SDCL Efficiency Income Trust’s (SEIT’s) FY26 results show a portfolio that continues to perform operationally, but the investment proposition has shifted decisively to realising value, reducing debt and returning cash to shareholders in the shortest practicable timeframe. Portfolio EBITDA was c £91m in CY25, up from c £86m in CY24, including assets sold post year-end, while NAV/share was reduced to 77.8p at 31 March from 90.6p, and the portfolio valuation fell to c £1.1bn in FY26 from c £1.2bn. The valuation reduction primarily reflects asset-specific changes to growth, development timing and regulatory assumptions, rather than a broad deterioration in the quality of the underlying assets. SEIT paid three interim dividends totalling 4.8p/share, covered 1.0x by cash, but did not declare a fourth interim dividend. The board’s focus is now to maximise cash available to shareholders, with future returns to be made by the most appropriate mechanism once the revolving credit facility (RCF) has been substantially reduced.

SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) published a circular setting out the proposed managed wind-down and a general meeting for 10 July 2026. Shareholders are being asked to approve three resolutions: adoption of a wind-down Investment Objective and Policy, cancellation of the share premium account to create further distributable reserves and removal of the Continuation Vote provisions. Resolution 1 is an ordinary resolution, while Resolutions 2 and 3 are special resolutions; Resolution 3 is conditional on Resolution 1. The share premium cancellation also requires court sanction. If approved, SEIT will stop making new investments outside the existing portfolio and focus on orderly realisations, balancing timely cash returns and value. Proceeds will reduce borrowings before cash is returned. The board will not declare a fourth interim dividend for FY26 and will suspend interim dividends, except as required to maintain investment trust status.

SDCL Efficiency Income Trust’s (SEIT’s) board has announced that it intends to pursue a managed wind-down of its investment portfolio after recent shareholder consultation made clear there was insufficient support for the manager-backed Strategic Proposal. This is a significant outcome, because the board and the manager initially concluded the Strategic Proposal represented the most credible route to creating value materially in excess of the current share price over the medium to long term. Some shareholder feedback in the weeks prior to the announcement indicated a preference for liquidity, given the discount the shares continue to trade at (c 50% to NAV), rather than backing a more complex corporate transformation. The board concluded there was insufficient support to pass the special resolution required to implement the proposal. In that context, the move to a managed wind-down reflects shareholder preference, rather than a change in the board’s view that the alternative proposal had strategic merit.