The Baillie Gifford European Growth Trust is buying back 10% of its shares at a cost of £36.8 million following an oversubscribed tender offer.
The trust told shareholders last month it would buy back stock, with investors bidding to sell back 53.5% of the total shares. Following the buyback, the trust will have 40.2 million shares, with four million held in treasury by Baillie Gifford and the remaining 36.2 million circulating with voting rights.
The European Investment Trust announced in October that it was hiring Edinburgh-based fund manager Baillie Gifford to replace Edinburgh Partners as the trust’s investment manager. At the end of November, Baillie Gifford took over the management of the trust, which was launched in 1972.
The trust is managed by Stephen Paice, head of Baillie Gifford’s European equity team, and Moritz Sitte, one of the team’s investment managers. It holds stakes in between 30 and 60 European stocks at any one time, with 10% of its funds available to invest in unlisted companies.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh-based Dunedin Enterprise Investment Trust announced that its unaudited net asset value had risen to 437.7p per share on 31 December from 427.9p on 30 September. Dunedin will unveil the trust’s audited net asset value on 23 March.
