WS Gresham House UK Smaller Companies Fund
A high-conviction, concentrated fund with a dedicated focus on smaller UK companies and fundamentals-based stock picking, aiming to deliver risk-adjusted returns with low correlation to its peer group.
The fund targets capital growth over the long term (in excess of five years) as well as consistent annual returns from a quality and fundamentals-focused investment strategy.
Our experienced team identify niche growth businesses with strong long-term financial performance, established management teams and a sound market position to deliver future growth potential.
Investment philosophy
Management
Favouring entrepreneurial, high-quality teams
Strategy
Understanding how management are seeking to enhance strategic value
Market Opportunity
Understanding the company’s addressable market and the dynamics likely to influence this
Market Position
Assessing the company’s competitive advantage
Financials
Considering the profit and cash flow growth potential over the anticipated life of the investment and quality of earnings and balance sheet strength
Valuation
Applying appropriate metrics to a specific company and remaining disciplined on price
Investing
Investment case
Reasons to invest
We believe there is significant opportunity in the segment of the market between £250mn and £1bn market cap at point of investment, because:
- A lack of research provides opportunities for stock-pickers
- New ideas are continuously unearthed within an investment universe that is changing constantly
- It potentially offers discounted valuations due to companies being less well-known and with a perception of high risk
Investment methodology
A structured and disciplined process designed to insulate us from macro and external factors that might affect companies’ performance.
There is significant opportunity in the segment of the market between £250m and £1bn at point of investment, which our process seeks to unlock:
- Idea generation – drawing on our network of relationships and variety of sources
- Investment universe – we screen by size, sector, financial strength and valuation
- Target list – ideas reviewed weekly to identify management teams to meet
- Investment appraisal – provide insight to the appraisal process through our smaller-company focus and private-equity techniques
- Conviction score – using a quantitative output, we rate conviction and use it to determine relative weightings in the fund
How to invest
Prospective investors can purchase shares directly from Waystone Management (UK) Limited or through a professional adviser or other intermediary. Application forms can be obtained from Waystone Management (UK) Limited.
investorservices@waystone.com
0345 922 0044
Third party trademarks are used with the permission of their respective owners. This website is an independent publication and is not affiliated with, nor has it been authorised, sponsored or otherwise approved by the third party trademark owners.
Team
Investment team
Ken Wotton
Managing Director, Public Equity
Ken Wotton
Managing Director, Public Equity
Ken is Managing Director, Public Equity, and leads the investment team managing public equity investments.
He is lead manager for WS Gresham House UK Smaller Companies Fund, WS Gresham House UK Micro Cap Fund, WS Gresham House UK Multi Cap Income Fund, Strategic Equity Capital plc and manages AIM listed portfolios on behalf of the Baronsmead VCTs.
Ken graduated from Brasenose College, Oxford, before qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG. He was an equity research analyst with Commerzbank and then Evolution Securities prior to spending 12 years as a Fund Manager at Livingbridge and now 7 years at Gresham House specialising in smaller companies.
Brendan Gulston
Director, Public Equity
Brendan Gulston
Director, Public Equity
Brendan joined Gresham House in November 2018 having previously been at Livingbridge.
Brendan co-manages the WS Gresham House UK Micro Cap Fund and the WS Gresham House UK Multi Cap Income Fund and leads Gresham House’s Healthcare sector investment strategy.
Prior to Livingbridge Brendan spent four and a half years in technology investment banking at Canaccord Genuity having studied commerce with a focus on finance at Melbourne University.
David Bickerstaffe
Investment Director, Public Equity
David Bickerstaffe
Investment Director, Public Equity
David joined Gresham House in October 2022 and is an Associate Director in our Public Equity investment team.
David has five years Investment Banking experience, most recently working at Lazard. Prior to this he worked at Investec providing M&A, ECM, and strategic advisory services to public and private institutions, and spent four years at PwC where he qualified as an ICAEW Chartered Accountant.
David graduated from Oxford University in 2014, with a Master’s degree in Engineering Science.
Tom Green
Investment Manager, Public Equity
Tom Green
Investment Manager, Public Equity
Tom joined Gresham House as an Investment Manager on the Public Equity team in January 2025.
He was previously a Fund Analyst at FE Fundinfo for 5 years covering UK Equity funds and managing multi-asset portfolios.
Tom graduated from the University of Surrey in 2019 with a master’s degree in Mathematics. He also holds the IMC and has passed CFA Level 2.
George Karidis
Associate Director, Public Equity
George Karidis
Associate Director, Public Equity
George joined the Public Equity investment team at Gresham House in May 2023. George supports portfolio management across all three open-ended funds and the listed investment trust with the Public Equity division and executes new investments in those funds and for the listed portion of the Baronsmead VCTs.
George has three years’ experience in public market investing and priorly worked for a private European fintech company. George also completed CFA Level 1 in February 2023 ranking in the top 5% of global candidates.
George graduated from Cambridge University in July 2022 with Double First Class Honours in History and three academic awards.
Insights
Key documents
Investor relations queries
Waystone Management (UK) Limited
investorservices@linkgroup.co.uk
0345 922 0044
Key risks
- The value of the Fund and the income from it is not guaranteed and may fall as well as rise. As your capital is at risk you may get back less than you originally invested
- Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance
- Our funds may be affected by changes in currency exchange rates
- Funds investing in smaller companies may carry a higher degree of risk than funds investing in larger companies. The shares of smaller companies may be less liquid than securities in larger companies