Literacy Capital PLC
27 July 2026
The information contained in this announcement is restricted and is not for publication, release or distribution in the United States of America, any member state of the European Economic Area, Canada, Australia, Japan or the Republic of South Africa.
27 July 2026
Literacy Capital plc
Quarterly trading update and NAV announcement for Q2 2026
Strong cash proceeds received during Q2'26, with a focus on bolt-on acquisition activity
Literacy Capital plc ("Literacy", "BOOK", the "fund" or the "Company"), a listed investment trust primarily focused on investing directly into private businesses based in the UK, today announces its quarterly trading and NAV update for the three months ending 30 June 2026 (Q2'26).
Q2 Highlights:
|
● |
Q2'26 Net Asset Value ("NAV") of £284.4m, equating to NAV of 472.6 pence per share (Q1'26: 481.3p). This represents a 1.8% decrease in NAV per share (after all expenses and donations) in the quarter. |
|
● |
Relatively modest valuation movements reported for portfolio companies in Q2. BOOK's largest holding, RCI Group, returned to growth and was the largest positive contributor in the period. |
|
● |
Cash inflows totalled £20.6m in Q2'26, largely due to proceeds received from the sale of Wifinity in April and the sale of Literacy's largest residual fund interest in May. |
|
● |
Cash outflows totalled £13.3m in Q2'26, utilised to support growth of existing portfolio companies (via bolt-on M&A, capex and working capital). Bolt-on acquisitions have been, and remain, a priority for 2026. |
|
● |
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. |
|
● |
Total charitable donations since the inception of Literacy now amount to £13.5m, including a charitable donation provision of £355k in Q2'26. |
Commenting on the Q2 performance, CEO of BOOK's investment manager, Richard Pindar, said:
"Despite several strong exits in the 12 months to 30 June, BOOK's NAV performance has been much weaker than historical periods.
This reflects that it has been a difficult period for smaller businesses in the UK. However, it is encouraging that the two portfolio companies, RCI and Grayce, that were the largest detractors (in £ terms) to NAV over the last year, are both showing more positive signs and contributing positively to NAV in Q2.
Various portfolio companies are gaining momentum and showing encouraging promise, which we expect to be reflected in their carrying valuations as growth and increased earnings are delivered.
We are conscious that stronger NAV performance will provide positive news flow and share price momentum. Alongside our continuous efforts to support our existing portfolio companies to enhance their value and NAV performance, we are working hard to promote BOOK and awareness of it, to remove existing impediments that prevent investors from buying the stock, and thereby closing the frustrating discount to NAV."
Net Asset Value
The Company announces that, as at 30 June 2026, the NAV per ordinary share was 472.6 pence. NAV per share decreased 1.8%, or 8.7p per share, since 31 March 2026.
|
|
At 30 Jun 26 |
At 31 Mar 26 |
At 30 Jun 25 |
|
Net asset value (£m) |
284.4 |
289.6 |
312.6 |
|
NAV per share (pence) |
472.6 |
481.3 |
519.5 |
|
Cumulative cash returned to shareholders (£m) |
6.0 |
6.0 |
- |
The above NAV calculation is based on the Company's issued ordinary share capital as at 30 June 2026 of 60,175,000 ordinary shares of £0.001 each. This NAV calculation includes the cost to ordinary shareholders of the 1,017,500 warrants in issue. This cost is accrued on a straight-line basis over the vesting period of the warrants.
Portfolio company performance
In Q2, RCI was the largest positive contributor to NAV, offsetting the decline in the prior quarter. During the quarter, RCI completed the bolt-on acquisition of 33n, a healthcare consultancy employing clinicians and data scientists, which works with NHS trusts to deliver clinical workflow transformation to improve patient care. The group has traded in line with expectations for the first three months of its current financial year, with further M&A activity completed in mid-July.
Live Business was the next largest positive contributor in Q2, after Literacy invested additional capital to increase its equity stake.
These gains were offset by reductions elsewhere, with the largest movements from Oxygen Activeplay and Cubo Work. During Q2, the UK experienced record-breaking weather, both in terms of high temperatures and low rainfall. These conditions had an inevitable impact on Oxygen's trading and carrying value.
The two most recent investments, Red Sky and Trinitatum have continued to demonstrate strong momentum, entering the top five and ten holdings in the Literacy portfolio respectively. BOOK invested in both businesses less than 18 months ago, with 5.8x and 4.3x MoM returns recorded as at 30 June 2026. Red Sky continues to explore M&A, whilst Trinitatum has grown headcount nearly fourfold in 15 months, with further NAV uplifts expected in future quarters as new contracts go live.
Transactions and investments
No new platform investments were completed in Q2'26. £13.3m was invested into existing portfolio companies, to support their funding needs in relation to M&A, capex and working capital.
Bolt-on acquisitions will remain a priority for certain portfolio companies in 2026, with the expectation that these transactions will generate high returns on invested capital and accelerate their eventual sale.
Cash & liquidity
In Q2, BOOK received cash proceeds of £20.6m. Like Q1, inflows again exceeded the amount invested during the quarter.
£15.0m was received from the sale of Wifinity and a further £4.9m from the sale of Literacy's largest residual fund interest. This was supplemented by £0.7m of distributions from Literacy's two remaining fund investments, which have generated strong cash flows in recent periods. As a result of these cash inflows, fund interests equated to just 1.3% of NAV (a reduction from 3.2% of NAV three months earlier).
On 30 June, Literacy's RCF was £8.7m drawn (£15.5m on 31 March 2026), with £0.7m held in cash. BOOK retains significant flexibility and headroom to support its portfolio, given the current £40m limit.
Activity since the period end
No events occurred between the end of Q2 and the publication of the factsheet requiring reported NAV to be restated.
Factsheet
The Company's factsheet for the three months to 30 June 2026 is now available on the Company's website: www.literacycapital.com/investors.
Marketing activity
|
● |
In the Company of Mavericks podcast - Paul Pindar (Chair) spoke to Jeremy McKeown on his podcast, In The Company of Mavericks. An article from Jeremy is available on Substack and this podcast can be found here: ITCOM. |
|
● |
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. |
|
● |
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. |
|
● |
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. |
-ENDS-
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 £54m 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
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy Policy.
ENDRNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy Policy.