Title: DGW-Onward-Opportunities-Factsheet-March 2025 URL Source: https://is.gd/fyRlAa Published Time: Wed, 25 Jun 2025 09:33:22 GMT Markdown Content: Laurence Hulse Lead Fund Manager Laurence.Hulse@dowgate.co.uk +44 (0) 20 3874 7056 Dowgate Wealth Ltd, registered in England number 12221221, is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is a member of the London Stock Exchange. Registered address: 15 Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1BW Fund Characteristics: To find out more information regarding our investment philosophy, please visit us at https://onwardopportunities. co.uk/our-strategy/ Our investment committee has a combined experience of c.160 years and a history of value creation for clients. As a team, we are convinced that employing an active investment approach for identifying investment opportunities and driving those investments to an outcome can result in higher returns by capitalising on market inefficiencies. To this end the investment committee members and lead manager have £1.8m of ‘skin in the game’, cash directly invested in the fund which is c.5% of the issued capital. Holding Name ONWD ONWD NAV UK AIM All-Share Total Return Launch date Lead Fund Manager Fund currency Fund size Number of equity holdings AIC Sector Fund Structure Administrator Custodian Management fee Performance fee ISA & SIPP eligible Since Inception Q1 2025 1 year 30th March 2023 Laurence Hulse Pound Sterling £29.5m 20 UK Smaller Companies Investment Company Apex Butterfield 1.50%, tapers to 1.0% 12.50% over 6% hurdle Yes > % of > Portfolio 9.8% 9.2% 7.5% 6.6% 6.1% 5.9% 5.7% 5.0% 2.9% 2.9% > Valuation > Value > % Total Return > Source: Bloomberg as at 31.03.2025 ## KEY FACTS The Company will seek to generate absolute returns of at least 15% per annum through investments in UK smaller companies. ## INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE # Onward Opportunities Limited (ONWD LN) # Factsheet: 31 March 2025 ## LEAD FUND MANAGER ## INVESTMENT PHILOSOPHY ## THE TEAM ## PERFORMANCE ## TOP 10 HOLDINGS ## TOP 10 HOLDINGS (%) +24.0% +19.9% -12.0% -10.5% -12.7% -5.4 % +12.7% +5.2% -6.5% > MPAC GROUP > SYNECTICS > ALUMASC > ANGLING DIRECT > TRANSENSE TECHNOLOGIES > THE MISSION GROUP > SPRINGFIELD PROPERTIES > REACT GROUP > LIGHT SCIENCE TECHNOLGIES > LIKEWISE GROUP > Total Returns are net £2.90m £2.71m £2.20m £1.94m £1.81m £1.75m £1.69m £1.48m £0.86m £0.84m 35.1% 22.8% 33.4% 16.7% 23.3% 19.0% 8.20% -8.2% 77.6% 12.3% > Source: Bloomberg as at 31.03.2025 > Source: Apex as at 31.03.2025 This document has been prepared by Dowgate Wealth Limited (“DGW”). Dowgate Wealth Ltd, registered in England number 12221221, is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is a member of the London Stock Exchange. Registered address: 15 Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1BW. All data has been sourced by DGW. Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives and risks as well as charges and expenses of the fund before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information about the fund. If you’re unsure of the suitability of an investment please seek advice. the tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in the future. The value of investments, and any income from them, can fall as well as rise so you could get back less than you invest. The Company had its first disappointing period of investment performance in the two years since launch as the Net Asset Value of the portfolio decreased by -10.5% in the first quarter of 2025, underperforming the UK AIM All-Share which fell -5.4%. This gave back a portion of our first 21-months of investment gains (NAV growth) for the company, which is now +24.0% since inception and means that the portfolio has outperformed the UK AIM All-Share by 36.0% since launch. This weakness was triggered by a material reduction is risk sentiment across global asset classes as the US President ‘shocked’ the world with the initiation of a trade war and seeming disregard for market volatility or institutional norms such as Federal Reserve Bank independence. Our smaller, less liquid equity holdings were particularly punished on little volume despite good operating performance in many cases and the fact none are direct tariff victims. Examples since the start of the year would include Springfield Properties with a material disposal at 1.3x book value (paying off all of its debt, shares trade at a material discount to that valuation), The Mission Group disposing 20% of its profits for 75% of its market cap, Angling Direct beating forecasts in a tough backdrop, Synectics beating forecasts for the 4 time in a year and upgrading next year and MPAC in-line with a record order book. Despite this, these holdings were down between 15% and 50% from their January highs. We again tactically built-up cash reserves at the start of the year, based on concerns around an upcoming ‘spring statement’ by the Chancellor rather than prophetic views on the US, which has proved timely, ending the quarter with c.20% cash that can capitalise on recent events and the team had the discipline to not deploy any until the first week of April. > th In January The Mission Group announced material progress with the disposal strategy we have vocally supported, disposing of April6 for 7x EBIT and a consideration of £14m versus a market cap for the entire business of £20m. April6 was only 20% of the group profits, but sold for 75% of the market cap highlighting the value on offer and the neatness of the transaction. The use of proceeds was to pay off the majority of the group’s debt, so what has been lost in operating profit has been materially reclaimed in reduced interest costs. Applying the same multiple to the groups remaining profits provides a valuation of £60m; following recent market volatility the groups EV is now materially lower than it was before the disposal. Springfield provided another exciting update in January as our debt-reduction through land parcel disposals thesis took a very large step forward with a land sale to Barrat of £64m at around 1.3x book value – the SPR shares trade at 0.7x TNAV at a market cap of £117m. In tandem we have been following up our work on the appeals of the group’s pivot to the highlands for housebuilding activity, where the company owns further large banks of land. Here, what is interesting is the structural need for housing to facilitate material investment going into the regions freeport and green power line, where thousands of homes are needed for workers and then communities. Synectics produced some stellar FY24 results in the quarter, coming in 10% ahead of a three-times-upgraded profit target, materially ahead on cash generation, and a record order book. New CEO Amanda Larnder has hit the ground running and credit must go to her and the team for an immediate impact. Perhaps most telling was the decision to upgrade the new current year, months earlier than the same decision was able to be taken last year. The business is starting to leverage its expertise in security surveillance for casino control rooms into other high-value or sensitive sites such as infrastructure sites, data centres and authorities. Recent contract wins with the National Grid, West Midlands Police and the German metro system are all verification of the enhanced strategy to accelerate organic growth overseen by the new Chair Bob Holt. We are also aware of several very large Casino projects globally over the next 5- years where the stellar customer refencing on the business left the team feeling the company is well placed to grow in the years to come in this market. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future performance. We believe the information provided here is reliable but should not be assumed to be accurate or complete. This factsheet is a marketing communication document. All information accurate as at 31 March 2025 Sources for all tables and images: Dowgate Wealth 31.03.2025 The Key Information Document (KIID) and Admission Document are available, in English, free of charge and can be obtained directly using the contact details in this document. They can also be downloaded from: https://onwardopportunities.co.uk/document-centre/ ## PERFORMANCE COMMENTARY ## THE MISSION GROUP (TMG LN) - CORE ## HOLDING UPDATE ## SYNECTICS (SNX LN) - CORE HOLDING ## UPDATE ## SPRINGFIELD PROPERTIES (SPR LN) - CORE ## HOLDING UPDATE ## DISCLAIMERS 15 Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1BW Phone: +44 (0)20 3416 9143 Email: funds@dowgate.co.uk