Gresham House
Strategic plc
Gresham House
Strategic plc
An independent investment company investing in smaller public companies.
An independent investment company investing in smaller public companies.
Gresham House Strategic is an independent, AIM-quoted investment company that invests primarily in smaller UK public companies.
The team applies private equity techniques, constructive engagement and due diligence alongside a long-term value investment strategic equity investment philosophy.

Why invest
Our proprietary Strategic Equity strategy combines the approach and disciplined processes of private equity, with constructive corporate engagement and thorough due diligence. Our experience in this area has shown the potential for strong returns. The team can invest in a number of ways to help companies achieve their goals, including:
- Providing primary capital
- Supporting changes in strategic focus or operational performance
- Pre-IPO funding
- Providing a catalyst for M&A
Investment approach
Through our Strategic Public Equity investment philosophy, we aim to have a considerably higher level of engagement with our investee company stakeholders, in order to exploit market inefficiencies and support a clear plan to create value over the long term.

Our process is differentiated by:
- A hands-on, strategic approach to investing for the long term: we develop close relationships with the companies we invest in and seek to hold influential stakes
- Our expertise in situational investing: we have specialist knowledge and understanding of the lifecycle of businesses, meaning we understand the capital that companies need – and when to deploy it
- Coverage of public and private markets: we understand how different parts of the market behave and where the opportunities lie, meaning we can take advantage of these in our investment approach to individual companies
How to invest
Investors can access the strategy on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: GHS).
Prospective investors can buy shares through their wealth manager, financial adviser or stockbroker.
Investment team

Richard works in our Strategic Public Equity team. He entered fund management 20 years ago and is a Chartered Accountant. After initially starting at a hedge fund, he moved to Société Générale Asset Management where he was made Head of UK Small Companies after becoming a CFA charter holder in 2002.
Richard then became a Founding Partner of River and Mercantile Asset Management in 2006, responsible for the top quartile performing UK Small company and UK Income Funds and helping grow the business to over £2bn AUM. In 2013 he joined Majedie Asset Management to initially co-manage and then solely run the small companies investments within the flagship UK Equity Service. These investments peaked at over £900m, while overall firm AUM doubled to £15bn during his tenure.

Investment Committee Chairman, Gresham House Strategic plc
Tony has been Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gresham House plc since December 2014. He chairs the Investment Committees of Gresham House plc and Gresham House Strategic plc. He led the management buy-in and established a new management team that transformed the firm from an investment trust into the AIM listed specialist asset manager it is today.
Tony has a long track record of investing and advising numerous public and private equity businesses. From 2002 to 2011, he established and grew SVG Investment Managers before being asked to lead SVG Advisors (formerly Schroder Ventures, London), the global private equity arm of Schroders, as CEO. He started his career at Phillips & Drew Fund Management (later UBS Global Asset Management), one of the UK’s most prominent value investment firms with £60bn in assets under management at its peak. He was also a member of the UK Equity Investment Committee with responsibility for managing over £1.5bn of UK equities.
Tony has over 25 years of experience and holds a Master of Arts in Management Studies from the University of Cambridge (where he was also a junior rugby international and Blue).

Laurence works alongside Richard Staveley in the Strategic Equity team, looking at both public and private equity transactions across a range of sectors for Gresham House Strategic. He also supports fundraising and investment activities for our Real Assets division.
Laurence has a Bachelor’s Degree in Politics with Economics from the University of Warwick. During his studies, Laurence interned at Rothschild & Co, working on the Mergers and Acquisitions Team in the industrial sector, and at Barclays Capital on the equities trading floor

Paul is responsible for corporate finance in the Strategic Public Equity team at Gresham House and joined in 2020.
He was previously at HD Capital Partners (Founder), WH Ireland, Sigma Capital plc and PwC.
He has over 24 years’ corporate finance experience and holds a BSc in Geography from Durham University.
Gresham House Strategic plc Board

David was the former Chairman and CEO of Guinness Mahon, Merchant Bank, (now part of Investec). Between 1981-1989, David was a Managing Director of Samuel Montagu, Midland Montagu and Midland Global Corporate Banking (now HSBC). David was previously a Managing Director of CSFB and its predecessor companies (1969-1981). David is currently a Non-Executive Director of Fundsmith Emerging Equities Trust, Chairman of Illustrated London News and Coeus Software.
He is Chairman of The Bryanston Foundation and a member of the Finance and Investment Committee of the Berkshire Community Foundation. He is a Fellow of Kings College London of which he was formerly Hon Treasurer.
David was appointed Chairman of Gresham House Strategic on it’s creation in 2015.

Charles was an executive with SPARK, the predecessor to Gresham House Strategic plc, from 2001 to 2005 managing early stage technology investments in Aspex, Mergermarket, Kobalt, and Pricerunner. Since leaving that executive role 15 years ago, Charles has worked at Virgin Group building Virgin’s mobile phone and related ventures around the globe, and also at Lloyds Banking Group working on restructuring the bank’s customers, and also the Group’s strategy.
Charles is now with SS&C Technologies Inc a US quoted technology and services business supporting the asset management industry with responsibility for sales and support of the firm’s process automation software. Charles was appointed to the Board on 15 September 2004, and Charles chairs the audit committee.

Helen has an MA in Economics from the University of Cambridge and an MBA from INSEAD Business School. After working in investment banking Helen spent nearly 8 years at 3i plc focusing on MBOs and growth capital investments. She later co-founded Matrix Private Equity (now Mobeus) in early 2000. She subsequently became Managing Director of Matrix Private Equity before moving to take on a portfolio of Non-Executive Director roles in 2005. She is currently a Non-Executive Director of The Income & Growth VCT plc, Mobeus Income & Growth 4 VCT plc, British Smaller Companies VCT plc and North East Finance (Holdco) Ltd. Helen was appointed to the Board on 17 December 2009.

Ken Lever is Chairman of Biffa plc and RPS Group plc and Non-Executive Director of Blue Prism plc and Vertu Motors plc. Ken was previously Chief Executive of Xchanging plc and during his career has held listed company executive board positions with Tomkins
plc, Albright and Wilson plc, Alfred McAlpine plc and private equity owned Numonyx BV.
In his early career Ken qualified as a Chartered Accountant and became a partner in Arthur Andersen. Until 2014 Ken was a member of the UK Accounting Standards Board. He graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Management Sciences.
Investment Committee

Investment Committee Chairman, Gresham House Strategic plc
Tony has been Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gresham House plc since December 2014. He chairs the Investment Committees of Gresham House plc and Gresham House Strategic plc. He led the management buy-in and established a new management team that transformed the firm from an investment trust into the AIM listed specialist asset manager it is today.
Tony has a long track record of investing and advising numerous public and private equity businesses. From 2002 to 2011, he established and grew SVG Investment Managers before being asked to lead SVG Advisors (formerly Schroder Ventures, London), the global private equity arm of Schroders, as CEO. He started his career at Phillips & Drew Fund Management (later UBS Global Asset Management), one of the UK’s most prominent value investment firms with £60bn in assets under management at its peak. He was also a member of the UK Equity Investment Committee with responsibility for managing over £1.5bn of UK equities.
Tony has over 25 years of experience and holds a Master of Arts in Management Studies from the University of Cambridge (where he was also a junior rugby international and Blue).

30 years VC & banking experience. Founded Spark in 1995. Former Investment Committee member at Brandt’s, Credit Suisse, Bank of Montreal and Mitsubishi Finance London. Start-up investor/director of lastminute.com, mergermarket.com, Chairman of Kobalt Music, notonthehighstreet.com, ARC, MAID, amongst others.

Bruce was appointed Chairman of the world’s leading insurance market, Lloyd’s of London, in June 2017 and is also Chairman of Moneysupermarket Group and a Vice Chairman of Banco Santander. He was a Non-Executive Director of JLT Group plc from 2016 to 2017, prior to which he was Non-Executive Chairman of Aon UK Ltd from 2012 to 2015, Senior Independent Director of Catlin Group Ltd from 2010 to 2014 and Chief Executive for Marsh UK and Europe from 2003 to 2006.
He was also a Senior Independent Director of Close Brothers Group plc from 2006 to 2014. He previously worked at JP Morgan for 18 years in a number of senior roles and was Managing Partner of 3i Group plc’s Quoted Private Equity Division from 2007 to 2009. He is President of the Chartered Management Institute.

Graham is the CFO of Escape Hunt and is experienced in fund management and in building both corporate advisory and asset management businesses. Formerly the Fund Manager of Gresham House Strategic. Graham spent six years as a senior executive at PayPoint plc, most recently as director of strategic planning and corporate development.
He was also executive chairman and president of PayByPhone, a multi-national division of PayPoint operating out of Canada, the UK and France between 2010-2014. Graham began his career in audit and corporate finance at Deloitte and Cazenove, and holds an MA in Economics from the University of Cambridge.

Ken is Managing Director, Public Equity, and leads the investment team managing public equity investments. He is lead manager for LF Gresham House UK Micro Cap Fund, LF 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 the past 12 years as a Fund Manager at Livingbridge and now Gresham House specialising in smaller companies.
Investor relations queries
NB: All enquiries concerning your shareholding should be directed to the Company’s Registrar, Link Asset Services. During this challenging time, extra pressure is being put on telephone services. Therefore, to help those shareholders who need it the most, please can we encourage you to make use of the online Share Portal.
To access your shareholding via the Share Portal click here.
Link Asset Services
The Registry
34 Beckenham Road
Beckenham
Kent BR3 4TU
W: www.linkassetservices.com
E: shareholderenquiries@linkgroup.co.uk
T: 0871 664 0300*
Overseas T: +44 (0)20 8639 3399
*Calls to this number are charged at 10p per minute plus your normal network charges.
Shareholder information
View or subscribe to the key shareholder information for this company.
Top 10 Portfolio holdings
Correct as of 28 February 2021 month end NAV announcement
The company is incorporated in England and Wales and its main country of operation is the UK.
The following information is disclosed in accordance with Rule 26 of the AIM Rules and was updated on 30 October 2019.
Business description | About Gresham House Strategic plc >> |
Investing policy | Investing policy >> |
Board of Directors responsibilities and committees | Please see Board and Investment Committee sections |
Investment Manager and Key Personnel | Please see Investment Team section |
Country of incorporation and main country of operation | United Kingdom |
Current constitutional documents | Articles of Association >> |
Details of any other exchanges or trading platforms | There are no other exchanges or trading platforms that GHS has applied or agreed to have its securities admitted or traded |
Number of AIM securities | Please see our significant shareholder section |
Valuation Policy | Valuation policy and NAV publication >> |
Annual accounts | Please see our Annual reports and accounts section |
Company announcements | Please see the RNS section |
Admission document and circulars | Please see Other important company documents section |
Corporate Governance Statement | Corporate Governance Statement >> |
Takeovers and mergers | The company is subject to the provisions of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers |
Advisors & Corporate Information | Please see the Advisor and Corporate Information section |
Audit Committee Terms of Reference | Terms of Reference >> |
Research from Gresham House Strategic plc broker can be found here >>
The Company currently has 3,480,884 ordinary shares in issue, all of which hold voting rights. There are no shares in Treasury. The percentage of securities not in public hands as defined in the AIM rules is 25.97%. There are no restrictions on the ordinary shares and that they are freely transferable.
The top ten shareholders as of 31 January 2021 are:
Shareholder | Number of ordinary shares held | % of total voting rights |
Gresham House plc & GH Holdings Ltd | 812,913 | 23.4% |
Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management | 263,685 | 7.6% |
James Sharp & Co | 241,265 | 6.9% |
Unicorn Asset Management | 217,528 | 6.3% |
Smith & Williamson Investment Management | 172,473 | 5.0% |
Interactive Investor | 154,665 | 4.4% |
Premier Miton Investors | 145,000 | 4.2% |
Investec Wealth & Investment | 121,661 | 3.5% |
Windsor & Maidenhead BC | 105,000 | 3.0% |
Canaccord Genuity Wealth | 71,204 | 2.1% |
To notify the Company of a substantial share holding contact us.
Directors | Auditor |
D R W Potter (Chairman) C R Berry K Lever H R Sinclair | BDO LLP 55 Baker Baker Street London W1U 7EU |
Company Secretary | Solicitors |
SGH Company Secretaries Limited 6th Floor 60 Gracechurch Street London EC3V 0HR | Bracher Rawlins 77 Kingsway Bracher Rawlins London WC2B 6SR |
Registered Office | Registrars |
6th Floor 60 Gracechurch Street London EC3V 0HR | Link Asset Services The Registry 34 Beckenham Road Beckenham Kent BR3 4TU |
Investment Manager | Nominated Advisor and Broker |
Gresham House Asset Management Limited Octagon Point 5 Cheapside London EC2V 6AA | finnCap Ltd 60 New Broad Street London EC2M 1JJ Panmure Gordon & Co 1 New Change London EC4M 9AF |
Bankers | |
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc Abbey Gardens 4 Abbey Street Reading Berkshire RG1 3BA |
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Important Information
This website is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice, an investment recommendation or investment research. All information contained on this website has been provided to you for information purposes only, may not be relied on for any purpose and should not be assumed to be complete, accurate, up to date or fit for a particular purpose.
Certain information contained on this website may from time to time include information that relates to specified investments or regulated activity (Regulated Information). Where appropriate, such Regulated Information will be approved as a financial promotion by Gresham House Asset Management Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with financial services register reference number 682776. Access to, and reliance on, such Regulated Information is subject to the terms and statements regarding risk contained therein. Unless explicitly stated to the contrary, no information on this website is intended as, or should be taken to be, an offer or solicitation with respect to the purchase or sale of any security or interest or other in any jurisdiction. Any decision to purchase securities or interests must be based solely on the information contained in the documents relating thereto, which must be received and reviewed in full, prior to making any investment decision. Prospective investors are reminded that the actual performance realised will depend on numerous factors and circumstances some of which will be specific to the investor.
In addition to any other risk factors contained within Regulated Information available on this web site, investors should note that investments referred to on this website place investors’ capital at risk and could result in a total loss of capital.
Past performance is not indicative of future events.
Prospective investors should seek their own independent financial, tax, legal and other professional advice before making a decision to invest.
Some Regulated Information may relate to Alternative Investment Funds within the meaning of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive and the availability of such information will be subject to the registration of the Alternative Investment Fund in relevant jurisdictions as described in the documents relating thereto. Any dissemination or unauthorised use of information or documents obtained from this website by any person or entity is strictly prohibited.
To the greatest extent permitted by law, Gresham House Asset Management Limited and the members of the Gresham House Group and their affiliates, agents, service providers and professional advisers assume no liability or responsibility and owe no duty of care for any consequences of any person acting or refraining to act in reliance on the information or documents contained on this website or for any decision based on it.
The nature of investment in VCTs
VCTs are a particular type of investment company. They were established by the UK Government with the intention of encouraging investment in smaller, or ‘venture’, UK companies. Investment in VCTs is high-risk and for the long-term. Prospective investors should refer to the detailed risk warnings in the relevant prospectus, but key risks are set out below.
Past performance and risk of loss of capital
The past performance of the VCTs is not a guide to their future performance. The value of a VCT depends on the performance of the underlying assets. The value of the investment and dividend stream from the Gresham House Renewable VCTs can rise and fall. Shareholders may get back less than originally invested, even taking the tax reliefs into account. There can be no guarantee that investment objectives of any of the VCTs will be achieved.
Risks inherent in investing in small companies
Investment in smaller companies which are unquoted, or traded on AIM or ISDX Markets, by its nature, involves a higher degree of risk than investment in larger companies, including those traded on the main market. In particular, smaller companies often have limited product lines, markets or financial resources and may be dependent for their management on a smaller number of key individuals. In addition, the market for shares in smaller companies is often less liquid than that for shares in larger companies, bringing with it potential difficulties in acquiring, valuing and disposing of such shares.
Investments held by the VCTs may be difficult to realise. The fact that a share is traded on AIM or PLUS-Markets does not guarantee its liquidity. The spread between the buying and selling price of such shares may be wide and thus the price used for valuation may not be achievable. Any change of governmental, economic, fiscal, monetary or political policy could materially affect, directly or indirectly, the operation of the VCTs and/or their ability to achieve or maintain VCT status.
Long-term investment and liquidity risks
An investment in a VCT is for the long term. VCT shares are not likely to be easy to sell at full value. Trading in VCT shares is not particularly active, so shares tend to be valued at a discount to their net asset value. In other words, if you seek to sell, you may be offered a price which is less than the full value of the underlying assets. Mechanisms for the buy-back of shares are explained in the annual reports for the VCTs, but you should have no expectation that there will be any buy-back or other opportunity to redeem your interest.
Tax risks
The information on this web site is based on existing legislation, including taxation legislation. The tax reliefs described are those currently available. The tax rules or their interpretation in relation to an investment in the VCTs and/or rates of tax may change during the life of the VCTs and any such changes can be retrospective. Changes in legislation concerning VCTs in general, and qualifying holdings and qualifying trades in particular, may limit the number of new qualifying investment opportunities and/or reduce the level of returns that would otherwise have been achievable. The value of tax reliefs depends on the personal circumstances of the holders of the share in the VCTs, who should consult their own tax advisers before making any investment.
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Company Information
Gresham House is registered in England and Wales under company number 09447087 and has its registered office at 5 New Street Square, London, United Kingdom, EC4A 3TW. Gresham House’s main trading address is at 5 Cheapside, London EC2V 6AA.
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You are attempting to access a section of the website that is not suitable for everyone. This section of our website is intended for Professional Investors only as defined in section 3.5 of the FCA handbook. By clicking ‘Agree’ below you are agreeing that you are a professional investor and eligible to receive information intended only for professional investors.
This website is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice, an investment recommendation or investment research. All information contained on this website has been provided to you for information purposes only, may not be relied on for any purpose and should not be assumed to be complete, accurate, up to date or fit for a particular purpose.
Certain information contained on this website may from time to time include information that relates to specified investments or regulated activity (“Regulated Information”). Where appropriate, such Regulated Information will be approved as a financial promotion by Gresham House Asset Management Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with financial services register reference number 682776. Access to, and reliance on, such Regulated Information is subject to the terms and statements regarding risk contained therein. Unless explicitly stated to the contrary, no information on this website is intended as, or should be taken to be, an offer or solicitation with respect to the purchase or sale of any security or interest or other in any jurisdiction. Any decision to purchase securities or interests must be based solely on the information contained in the documents relating thereto, which must be received and reviewed in full, prior to making any investment decision. Prospective investors are reminded that the actual performance realised will depend on numerous factors and circumstances some of which will be specific to the investor.
In addition to any other risk factors contained within Regulated Information available on this web site, investors should note that investments referred to on this website place investors’ capital at risk and could result in a total loss of capital.
Past performance is not indicative of future events
Prospective investors should seek their own independent financial, tax, legal and other professional advice before making a decision to invest.
Some Regulated Information may relate to Alternative Investment Funds within the meaning of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive and the availability of such information will be subject to the registration of the Alternative Investment Fund in relevant jurisdictions as described in the documents relating thereto. Any dissemination or unauthorised use of information or documents obtained from this website by any person or entity is strictly prohibited.
To the greatest extent permitted by law, Gresham House Asset Management Limited and the members of the Gresham House Group and their affiliates, agents, service providers and professional advisers assume no liability or responsibility and owe no duty of care for any consequences of any person acting or refraining to act in reliance on the information or documents contained on this website or for any decision based on it.
This site uses cookies to improve your user experience. By using this site you agree to these cookies being set. To find out more about our use of cookies please see the Online Privacy and Cookies Policy.
Gresham House is registered in England and Wales under company number 09447087 and has its registered office at 5 New Street Square, London, United Kingdom, EC4A 3TW. Gresham House’s main trading address is at Octagon Point, 5 Cheapside, London EC2V 6AA.