First Day of Dealings on AIM
Newly launched investment company with UK smaller company focus
Dowgate Wealth today confirms the launch of Onward Opportunities Limited (“the Company”), following its listing on AIM (at 8.00am this morning, 30 March 2023), with initial investments of £12.7m. Dowgate Wealth will provide portfolio management services to the Company, with the investment team led by Investment Director Laurence Hulse (the “Portfolio Manager”). A link to the full RNS is here.
The Company’s investment objective is to seek to generate risk-adjusted absolute returns to shareholders through investments in UK smaller companies, creating a portfolio of around 20-25 specialist UK smaller companies – predominantly listed on the London Stock Exchange – with an investment time horizon of three to five years. The team will deploy a tried and tested investment process, combined with a truly active approach to stock selection and high levels of engagement with the portfolio investments to catalyse the value that has been identified.
The appointed Board of the Company and the Portfolio Manager believe that a structural market opportunity exists in the UK smaller companies sector which can be exploited through the deep industry experience of the Portfolio Manager. The Board and the Portfolio Manager consider that implementing an active investment approach to investment identification and position management can lead to increased returns by targeting these inefficiencies.
The investment team has a wealth of experience of investing in UK smaller companies and a track record of building businesses. Dowgate Wealth was founded in 2020 by a team of ex-Hargreave Hale investment professionals led by CEO, Mark Chadwick.
Laurence Hulse joined the team in 2022 from Gresham House, where he ultimately co-managed the Strategic Public Equity Fund LP and LF Gresham House Smaller Companies Fund and deputised on Gresham House Strategic plc (now Rockwood Strategic plc). All of these small cap funds were outperformers and latterly, Laurence was Citywire AA-rated whilst at Gresham House. The wider Onward Opportunities investment team, led by Laurence, includes Tom Teichman, Jay Patel, Mark Chadwick and David Poutney.
Laurence Hulse, Investment Director at Dowgate Wealth commented: “We are pulling together for clients, the three core ingredients to make money; a clear market opportunity, a bespoke strategy to capture it and the people required to execute the plan. This launch puts in place the foundations to grow an investment company that can actively engage with UK smaller companies where we identify value. I would like to extend my thanks to our seed investors and the whole team for providing this fantastic onward opportunity to build upon.”
Andrew Henton, Board Chair, Onward Opportunities Limited added: ““We believe that a structural gap exists within the UK smaller companies sector which can be exploited through the deep industry experience of the investment team. Our strategy involves an active approach to identifying investee companies and engaging with them. In so doing we will both support the growth companies that are the driving force of enterprise in the UK whilst also taking advantage of valuation inefficiencies to underpin returns.”
Mark Chadwick, CEO of Dowgate Wealth concluded: “Dowgate Wealth is excited to be launching our first investment company, which sits right at home amongst the team’s small cap investing heritage. The market volatility of 2022 has created a statistically interesting time to deploy capital into robust, well-researched investment ideas in the UK. We are confident that Onward Opportunities will prove to be a popular proposition for investors looking for an innovative product that can provide absolute returns.”
Onward Opportunities Limited: key facts
