Skin in the game: Gresham House invests in Wotton's SEC

Trust has survived investor pressure in recent months

Gresham House has purchased 5.4% of the share capital of Strategic Equity Capital (SEC), which has withstood intense shareholder pressure in recent months in relation to a persistent discount to NAV and concerns about portfolio management.

SEC, which saw portfolio management duties handed to Gresham's Ken Wotton in September, alongside co-manager Adam Khanbhai, debuted in 2005 with the strategy of applying private equity techniques to public equities. The trust has recently been under pressure from a minority of shareholders as Ian Armitage and Jonathan Morgan, who together hold a 7.7% stake in the £201m trust, called for SEC's discontinuation amid concerns about the management of the portfolio and its sustained NAV discount. Calls for discontinuation were ultimately defeated by 82% of shareholders, with just 17% voting...