News from Frostrow Capital

Launch and New Mandates

01 Jul 2007

Today sees the launch of Frostrow Capital, a new independent boutique provider of management services to investment companies, as the partnership also announces three new investment trust clients. Frostrow Capital is unique in being exclusively dedicated to performing the entire executive function for investment companies, with the exception of portfolio management.

Headed by Alastair Smith, formerly Managing Director of Close Finsbury Asset Management Limited and previously Head of Investment Trust Operations at Schroder Investment Management Limited, Frostrow Capital is majority owned by its executive team. Frostrow Capital has attracted an experienced team of investment company professionals including Grant Challis, Mark Pope and Tracy Arthur. All four were previously part of the Investment Trust team within Close Investments Limited, a subsidiary of Close Brothers Group plc.

Frostrow Capital aims to win mandates from investment companies that require a quality service and whose boards prefer to separate the company management and investment management functions. With access to the investment industry’s leading advisers and investors, Frostrow Capital will be actively seeking to launch new investment companies.

New client mandates

Frostrow Capital LLP is delighted to announce its appointment as the manager of three prominent London Stock Exchange listed investment trusts.

The Boards of Finsbury Growth & Income Trust PLC, The Biotech Growth Trust PLC and Finsbury Worldwide Pharmaceutical Trust PLC have today issued announcements concerning the appointment of Frostrow Capital, with immediate effect.

Finsbury Growth & Income Trust PLC is a UK equity portfolio and as of 5th April 2007 had a market capitalisation of approximately £172m. The trust was launched in 1926 and Lindsell Train Limited is its investment manager.

Finsbury Worldwide Pharmaceutical Trust PLC was launched in 1995 and consists of a global portfolio of pharmaceutical and biotechnology stocks. The Biotech Growth Trust PLC is focused purely on smaller biotechnology companies and was launched in 1997. As of 5th April 2007 their respective market capitalisations were approximately £250m and £72m and both have OrbiMed Capital LLC acting as their investment manager.

All three investment trusts will retain their existing investment managers.

Frostrow Capital is actively working with the former provider of the management services, Close Investments, to achieve an efficient and successful handover of responsibilities.

Frostrow Capital Managing Partner, Alastair Smith, commented:

“We have assembled an excellent team of proven investment company specialists and are all very excited to be launching our new enterprise. I very much look forward to working with the directors of the three boards that have appointed us to date and to providing a quality service to them and their shareholders into the future.”

Grant Challis, Partner – Business Development, added:

“We believe there is a real need for a boutique approach to managing investment companies. Currently, for virtually all investment companies, this function is either performed by specialist fund managers who would rather be spending their time picking stocks or it is a non-core activity within large investment houses. In neither case are shareholder interests likely to be as well served as they could be by an independent specialist such as Frostrow Capital.”