a percentage of the NAV per share. If the share price is higher than the NAV per share, it is said to be trading at a premium.

	2026	2025
Closing NAV per share	226.7p	201.2p
Closing share price	207.0p	180.0p
Discount	(8.7%)	(10.5%)

Total return (APM)

The total return is the return to shareholders after reinvesting the net dividend on the date that the share price goes ex-dividend.

		2026 NAV	2026 share price	2025 NAV	2025 share price
Closing NAV per share/share price	(a)	226.7p	207.0p	201.2p	180.0p
Dividend adjustment factor*	(b)	1.0256	1.0282	1.0275	1.0317
Adjusted closing NAV per share/share price	(c = a x b)	232.5p	212.8p	206.7p	185.7p
Opening NAV per share/share price	(d)	201.2p	180.0p	193.0p	163.5p
Total return	(c ÷ d)-1	15.6%	18.2%	7.1%	13.6%

*   The dividend adjustment factor is calculated on the assumption that the dividend of 5.70p (2025 - 5.60p) paid by the Company during the year were reinvested into shares of the Company at the cum income NAV per share/share price, as appropriate, at the ex-dividend date.

Ongoing charges (APM)

The total expenses (excluding borrowing costs) incurred by the Company as a percentage of the average net asset value. The ongoing charges have been calculated on the basis prescribed by the Association of Investment Companies.

A reconciliation from the expenses detailed in the Income statement above is provided below.

		2026	2025
Investment management fee		£1,336,000	£1,442,000
Other administrative expenses		£677,000	£598,000
Total expenses	(a)	£2,013,000	£2,040,000
Average net asset value	(b)	£265,439,000	£287,088,000
Ongoing charges ((a) ÷ (b) expressed as a percentage)		0.76%	0.71%

Gearing (APM)

At its simplest, gearing is borrowing. Just like any other public company, an investment trust can borrow money to invest in additional investments for its portfolio. The effect of the borrowing on the shareholders' assets is called 'gearing'. If the Company's assets grow, the shareholders' assets grow proportionately more because the debt remains the same. But if the value of the Company's assets falls, the situation is reversed. Gearing can therefore enhance performance in rising markets but can adversely impact performance in falling markets.

Net gearing is the Company's borrowings adjusted for cash and cash equivalents expressed as a percentage of shareholders' funds.

	2026	2025
Borrowings	£24,350,000	£24,350,000
Less: cash and cash equivalents	(£1,883,000)	(£823,000)
Adjusted borrowings	£22,467,000	£23,527,000
Shareholders' funds	£245,585,000	£260,087,000
Net gearing	9%	9%

Gross gearing is the Company's borrowings expressed as a percentage of shareholders' funds.

	2026	2025
Borrowings	£24,350,000	£24,350,000
Shareholders' funds	£245,585,000	£260,087,000
Gross gearing	10%	9%

Leverage (APM)

For the purposes of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) Regulations, leverage is any method which increases the Company's exposure, including the borrowing of cash and the use of derivatives. It is expressed as a ratio between the Company's exposure and its net asset value and can be calculated on a gross and a commitment method. Under the gross method, exposure represents the sum of the Company's positions after the deduction of sterling cash balances, without taking into account any hedging and netting arrangements. Under the commitment method, exposure is calculated without the deduction of sterling cash balances and after certain hedging and netting positions are offset against each other. The Company's maximum and actual leverage as at the year end are set out on page 99 of the Annual Report and Financial Statements.

Active Share (APM)

Active share, a measure of how actively a portfolio is managed, is the percentage of the portfolio that differs from its comparative index. It is calculated by deducting from 100 the percentage of the portfolio that overlaps with the comparative index. An active share of 100 indicates no overlap with the index and an active share of zero indicates a portfolio that tracks the index.

Unlisted (Private) Company

An unlisted (private) company means a company whose shares are not available to the general public for trading and not listed on a stock exchange.

Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation ('SFDR')

The EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation ('SFDR') does not have a direct impact in the UK due to Brexit, however, it applies to third-country products marketed in the EU. As Baillie Gifford UK Growth Trust plc is marketed in the EU by the AIFM, Baillie Gifford & Co Limited, via the National Private Placement Regime ('NPPR') the following disclosures have been provided to comply with the high-level requirements of SFDR.

The AIFM has adopted Baillie Gifford & Co's stewardship principles and guidelines as its policy on integration of sustainability risks in investment decisions.

Baillie Gifford & Co believes that a company cannot be financially sustainable in the long run if its approach to business is fundamentally out of line with changing societal expectations. It defines 'sustainability' as a deliberately broad concept which encapsulates a company's purpose, values, business model, culture, and operating practices.

Baillie Gifford & Co's approach to investment is based on identifying and holding high quality growth businesses that enjoy sustainable competitive advantages in their marketplace. To do this it looks beyond current financial performance, undertaking proprietary research to build up an in-depth knowledge of an individual company and a view on its long-term prospects. This includes the consideration of sustainability factors (environmental, social and/or governance matters) which it believes will positively or negatively influence the financial returns of an investment.

The likely impact on the return of the portfolio from a potential or actual material decline in the value of investment due to the occurrence of an environmental, social or governance event or condition will vary and will depend on several factors including but not limited to the type, extent, complexity and duration of an event or condition, prevailing market conditions and existence of any mitigating factors.

Whilst consideration is given to sustainability matters, there are no restrictions on the investment universe of the Company, unless otherwise stated within in its investment objective & policy. Baillie Gifford & Co can invest in any companies it believes could create beneficial long-term returns for investors. However, this might result in investments being made in companies that ultimately cause a negative outcome for the environment or society.

More detail on the Manager's approach to sustainability can be found in the stewardship principles and guidelines document, available publicly on the Baillie Gifford website bailliegifford.com and by scanning the QR code below.

The underlying investments do not take into account the EU criteria for environmentally sustainable economic activities established under the EU Taxonomy Regulation.

Automatic exchange of information

In order to fulfil its obligations under UK Tax Legislation relating to the automatic exchange of information, the Company is required to collect and report certain information about certain shareholders.

The legislation will require investment trust companies to provide personal information to HMRC on certain investors who purchase shares in investment trusts. As an affected company, Baillie Gifford UK Growth Trust plc will have to provide information annually to the local tax authority on the tax residencies of a number of non-UK based certificated shareholders and corporate entities.

Shareholders, excluding those whose shares are held in CREST, who come on to the share register will be sent a certification form for the purposes of collecting this information.

For further information, please see HMRC's Quick Guide: Automatic Exchange of Information - information for account holders gov.uk/government/publications/exchange-of-information-account-holders.

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