Literacy Capital PLC
24 August 2026
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24 August 2026
Literacy Capital plc
("Literacy Capital" or "Literacy" or "BOOK" or the "Fund" or the "Company")
Literacy Capital FY26 Interim Results
Active portfolio management drives strong realisations and cash receipts despite challenging macro backdrop
Literacy Capital, the listed investment trust focused on helping to build great businesses to generate superior returns, is pleased to report its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2026.
A PDF copy of the results can be viewed at: www.literacycapital.com/investors/reports-and-results
Performance highlights
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Diluted Net Asset Value (NAV) per share of 472.6p (31 December 2025: 484.3p; 30 June 2025: 519.5p)1, a decrease of 2.4% in the six months to 30 June 2026, reflecting a more challenging trading environment for smaller UK businesses and limited valuation uplift across the portfolio during the period |
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Diluted NAV of £284.4 million1, a decrease of 2.4% in the six months to 30 June 2026 after all expenses |
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Over the same period, BOOK's total shareholder return ("TSR") declined 20.6%, reflecting a material widening of the discount to NAV despite continued realisation activity and a modest decline in NAV per share. This TSR compares to a 10.4% increase for the FTSE All-Share Closed End Investment Trust Index and a 7.2% increase for the FTSE All-Share Index |
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Further initiatives are planned to stimulate awareness and demand for BOOK shares, including discussions to explore moving the Fund's listing to the official list on the Main Market, which Literacy and its brokers believe will create significantly more liquidity over time |
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A focus on actively managing and recycling capital from the portfolio to maximise returns |
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£36.6 million of cash proceeds were received in the six months to 30 June 2026. This was predominantly from the sale of Tyrefix in February 2026 (£14.7 million of cash proceeds), the sale of Wifinity in April 2026 (£15.0 million), and the sale of Literacy's largest residual private equity fund interest in May 2026 (£4.9 million) |
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Focus on deployment of capital into bolt-on acquisitions to add scale to existing portfolio companies |
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No new platform investments were completed in the six months to 30 June 2026; £16.9 million was invested into the existing portfolio, primarily to support bolt-on M&A, capital expenditure and working capital needs |
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In Q2 2026, BOOK's largest holding, RCI Group, completed the bolt-on acquisition of 33n, with further M&A completed in mid-July |
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Bolt-on acquisitions remain a priority for certain portfolio companies in 2026, with the expectation that these transactions will generate high returns on invested capital, contribute towards uplifts to NAV and accelerate their eventual sale |
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Strong long-term performance versus benchmarks |
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BOOK's total shareholder return is +95.0% since admission, compared to +29.0% for the FTSE All-Share Closed End Investment Trust Index and +65.7% for the FTSE All-Share Index |
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Alongside BOOK's track record of multiple portfolio realisations at or above carrying value, this demonstrates the value of Literacy's long-term strategy that will continue to be the focus for the foreseeable future |
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Significant charitable donations, helping disadvantaged children across the UK get a fair chance |
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£719k of charitable donations provided for in H1 2026 (H1 2025: £790k) |
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Total donations now amount to £13.5 million since inception of Literacy Capital |
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Performance to 30 June 2026
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% total return |
6 months |
1 year |
5 years |
Since Admission2 |
Since Inception3 |
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BOOK NAV per share |
(2.4)% |
(7.1)% |
+163.6% |
+200.5% |
+382.6% |
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BOOK total shareholder return |
(20.6)% |
(28.4)% |
+64.2% |
+95.0% |
n/a4 |
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FTSE All-Share Closed End Investment Trust Index |
+10.4% |
+22.5% |
+28.7% |
+29.0% |
+91.1% |
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FTSE All-Share Index |
+7.2% |
+21.9% |
+67.9% |
+65.7% |
+83.1% |
Comparison to prior periods
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At 30 June 2026 |
At 30 June 2025 |
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Diluted NAV1 |
£284.4m |
£312.6m |
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Diluted NAV per share1 |
472.6p |
519.5p |
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Cash returned to shareholders |
10.0p |
- |
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Diluted NAV per share, adjusted for the B share distribution |
482.6p |
519.5p |
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Total NAV return |
(2.4)% |
5.4% |
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Six months to 30 June 2026 |
Six months to 30 June 2025 |
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Capital invested |
£16.9m |
£10.8m |
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Cash realised |
£36.6m |
£5.8m |
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Charitable donation accrual |
£719k |
£790k |
1 The figures presented here are the Diluted NAV and NAV per share. The calculation is shown on page 36 of the interim accounts
2 BOOK was admitted to the London Stock Exchange on 25 June 2021
3 Inception date treated as 30 April 2018
4 BOOK's shares were admitted for trading on the London Stock Exchange in June 2021. Share price data therefore starts at this point
Richard Pindar, CEO of the Investment Manager and Director of Literacy Capital plc, commented:
"During the first six months of 2026, we are very pleased with the level of cash proceeds (£36.6 million) received by BOOK from its portfolio, primarily due to the successful sale of Wifinity and Tyrefix. Cash receipts in H1 2026 had more than a sixfold increase on the same period a year earlier and were broadly consistent with the £36.7 million received in H2 2025. This demonstrates consistently strong cash inflows and active management of BOOK's portfolio in recent quarters, in line with the objectives set and communicated to shareholders in the early part of 2025. This healthy exit activity was delivered despite this period not being an especially buoyant one for private equity transactions.
Despite these successful exits and continued strong cash generation, NAV performance in the six month period to 30 June 2026 was below our expectations, with a 2.4% decline in NAV per share during the period. In part, this reflects the uplifts from recent exits being recognised within 2025, prior to the reporting period, as well as the challenging trading environment in 2026 for smaller UK businesses. These conditions have led to relatively little upward movement in portfolio company carrying values in the first half of 2026.
Despite UK macro conditions remaining generally sluggish, encouragingly, several portfolio companies are gaining momentum and showing promise. These improving trends and stronger sales pipelines are expected to translate into higher earnings for the businesses, ultimately increasing their carrying values in future reporting periods. Encouragingly, headwinds from assets that were marked down during the past 18 months (e.g. RCI and Grayce) and detracted from BOOK's overall NAV performance, have produced improved trading more recently.
Our priority for the remainder of the year will be a continued focus on operational improvement and quality of management at a portfolio company-level to generate revenue and profit growth. Progressing M&A discussions for relevant portfolio companies and successfully integrating these acquisitions will also remain important over the next few months. We have previously seen how building greater scale via M&A can enhance value, build attractiveness to potential purchasers and help to accelerate the sale of portfolio companies."
Marketing activity
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Investor Summit - Literacy Capital has taken a stand at the upcoming Investor Summit event on 18 September 2026. More information surrounding the event can be found at the following link: Investor Summit 2026. |
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Investor Meet Company presentation - Paul Pindar (Chair) and Richard Pindar (CEO) of Literacy's Investment Manager will provide a live presentation and update on Q3'26 performance on 26 October 2026 at 13:00 GMT. The presentation is open to all existing or prospective shareholders. Questions can be submitted pre-event via your Investor Meet Company dashboard up until 25 October 2026 09:00 GMT, or at any time during the live presentation. Investors can sign up for free at the following link: Literacy Capital Q3 IMC. |
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Curation Corp - In July, Literacy Capital's profile launched on the Curation Corp platform. The investment showcase aggregates information for investors to learn more about how Literacy invests in and supports UK businesses and their management teams to achieve long-term success: Curation Corp - Literacy Capital. |
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For further information, please contact:
Literacy Capital plc / Book Asset Management LLP
Richard Pindar / Aasha Tailor
+44 (0) 20 3960 0280
MHP Group
Reg Hoare / Ollie Hoare / Matthew Taylor
book@mhpgroup.com
+44 (0) 7817 458 804
Deutsche Numis
Hugh Jonathan / George Shiel
+44 (0) 20 7260 1000
About Literacy Capital plc
Literacy Capital (BOOK.L) is a closed-end investment company that was co-founded by Paul Pindar and Richard Pindar in 2017 with £54 million of capital. Literacy listed on the London Stock Exchange in June 2021, before gaining Investment Trust status on 1 April 2022. The Company focuses on opportunities to invest for the long-term in growing private businesses where a clear route to creating additional value can be seen with its support.
It also has a unique charitable objective, to donate 0.5% of annual NAV to charities focused on improving UK literacy in children. £13.5m has been donated or reserved for donation to charities since the trust's creation in 2017. For more information, please visit our website: www.literacycapital.com.
A copy of this announcement will be available on the Company's website at www.literacycapital.com.
The information contained in this announcement regarding the Company's investments has been provided by the relevant underlying portfolio company and has not been independently verified by the Company. The information contained herein is unaudited.
This announcement is for information purposes only and is not an offer to invest. All investments are subject to risk. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Prospective investors are advised to seek expert legal, financial, tax and other professional advice before making any investment decision. The value of investments may fluctuate. Results achieved in the past are no guarantee of future results. Neither the content of the Company's website, nor the content on any website accessible from hyperlinks on its website for any other website, is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement nor, unless previously published by means of a recognised information service, should any such content be relied upon in reaching a decision as to whether or not to acquire, continue to hold, or dispose of, securities in the Company.
LEI: 2549006P3DFN5HLFGR54
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