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Smithson Inv.Trust - Publication of Notice of a General Meeting

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RNS Number : 2632N
Smithson Investment Trust PLC
19 January 2023

19 January 2023                                                                                                      LEI: 52990070BDK2OKX5TH79

Smithson Investment Trust plc

(the "Company")

Publication of Notice of a General Meeting

The Company announces that it has today posted a circular to Shareholders (the "Circular").  The Circular contains a notice of a general meeting (the "General Meeting") of the Company to be held at 11.00 a.m. on 6 February 2023.

The General Meeting has been called to seek shareholder approval for a special resolution to reduce the Company's share premium account in order to provide greater scope to undertake share buybacks in the future.

Early last year, the Company's share price moved to a discount to net asset value per share, and in response the Company began making purchases of its ordinary shares in the market. During the period from 29 April 2022 to 16 January 2023, the Company has purchased in aggregate 6 million ordinary shares at a cost, before dealing charges, of £77.6 million

As a matter of law, the Company is only permitted to fund purchases of its own shares out of its distributable reserves or the proceeds of a fresh issue of shares; and while the ordinary shares are trading on the London Stock Exchange at a price less than the latest published net asset value per share, the Company is not able to issue new shares. 

As at 31 December 2022, the Company's distributable reserves available to fund share buybacks were approximately £200 million. The Board believes it prudent to create further distributable reserves to ensure that the Board can continue to undertake share buybacks when they feel they are appropriate. The share buybacks which the Company has undertaken have been accretive to the Company's net asset value per share, and the board of directors of the Company believes it important that there should be no technical impediment to their continued use.

The Circular may be obtained, free of charge, from the registered office of the Company or be downloaded from www.smithson.co.uk.

Martin Darragh

For and on behalf of

Apex Listed Companies Services (UK) Limited

Secretaries to Smithson Investment Trust plc

Tel: 0203 327 9720

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