Dividend Reset and Declaration

Highlights

• Review of level and funding of the Company’s dividend has been concluded; Board believes that an increased, but still sustainable, level of dividend will benefit existing shareholders and enhance the attractiveness of the Company’s shares. 
• Third interim dividend for 2021 reset at an increased level of 5.825p; fourth interim dividend for 2021 expected to be declared at the same level.
• Total dividend for 2021 expected to be 19.054p, an increase of 32.5% on the 2020 dividend.
• From the reset level, the Board expects to continue to extend the Company’s track record of increasing ordinary dividends year-on-year for 2022 and beyond.
•  Investment objective¹ and strategy and Dividend Policy remain unchanged; well supported by significant distributable reserves which stood at over £3.3 billion as at 30 June 2021².

1. The Company aims to be a core investment for investors, delivering a real return over the long term through a combination of capital growth and a rising dividend.

2.  The Company’s unaudited distributable reserves at 30 June 2021, adjusting for the subsequent reclassification of the Company’s merger reserve into a distributable reserve, were £3,326m. Of these, the Company’s revenue reserve was £98m, realised capital reserves were £2,659m and unrealised capital reserves were £569m. Both elements of the capital reserves are readily convertible to cash. In the event that the Company were to distribute any reserve funds in the future, it may require realisation of some of the Company’s assets to the value of the funds being distributed less any cash resources available to the Company at the time.