Finsbury Growth & Income Trust plc (LON:FGT) has announced that its Fact Sheet as at 31 July 2026 is now available:
Commentary
In July, the NAV was +7.8% on a total return basis and the share price was +8.6% on a total return basis, while the index
was +3.7%.
Most of the Data, Software and Platform companies in the portfolio reported results in July. They all met or exceeded
expectations, with one exception – Rightmove. Here revenues were marginally below consensus and revenue growth next year is also expected to fall below forecast, 7% rather than 8%. Yet Rightmove shares were up on the day of the results and 6% for the month, and are now up 15% from their lows of May. Considering why the shares rallied, despite the forecast miss, is instructive. We believe the reasons are encouraging, not just for Rightmove’s future prospects, but, by extrapolation, for our other major Data, Software and Platform holdings too.
The cause of the slowdown at Rightmove is macroeconomic. Specifically, new home developments in the UK are at “historically low levels”, with conditions for housebuilders worse than at any time since the Global Financial Crisis, according to Rightmove’s CEO. But while it would be helpful for Rightmove if the housing market were more buoyant, the fluctuations of UK real estate are not central to our case for holding the equity. Rather, it is the vibrancy and competitiveness of Rightmove’s platform that really matters. Rightmove’s shares have fallen over the last 12 months not because of a cyclical slowdown, but because investors are apprehensive about disintermediation of its platform. There is an existential
concern – will LLMs (large language models) take eyeballs and inventory away from it?
Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Plc (LON:FGT) invests in the shares of predominantly UK-listed companies, with the objective of achieving capital and income growth.
