Reappointment of Liontrust as Investment Manager
Summary by AI BETAClose X
20th October 2026
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) NO. 596/2014, AS IT FORMS PART OF ENGLISH LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 ("UK MAR"). THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR ARRANGING THE RELEASE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT ON BEHALF OF RIVER UK MICRO CAP LIMITED IS NIKITA DE CARTERET, COMPANY SECRETARY. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN FOR THE PURPOSES OF UK MAR.
River UK Micro Cap Limited
Reappointment of Liontrust as Investment Manager
River UK Micro Cap Limited (the "Company" or "RMMC") announces the outcome of the Board's review of the Company's management arrangements, following which the Board has reappointed Liontrust Investment Partners LLP ("Liontrust") as the Company's investment manager, subject to regulatory approvals.
The Company will be co-managed by Anthony Cross and Hugh Sergeant, two of the best known and most highly respected UK equity fund managers, with more than 60 years' experience between them.
Highlights
· Continuity of mandate: No change in the investment objective and policy.
· Consistency of approach: Anthony Cross and Hugh Sergeant will manage the portfolio to the same investment style.
· Fees: reduction in investment management fees.
· Capital return: strong progress towards a capital return.
· Marketing: a major retail marketing campaign to be run by Liontrust on behalf of the Company.
Portfolio managers
Anthony Cross and Hugh Sergeant take on the management of the Company with immediate effect, following the previous announcement that George Ensor and Mayan Uthayakumar will be leaving Liontrust group at the end of 2026.
Anthony and Hugh will be supported by a broader team of seven investment professionals. The portfolio will continue to invest across Growth, Quality and Recovery companies, with the allocation actively managed to reflect the economic and market environment.
The lifecycle framework and quantitative analysis that has underpinned the Company's strategy since launch under Hugh's leadership will be retained, providing the consistency and stability the Board promised to deliver.
Anthony and Hugh have proven, long-term track records with their respective specialist investment processes, and analysis of historical portfolio outcomes suggests that blending them has the potential to enhance performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Fees and investment
The investment management fee will be reduced from 0.75% to 0.35% per annum, with effect from 1 November 2026. The Board believes this materially lowers the Company's ongoing costs while further aligning the interests of the investment manager with shareholders. The performance fee will continue.
The Company will benefit from the scale and reach of Liontrust's marketing, sales and investor engagement capabilities, which are expected to attract new investors.
Capital return
The objective remains to continue to grow the Company's NAV over the long term while facilitating capital returns to shareholders through the Company's redemption mechanism (the "Redemption Mechanism") at the earliest opportunity.
The Redemption Mechanism periodically returns capital to shareholders, aiming to maintain the Company's NAV at approximately £100 million, in accordance with the Company's stated policy in its original prospectus. Following the next capital redemption, the Company will look to increase the size of the fund over time in line with the opportunities seen in the market.
As at the end of September 2026, the portfolio NAV was £97.6m (304.59p per share). Combined with cumulative share buybacks of £4.2m, the Company's NAV was £101.8m, demonstrating continued progress towards the capital return target and delivering a total return of 22.4% over the last 12 months.
The Board look forward to engaging with shareholders to discuss the strategy, imminent fee reduction and future discount control management.
Comments
John Blowers, Chair of RMMC, said: "The Board has spent the last few weeks assessing the significant number of approaches it received, shortlisting and interviewing portfolio managers, to assess the best fit for the objectives of the Company and to deliver the best outcome for shareholders. The competitive process reflects the attractive opportunities offered by micro cap stocks in terms of growth potential and current valuations and validates the strategy.
"Liontrust has committed to use its expertise and resources to initiate a substantial marketing campaign to expand and diversify the shareholder base and manage the discount downward."
John Ions, Chief Executive Officer of Liontrust, said: "We appreciate the confidence of the Board of RMMC in being reappointed and the responsibility of delivering for shareholders. We are committed to providing the investment management, marketing, sales and resources to ensure the success of the Company."
Further details on the co-managers Hugh Sergeant and Anthony Cross, performance, portfolio positioning and the upcoming webinar can be found at: https://www.liontrust.com/riverglobal/river-uk-micro-cap-limited
- ENDS -
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LEI: 21380061WNNSD9RGUH84
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For further information please contact: |
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Liontrust Lucy Draper, Investment Companies
Share Communications (Press Office) Eleanor Mitchell
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Lucy.Draper@liontrust.com Tel: +44 7702 799 117
emitchell@sharecomms.co.uk Tel: +44 7947 823 957 |
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Singer Capital Markets |
Tel: +44 20 7496 3000 |
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James Moat, Investment Banking |
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BNP Paribas S.A., Guernsey Branch - Company Secretary
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+44 (0) 1481 750850 |
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