Unaudited Interim Results
17 June 2026
HARGREAVE HALE AIM VCT PLC
(the “Company”)
Unaudited Interim Results
The Company announces its half-year results for the six months ended 31 March 2026.
These half-year results will be available on the Company's website at https://www.hargreaveaimvcts.co.uk/document-library/.
In accordance with Listing Rule 6.4.1, a copy of this document will also be submitted to the UK Listing Authority via the National Storage Mechanism and will be available for viewing shortly at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism.
Financial highlights
Investment Manager’s report
Overview
The first half of financial year 2026 proved to be a highly eventful period. In keeping with recent times, the United States was again a dominant factor in the news cycle as the administration applied pressure to anyone or anything opposed to its agenda. Those on the receiving end were as varied as hostile states, allies, institutions and even the BBC. Of the many interventions and threats, the attack on Iran by US and Israeli forces was by far the most profound and a significant escalation. The long-term impact remains highly uncertain and will depend on efforts to reach a mediated agreement that allows safe passage of ships in the Gulf region or attempts to re-open the Strait of Hormuz through force.
Whilst this might be a source of considerable concern for many observers, investors, companies and households, the administration’s unorthodox approach did not meaningfully weigh on the US economy, which bounced back from a weak final quarter of 2025 to report annualised growth of 2.0% in the first quarter of 2026. This relative resilience reflects the country’s energy self-sufficiency and the comparatively limited role that exports and imports play in overall economic activity, along with the boost the economy is getting from investment into artificial intelligence and related infrastructure spend.
In contrast, the United Kingdom is more exposed to constraints in global energy markets. The delayed 2025 Autumn Budget heavily influenced business and consumer confidence throughout the period with measures of both weakening into the budget. Households became increasingly cautious about employment prospects and the potential for higher taxes. Whilst the economy improved post budget, the war in the Middle East added to the pressure on business and consumer confidence and, with that, the UK economy. UK GDP declined from 1.3% in the third quarter of 2025 (on an annualised basis) to 0.6% in the first quarter of 2026. The rate of growth is forecast to decline again in the second quarter and then flatline throughout the rest of 2026. Currently, the market is forecasting modest growth of 1.0% in UK GDP, lower than prior expectations. For context, the Office for Budget Responsibility’s most recent forecast, published shortly after the outbreak of the war, was for growth of 1.1% in 2026.
Although the February reading for unemployment showed a slight improvement to 4.9%, this was attributed to a fall in the number of people looking for work (rather than a pick-up in employment). The unemployment rate is expected to remain above 5% for the rest of 2026, with risks of a more meaningful increase should global energy markets remain tight and force companies into corrective actions to offset higher input costs and/or reduced demand.
With uncertainty at home and disruption abroad, this translated into a challenging period for domestically focused UK indices: weak into the 2025 Autumn Budget, subsequently strong through to the end of February and then sharply lower in March.
Highlighting the negative impact of event risk on the UK indices, both the FTSE 250 and AIM All-Share had strong periods of performance, each returning approximately 8% in the three months between the 2025 Autumn Budget and the start of the war in the Middle East. To our frustration, this performance was subsequently lost during a period of significant volatility over the six months to 31 March 2026.
Subsequent performance has been much improved and most of the losses incurred in March were recovered in April; however, market sentiment remains highly event driven.
Performance
In the six months to 31 March 2026, the unaudited NAV per share decreased by 5.84 pence from 36.46 pence to 30.62 pence. Dividends totalling 3.00 pence per share were paid on 13 February 2026, giving a total return of -7.79%. The qualifying investments returned -2.50 pence per share whilst the non-qualifying investments returned 0.00 pence per share over the period.
Qualifying Investments
Positive Contributors
Hardide: (+342.9%, +£1.39m) delivered strong progress, with multiple contract wins driving four revenue and profit upgrades. FY26 revenue guidance increased by 77% to £12.4m and EBITDA by 152% to £3.8m. In H1 FY26, revenue grew by 61% to c.£4.5m, with operating margins of c.20%, driven by energy, aerospace and power generation contracts.
Tortilla Mexican Grill: (+97.1%, +£0.85m) continued its recovery following confirmation of a resilient FY25 outcome, with group revenues up 8.5% to £73.8m and UK like-for-like sales growth of 6.2%, materially ahead of the wider casual dining market. The period also saw a comprehensive Board and management refresh aimed at strengthening execution. Founder Brandon Stephens has been appointed as Group CEO and has begun implementing a detailed recovery plan.
Abingdon Health: (+31.6%, +£0.71m) reported strong interim results, with revenues up 45% to £4.6m. The company expects profitability and positive cash flow in H2 and has announced £4.8m of contract wins. In October 2025, the VCT participated in a £3.4m fundraise, materially extending cash runway and supporting growth in the UK and USA.
Idox: (+28.7%, +£0.28m) progressed towards completion of the recommended all-cash takeover by Long Path Capital, valuing the company at c.£340m and a 26.8% premium. Post period end, the position was sold at 70.3 pence per share, realising £1.27m proceeds versus a book cost of £0.14m, a 9.4x return over 19 years.
My 1 st Years: (+6.9%, +£0.21m) continued to trade resiliently despite a challenging UK retail environment. The company maintained strong gross margins and a healthy cash position, leaving it well placed to benefit from any improvement in conditions. New Chair Seb Hobbs has joined, bringing relevant experience to support the next phase of growth.
Negative Contributors
Property Franchise Group: (-28.0%, -£1.36m) shares declined despite strong FY25 results, with revenues growing 25% to £84.3m and adjusted PBT growing 39% to £31.0m. Over 50% of revenues are recurring, supporting strong cash generation. The de-rating reflects macro and UK housing policy concerns, though management remains confident in growth supported by a scalable, asset-light model.
Beeks Financial Cloud: (-29.2%, -£1.19m) underperformed due to contract timing effects and an ongoing transition to revenue-share contracts. In H1 FY26, revenues fell 7.2% to £14.7m and EBITDA declined 28.2% to £4.1m, although recurring revenues grew 15% and contract wins remained strong. FY26 forecasts were maintained, implying a stronger second half. A £2.1m contract was secured post period end.
Intercede: (-56.6%, -£1.00m) issued a profit warning due to US federal procurement delays affecting revenue phasing. Revenues declined marginally to £17.2m in FY26, with a more pronounced impact on EBITDA.Subscription and support revenues grew to 66% of total revenues and cash remained strong at £20.0m. New orders of $3.8m post period end help underpin expectations for FY27.
Craneware: (-44.1%, -£1.00m) de-rated despite steady performance, reflecting concerns around AI disruption. Revenues grew by 6% to $105.7m in H1 FY26 with adjusted EBITDA up 10% to $33.4m, with strong annual recurring revenues. The company remains confident in meeting expectations for FY26 and announced a $25m share buyback programme. The shares offer good value given the company’s mature but defensible growth characteristics.
Oberon: (-35.0%, -£0.94m) delivered year-on year revenue growth of 24.5% and AUA of £1.4bn for FY26 but faced setbacks including a failed acquisition and impairment of a minority investment. The company raised additional capital to support growth. The FCA has imposed temporary restrictions on onboarding new clients and investment managers while systems and controls are reviewed.
New Qualifying Investments
We completed two new investments into AIM listed companies and two new investments into private companies.
Vulcan Two is a consolidator in the regulated UK ePharmacy market, pursuing a buy and build strategy focused on private prescription services led by experienced founder and CEO Michael Kraftman, who has a strong track record in ecommerce. Vulcan Two was initially admitted to AIM in September 2025, raising £12m. The company went on to complete the acquisitions of CloudRx, Hyperdrug Pharmaceuticals and Webmed in February 2026, creating an integrated platform spanning dispensing, fulfilment and prescribing services. The VCT invested as part of a fundraise in March 2026 which raised £40m to partly finance the initial acquisitions and provide capital support for the company’s growth and development.
KRM22 is listed on AIM and develops and sells SaaS based risk management software to capital markets firms, providing technology enabled solutions addressing both trading risk and enterprise risk. The company’s Global Risk Platform includes applications covering limit management, real time risk monitoring, market surveillance and digital risk registers, helping clients meet increasing regulatory and operational requirements. For the year ended December 2025, KRM22 reported revenues of £7.5m, an increase of 11% year-on-year, with annualised recurring revenue of £7.6m, and delivered adjusted EBITDA of £0.7m. The VCT invested as part of a £9.2m funding round in October 2025.
LabGenius Therapeutics is a private London-based biotechnology company pioneering machine learning-driven antibody discovery for cancer treatments. The company's proprietary EVA™ platform combines high-throughput automated experimentation with advanced machine learning (ML) to discover the next generation of therapeutic antibodies. By generating large quantities of biologically rich experimental data, EVA™ trains computational models to simultaneously co-optimise multiple therapeutically valuable properties. With this approach, LabGenius is able to identify novel, high-performing molecules, often with non-intuitive designs, that are unlikely to have been found using conventional methods. This capability has generated multiple pre-clinical programmes targeting difficult to treat solid tumours. Our £1.5m investment was part of an extension to LabGenius’ £35 million Series B round that will support the ongoing development of the company’s internal pipeline of multispecific antibodies for treating solid tumours as they advance towards clinical development.
Xampla is a University of Cambridge spin out developing materials made from natural plant polymers designed to replace the hidden plastic found in packaging. Xampla’s Morro materials offer a world-first natural polymer alternative. They are completely plastic-free, PFAS-free, biodegradable and home compostable, providing a regulatory-compliant alternative to the hidden plastic linings commonly found in everyday items such as takeaway boxes, coffee cups and sachets. The technology is designed for scale and engineered to be compatible with existing packaging manufacturing lines, enabling rapid adoption across supply chains. The VCT invested £1.5m in March 2026 as part of Xampla’s Series A round, which raised £13.2m. The funding will support the company’s transition into early commercialisation and manufacturing scale-up.
Non-qualifying Investments
Within the non-qualifying portfolio, the investments in the IFSL Marlborough UK Micro-Cap Growth Fund and the IFSL Marlborough Special Situations Fund declined by £0.15m over the period. Both funds have rallied sharply post period end.
The non-qualifying direct equity investments returned -£0.07m. Defence company Chemring pulled back following a very strong run in the defence sector and Trustpilot was impacted by a short-seller publishing a low-quality report which drove negative sentiment. Offsetting this, National Grid continued to perform well despite the uncertain geopolitical backdrop.
The fixed income portfolio returned £0.26m. We reduced our fixed income exposure by £9.20m through a series of disposals required to generate liquidity for investment and dividend distributions. The number of fixed income positions has reduced from seven to four.
Portfolio structure
The VCT is comfortably above the HMRC defined investment test and ended the period at 93.91% invested as measured by the HMRC investment test.
It was a much better period for new Qualifying Investments and we were encouraged to see some activity returning to the market for initial public offerings (IPO) with two companies raising funds from AIM VCTs through an IPO on AIM in the six months under review. We were also encouraged to see early signals that the new increased value-based limits (gross assets, annual allowance and lifetime allowance) are likely to have a meaningfully positive impact on our investable universe. Two large deals were agreed for completion once the new rules came into effect post period end. Excluding the deals that were pending completion at period end, AIM VCTs invested £23.8m across 10 AIM companies of which £5.2m was deployed by us into five AIM Qualifying Companies. We invested a further £3.0m into two private companies to give a total deployment of £8.2m within the period.
The AIM investments included follow-on investments into Abingdon Health, Fusion Antibodies and Eden Research, all existing portfolio companies. There were new AIM investments into KRM22 and Vulcan Two and, as noted above, £3.0m was invested into two private companies LabGenius and Xampla.
Within the qualifying portfolio, we made one complete exit from Polarean Imaging.
By market value, the VCT had an increased 63.4% (Sep 25: 54.0%) weighting to Qualifying Investments, a much reduced 10.5% (Sep 25: 15.7%) weighting to non-qualifying fixed income, an increased combined 11.3% (Sep 25: 10.9%) weighting to the IFSL Marlborough UK Micro-Cap Growth Fund and IFSL Marlborough Special Situations Fund and an increased 7.2% (Sep 25: 6.3%) weighting to non-qualifying direct equities. The VCT had a significantly reduced 7.6% 1 weighting to cash (Sep 25: 12.2%). The VCT sold its position in an exchange-traded fund (Sep 25: 0.9%).
Within the portfolio of Qualifying Companies, we have seen a small increase in portfolio concentration over the period with the top 10 Qualifying Investments now representing 30.1% of the NAV (30 Sep 25: 27.5%, 31 Mar 25: 28.2%).
The average Qualifying Company has a market capitalisation of £112m (30 Sep 25: £169m), supported by revenues of £58.8m (30 Sep 25: £68m), profit-before-tax of £4.3m (30 Sep 25: £6.2m) and net cash of £3.6m (30 Sep 25: £5.1m).
Post period end update
The NAV per share has increased from 30.62 pence to 33.19 pence in the period to 12 June 2026, an increase of 8.3%.
As at 15 June 2026, the share price of 31.50 pence represented a discount of 5.09% to the last published NAV per share.
Outlook
It is extremely difficult to predict what may follow. Equity markets are behaving in a manner that suggests investors remain relaxed about the long-term consequences of the war, in part because corporate earnings remain healthy.
Although the economy was stronger than expected in March, it subsequently contracted by -0.1% in April. Many economists continue to expect little growth through the balance of 2026. The picture is very mixed with construction remaining weak, the service sector notably softening but manufacturing strong. Retail sales data showed a significant bounce in May, albeit as a consequence of better weather. That aside, it is clear that uncertainty, both domestically and overseas, is continuing to undermine sentiment and economic activity. Although UK inflation has been moderating for several months, it is expected to spike later this year as second round effects from the energy shock manifest. The extent of the price shock on the UK economy and the impact on the cost of borrowing will be important factors for the UK government, households, companies and equity markets throughout the rest of 2026.
In the meantime, the uneasy truce in the Middle East has allowed equity markets to record very notable gains since the period end, helping our portfolio recover the losses suffered following the outbreak of war, gaining 8.3% in the period to 12 June 2026. By and large, portfolio company updates remain robust and, in some cases, very positive.
END
For further information, please contact:
LEI: 213800LRYA19A69SIT31
1 Net of prepayments and accruals.