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Murray Income Trust PLC
Annual Report 30 June 2025
An investment trust founded in 1923 aiming
for high and growing income with capital growth
LondonMetric, a new holding
purchased by the Company, invests
in property across Logistics,
Entertainment & Leisure,
Convenience and Healthcare.
Thorpe Park is one of four theme
parks owned by LondonMetric.
Front cover image: Looking East along the River Clyde
in Glasgow, to the Clyde Arc and the Finnieston Crane
Murray Income Trust PLC 1
Peter Tait, Chair
Investment Objective
The Company aims for a high and
growing income combined with capital
growth through investment in a portfolio
principally of UK equities.
Scan the QR Code below with a suitable
device to be directed to the Company’s
website where you can register for email
alerts relating to the Company:
Strategic Report
Chair’s Statement 4
Investment Manager’s Report 8
Performance 17
Financial Highlights and Dividends 19
Overview of Strategy 20
Promoting the Success of the Company 28
Portfolio
Ten Largest Investments 31
Portfolio 32
Sector Comparison with the Benchmark 34
Summary of Investment Changes During the Year 35
Governance
Board of Directors 38
Directors’ Report 41
Statement of Corporate Governance 50
Directors’ Remuneration Report 51
Audit Committee Report 55
Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities 58
Independent Auditors’ Report to the
Members of Murray Income Trust PLC 59
Financial Statements
Statement of Comprehensive Income 68
Statement of Financial Position 69
Statement of Changes in Equity 70
Statement of Cash Flows 71
Notes to the Financial Statements 72
Corporate Information
Information about the Manager including
Investment Process 93
Investor Information 99
AIFMD Disclosures (Unaudited) 102
General
Alternative Performance Measures 104
Glossary of Terms 107
Notice of Annual General Meeting 108
Additional Shareholder Information 113
Contents
2 Murray Income Trust PLC
Net asset value total return
ABC
Share price total return
AB
+2.7% +4.3%
2024: +9.9% 2024: +7.6%
Benchmark total return
AD
Ongoing charges
B
+11.2% 0.48%
2024: +13.0% 2024: 0.50%
Earnings per share (revenue) Dividend per share
38.6
p
40.00
p
2024: 37.4p 2024: 38.50p
Discount to net asset value
BC
Dividend yield
B
9.6% 4.7%
2024: 10.5% 2024: 4.5%
A
Total return as defined on page 106.
B
Considered to be an Alternative Performance Measure. Further details can be found on pages 104 to 106.
C
With debt at fair value.
D
The Company’s benchmark is the FTSE All-Share Index.
Net Asset Value per share
c
Dividends per share Mid-market price per share
At 30 June – pence Year ended 30 June – pence At 30 June – pence
835.7
871.0
911.7
957.9
944.8
21 22 23 24 25
34.50
36.00
37.…
38.50
40.00
21 22 23 24 25
871.0
832.0
837.0
857.0
854.0
21 22 23 24 25
Performance Hi
g
hli
g
hts
Murray Income Trust PLC 3
Strategic
Report
AstraZeneca, the Company’s second largest investment at 30
June 2025, operates a state-of-the-art global R&D facility in
the heart of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. Home to
more than 2,000 scientists working in drug discovery and
development across multiple lines, the facility is uniquely
designed to strengthen collaboration, promote openness, and
improve the sustainability of every aspect of AstraZeneca’s
science and business operations.
4 Murray Income Trust PLC
Highlights
· Announcement by the Board in early July of a strategic
review in the pursuit of delivering improved
performance and returns for shareholders, with an
outcome expected by the end of 2025
· Annual dividend increased by 3.9%, the 52
nd
consecutive
annual increase
· Net Asset Value (“NAV”) total return
AB
of 2.7% for the
year
· Share price total return
A
of 4.3%
· Both performance numbers disappointing against the
11.2% total return of the FTSE All-Share Index
· Discount reduced modestly from 10.5% to 9.6% over the
year
A
Considered to be an Alternative Performance Measure. Further details may be found
on page 106.
B
With debt at fair value.
In my previous annual statement, I highlighted the
turbulence experienced by equity markets in the year
ending 30 June 2024. I can report that the subsequent
year ending 30 June 2025 has been equally - if not more -
volatile. Persistent global geopolitical tensions, ongoing
trade disputes, and regional conflicts have continued to
fuel significant uncertainty and volatility globally.
This environment of instability has not been helped by the
new Government’s first Budget, announced last October,
which introduced substantial increases in National
Insurance contributions for employers, along with other
fiscal measures aimed at addressing the budget deficit.
These domestic policy shifts, combined with the broader
international climate, have contributed to periodic
fluctuations and instability in both UK and global
financial markets.
Despite the backdrop, however, both international and
domestic equity markets have remained remarkably
sanguine overall, with the MSCI Developed World Index
(sterling) rising by 7.7% and the UK FTSE All-Share Index
(the “Benchmark”) rising by 11.2% over the Year. The
Board recognises and shares shareholders’
disappointment that, against this backdrop, the
Company’s NAV and share price returns over the year
were only 2.7% and 4.3%, once again lagging behind the
Benchmark. In fact, the Company is now trailing the
Benchmark over one, three, five and ten years.
Investment Performance
Shareholders will find a detailed review of the Manager’s
strategy and full details of performance over the period in
the Investment Manager’s Report on pages 8 to 16.
Headline performance figures may be found in the
below table.
From 30 June 2025 to 8 September 2025, being the latest
practicable date prior to approval of this Report, the NAV
per share (with debt at fair value) returned 2.8% as
compared to 5.3% for the FTSE All-Share Index (both
figures on a total return basis). The share price total return
was 5.9%, reflecting the discount narrowing from 9.6% to
6.9% since the announcement by the Company of a
strategic review (see below).
One year ended
30 June 2025
3 years ended
30 June 2025
(annualised)
5 years ended
30 June 2025
(annualised)
10 years ended
30 June 2025
(annualised)
Performance (total return) % % % %
Share price
AB
4.3 5.6 6.7 6.5
Net asset value per Ordinary share
ABC
2.7 7.1 7.5 6.5
FTSE All-Share 11.2 10.7 10.8 6.8
Source: Aberdeen & Morningstar
A
Total return as defined on page 106.
B
Considered to be an Alternative Performance Measure. Further details may be found on pages 104 to 106.
C
With debt at fair value.
Chair’s Statement
Murray Income Trust PLC 5
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Strategic Review
The Board has been actively assessing the Manager’s
performance over an extended period, including a
comprehensive review of the portfolio’s holdings and a
deep analysis of the underlying causes of the
underperformance. The Board has engaged with senior
leadership at Aberdeen on multiple occasions and
undertook a comprehensive review, in early 2025, of the
Manager’s investment process including engaging with
the investment manager, in order to better understand
the factors behind the portfolio performance. The Chair
and the Senior Independent Director also recently met
with several of the Company’s major shareholders to hear
their views given the underperformance of the Company.
Despite the Board’s continued efforts and the
implementation of initiatives aimed at improving
performance and shareholder value, there has been little
sign of improved performance. The Board, which has a
duty to act independently in the best interests of
shareholders, therefore concluded that it was appropriate
to undertake a review of the Company’s strategic options.
As part of the review announced in July 2025, which
remains ongoing, the Board is considering proposals
regarding the Company’s future and its management
arrangements from a range of candidates, including third
party investment managers, other investment companies,
and the incumbent Manager. The Board is taking into
account factors including historic record, portfolio
construction, investment philosophy, investment
management structure, income generation, risk controls
and commitment to investment trusts. The objective of the
strategic review is to evaluate all aspects of the Company
in the pursuit of delivering improved performance and
returns for its shareholders, while continuing to provide an
attractive dividend yield from a portfolio predominantly
focused on UK equities.
The Board will update shareholders on the progress of the
strategic review as appropriate and expects that the
review will be concluded during the fourth quarter of 2025.
Dividend
On 31 July 2025, the Company announced its 52
nd
consecutive year of growing dividends. For the year
ended 30 June 2025, the dividend increased from 38.5p to
40.0p per share, a rise of 3.9%. Revenue per share for the
year was 38.6p, a 3.2% increase on last year’s 37.4p. As a
result of the dividend payment exceeding the revenue per
share for the year, total revenue reserves fell modestly
from 55% to 54% of the current annual dividend. The
Board is committed to the continuation of a progressive
dividend. The Fourth Interim Dividend of 11.5p per share
was paid, on 11 September 2025, to shareholders on the
register on 15 August 2025; the ex-dividend date is
14 August 2025.
Discount and Share Buybacks
Across the industry, investment trusts continue to
undertake share buybacks to help reduce the volatility
and level of discounts to net asset value in the sector. In
the six months to end June 2025, the level of buybacks
across the sector reached £4.8 billion compared to £3.6
billion in the first half of 2024.
Despite the level of buybacks, discounts across the
investment trust sector continue to trade at above
average levels, although these discounts have narrowed
somewhat during 2025, falling from a sector average
(excluding 3i) of about 15% at the beginning of 2025 to
about 12.8% as we go to press. The average figure
includes the discounts attributable to some of the less
liquid investment trusts such as private equity trusts and
trusts in the alternative sector. Discounts in the quoted
equity sector are, however, still higher than average,
except where strong performance has driven demand for
the underlying trusts’ shares.
The Company bought back 6.8 million shares over the
Year, representing 6.5% (2024: 6.3%) of the shares
outstanding at the beginning of July 2024. These shares
were bought at an weighted average discount of 10.9%,
with a corresponding positive impact on the NAV total
return of 0.7% over the Year. The shares bought back are
kept in Treasury, meaning there is the potential for them to
be reissued should the Company return to a sustained
premium to NAV in the future.
As at 30 June 2025, there were 97,912,184 (2024:
104,685,001) Ordinary 25p shares in issue with voting
rights and 21,617,348 (2024: 14,844,531) shares held
in Treasury.
The Board monitors the discount level closely and will
again be requesting shareholders’ approval at the AGM to
renew the Company’s buyback and issuance powers.
Gearing
The Company’s net gearing was 11.0% at 30 June 2025
(2024: 9.0%) and the Board’s policy towards gearing
remained unchanged during the Year.
The Company has in place £100 million of long-term
borrowings made up of £40m loan notes redeemable at
par in November 2027 and £60 million loan notes
6 Murray Income Trust PLC
redeemable at par in May 2029. These combined have a
weighted interest cost of 3.6%.
As reported at the interim stage, the Company refinanced
its £30 million of bank borrowings in October 2024 by
entering into a new three-year multi-currency revolving
credit facility of £30 million with the Royal Bank of Scotland
International, London Branch (the “Facility”). At the year
end the Company had drawn down £6.1 million from the
Facility.
Board Composition
Alan Giles retired from the Board at the conclusion of the
AGM in November 2024 and was succeeded as Senior
Independent Director by Stephanie Eastment. Nandita
Sahgal Tully replaced Stephanie as Chair of the Audit
Committee. Andrew Page was appointed a Director on 17
January 2025. All directors are non-executive and are
independent of the Manager.
Investment Process and People
Our Manager’s investment process continues to be
focused on the search for good quality companies at
attractive valuations, with the potential for sustainable
dividend growth - further detail may be found on pages
8 to 16.
As part of the process of reviewing the performance of
the Company, Ian Hewett was added to the team during
the course of the Year to bring additional breadth to the
research process, working alongside Charles Luke, who
has been our lead portfolio manager since 2006, and
Rhona Millar.
Looking to the Future
Normally, in this section of the Report, I would look ahead
to the prospects for UK equities, considering the various
issues likely to impact the portfolio and share price. These
include geo-political events, the global appetite for UK
equities, and how costs are calculated and published for
the investment trust sector as a whole. However, given
that the Board has recently announced a strategic review,
I thought I would share some thoughts about why we have
embarked upon such a review.
Investing requires a long-term perspective, and our
manager, Charles Luke, has been managing the
Company since 2006. During that time there have been
periods of both outperformance and underperformance.
There have also been numerous cycles in the market,
ranging from ‘fear and greed’ during and after the credit
crisis in 2007-2009, through the Euro crisis in 2011, the
Brexit referendum in 2016 and, more recently, the impact
felt by the Covid outbreak and the invasion of Ukraine.
There have been thematic market cycles, with Value
investing and Quality or Growth investing going in and out
of fashion, often for a number of years at a time. The
investment trust sector itself has also been going through
a period of turmoil recently, and we are seeing an
increasing amount of activity as Boards explore ways of
delivering consistently good returns for shareholders.
Throughout all of this, your Board has focused on shutting
out short-term noise to maintain a long-term investment
perspective. The Manager adopts a quality income
growth strategy and the Board understands that this can
go in and out of fashion. Since the end of the credit crisis in
2009, for example, there have been four discernible cycles
in the five-year relative return profile of the Murray
Income portfolio. There have been two periods where the
relative return was positive; 2009 - mid 2014 and 2018 –
late 2021. There have also been two periods of
underperformance; mid 2014 – mid 2018 and since
late 2021.
Whilst the Board acknowledges and appreciates the
dedication of the Manager and the longstanding tenure of
Charles Luke, this current period of underperformance
has already lasted for approaching five years and has
been significant in its scale, impacting both the five year
and the 10-year relative performance numbers against
the Benchmark and also against the UK equity indices with
a quality focus. The persistent underperformance has led
to the Company trading at a sustained discount to NAV in
recent years, despite a significant level of share buybacks.
In the light of these challenges, the strategic review was
launched. The Board has received a large number of high
quality proposals as part of the review process and we
look forward to providing a further update to shareholders
in due course.
Online Shareholder Presentation
The Company expects to hold a shareholder webinar
after the conclusion of the strategic review.
Annual General Meeting
The Company is holding its AGM at 12.30 pm on Tuesday 4
November 2025 at Wallacespace Spitalfields, 15 Artillery
Lane, London E1 7HA.
I always welcome questions from our shareholders at the
AGM. Alternatively, shareholders may submit questions
prior to the AGM by sending an email to:
murray.income@aberdeenplc.com
Chair’s Statement
Continued
Murray Income Trust PLC 7
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Shareholders will find enclosed with this Annual Report an
Invitation Card and Form of Proxy for use in relation to the
AGM. Whether or not you are attending the AGM,
shareholders are encouraged to complete the Form of
Proxy, for which the latest date of receipt by the registrar,
MUFG Corporate Markets, is 12.30pm on 31 October 2025.
Completion of a Form of Proxy does not prevent a
shareholder from attending and voting in person at
the AGM.
Shareholders who wish to attend and/or vote at the AGM
and hold their shares via a platform will need to make
arrangements with the administrator of their platform.
Further details on how to attend and vote at company
meetings for holders of shares via platforms can be found
at: www.theaic.co.uk/aic/how-to-vote-your-shares.
Shareholders wishing to attend the AGM and who are
unsure how to register are invited to send an email to:
murray.income@aberdeenplc.com.
Peter Tait
Chair
11 September 2025
8 Murray Income Trust PLC
Dear Shareholders
To begin with, I should like to express my disappointment
and apologise for the relative performance of the portfolio
over recent years. I have managed the portfolio for almost
19 years now and it has been the honour and privilege of
my career to help look after your investments.
Underperformance is painful for me both emotionally and
financially (given the majority of my family’s savings are
invested in the shares of the Company) but I have
continued to buy more shares as I firmly believe that we
are on the right path for continued long term success
which I hope the comments and explanation below will
make clear.
This review is structured around the following three
questions that I think our shareholders care about most,
together with additional sections on Performance,
Portfolio Changes, Income and finishing with an Outlook.
1. Despite a period of lacklustre performance, is there a
clear and sensible investment strategy?
2. Are we doing “what we say on the tin”?
3. Is there any reason to think that the portfolio cannot
outperform in future?
1. A clear and sensible investment strategy?
At the time of the merger with Perpetual Income &
Growth Trust, almost five years ago, we set out our
investment proposition based on being ‘
Dependable,
Diversified and Differentiated
’. Dependable referenced a
focus on high-quality companies, the North Star for the
portfolio, together with a patient buy and hold investment
approach characterised by turnover typically below 20%
on an underlying basis (excluding sales to fund the
buyback of the Company’s shares). Our company and
sector exposure for both capital and income was to be
sensibly diversified together with a healthy exposure to
Mid Cap companies and some overseas companies to
access industries not available to UK-only investors. We
believed that compared to other UK equity income funds,
these attributes coupled with investing through an ESG
lens all provided differentiation. We arrived at these
characteristics many years before because academic
studies (see for example Asness, Frazzini and Pederson
(2019), Dimson, Marsh and Staunton (2021), Barberis and
Huang (2008) and Whelan, Atz, Van Holt and Clark (2020))
and empirical validation suggested that this combination
provided a high likelihood of long-term success and
supported the Company’s excellent track record of
dividend growth. In short, the strategy aims to provide a
diversified portfolio of ‘Leaders in their field’ benefiting
from long term structural growth potential while providing
capital resilience in challenging markets. In rising markets
the portfolio would be expected to perform less well on a
relative basis (as demonstrated by its low beta) but
preserving wealth is a key function of the focus on Quality
for which the entire arc of the portfolio is focused: there is
a significant value in this consistency, but it only becomes
apparent when markets perform less strongly than they
have done over the past five years or so.
It is worth providing a little more detail on the way we think
about potential investments. There are three factors that
matter to us. Firstly, and most importantly the quality of a
business. We ask ourselves questions such as does the
business have a sustainable competitive advantage
(probably the most important question), does it have a
high return on capital, are the financial characteristics
strong and can we trust management based on their
track record? (in its equity research, the Manager ranks
each company’s quality characteristics with 1 being the
best and 5 being the worst and have made clear that we
won’t invest in companies that are scored a 4 or 5.) The
second factor is valuation and as Warren Buffett famously
suggested ‘Price is what you pay, value is what you get’.
Realistically, price paid is our only controllable and we aim
to buy high-quality businesses below their intrinsic value
helping to provide a margin of safety. Thirdly, given that
we have an income mandate, we think about income
which in itself is a good thing. Whoever said ‘dividend
investing is like watching paint dry – until you realise the
wall is worth a fortune’ was on the right track. Dividends
provide a valuation backstop, reduce agency risk and are
the main driver of long-term returns.
As we will discuss, although the period since the merger
has not been conducive to investing in high-quality
companies, this is a relatively short timeframe compared
to the Company’s 52 years of dividend growth, and we
remain highly confident that this is an attractive and
sensible investment approach. Indeed, if we extend the
aperture by a couple of years the share price
performance has been ahead of the Benchmark.
2. A
re we doing what we say on the tin?
Are we investing in high-quality businesses? This can be
resoundingly answered with ‘yes’, from both a qualitative
and quantitative perspective. We believe the holdings in
the portfolio are all ‘Leaders in their field’.
Quality comes in various shapes and sizes. The
characteristics of a high-quality business tend to share
patterns. Examples of these patterns within portfolio
holdings are included in the table below:
Investment Mana
g
er’s Report
Murray Income Trust PLC 9
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Patterns of quality
Recurring revenues Convatec, Relx
R&D AstraZeneca, Genus
Brand strength Coca-Cola EuroPacific,
L’Oreal
Mission critical products Bunzl, Rotork
Capital light compounders Experian, London Stock
Exchange
Founder-influenced
businesses
Dunelm, Telecom Plus
Pricing power Haleon, Games Workshop
Giants in niches ASML, Moonpig
Network effects Kone, Mastercard
Furthermore, much of the portfolio is aligned with
attractive long term growth opportunities and, in
particular, four enduring long-term trends as highlighted in
the table below:
Enduring long term trends
Ageing populations AstraZeneca, Convatec,
Haleon, Reckitt Benckiser
Energy transition Air Liquide, Genuit, National
Grid, Oxford Instruments,
Rotork, SSE, Total Energies
Digital transformation ASML, Experian, Mastercard,
Microsoft, Relx, Sage
Emerging global wealth Coca-Cola EuroPacific, DBS,
Inchcape, Kone, L'Oreal,
Unilever
We believe that the high-quality nature of the companies,
with the tailwinds of these significant trends, should
provide the earnings growth to maintain the portfolio’s
exceptional long term dividend growth track record. The
unique benefits of the investment trust structure afford the
ability to think in terms of decades and our focus on
companies with enduring long-term trends plays to the
benefits of this theme.
Quantitatively, the quality characteristics shine through as
well. Typical measures of portfolio quality such as
profitability and capital efficiency measures, and earnings
stability are high in absolute terms and considerably more
attractive than the Benchmark as a whole (for example, in
aggregate, the return on equity and return on assets of
the portfolio holdings was 21.4% and 7.1% respectively,
compared to the Benchmark at 11.6% and 5.5%,
respectively, as at 30 June 2025).
The ingredients on the ‘tin’ also include diversification with
shareholders’ capital sensibly diversified across different
sectors of the market and also individual companies
helping to reduce risk. We have maintained a healthy Mid
Cap exposure on the basis that this aids growth,
diversification, and these companies are more likely to be
the recipients of corporate activity. 18% of the portfolio is
invested in overseas-listed companies increasing the
opportunity set and providing access to attractive
industries such as elevators (Kone), cosmetics (L’Oreal),
artificial intelligence (Microsoft and Accton Technology)
and industrial gases (Air Liquide) not available in the UK
and helping to diversify the portfolio. Whilst the Company
does not have a sustainability objective, ESG is integrated
into the investment process. Our ESG focus is
independently acknowledged through the ‘AA’ MSCI
rating, one of the highest ratings across the wider sector.
This focus informs our view on tobacco: research suggests
that over half of all smokers will die from tobacco-related
diseases. As such, it would seem to be incongruous to
invest in these companies.
3. Is there any reason to think that the portfolio cannot
outperform in future?
We believe the portfolio is populated by high-quality
companies that are ‘Leaders in their field’ however we are
cognisant that an expensive portfolio of high-quality
companies is not necessarily a recipe for outperformance.
We do not believe this applies to the portfolio and think the
portfolio is currently excellent value. At 30 June 2025, the
portfolio traded on a P/E multiple of 14.5x compared to
the Benchmark on 13.5x: in simple terms marginally more
expensive than the Benchmark but it should be
remembered that companies with high returns can either
grow faster or return more cash to shareholders than
average companies and should therefore trade on a
higher P/E multiple. The attractive valuation of the
portfolio is supported by our intrinsic value analysis of the
holdings which suggests that the portfolio is trading in
aggregate on around a 20% discount to its intrinsic value
(using an 8% discount rate). Or in other words, if the
portfolio value increased by 20%, we would then expect
an eight percent total return per year (marginally above
the annualised UK market return over the past 40 years). If
we reduced the required return to seven percent
(marginally above the annualised UK market return over
the past 30 years) then we think the portfolio is around
forty percent undervalued. This value differential does not
10 Murray Income Trust PLC
take into account the discount between the net asset
value of the company and the share price which provides
additional upside. Furthermore, the value inherent in the
portfolio is not just based on our views but also confirmed
by comments in meetings in recent months with the
Chairs of some of our holdings who have described their
companies as ‘catastrophically undervalued’, ‘immensely
underpriced’ and ‘worth 2-2.5x the current share price’. A
broader indication of the value inherent in the portfolio is
reflected by the share buyback activity of the holdings
with over half the holdings buying back their shares during
the year.
As we look forward, we think the portfolio has attractive
quality characteristics, is cheap and exposed to long term
enduring growth trends. We have been through a period
where Value has performed exceptionally well relative to
Quality (as a proxy for this the MSCI UK Value Index has
outperformed the MSCI UK Quality Index by 40% on a total
return basis over the five years to 30 June 2025). In those
Value sectors, particularly financials, multiples now look
stretched, and downside risks seemingly ignored. Of
course, one would want to point to a catalyst for the
outperformance of Quality: it could well be a fall in bond
yields, an unknown crisis where Quality preserves wealth,
corporate activity in the form of external capital or just
from companies continuing to buy back their own shares
but the yield on the Company’s shares provides a very
useful return for those shareholders prepared to
be patient.
Explaining Performance
The Company generated a Net Asset Value (“NAV”) per
share (with debt at fair value) total return of 2.7% for the
year ended 30 June 2025 (the “Year”). This was a
disappointing return being behind the Company’s
Benchmark (the FTSE All-Share Index) total return of
11.2%. The share price total return was 4.3%, reflecting the
discount modestly narrowing from 10.5% to 9.6%.
We have carried out a very detailed analysis on the
underperformance of the portfolio relative to the
Benchmark over the medium term. Our findings are clear
that the underperformance has been nearly all due to
factor and style issues. The most important factor has
been the performance of Quality which has been
influenced by volatility in the macro environment. As
nominal, and in particular, US real yields fell from the
autumn of 2018 to the end of 2020, Quality significantly
outperformed. US real yields remained at around -1% for a
year before then spiking to above 2% (a level considerably
above the long-term average) where they have remained
for the last year or so. As real yields increased Quality
significantly underperformed as a higher risk-free rate
heightened the discount rate and reduced the present
value of cashflows for longer duration quality growth
companies, while conversely, Value stocks became more
attractive. The outperformance of Value has been
particularly noticeable in the financial sector where rising
interest rates combined with low starting valuations have
led to strong performance. In addition, the avoidance of
tobacco stocks in the portfolio has been unhelpful for
performance. Furthermore, the overweight exposure to
Mid Cap companies has also provided a meaningful
headwind to performance. Over the medium term (over
the five years to 30 June 2025 the FTSE 100 Index
outperformed the Mid Cap FTSE 250 Index by 25% on a
total return basis). We firmly believe that over the long
term a focus on appealing ESG characteristics and a
healthy exposure to Mid Cap companies will benefit
performance, but this has not been evident over
recent years.
A simple way of explaining performance and to
demonstrate that the portfolio has broadly performed as
expected, is to show the correlation between the
Company’s share price and a proxy for high-quality UK
companies for which the MSCI UK Quality Index is the most
appropriate (albeit unlike the portfolio there are no ESG
considerations and so tobacco is included which has
recently benefited the performance of this index). On the
next page, the first chart begins at the start of July 2018
and ends at 31 December 2021 – the timeframe during
which time real yields fell and Quality outperformed Value.
The second chart shows the period from the start of
January 2022 to 30 June 2025 when real yields rose
sharply and Value outperformed Quality. Both charts also
show the MSCI UK Value Index for comparison purposes.
As one would expect there is a very strong correlation
between the Company’s share price performance and
that of the MSCI UK Quality Index. It is also worth noting
that the Company’s share price outperformed the
Benchmark over this combined period.
Even if performance can broadly be explained by style
issues, we are always looking at ways to improve our
process, and we have recently identified one issue, exit
timing, which has been suboptimal. We have enhanced
our approach to try to ensure we act in a timelier manner
when it comes to selling holdings. In addition, we have
enhanced our valuation approach to make doubly sure
that we avoid overpaying and are cognisant of investment
timelines and milestones for each investment thesis.
Furthermore, we have also been responsive to a variety of
helpful enhancements recently requested by the Board.
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Strong correlation between the Company’s share price and MSCI UK Style Indices
(July 2018 to December 2021)
-50.00
-40.00
-30.00
-20.00
-10.00
0.00
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
Jul-18 Dec-18 May-19 Oct-19 Mar-20 Aug-20 Jan-21 Jun-21 Nov-21
Murray Income Trust MSCI UK Quality MSCI UK Value
Strong correlation between the Company’s share price and MSCI UK Style Indices
(January 2022 to June 2025)
-40.00
-30.00
-20.00
-10.00
0.00
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
60.00
Jan-22 Jun-22 Nov-22 Apr-23 Sep-23 Feb-24 Jul-24 Dec-24 May-25
Murray Income Trust MSCI UK Quality MSCI UK Value
12 Murray Income Trust PLC
Performance Attribution for the year ended 30 June 2025
%
Net Asset Value total return for year per Ordinary share
(fair value)
+2.7
FTSE All Share Index total return
+11.2
Relative return
-8.5
Relative return
Stock selection
Energy
-0.2
Basic Materials
+0.6
Industrials
-4.4
Health Care
+0.8
Consumer Staples
-1.6
Consumer Discretionary
-0.7
Telecommunications
-0.1
Utilities
-0.1
Technology
-0.4
Financials
-1.5
Total stock selection (equities)
-7.6
Asset allocation (equities)
Energy
+0.7
Basic Materials
+0.1
Industrials
+0.4
Health Care
-0.2
Consumer Staples
-0.1
Consumer Discretionary
+0.1
Telecommunications
+0.2
Utilities
+0.2
Technology
-0.1
Financials
-1.4
Total asset allocation (equities)
-0.1
Management fees
-0.4
Administrative expenses
-0.1
Cash and Options
+0.6
Gearing – finance costs
-0.3
Gearing - difference between fair value and par value returns
-0.4
Share buybacks
+0.7
Residual effect
-0.9
Total
-8.5
Notes: Stock Selection - measures the effect of equity selection relative to
the benchmark. Asset allocation – measures the impact of over or
underweighting each industry basket in the equity portfolio, relative to the
benchmark weights. Cash & options effect – measures the impact on
relative returns of these categories. Gearing – measures the impact on
relative returns of net borrowings. Management fees, administrative
expenses and tax – these reduce total assets and therefore reduce
performance. Source - Aberdeen.
Relative portfolio performance for the Year
Top five contributors relative to the Benchmark
during the Year:
1. Shell (+1.2%)
2. Glencore (+1.0%)
3. AstraZeneca (+0.6%)
4. DBS (+0.5%)
5. Games Workshop (+0.4%)
The portfolio benefited from an underweight position in
large index weight Shell with the company
underperforming over the period as oil prices declined.
Glencore does not meet our quality threshold, but the
shares performed poorly during the year due to
commodity price weakness particularly in thermal and
metallurgical coal. DBS performed well over the period
following strong results and the announcement of a
special dividend and share buyback programme. We hold
AstraZeneca in the portfolio but with exposure below the
large weight in the Index. Over the period, the share price
of the company declined in value broadly reflecting
industry challenges around potential tariff risk and pricing
pressure in North America. For Games Workshop,
continued strong demand for the company’s
Warhammer models together with licence revenue from
Space Marine 2 resulted in upgrades during the Year and
a strong share performance.
Top five detractors relative to the Benchmark
during the Year:
1. Rolls Royce (-1.5%)
2. British American Tobacco (-0.8%)
3. HSBC (-0.8%)
4. TotalEnergies (-0.7%)
5. Diageo (-0.7%)
The underperformance during the Year has been more to
do with the underweights and non-holdings in the portfolio
than the overweights. Rolls Royce’s share price has made
a spectacular recovery from the time of its near-death
experience during Covid and its rights issue in November
2020. The Company does not own these shares as the
business failed to pass our quality threshold and only
returned to paying a very modest dividend in June. We do
not buy tobacco companies, including British American
Tobacco, on the basis that caring about ESG and investing
in a company where around 60% of its customers will die
from using the product as intended are not compatible
with each other. The sector weights are informed by the
focus on high-quality companies and as such the portfolio
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is underweight the Financials and Energy sectors. Within
the Banks sector the holdings have been focused on the
highest quality names characterised by returns on equity
above the cost of equity with holdings in HSBC, Nordea and
DBS (rather than Barclays or Lloyds). Although we have
exposure to HSBC which performed strongly over the
year, the underweight position relative to the Benchmark
resulted in underperformance. We prefer DBS which we
think is an even higher quality bank than HSBC but are
aware of our income exposure to both banks.
TotalEnergies is our preferred Oil and Gas major given its
alignment with the energy transition, attractive dividend
yield and low cashflow break-even oil price. Weaker oil
prices during the year resulted in the shares
underperforming. The share price performance of Diageo
has been disappointing and reflects the continued
downgrades the company has endured following the
post-Covid boom that raised expectations for long term
revenue growth. At the start of calendar 2022 Diageo was
the largest holding in the portfolio and it was a mistake not
to have recognised this elevated level of profits and
significantly reduced the holding accordingly. However,
the share price has now halved from its peak as has the
P/E multiple on which the shares trade. From here the
outlook is much brighter with a soon to be reinvigorated
management team, a modest valuation and a company
where shorter term earnings downgrades have drowned
out the strong long term quality characteristics of
the business.
It is also worth mentioning a couple of additional
companies that have been a headwind to performance
over the medium term. Firstly, Close Brothers, which has
been severely impacted by the uncertainty around the
FCA’s investigation into motor finance and the potential
for remediation. It is extremely disappointing that this issue
has now taken over 18 months to resolve but we believe
the market is factoring in an unnecessarily harsh impact.
Indeed, after the Year end, a helpful Supreme Court
judgement in August 2025 has seen a recovery in the
company’s share price. Secondly, Rentokil where the
Terminix acquisition was not well thought through. Our
experience suggests that the sunlit uplands of corporate
activity presented enthusiastically by a company’s
external advisors is more reflective of the fees likely to be
earned by them than the benefit to long term
shareholders. However, our dialogue with Rentokil’s
existing and former directors and non-executives, and
industry participants suggests that over time the
integration will be successful and that there is significant
upside in the shares.
Portfolio Changes
Changes made to the portfolio during the Year reflect the
evergreen desire to improve the quality of the portfolio
and to concentrate assets in areas where we see the
most attractive valuations, as well as the need to raise
funds for the Company’s buyback of shares.
The purchases are all companies that to our minds are
‘Leaders in their field’ with on occasion issues that we
believe to be temporary that have provided an
opportunity (in some cases having been on our ‘watchlist’
for years) to add to the portfolio. Of note is the appealing
valuations of high-quality UK Mid Cap companies which
we believe are being mistakenly overlooked by
the market.
New Holdings
Sold Holdings
ASML
BHP
Bunzl
BP
DBS
Coca-Cola Hellenic
Dunelm
Direct Line
Gamma Communications GSK
LondonMetric LVMH
Reckitt Benckiser
Novo Nordisk
Rio Tinto
OCBC
Shell
OSB
Telecom Plus
VAT
In the Mid Cap area, UK home-furnishings retailer Dunelm
was purchased for the portfolio. Dunelm’s strong market
position and new stores and formats should allow the
company to continue to take market share. The company
has a robust balance sheet and strong cash generation
which provides for likely special dividends to enhance
income. The new holding was part funded by a sale of
Direct Line where the approach from Aviva provided the
catalyst to fully exit the holding. We added a new position
in Telecom Plus which offers utility services to customers in
the UK, combining a low price with great service and
simplicity of a single bill which can cover energy,
broadband, mobile and insurance. Generating strong
returns given limited capital requirements the company
has demonstrated attractive growth which we are
confident will continue. The dividend yield and the dividend
growth potential are particularly attractive for the
portfolio. We also purchased a holding in Gamma
Communications which provides essential communication
services to small businesses in the UK and Europe. During
the spring the company moved from the AIM market to
the main market which provided the opportunity to take
14 Murray Income Trust PLC
advantage of forced selling to add the company to the
portfolio. The significant growth potential in Germany and
high teens return on capital is under-appreciated by
reference to the very modest valuation. The holding in OSB
was exited following a number of disappointing trading
updates and a deteriorating view of the company’s
sustainable competitive advantage in its Precise
Mortgages division.
For the overseas-listed holdings we purchased a new
position in ASML, the Dutch listed global leader in
semiconductor lithography equipment. The company’s
extremely strong leadership position provides pricing
power, high returns on capital employed and good long-
term growth visibility, benefiting from the development of
Artificial Intelligence (AI). The initial purchase was poorly
timed at the start of the Year but we subsequently added
to the holding at a lower share price. We added a new
holding in Singapore-listed DBS, the largest bank in South
East Asia. We see the bank’s wealth management division
and the high return on equity derived from its fee income
and funding advantages as attractive quality
characteristics. The holding in Oversea-Chinese Banking
Corp was sold to fund DBS. Oversea-Chinese Banking
Corp had performed strongly during our period of
ownership, but we felt that DBS had stronger quality
characteristics and would be more likely to outperform in
future. The small holding in LVMH was sold from the
portfolio given concerns over potential earnings
downgrades due to struggling brand popularity, a weaker
consumer and the inability to push prices higher. Having
lost confidence in Novo Nordisk’s position in the GLP1
(weight loss) space we sold the modest holding. This
followed a series of negative efficacy updates for new
products such as CagriSema as well as falling prescription
numbers. Furthermore, Eli Lilly’s data for competitor
product Orforglipron had the potential to extend Eli Lilly’s
lead over Wegovy (Novo Nordisk’s weight loss produce).
Moreover, likely pricing pressure given the difference in
pricing for Wegovy in the US and in Europe had the
potential to impact profitability. Finally, the small holding in
VAT, the Swiss vacuum valve manufacturer, was sold on
concerns around a weaker demand backdrop, and in
particular, the potential impact of export restrictions on
sales to China.
In the FTSE 100, we repurchased LondonMetric,
the UK-
focused property business whose portfolio offers a high
degree of exposure to urban logistics. The stock has been
held in the portfolio previously, with the position sold at a
more expensive valuation around three years’ ago. We
now see the valuation and dividend yield as being at
attractive levels and are positive on the outlook for the
urban logistics sector given limited new supply and strong
rental growth potential. Rio Tinto, the global metals and
mining company, replaced the portfolio’s position in peer
BHP given its stronger medium term growth prospects and
more attractive valuation, including a higher dividend
yield. Reckitt Benckiser, the consumer health and hygiene
company, was added to the portfolio. The company is
progressing through a period of change with the
divestment of non-core businesses. In future, the
company will focus in on self-care, germ protection and
household care products which have strong brands and
market positions, and attractive growth prospects. Also,
during the year, the holding in Coca-Cola Hellenic was sold
following a period of strong performance and due to
concerns, regarding the level of profits derived from its
Russian operations. Following a profit warning in April we
purchased a holding in Bunzl. The company has long been
on our list of potential holdings, and we took the
opportunity presented by the announcement of weaker
trading in the United States. We believe the weaker
trading to be transitory and more than reflected in the
valuation with the share trading considerably below our
estimate of intrinsic value. Our investment in BP had been
due to the company’s alignment with the energy
transition, particularly compared to its peer Shell. However,
following a Capital Markets Day in February when the
company stepped back from its transition and
decarbonisation aspirations, we decided to sell the holding
and reinvest most of the proceeds in Shell. We view Shell
as being more defensive in a likely volatile oil price
environment particularly given its strong balance sheet
which provides confidence in the level of buybacks and
low breakeven oil price for the dividend. We sold the
holding in GSK reflecting the very modest prospects for
longer term earnings progression given the company’s
weak product pipeline and the increasing risks around
pricing pressure in the North American market.
Other transactions related to existing holdings were made
to take advantage of attractive valuation opportunities or
to reduce holdings following strong share price
performances and/or to manage large weights allowed
for the recycling of capital. We took advantage of share
price weakness to add to Coca-Cola EuroPacific Partners,
Haleon, Rotork, Kone, Safestore and Convatec, amongst
other holdings. Conversely, there were reductions to
holdings including to Accton Technology, AstraZeneca,
Howden Joinery, Intermediate Capital, London Stock
Exchange Group, Microsoft, RS and Unilever.
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Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
We continued our measured option-writing programme
which is based on our fundamental analysis of holdings in
the portfolio. We believe that the option-writing strategy is
of benefit to the Company by diversifying and modestly
increasing the level of income generated and providing
headroom to invest in companies with lower starting yields
but better dividend and capital growth prospects.
Income
For the Year, the Company’s earnings per share increased
by 3.2% from 37.4p to 38.6p. Income from investments of
£38.8m was £1.3m lower than the prior year. This was
influenced by a number of factors including: the strength
of sterling particularly relative to the US dollar (given the
importance of income derived from companies paying US
dollar-denominated dividends); the Company buying
back its own shares which has shrunk the asset base; the
impact of normal trading within the portfolio; and the
continued trend towards companies in the portfolio
buying back their own shares rather than paying special
dividends or delivering higher levels of ordinary dividend
growth. During the Year, over half the constituents of the
portfolio bought back their own shares corresponding to
an additional level of income of £12.6m. This is positive in
the sense that it indicates that those company directors
believe that their shares are attractively valued but clearly
unhelpful from an income perspective.
The benefit of a reduced annual investment management
fee, which took effect from 1 July 2024, was partially offset
by an increase in administrative expenses. Finance costs
were broadly unchanged compared to the prior year.
Earnings per share further benefitted from the average
number of shares in issue, excluding treasury shares,
falling from 108.1 million to 101.1 million during the Year.
Paying a full year dividend of 40.00p per share will result in
£770,000 being drawn from the Company’s revenue
reserves. Revenue reserves carried forward thus
represent 54% of the full year dividend based on the latest
available number of ordinary shares in issue (excluding
treasury shares). The ability to call on revenue reserves is a
clear benefit of the investment trust structure.
Notwithstanding the market trend towards greater
buybacks, we view the portfolio’s exposure to attractive
and enduring earnings trends as providing the potential
for appealing income growth over the long term.
Outlook
Over halfway through calendar 2025, with UK markets up
12%, the annualised return would be very high in a
historical context. Extrapolating this kind of market growth
into the medium term looks, to us, unrealistic.
Retail activity in the likes of Bitcoin Treasury Companies
and more speculative “investments” such as ‘meme
stocks’ in the United States point to elevated animal spirits.
It might seem counterintuitive that equity markets are
higher than they were just before ‘Liberation Day’ despite
likely lower corporate earnings. At times like this, markets
often overlook established, high-quality businesses that
can steadily compound value over time. The siren call of
investors who by taking a ‘pragmatic approach’ claim to
be able to confidently know where we are in ‘the cycle’ or
to predict well in advance the onset of the next Covid
sounds compelling, but of course, is just not realistic. Nearly
40 years on, the reasons behind the Black Monday stock
market crash are still being debated which demonstrates
the difficulty in market timing. However, maintaining a
consistent approach focused on high-quality businesses
with strong competitive advantages and being ready for
those bumps in the road (or worse) can be invaluable,
even at the cost of lagging the excitement.
Indeed, as we scan the market, we believe we can identify
particularly attractive valuations in high-quality Mid Cap
companies and some relatively ‘steady’ larger companies,
and both have been the focus of our recent activity. On
the other hand, we struggle to find opportunities across
Aerospace & Defence and Banks, areas of the market
that have performed particularly strongly, where it seems
that downside risks are being ignored despite full
valuations.
As discussed above, rising nominal and real yields have
been a salient headwind for Quality investing over the past
four or so years. The Manager’s latest forecasts based on
different scenarios for US 10 year real yields highlight that
in almost all scenarios real yields are likely to fall from their
current level becoming a tailwind for Quality investing.
If there are shifts of capital out of the US (and we have
started to see a sharp slowdown in international
purchases of US equities), which has monopolised global
market returns in the last decade, and towards an under-
appreciated UK market, this could add further support.
16 Murray Income Trust PLC
The portfolio is populated by a diversified collection of
high-quality ‘Leaders in the field’ generating an attractive
income stream and trading at an appealing valuation,
currently considerably below our intrinsic value estimates.
The portfolio has been constructed to deliver long term
structural growth while providing capital preservation in
challenging markets. With the tailwind of a more benign
environment for Quality investing we have every reason to
believe that the portfolio can deliver significant long-term
outperformance and maintain its exceptional track
record of dividend growth.
Thank you for your support.
Charles Luke
Senior Investment Director
abrdn Investments Limited
11 September 2025
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Murray Income Trust PLC 17
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Performance (total return, including reinvested dividends)
1 year return 3 year return 5 year return 10 year return
% % % %
Share price
A
+4.3 +17.7 +38.5 +88.4
Net asset value per Ordinary share (debt at fair value)
A
+2.7 +22.9 +43.3 +88.0
Net asset value per Ordinary share (debt at par value)
A
+3.1 +22.8 +42.2 +86.6
Benchmark
B
+11.2 +35.5 +67.3 +92.7
A
Considered to be an Alternative Performance Measure. Further details can be found on page 106.
B
FTSE All-Share Index.
Source: Aberdeen & Morningstar
Ten Year Financial Record
Year end 30 June 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Income (£’000) 24,838 26,667 25,987 25,597 22,804 35,979 51,018 48,879 43,899 42,224
Shareholders’ funds (£’000) 515,036 576,462 570,929 587,150 534,361 1,093,859 1,009,255 999,184 990,282 916,738
Per Ordinary share (p)
Net revenue return 32.0 34.9 33.6 34.9 30.5 33.7 40.5 38.7 37.4 38.6
Dividends
A
32.25 32.75 33.25 34.00 34.25 34.50 36.00 37.50 38.50 40.00
Net asset value (capital only) 766.5 860.1 856.3 888.1 808.3 934.6 864.9 894.4 946.0 936.3
A
The figures for dividends per share reflect the years to which their declaration relates and not the years they were paid.
Performance
18 Murray Income Trust PLC
Total Return of NAV and Share Price vs FTSE All-Share Index
Five years ended 30 June 2025 (rebased to 100 at 30 June 2020)
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
30/06/20 30/06/21 30/06/22 30/06/23 30/06/24 30/06/25
Source: Morningstar & Factset
FTSE All-Share Index
Shar e Pri ce
NAV (debt at par)
NAV (debt at fair value)
Share Price Discount to NAV with debt at fair value
Five years ended 30 June 2025
-15%
-12%
-9%
-6%
-3%
0%
30/06/2020 30/06/2021 30/06/2022 30/06/2023 30/06/2024 30/06/2025
Source: Aberdeen & Morningstar
Performance
Continued
Murray Income Trust PLC 19
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Financial Highlights
30 June 2025 30 June 2024 % change
Shareholders’ funds (£’000) 916,738 990,282 –7.4
Net asset value (“NAV”) per Ordinary share – debt at fair value
A
944.8p 957.9p –1.4
Net asset value per Ordinary share – debt at par 936.3p 946.0p –1.0
Market capitalisation (£’000) 836,170 897,150 –6.8
Share price of Ordinary share 854.0p 857.0p –0.4
Discount to net asset value on Ordinary shares – debt at fair value
A
9.6% 10.5%
Discount to net asset value on Ordinary shares – debt at par
A
8.8% 9.4%
Gearing (ratio of borrowing to shareholders’ funds)
Net gearing with debt at fair value
A
11.0% 9.0%
Dividends and earnings
Revenue return per share 38.6p 37.4p +3.2
Dividends per share
B
40.00p 38.50p +3.9
Dividend cover
A
0.97 times 0.97 times
Dividend yield
A
4.7% 4.5%
Revenue reserves (£’000)
Prior to payment of fourth interim dividend
C
32,464 32,403
After payment of fourth interim dividend 21,206 21,975
Operating costs
Ongoing charges ratio
A
0.48% 0.50%
A
Considered to be an Alternative Performance Measure. Further details can be found on pages 104 to 106.
B
The figures for dividends per share reflect the years in which they were earned (see note 7).
C
Per the Statement of Financial Position on page 69.
Dividends
Rate XD date Record date Payment date
First interim 9.50p 14 Nov 2024 15 Nov 2024 12 Dec 2024
Second interim 9.50p 13 Feb 2025 14 Feb 2025 13 Mar 2025
Third interim 9.50p 15 May 2025 16 May 2025 12 Jun 2025
Fourth interim 11.50p 14 Aug 2025 15 Aug 2025 11 Sep 2025
Total dividends 40.00p
Financial Hi
g
hli
g
hts and Dividends
20 Murray Income Trust PLC
Business Model
Murray Income Trust PLC (the “Company”) is an
investment trust whose Ordinary shares are listed on
the London Stock Exchange. The Company is limited
by shares.
The Company is governed by a Board of Directors (the
“Board”), all of whom are non-executive, and has no
employees. The Board is responsible for determining the
Company’s investment objective and investment policy.
Like other investment companies, the day-to-day
investment management and administration of the
Company is outsourced by the Board to an investment
management group, Aberdeen, and other third party
providers. The Company has appointed abrdn Fund
Managers Limited (the “Manager”) as its alternative
investment fund manager which has in turn delegated
certain functions, including administration of the
investment policy, to abrdn Investments Limited. The
Manager has delegated the company secretarial function
to abrdn Holdings Limited.
The Company complies with Section 1158 of the
Corporation Tax Act 2010 which permits the Company to
operate as an investment trust.
Investment Objective
The Company aims for a high and growing income
combined with capital growth through investment in a
portfolio principally of UK equities.
Investment Policy
In pursuit of the Company’s investment objective, the
Company’s investment policy is to invest in the shares of
companies that have potential for real earnings and
dividend growth, while at the same time providing an
above-average portfolio yield. The emphasis is on the
management of risk and on the absolute return and yield
from the portfolio as a whole rather than the individual
companies which the Company invests in, which is
achieved by ensuring an appropriate diversification of
stocks and sectors within the portfolio, with a high
proportion of assets in strong, well-researched companies.
The Company makes use of borrowing facilities to enhance
shareholder returns when appropriate.
Delivering the Investment Policy
The Company maintains a diversified portfolio of the
equity securities of UK and overseas companies with an
emphasis on investing in quality companies with good
management, strong cash flow, a sound balance sheet
and which are generating a reliable earnings stream.
The Investment Manager follows a bottom-up investment
process based on a disciplined evaluation of companies,
including through direct visits by its fund managers. Top-
down investment factors are secondary in the Investment
Manager’s portfolio construction with diversification rather
than formal controls guiding stock and sector weights.
Board Investment Limits
The Board sets additional investment guidelines within
which the Investment Manager must operate :
· the portfolio typically comprises between 40 and 70
holdings (but without restricting the Company from
holding a more or less concentrated portfolio from time
to time);
· the Company may invest up to 100% of its gross assets
in UK-listed equities and other securities and is permitted
to invest up to 20% of its gross assets in other overseas-
listed equities and securities;
· the Investment Manager may invest in any market
sector, however, the top five holdings may not exceed
40% of the total value of the portfolio and the top three
sectors represented in the portfolio may not exceed
50%; and
· the Company may invest no more than 15% of its gross
assets in other listed investment companies (including
investment trusts).
The Company may use derivatives for the purpose of
enhancing portfolio returns and for hedging purposes in a
manner consistent with the Company’s broader
investment policy. The Investment Manager is permitted
to invest in options and in structured products, provided
that any structured product issued in the form of a note or
bond has a minimum credit rating of “A”.
Gearing
The Board is responsible for setting the gearing policy of
the Company and for the limits on gearing. The Manager
is responsible for gearing within the limits set by the Board.
The Board has set its gearing limit at a maximum of 25% of
NAV at the time of draw down. Gearing - borrowing
money - is used selectively to leverage the Company’s
portfolio in order to enhance returns where this is
considered appropriate. Particular care is taken to ensure
that any financial covenants permit maximum flexibility of
investment policy. Significant changes to gearing levels
are communicated to shareholders.
Overview of Strate
g
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Murray Income Trust PLC 21
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Key Performance Indicators
At each Board meeting, the Directors consider a number of Key Performance Indicators (“KPIs”) to assess the Company’s
success in achieving its objectives. These KPIs are described below, with those also categorised as Alternative Performance
Measures marked with an asterisk (see also pages 104 to 106) and noting that NAV is calculated with debt at fair value:
KPI Description
NAV (total return) * relative to
the Company’s benchmark
The Board considers the Company’s NAV (total return), relative to the FTSE All-Share Index, to be the
best indicator of performance over different time periods. A graph showing NAV total return over
the past five years. as compared to the FTSE All-Share Index is shown on page 18.
Share price (total return) * The Board monitors share price performance relative to open-ended and closed-ended competitor
products, taking account of differing investment objectives and policies pursued by those products.
The figures for share price (total return) for the Year and for the past three, five and ten years, as
well as for the NAV (total return) per share, are shown on page 17. A graph showing share price total
return performance against the FTSE All-Share Index over the past five years is shown on page 18.
Discount/premium to NAV * The discount/premium at which the Company’s share price trades relative to the NAV per share is
closely monitored by the Board. A graph showing the discount/premium over the last five years is
shown on page 18.
Earnings and dividends
per share
The Board aims to meet the ‘high and growing’ element of the Company’s investment objective by
developing revenue reserves sufficient to support the payment of a growing dividend; figures may
be found in Financial Highlights and Dividends on page 19 in respect of earnings and dividends per
share, together with the level of revenue reserves, for the Year and previous year.
Ongoing charges* The Board monitors the Company’s operating costs and their composition with a view to limiting
increases wherever possible. Ongoing charges are disclosed on page 19 for the Year and the
previous year and include look through costs.
Principal Risks and Uncertainties
There are a number of risks and uncertainties which, if
realised, could have a material adverse effect on the
Company’s business model, future performance and
solvency. The Board, through the Audit Committee, has
put in place a robust process to identify, assess and
monitor these by means of a risk assessment and internal
controls system. This system was reviewed during the
year, as explained in the Audit Committee Report on
pages 55 to 57. As noted therein, the Audit Committee has
a risk register and uses a post-mitigation heat risk map to
identify principal, and emerging, risks.
Macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty continues as
a significant risk. However, factors creating this uncertainty
have changed both during the Year and subsequently. For
example, the uncertainty created by the increase in global
armed conflict and tariff disputes initiated by the US Trump
administration versus the de-risking from lower inflation and
interest rates. Accordingly, the Board considers that the risk
ratings arising from these factors remain at a heightened
level, consistent with the last three years. The Board does
not consider that, overall, the principal risks and
uncertainties identified have changed materially during the
Year. The Audit Committee and the Board both consider
emerging risks as part of their normal review of factors
which could affect the Company both in the short and
longer term.
These principal risks are set out in the following pages with
a high level summary of their management through
mitigation and an indication of any change in assessment
during the Year. The risks faced by the Company have
been categorised under five headings as follows: Strategic
and Market; Investment Management; Marketing;
Operational; and Regulatory.
22 Murray Income Trust PLC
Overview of Strate
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y
Continued
Principal Risk Mitigating Action
STRATEGIC AND MARKET
The Company’s investment objective and policy are no longer
meeting investors’ requirements (unchanged)
Lack of a robust strategic review, failure to understand the
market/investor demand. Failure to analyse and react to
changes or uncertainty, unclear dividend policy.
The Company's investment objective and policy (“IOP”) are
reviewed regularly by the Board to ensure they remain
appropriate and effective. The Board has announced a strategic
review which will include consideration of the Company’s IOP.
Discount control risk (unchanged)
Investment trust shares tend to trade at discounts to their
underlying NAVs, although they can also trade at premium.
Discounts and premiums can fluctuate considerably leading to
more volatile returns for shareholders.
Significant share buybacks could lead to the shrinkage of the
Company, with implications for the liquidity of its shares and
potentially reduced attractiveness for investors.
The Board monitors the discount at which the Company’s
shares trade, including comparison with peer group discounts,
and will buyback or issue shares to try to minimise the impact of
any discount or premium volatility. Whilst these measures seek
to reduce volatility, they are not guaranteed to do this.
During the Year the Company bought back 6.8 million shares
(2024: 7.0 million) representing 6.5% (2024: 6.4%) of the shares
outstanding at the beginning of July 2024.
Market risk (increased)
Market risk arises from the volatility in prices of the Company’s
investments and the potential loss the Company could suffer
through realising investments following negative market
movements.
Changes in general economic or market conditions (such as
interest rates, exchange rates and inflation rates ) as well as
global political events and trends, could substantially and
adversely affect the prices of securities and, as a consequence,
the value of the Company’s investment portfolio, its prospects
and share price.
Current heightened risks arise from factors such as the increase
in global armed conflict and the slowing of interest rate cuts by
central banks. The longer term emergence of the effects on
investee companies of climate change, and the regulatory
environment around this, presents a further risk.
The Company’s investment policy and its approach to risk
diversification may be found on page 20, both of which serve to
mitigate the effect of market risk on the portfolio. The Board
considers the diversification of the portfolio, asset allocation,
stock selection and levels of gearing on a regular basis. The
Board also monitors the Company’s relative performance as
compared to peers and the Company’s benchmark.
The Board assesses climate change as an emerging risk in terms
of how it develops, including how investor sentiment is evolving
towards climate change within investment portfolios, and will
consider how the Company may mitigate this risk and any other
emerging risks. The Board engages with the Manager, at each
Board meeting, to understand how climate change and
environmental factors are being assessed . Both are key
considerations within the Manager’s investment process.
The Board also considers sensitivity of the Company to market
prices and changing economic conditions and how the portfolio
would perform during a market crisis. In light of the material
effect that geopolitical events (such as global armed conflicts
and heightened tariff negotiations) have had on the Company’s
operating environment during the Year, the Board has increased
the market risk rating.
Murray Income Trust PLC 23
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Gearing risk (unchanged)
The Company uses both long term and short term borrowings
to increase the funds available for investment. These
arrangements increase the funds available for investment.
While this has the potential to enhance investment returns
in rising markets, in falling markets the impact could
be detrimental.
Gearing is monitored and strict restrictions on borrowings are
imposed: gearing continues to operate within pre-agreed limits
so as not to exceed 25% of NAV at the time of draw down.
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
Underperformance risk (increased)
Consistent underperformance by the Investment Manager over
short, medium and long term.
The Investment Manager’s style may result in the portfolio being
significantly over or under weight positions in stocks and sectors
compared to the benchmark and the Company’s performance
may deviate significantly from that of the benchmark and peers,
possibly for extended periods.
The Board evaluates performance at each board meeting on
both an absolute and relative basis, against the Company’s
benchmark and peers, and across various periods: short,
medium and long term. Performance is also reviewed at the
annual strategy meeting.
The Company has a set of investment limits and Board
guidelines which ensure diversification of the portfolio.
During the Year, the Board evaluated the risk of
underperformance as elevated due to the NAV total return
falling behind the return of the Benchmark for one, three, five
and ten years.
Risk of loss of key staff (unchanged)
Loss of key staff though natural loss, or Manager reorganisation
and/or redundancy. Loss of investor confidence if lead
manager lost.
Charles Luke has been the lead portfolio manager for the
Company since 2006, working alongside Ian Hewett and Rhona
Millar as part of the Manager’s Developed Markets Equities team.
MARKETING
General marketing risk (unchanged)
Failure to implement the Board’s marketing policy or failure to
address shareholder concerns or complaints.
Issues could arise from poor procedures around preparation of
marketing materials, a failure to appropriately manage their
distribution or correct handling of concerns or complaints raised
by investors. The Board is working with the Manager to optimise
the effectiveness of marketing undertaken on behalf of the
Company.
The Manager’s investor relations team works closely with the
Board on institutional shareholder contact. In addition, quarterly
updates are provided to the Board by the broker. All
correspondence addressed to the Board is circulated to the
Chair for response.
24 Murray Income Trust PLC
Overview of Strate
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Continued
OPERATIONAL
Service provider risk (unchanged)
In common with most other investment companies, the
Company relies on the services provided by third parties and is
dependent on the control systems of the Manager (who acts as
investment manager, company secretary and maintains the
Company’s assets, dealing procedures and accounting
records); BNP Paribas SA, London Branch (which acts as
Depositary and Custodian; the “Depositary”); and the registrar.
The security of the Company’s assets, dealing procedures,
accounting records and adherence to regulatory and legal
requirements depend on the effective operation of the systems
of these third party service providers.
Failure by any service provider to carry out its obligations could
have a material adverse effect on the Company’s performance.
Disruption, including that caused by information technology
breakdown or a cyber-related issue, could prevent, for example,
the functioning of the Company; accurate reporting to the
Board or shareholders; or payment of dividends in accordance
with the announced timetable.
Contracts with third party providers are entered into after
appropriate due diligence. Thereafter the performance of each
provider is subject to an annual review by the Audit Committee.
The Depositary reports to the Audit Committee at least
annually, including on the Company’s compliance with AIFMD.
The Manager also regularly reviews the performance of the
Depositary.
Global assurance reports are obtained from the Manager, BNP
Paribas SA, London Branch, and the registrar (MUFG Corporate
Markets). These are reviewed by the Audit Committee. The
reports include an independent assessment of the effectiveness
of risks and internal controls at the service providers including
their planning for business continuity and disaster recovery
scenarios, together with their policies and procedures designed
to address the risks posed to the Company’s operations by
cyber-crime.
The Company’s assets are subject to a strict liability regime and,
in the event of a loss of assets, the Depositary must return assets
of an identical type or the corresponding amount, unless able to
demonstrate the loss was a result of an event beyond its
reasonable control.
The Board has assessed the risk posed by cyber-crime as
elevated, despite the available mitigation, reflecting the potential
disruption which might be caused to the Company’s operations
by a cyber-attack.
REGULATORY
Regulatory risk (including change of existing rules and regulation)
(unchanged)
The Company is required to comply with relevant rules and
regulations. Failure to do so could result in loss of investment
trust status, fines, suspension of the Company’s shares, criminal
proceedings or financial or reputational damage.
The Manager provides investment, company secretarial,
administration and accounting services through qualified third
party professional providers.
The Board receives regular reports from its Manager and
briefings from its broker, auditor and the industry trade body
(the Association of Investment Companies (“AIC”)) on changes
to regulations which could impact the Company and its industry.
The risk was unchanged during the Year, further to an increased
risk assessed in the prior year due to obligations associated with
the introduction of new consumer duty regulations.
Murray Income Trust PLC 25
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
The following are other risks identified by the Board which could have a major impact on the Company but due to
mitigation are not deemed to be principal risks:
Other Risks Mitigating Action
Dividend risk (unchanged)
There is a risk that the Company fails to generate sufficient
income from its investment portfolio to meet the Company’s
dividend requirements.
A cut in the dividend of the Company would likely cause a
drop in the share price and would end the Company’s
“Dividend Hero” status.
The Board reviews estimates of revenue income and
expenditure prepared by the Manager, which look forward up to
five years.
The Company’s level of revenue reserves is monitored and can
be added to in years of surplus, or used to support the dividend in
years where there is a revenue deficit. Dividends can also be
paid from capital, though use of capital reserves for dividends is
expected to be rare.
Financial risk (unchanged)
The Company’s investment activities expose it to a variety of
financial risks which include market risk (which is identified as a
principal risk and is covered earlier in this section on page 22),
liquidity risk and credit risk (including counterparty risk).
Details of these risks and the policies and procedures for their
monitoring and mitigation are disclosed earlier in this section
and in note 18.
Emerging risk (unchanged)
Failure to have in place procedures that assist in identifying
emerging risks. This may cause reactive actions rather than
being pro-active and, in the worst case, could cause the
Company to become unviable or otherwise fail.
The Board regularly reviews all risks to the Company, including
emerging risks, which are identified by a variety of means,
including advice from AIC, the Company’s professional advisors,
Directors’ knowledge of markets, changes and events.
The principal risks associated with an investment in the Company’s shares can be found in the pre-investment disclosure
document (“PIDD”) published by the Manager, which is available from the Company’s website: murray-income.co.uk
Promotional Activities
The Board recognises the importance of promoting the
Company to existing and prospective investors both for
improving liquidity and enhancing the rating of the
Company’s shares. The Board believes one effective way
to achieve this is through subscription to, and participation
in, the promotional programme run by the Manager on
behalf of a number of investment trusts under its
management. The Company also supports the Manager’s
investor relations programme which involves regional
roadshows, promotional and public relations campaigns.
The Manager’s promotional and investor relations teams
report to the Board on a quarterly basis giving analysis of
their activities as well as updates on the shareholder
register and any changes in the make-up of that register.
Communicating the long-term attractions of the
Company is key. The promotional programme includes
commissioning independent paid for research on the
Company, most recently from Edison Investment
Research Limited; a copy may be found on the
Company's website.
The UK Stewardship Code and Proxy Voting
The Company supports the UK Stewardship Code 2020,
and seeks to play its role in supporting good stewardship
of the companies in which it invests. Responsibility for
actively monitoring the activities of portfolio companies
has been delegated by the Board to the Manager.
The Manager is a tier 1 signatory of the UK Stewardship
Code 2020 which aims to enhance the quality of
engagement by investors with investee companies in
order to improve their socially responsible performance
and the long term investment return to shareholders. The
Manager’s Annual Stewardship Report for 2024 may be
found at www.aberdeeninvestments.com/en-
gb/intermediary/sustainable-investing/our-approach.
While delivery of stewardship activities has been
delegated to the Manager, the Board acknowledges its
role in setting the tone for the effective delivery of
stewardship on the Company’s behalf.
26 Murray Income Trust PLC
The Board has also given discretionary powers to the
Manager to exercise voting rights on resolutions proposed
by the investee companies within the Company’s portfolio.
The Manager reports to the Board on a six monthly basis
on stewardship (including voting) issues and additional
information may be found on page 98.
Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions and
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting
(“SECR”)
All of the Company’s activities are outsourced to third
parties. The Company therefore has no greenhouse gas
emissions to report from the operations of its business, nor
does it have responsibility for any other emissions
producing sources under the Companies Act 2006
(Strategic Report and Directors’ Reports) Regulations
2013. For the same reason as set out above, the Company
considers itself to be a low energy user under the SECR
regulations and therefore is not required to disclose
energy and carbon information. Further information on
the Manager’s obligatory disclosures under the Taskforce
on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”) may
be found on the Company’s website as the “TCFD
Product Report”.
Viability Statement
The Company does not have a fixed strategic plan but the
Board does formally consider risks and strategy on at least
an annual basis. As explained in the Chair’s Statement the
Board is undertaking a strategic review of the Company,
and the following statement does not take account of any
changes that may (or may not) arise for the Company as
a result of that review given they are presently unknown.
The Board regards the Company, with no fixed life, as a
long term investment vehicle but for the purposes of this
viability statement has decided that a period of five years
(the “Review Period”) is an appropriate timeframe over
which to report.
In assessing the viability of the Company over the
Review Period the Directors have focused upon the
following factors:
· the Company’s principal risks and uncertainties as set
out in the Strategic Report on pages 21 to 25;
· the relevance of the Company’s investment objective;
· the demand for the Company’s shares as indicated by
the level of premium and/or discount;
· the level of income generated by the Company’s
portfolio as compared to its expenses;
· the overall liquidity of the Company’s investment
portfolio;
· the £40m senior loan notes and £60m senior loan notes,
which are repayable in 2027 and in 2029, respectively,
and any likelihood of them breaching their covenants;
and
· the requirement for the Company to repay its three
year £30 million bank loan facility at its maturity in
October 2027.
In making this assessment, the Board has considered in
particular a large economic shock, such as another global
pandemic, a period of increased stock market volatility
and/or markets at depressed levels, a significant
reduction in the liquidity of the portfolio, or persistent
inflationary pressures, or changes in investor sentiment or
regulation, and how these factors might affect the
Company’s prospects and viability in the future. The Board
undertook scenario analysis, incorporating income
forecasting, in reaching its conclusions, but recognising
that the Company’s expenses are significantly lower than
its total income.
Taking into account the Company’s current position and
the potential impact of its principal risks and uncertainties,
the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the
Company will be able to continue in operation and meet
its liabilities as they fall due for a period of five years from
the date of this Report.
Performance, Financial Position and Outlook
A review of the Company’s activities and performance
during the Year, including future developments, is set out in
the Chair’s Statement and in the Investment Manager’s
Report. These cover market background, investment
activity, portfolio strategy, dividend policy, gearing and
investment outlook. A comprehensive analysis of the
portfolio is provided on pages 31 to 35 while the full
portfolio of investments is published monthly on the
Company’s website. The Company’s Statement of
Financial Position on page 69 shows the assets and
liabilities at the year end. Borrowing facilities at the year
end comprised a mix of fixed and floating debt: a three
year £30 million bank loan, £40 million of senior loan notes
due for repayment in 2027 and £60 million of senior loan
notes due for repayment in 2029. Details of these are
shown in notes 13 and 14 to the financial statements,
respectively.
Overview of Strate
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Continued
Murray Income Trust PLC 27
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
The future strategic direction and development of the
Company is regularly discussed as part of Board meeting
agendas. As a result of these discussions, the Board
decided to initiate a formal strategic review, which was
announced on 3 July 2025. This review, which remains
ongoing, is focused on evaluating the options available to
the Company in the pursuit of delivering improved
performance and returns for its shareholders, whilst
continuing to provide an attractive yield from a portfolio
predominantly focused on UK equities. The first round of
the process is now complete, with the Board having
received a significant number of high quality proposals
from a wide range of parties. Shortlisted parties invited
through to the second stage have been asked to provide
more detailed proposals and will present to the Board
thereafter. The Board expects to be able to provide an
update to shareholders during the fourth quarter of 2025.
Board Diversity
The Board supports the principle of boardroom diversity,
of which diversity of skills, gender and ethnicity are all
important aspects. Further information on Board diversity
may be found in the Directors’ Report on page 43.
Environmental, Social and Environmental
(“ESG”) and Human Rights Issues
The Board delegates the management of the portfolio,
including assessment of ESG and human rights issues, to
the Investment Manager.
Whilst the Company does not have a sustainability
objective and its investment policy does not have specific
sustainability characteristics, ESG analysis is integrated
into the Manager’s investment process and portfolio
construction. ESG factors are not the over-riding criteria in
relation to investment portfolio decisions but the Manager
aims to enhance potential value for shareholders, reduce
risk and contribute positively by embedding ESG
throughout the investment process. Further information
may be found on pages 96 to 98.
The Company has no employees and, accordingly, there
are no disclosures to be made in respect of employees.
Modern Slavery Act
Due to the nature of its business, being a company that
does not offer goods and services to customers, the Board
considers that the Company is not within the scope of the
Modern Slavery Act 2015 because it has no turnover. The
Company is therefore not required to make a slavery and
human trafficking statement. The Board considers the
Company’s supply chains, dealing predominantly with
professional advisers and service providers in the financial
services industry, to be low risk in relation to this matter.
The Strategic Report was approved by the Board and
signed on its behalf by:
Peter Tait
Chair
11 September 2025
28 Murray Income Trust PLC
The Board is required to report how it has discharged its
duties and responsibilities under section 172 of the
Companies Act 2006 during the Year. Under this
requirement, the Directors have a duty to promote the
success of the Company for the benefit of its members
(shareholders) as a whole, taking into account the likely
long term consequences of decisions, the need to foster
relationships with the Company’s stakeholders, and the
impact of the Company’s operations on the environment.
In addition the Directors must act fairly between
shareholders and be cognisant of maintaining the
reputation of the Company.
The Purpose of the Company and Role
of the Board
The Company has been established as an investment
vehicle for the purpose of delivering its investment
objective which is set out on page 1 of this Report.
Investment trusts, such as the Company, are long-term
investment vehicles that are typically externally-
managed, have no employees, and are overseen by an
independent non-executive board of directors.
The Board is responsible for all decisions relating to the
Company’s investment objective and policy, gearing,
corporate governance and strategy, and for monitoring
the performance of the Company’s third party service
providers, including the Manager.
The Board’s philosophy is that the Company should foster
a culture where all parties are treated with respect. The
Directors provide mutual support combined with
constructive challenge. Integrity, openness and diligence
are defining characteristics of the Board’s culture. The
Company has a number of policies and procedures in
place to aid a culture of good governance, such as those
relating to Director’s conflicts of interests and dealings in
the Company’s shares, annual evaluation of Directors,
anti-bribery and anti-tax evasion. At its regular meetings,
the Board engages with the Manager to understand its
culture and receives regular reporting and feedback from
the other key service providers.
The Company’s primary stakeholders have been
identified as its shareholders, the Manager, other key
third party service providers, investee companies and
lenders. The following table sets out details of
the Company’s engagement.
Shareholders The Directors place great importance on communication with shareholders. Further details on the
Company’s relations with Shareholders, including its approach to the Annual General Meeting, and
investor relations can be found in the Directors’ Report on pages 46 and 47.
Manager The Investment Manager’s Report on pages 8 to 16 details the key investment decisions taken during
the Year. The Board engages with the Investment Manager at every Board meeting and receives
presentations from the Investment Manager to help it to exercise effective oversight of the Investment
Manager and delivery of the Company’s strategy. The Board also receives regular updates from the
Manager outside of these meetings.
The Management Engagement Committee monitors the performance of the Manager over the Year as
set out on pages 44 and 45. In addition, the Chair’s Statement on pages 4 to 7 includes a description of
the background to the announcement by the Company, on 3 July 2025, of a strategic review.
Other Key Third Party
Service Providers
The Board ensures that it promotes the success of the Company by engaging specialist third party
suppliers with the resources, controls and performance records to deliver the service required. The
Board seeks to maintain constructive relationships with its key service providers (the Company’s
registrar, depositary and broker) either directly, or through the Manager, with ongoing dialogue and
formal regular meetings. The Audit Committee conducts an annual assessment of key service providers
as set out in the Committee’s report on page 56. The Board seeks regular assurance that key third party
service providers have in place appropriate business continuity plans and which are expected to allow
them to maintain service levels in the face of disruption.
Promotin
g
the Success of the Company
Murray Income Trust PLC 29
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Investee Companies The Board is committed to investing in a responsible manner and actively monitors the activities of
investee companies through its delegation to the Investment Manager. In order to achieve this, the
Investment Manager has discretionary powers to exercise voting rights on resolutions proposed by the
investee companies and reports quarterly to the Board on stewardship issues, including voting. The
Board monitors investments made and divested and questions the rationale for exposures taken and
voting decisions made.
Information on how the Investment Manager engages with investee companies may be found on
page 98.
Lenders to the Company On behalf of the Board, the Manager maintains a positive working relationship with the provider of the
Company’s multi-currency loan facility and the holders of the Company’s Senior Loan Notes, assuring
compliance with lenders’ covenants and providing regular updates on business activity where sought.
Specific Examples of Stakeholder
Consideration During the Year
While the importance of giving due consideration to the
Company’s stakeholders is not a new requirement, and is
considered as part of every Board decision, the Directors
were particularly mindful of stakeholder considerations
when reaching the following decisions during the Year.
Reduction in Management Fee
The Board and the Manager agreed a reduction in the
management fee, from 1 July 2024. Full details are
included in Note 4 to the Financial Statements.
Detailed review by Board of Investment Performance
The Board engaged with senior management of the
Manager to understand the reasons for the performance.
During the Year, the Chair and the SID held meetings with
several of the Company’s major shareholders to discuss,
amongst other matters, the performance of the
Company.
Appointment of Andrew Page as a Director
Andrew Page (see page 40 for biographical information)
was appointed a Director on 17 January 2025 following an
external search.
Dividends Paid to Shareholders
The level, frequency and timing of dividends paid are key
considerations for the Board, taking into account net
earnings for the year and the Company’s objective of
providing shareholders with a high and growing income,
combined with the Company’s Dividend Hero status. The
total dividend per share for the Year of 40.0p represents
an increase of 3.9% on the previous year. Dividends are
paid quarterly with the four payments equalised insofar
as is practical.
Share Buybacks
During the Year the Company bought back 6,772,817
(2024 – 7,035,000) Ordinary shares into treasury, providing
a 0.7% accretion to the NAV as well as a degree of liquidity
to the market at times when the discount to the NAV per
share had widened during normal market conditions.
These purchases represented 6.5% (2024: 6.3%) of the
shares outstanding at the beginning of July 2024. It is the
view of the Board that this policy remains in the best
interests of all shareholders.
Shareholder Communication
The Chair hosted an online event for shareholders on 17
October 2024 to allow those shareholders who may have
been unable to attend the AGM in person to pose
questions to both the Directors and the Investment
Manager. As described in the Chair's Statement, the
Company expects to hold an online event after the
conclusion of the strategic review.
30 Murray Income Trust PLC
Portfolio
The Company recently purchased ASML for the overseas
portfolio. ASML is a Dutch listed global leader in semiconductor
lithography equipment. Its extremely strong leadership
position provides pricing power, high returns on capital
employed and good long-term growth visibility as it benefits
from the evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Murray Income Trust PLC 31
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
As at 30 June 2025
RELX
AstraZeneca
Relx is a global provider of information and
analytics for professionals and businesses
across a number of industries including
scientific, technical, medical and law. The
company offers resilient earnings combined
with long term structural growth opportunities.
AstraZeneca researches, develops, produces
and markets pharmaceutical products. With a
significant focus on oncology and rare
diseases, the company offers appealing
growth potential over the medium term.
National Grid
Unilever
National Grid is an investor-owned utility
company which owns and operates the
electricity and gas transmission network in
Great Britain and the electricity transmission
networks in the Northeastern United States.
The company offers resilient earnings and an
attractive dividend yield.
Unilever is a global consumer goods company
supplying food, home and personal care
products. The company has a portfolio of
strong brands including: Dove, Knorr, Axe and
Persil. Over half of the company’s sales are to
developing and emerging markets.
Diageo
TotalEnergies
Diageo produces, distills and markets
alcoholic beverages including vodkas,
whiskies, tequilas, gins and beer. The
company should benefit from attractive long
term drivers such as population and income
growth, and premiumisation. The company
has a variety of very strong brands and faces
very limited private label competition.
TotalEnergies is a broad energy company that
produces and markets fuels, natural gas and
electricity. It is a leader in the sector’s energy
transition with an attractive pipeline of
renewable assets.
Convatec
Experian
Convatec is a medical products and
technologies company based in the UK,
offering products and services in the areas of
advanced wound care, ostomy care,
continence care and infusion care.
Experian is a market leader in the provision of
credit and marketing services. It maintains one
of the largest credit bureaus and offers
specialist analytical solutions for credit scoring,
risk management and application processing
across a number of different markets
including financial services, health, retail and
government.
HSBC
DBS
HSBC provides a variety of international
banking and financial services, including retail
and corporate banking. The diversity of
HSBC’s businesses and exposure to faster
growing regions should enable it to deliver
superior long term growth.
The largest Singapore bank by assets, it is also
one of the best managed with a clear
strategy. It is backed by good digital
infrastructure, and operates with focus on
efficiency of returns, as shown in the
distinctively better return on equity than
local peers.
Ten Lar
g
est Investments
32 Murray Income Trust PLC
Portfolio
A
s at
30
J
une
2025
Valuation Total Valuation
2025 investments 2024
Investment FTSE All-Share Sector Country £’000 % £’000
RELX Media UK 48,656 4.8 56,359
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology UK 46,434 4.6 58,253
National Grid Gas, Water and Multi-utilities UK 44,238 4.4 35,502
Unilever Personal Care Drug and Grocery Stores UK 43,141 4.3 57,626
Diageo Beverages UK 32,970 3.2 41,515
TotalEnergies Oil, Gas and Coal France 32,125 3.2 38,041
Convatec Medical Equipment and Services UK 31,830 3.1 21,336
Experian Industrial Support Services UK 31,291 3.1 33,099
HSBC Banks UK 29,193 2.9 18,661
DBS Banks Singapore 27,368 2.7 –
Top ten investments 367,246 36.3
Sage Group Software and Computer Services UK 26,945 2.7 32,402
Haleon Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology UK 23,787 2.3 13,662
SSE Electricity UK 23,030 2.3 22,031
LondonMetric Real Estate Investment Trusts UK 22,044 2.2 –
Safestore Real Estate Investment Trusts UK 21,810 2.1 18,574
Nordea Bank Banks Sweden 20,979 2.1 18,454
Shell Oil, Gas and Coal UK 20,939 2.1 –
Dunelm Retailers UK 20,915 2.1 –
Reckitt Benckiser Group Personal Care Drug and Grocery Stores UK 20,860 2.1 –
Kone Industrial Engineering Finland 20,628 2.0 12,953
Top twenty investments 589,183 58.3
London Stock Exchange Finance and Credit Services UK 20,313 2.0 43,837
Inchcape Industrial Support Services UK 20,031 2.0 23,243
M&G Investment Banking and Brokerage
Services
UK 19,956 2.0 15,840
Bunzl General Industrials UK 19,337 1.9 –
Rentokil Initial Industrial Support Services UK 19,131 1.9 25,060
Anglo American Industrial Metals and Mining UK 17,820 1.8 26,436
Howden Joinery Retailers UK 17,571 1.7 19,553
Coca-Cola EuroPacific
Partners
Beverages UK 17,359 1.7 11,172
Genus Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology UK 15,365 1.5 12,427
Intermediate Capital Investment Banking and Brokerage
Services
UK 14,101 1.4 31,190
Top thirty investments 770,167 76.2
Portfolio
Murray Income Trust PLC 33
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
A
s at
30
J
une
2025
Valuation Total Valuation
2025 investments 2024
Investment FTSE All-Share Sector Country £’000 % £’000
Rio Tinto Industrial Metals and Mining UK 14,008 1.4 –
Games Workshop Leisure Goods UK 13,943 1.4 16,150
Oxford Instruments Electronic and Electrical Equipment UK 13,720 1.4 19,052
Rotork Electronic and Electrical Equipment UK 13,470 1.3 11,589
Telenor Telecommunications Service Providers Norway 13,137 1.3 10,535
Air Liquide Chemicals France 11,815 1.2 10,770
Smurfit Kappa General Industrials UK 11,471 1.1 13,096
Genuit Construction and Materials UK 11,407 1.1 12,524
Hiscox Non-life Insurance UK 11,144 1.1 11,271
Berkeley Household Goods and Home Construction UK 10,962 1.1 10,901
Top forty investments 895,244 88.6
RS Group Industrial Support Services UK 10,492 1.0 18,480
Gamma
Communications
Telecommunications Service Providers UK 10,466 1.0 –
Mastercard Industrial Support Services United States 10,082 1.0 8,582
L’Oréal Personal Goods France 10,076 1.0 11,282
Close Brothers Banks UK 9,938 1.0 11,402
Accton Technology Telecommunications Equipment Taiwan 9,652 1.0 10,827
ASML Technology Hardware and Equipment Netherlands 9,633 0.9 –
Telecom Plus Telecommunications Service Providers UK 9,570 0.9 –
Microsoft Software and Computer Services United States 9,284 0.9 20,316
Moonpig Retailers UK 8,899 0.9 7,538
Top fifty investments 993,336 98.2
Chesnara Life Insurance UK 7,891 0.8 6,505
Mercedes-Benz Automobiles and Parts Germany 7,686 0.8 9,855
Valterra Industrial Metals and Mining South Africa 2,135 0.2 –
Total investments 1,011,048 100.0
Ordinary shares unless otherwise stated.
34 Murray Income Trust PLC
Investments held at 30 June 2025 (percentage of portfolio)
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Basic Materials
Consumer Discretionary
Consumer Staples
Ener gy
Financials
Health Ca re
Ind ustrials
Real Estate
Technology
Telecommunications
Utilities
Company
FTSE Al l-S ha re
Investments held at 30 June 2024 (percentage of portfolio)
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Basic Materials
Consumer Discretionary
Consumer Staples
Ener gy
Financials
Health Ca re
Ind us trials
Real Estate
Technology
Telecommunications
Utilities
Company
FTSE All-Share
Sector Comparison with the Benchmark
Murray Income Trust PLC 35
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Valuation Valuation
30 June 2024 Transactions Gains / (losses) 30 June 2025
£’000 % £’000 £’000 £’000 %
Equities
UK 865,068 80.6 (31,573) (7,047) 826,448 81.6
Denmark 9,923 0.9 (4,611) (5,312) – –
Finland 12,953 1.3 4,794 2,881 20,628 2.0
France 70,161 6.5 (7,330) (8,815) 54,016 5.4
Germany 9,855 0.9 – (2,169) 7,686 0.8
Netherlands – – 12,098 (2,465) 9,633 1.0
Norway 10,535 1.0 – 2,602 13,137 1.3
Singapore 27,374 2.5 (5,970) 5,964 27,368 2.7
South Africa – – 3,221 (1,086) 2,135 0.2
Switzerland 9,486 0.9 (5,558) (3,928) – –
Sweden 18,454 1.7 – 2,525 20,979 2.1
Taiwan 10,827 1.0 (4,787) 3,612 9,652 1.0
United States 28,898 2.7 (10,275) 743 19,366 1.9
Total investments 1,073,534 100.0 (49,991) (12,495) 1,011,048 100.0
Summary of Investment Chan
g
es Durin
g
the Year
36 Murray Income Trust PLC
Governance
As explained in the Investment Manager’s Report,
the Company’s former holding in BP was sold and
the proceeds reinvested into Shell.
Murray Income Trust PLC 37
38 Murray Income Trust PLC
Peter Tait
Chair of the Board
Appointment
Appointed a Director on 7 November 2017, Senior
Independent Director on 2 November 2021 and Chair of
the Board on 7 November 2023
Experience and other public
company directorships:
Peter Tait retired from the Nestlé Group where he was
initially Head of Investments for the Nestlé UK Pension
Fund and then CEO & CIO of Nestlé Capital
Management. Prior to Nestlé he worked for many years
in the investment management industry managing
portfolios for investment trusts, pension funds and
charitable foundations. During that time he was a
managing director at BlackRock International and,
before that, a director of Dunedin Fund Managers and a
portfolio analyst at Scottish Widows Life Assurance Fund.
Committee Membership:
Management Engagement Committee (Chair),
Nomination Committee (Chair) and Remuneration
Committee.
Contribution:
The Nomination Committee has reviewed the
contribution of Peter Tait in light of his proposed re-
election at the forthcoming AGM and has concluded that
he continues to chair the Company expertly, fostering a
collaborative engagement between the Board and
Manager while ensuring that meetings remain focussed
on the key areas relevant to stakeholders.
Stephanie Eastment
Senior Independent Non-Executive Director
Appointment
Appointed a Director on 2 August 2018 and Senior
Independent Director on 5 November 2024. Previously
Chair of the Audit Committee from 5 November 2018 to
5 November 2024
Experience and other public
company directorships:
Stephanie Eastment was formerly Head of Specialist
Fund Accounts and Corporate Secretariat at Invesco
Perpetual. Her career spans over 35 years working in
financial services. She qualified while at KPMG and is a
Fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in
England & Wales and is a Fellow of The Chartered
Governance Institute UK and Ireland. She is an
independent non-executive director and audit chair of
Herald Investment Trust plc, Impax Environmental
Markets plc and Alternative Income REIT plc. She is an
independent non-executive director of RBS Collective
Investment Funds Limited.
Committee Membership:
Audit Committee, Management Engagement
Committee, Nomination Committee and Remuneration
Committee (Chair).
Contribution:
The Nomination Committee has reviewed the
contribution of Stephanie Eastment in light of her
proposed re-election at the forthcoming AGM. She has
both financial and governance expertise, and a wealth of
experience in the investment trust sector enabling her to
bring a wider understanding and breadth of knowledge
to the Company from across the investment industry.
This has proved invaluable to the Board and
complements her new role as the Senior
Independent Director.
Board of Directors
Murray Income Trust PLC 39
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Nandita Sahgal Tully
Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the
Audit Committee
Appointment
Appointed a Director on 3 November 2021 and Chair of
the Audit Committee on 5 November 2024
Experience and other public
company directorships:
Nandita Sahgal Tully was appointed a Director on 3
November 2021 and Chair of the Audit Committee on 5
November 2024. She is a founder and Director of EM
Impact Capital Ltd, an independent advisory firm focussed
on energy transition in emerging markets. Previously, she
was a Managing Director and member of the Investment
Committee at ThomasLloyd Group Ltd, an impact investor
focussing on sustainable infrastructure. Prior to this, she
was Chief Executive Officer at IL&FS Global Financial
Services (UK) Ltd. She has over 25 years’ financial markets
experience working in asset management, equity capital
markets and M&A at ThomasLloyd Group, Insinger de
Beaufort and Seymour Pierce. She is a Fellow of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
and a Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and
Investment. She is also an independent non-executive
director and audit chair of Pacific Assets Trust plc.
Committee Membership:
Audit Committee (Chair), Management Engagement
Committee, Nomination Committee and Remuneration
Committee.
Contribution:
The Nomination Committee has reviewed the
contribution of Nandita Sahgal Tully in light of her
proposed re-election at the forthcoming AGM and has
assessed that she chairs the Audit Committee expertly,
as well as bringing to the Board both financial services
and investment management expertise with a particular
focus on sustainability.
Angus Franklin
Independent Non-Executive Director
Appointment
Appointed a Director on 1 January 2024
Experience and other public
company directorships:
Angus Franklin was a former investment partner of
Baillie Gifford & Co, where he worked for 28 years until
April 2022, primarily managing portfolios of
international equities. Latterly, he was head of the
international alpha investment strategy and chaired
the firm’s investment management group. His previous
responsibilities at Baillie Gifford & Co. included
membership of the firm’s management committee
and chairing the audit committee. He is a Member of
the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and
Wales. He is a member of the investment committee of
the National Trust for Scotland and a trustee of the St
Andrews Preservation Trust.
Committee Membership:
Audit Committee, Management Engagement
Committee, Nomination Committee and
Remuneration Committee.
Contribution:
The Nomination Committee has reviewed the
contribution of Angus Franklin in light of his proposed
re-election at the forthcoming AGM and considers
that he continues to bring to the Board considerable
expertise in investment management.
40 Murray Income Trust PLC
Andrew Page
Independent Non-Executive Director
Appointment
Appointed a Director on 17 January 2025
Experience and other public
company directorships:
Andrew Page was senior independent director of
Schroder UK Mid Cap Fund PLC until March 2024 and
senior independent director of JP Morgan Emerging
Markets Investment Trust PLC until November 2024.
Andrew was, until August 2014, the chief executive
officer of The Restaurant Group plc (“TRG”), a FTSE 250
company operating 460 restaurants throughout the UK.
He has previously served as both chair and senior
independent director on several listed company boards
and has also served as chair of Private Equity owned
businesses. Prior to joining TRG in 2001, Andrew held a
number of senior positions within the leisure and
hospitality sector including senior vice president with
InterContinental Hotels. Before that he spent six years
with Kleinwort Benson’s Corporate Finance department.
He is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants
in England and Wales.
Committee Membership:
Audit Committee, Management Engagement
Committee, Nomination Committee and Remuneration
Committee.
Contribution:
The Nomination Committee has reviewed the
contribution of Andrew Page in light of his proposed
election at the forthcoming AGM and considers that he
brings to the Board considerable commercial expertise
in addition to recent experience as an investment
trust director.
Board of Directors
Continued
Murray Income Trust PLC 41
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
The Directors present their report and the audited
financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2025
(the “Year”).
Results and Dividend Policy
The financial statements for the Year indicate a total
return attributable to equity shareholders for the year of
£22,880,000 (2024 – £94,779,000) and an explanation for
the Company’s financial performance may be found in
the Chair’s Statement on pages 4 to 7.
On 6 November 2024, the Company declared first,
second and third interim dividends, each of 9.50p per
share, to be paid on 14 December 2024, 13 March 2025
and 12 June 2025.
The Company further announced, on 31 July 2025, the
payment to shareholders on 11 September 2025 of a
fourth interim dividend for the year of 11.50p per share
(2024 – 10.00p) with an ex-dividend date of 14 August
2025 and a record date of 15 August 2025. This resulted in
total dividends of 40.00p per share for the year ended 30
June 2025, an increase of 3.9% on the 38.50p per share
paid for the prior year, which represented the 52
nd
year of
consecutive growth in the Company’s annual dividend.
The Board is proposing to maintain the dividend policy of
paying four quarterly interim dividends each year. In line
with good corporate governance, the Board therefore
proposes to put the Company’s dividend policy to
Shareholders for approval at the forthcoming AGM, as
resolution 3.
Principal Activity and Status
The Company, which was incorporated in 1923, is
registered as a public limited company in Scotland under
company number SC012725 and is an investment
company within the meaning of Section 833 of the
Companies Act 2006.
The Company has been accepted by HM Revenue &
Customs as an investment trust subject to the Company
continuing to meet the relevant eligibility conditions of
Section 1158 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 and the
ongoing requirements of Part 2 Chapter 3 Statutory
Instrument 2011/2999 for all financial years commencing
on or after 1 July 2012. The Directors are of the opinion
that the Company has conducted its affairs during the
Year so as to enable it to comply with the ongoing
requirements for investment trust status. The Company
has conducted its affairs so as to satisfy the requirements
as a qualifying security for Individual Savings Accounts.
The Directors intend that the Company will continue to
conduct its affairs in this manner.
Capital Structure and Voting Rights
At 30 June 2025, the Company had 97,912,184 (2024 –
104,685,001) fully paid Ordinary shares of 25p each in
issue, with voting rights, and an additional 21,617,348
(2024 – 14,844,531) shares in Treasury. During the Year,
6,772,817 Ordinary shares were bought back into
Treasury (2024 – 7,035,000).
Since the year end, the Company has bought back a
further 20,000 Ordinary shares into treasury. Accordingly,
as at the date of this Report, the Company’s issued share
capital consisted of 97,892,184 Ordinary shares of 25
pence each and 21,637,348 Ordinary shares held
in treasury.
Ordinary shareholders are entitled to vote on all
resolutions which are proposed at general meetings of the
Company. The Ordinary shares, excluding shares in
Treasury, carry a right to receive dividends. On a winding
up, after meeting the liabilities of the Company, the surplus
assets will be paid to Ordinary shareholders in proportion
to their shareholdings. There are no restrictions on the
transfer of Ordinary shares in the Company other than
certain restrictions which may be applied from time to
time by law (for example, laws prohibiting insider trading).
Manager and Company Secretary
The Manager has been appointed by the Company, under
a management agreement, to provide investment
management, risk management, administration and
company secretarial services as well as promotional
activities. The Company’s portfolio is managed by the
Investment Manager by way of a group delegation in
place with the Manager. In addition, the Manager has sub-
delegated promotional activities to the Investment
Manager and administrative and secretarial services to
abrdn Holdings Limited.
From 1 July 2024, annual fees payable to the Manager
under the management agreement are 0.35% on up to
£1.1 billion of net assets and 0.25% on any net assets in
excess of £1.1 billion.
Until 30 June 2024, annual fees payable to the Manager
were charged on the same basis as above, other than the
applicable rate was: 0.55% on the first £350 million of net
assets, 0.45% on net assets between £350 million and £450
million and 0.25% on any net assets in excess of
£450 million.
Directors’ Report
42 Murray Income Trust PLC
The value of any investments in unit trusts, open ended
and closed ended investment companies and investment
trusts of which the Manager, or another company within
Aberdeen Group plc, is the operator, manager or
investment adviser, is deducted from net assets when
calculating the fee.
The management agreement is terminable on not less
than three months’ notice. In the event of termination by
the Company on less than the agreed notice period,
compensation is payable to the Manager in lieu of the
unexpired notice period.
An annual secretarial fee of £75,000 (plus applicable VAT)
is payable to abrdn Holdings Limited, which is chargeable
100% to revenue. An annual fee equivalent to up to 0.05%
of gross assets (calculated at 30 September each year,
and capped at £400,000, excluding VAT) is paid to the
Investment Manager to cover promotional activities
undertaken on behalf of the Company.
The finance costs and investment management fees
are charged 70% to capital and 30% to revenue in line
with the Board’s expectation of the split of future
investment returns.
The management, secretarial and promotional activity
fees paid to subsidiaries of Aberdeen Group plc, during
the Year are shown in notes 4 and 5 to the financial
statements.
External Agencies
The Board has contractually delegated to external
agencies, including the Manager and other service
providers, certain services including: the management of
the investment portfolio, the day-to-day accounting and
company secretarial requirements, the depositary
services (which include cash monitoring, the custody and
safeguarding of the Company’s financial instruments and
monitoring the Company’s compliance with investment
limits and leverage requirements) and the share
registration services. Each of these contracts was entered
into after full and proper consideration by the Board of the
quality and cost of services offered in so far as they relate
to the affairs of the Company. In addition, ad hoc reports
and information are supplied to the Board as requested.
Directors
The Directors of the Company during the Year and up to
the date of signing of this Report were as follows: Peter
Tait, Stephanie Eastment, Nandita Sahgal Tully and Angus
Franklin were Directors throughout the Year. Alan Giles
retired from the Board on 5 November 2024 and was
succeeded as Senior Independent Director by Stephanie
Eastment. Andrew Page was appointed as a Director on
17 January 2025.
The Role of the Chair and Senior Independent Director
The Chair is responsible for providing effective leadership
to the Board, by setting the tone of the Company,
demonstrating objective judgement and promoting a
culture of openness and debate. The Chair facilitates the
effective contribution of, and encourages active
engagement by, each Director. In conjunction with the
Company Secretary, the Chair ensures that Directors
receive accurate, timely and clear information to assist
them with effective decision-making. The Chair acts upon
the results of the Board evaluation process by recognising
strengths and addressing any weaknesses and also
ensures that the Board engages with major shareholders
and that all Directors understand shareholder views.
The SID acts as a sounding board for the Chair and acts as
an intermediary for other directors, when necessary. The
SID takes responsibility for an orderly succession process
for the Chair and leads the annual appraisal of the Chair’s
performance. The SID is also available to shareholders to
discuss any concerns they may have.
Management of Conflicts of Interest, Anti-Bribery Policy and
Tax Evasion Policy
The Board has a procedure in place to deal with a
situation where a Director has a conflict of interest. As part
of this process, the Directors prepare a list of other
positions held and all other conflict situations that may
need to be authorised either in relation to the Director
concerned or his/her connected persons. The Board
considers each Director’s situation and decides whether
to approve any conflict, taking into consideration what is in
the best interests of the Company and whether the
Director’s ability to act in accordance with his/her wider
duties is affected. Each Director is required to notify the
Company Secretaries of any potential, or actual, conflict
situations which will need authorising by the Board.
Authorisations given by the Board are reviewed at each
Board meeting.
The Board takes a zero-tolerance approach to bribery
and has adopted appropriate procedures designed to
prevent bribery. Aberdeen also takes a zero-tolerance
approach and has its own detailed policy and procedures
in place to prevent bribery and corruption. It is the
Company’s policy to conduct all of its business in an
honest and ethical manner. The Company takes a zero-
tolerance approach to facilitation of tax evasion, whether
under UK law or under the law of any foreign country and
its full policy on tax evasion may be found on its website.
Directors’ Report
Continued
Murray Income Trust PLC 43
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Board Diversity
The Board recognises the importance of having a range
of skilled, experienced individuals with the right knowledge
represented on the Board in order to allow it to fulfil its
obligations. The Board also recognises the benefits and is
supportive of, and will give due regard to, the principle of
diversity in its recruitment of new Board members. The
Board will not display any bias for age, gender, race,
sexual orientation, socio-economic background, religion,
ethnic or national origins or disability in considering the
appointment of Directors.
The Board will continue to ensure that all appointments
are made on the basis of merit against the specification
prepared for each appointment. The Board will take
account of the targets set out in the FCA’s Listing Rules,
which are set out below.
The Board has resolved that the Company’s year end
date is the most appropriate date for disclosure purposes.
The following information has been provided by each
Director through the completion of questionnaires.
Table for reporting on sex as at 30 June 2025
Number of
board
members
Percentage of
the board
Number of senior
positions
on the board
(CEO, CFO,
Chair and SID)
Number in
executive
management
Percentage of
executive
management
Men 3 60%
n/a
(note 3)
n/a
(note 3)
n/a
(note 3)
Women 2 40% (note 1)
Not specified/prefer not to say - -
Table for reporting on ethnic background as at 30 June 2025
Number of
board
members
Percentage of
the board
Number of senior
positions
on the board
(CEO, CFO,
Chair and SID)
Number in
executive
management
Percentage of
executive
management
White British or other White
(including minority-white groups)
4 80%
n/a
(note 3)
n/a
(note 3)
n/a
(note 3)
Asian/Asian British 1
(note 2)
20%
Not specified/prefer not to say - -
Notes:
1. Meets target that at least 40% of Directors are women as set out in LR 6.6.6R (9)(a)(i).
2. Meets target that at least one Director is from a minority ethnic background as set out in LR 6.6.6R (9)(a)(iii).
3. This column is not applicable as the Company is externally managed and does not have any executive staff,
specifically it does not have either a CEO or CFO. The Company considers that the roles of Chair of the Board, Senior
Independent Director and Chair of the Audit Committee are senior board positions and accordingly that the
Company meets the requirement, as set out in LR 6.6.6R (9)(a)(ii), that at least one of the four senior board positions is
occupied by a woman. Although not applicable to the Company, it is noted that the target is met.
44 Murray Income Trust PLC
Directors’ Insurance and Indemnities
The Company has indemnified each Director, as
permitted under its Articles of Association, against any
liabilities incurred by them as a Director of the Company in
defending proceedings, or in connection with any
application to the Court in which relief is granted. These
qualifying indemnity provisions were in force during the
Year. In addition, Directors’ and Officers’ liability insurance
cover has been maintained throughout the Year at the
expense of the Company.
Corporate Governance
The Company is committed to high standards of
corporate governance and its Statement of Corporate
Governance is set out on page 50.
Matters Reserved for the Board
The Board sets the Company’s objectives and ensures
that its obligations to its shareholders are met. It has
formally adopted a schedule of matters which are
required to be brought to it for decision, thus ensuring that
it maintains full and effective control over appropriate
strategic, financial, operational and compliance issues.
These matters include:
· the maintenance of clear investment objectives and risk
management policies;
· the monitoring of the business activities of the Company
ranging from analysis of investment performance
through to review of quarterly management accounts;
· monitoring requirements such as approval of the Half-
Yearly Report and Annual Report and financial
statements and approval and recommendation of
any dividends;
· setting the range of gearing in which the Manager
may operate;
· major changes relating to the Company’s structure
including share buybacks and share issuance;
· Board appointments and removals and the
related terms;
· authorisation of Directors’ conflicts or possible
conflicts of interest;
· terms of reference and membership of Board
Committees;
· appointment and removal of the Manager and the
terms and conditions of the Management Agreement
relating thereto; and
· London Stock Exchange/Financial Conduct Authority -
responsibility for approval of all circulars, listing
particulars and other releases concerning matters
decided by the Board.
Full and timely information is provided to the Board to
enable it to function effectively and to allow the Directors
to discharge their responsibilities.
Board Committees
The Board has appointed a number of Committees as set
out below. Copies of their terms of reference, which define
the responsibilities and duties of each Committee, are
available on the Company’s website.
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee Report is on pages 55 to 57.
Management Engagement Committee
The terms and conditions of the Company’s agreement
with the Manager, set out on pages 41 and 42, are
considered by the Management Engagement Committee
which comprises the whole Board and is chaired by Peter
Tait. The key responsibilities of the Management
Engagement Committee include:
· monitoring and evaluating the performance of
the Manager;
· assessing the Manager’s discharge of its responsibilities
under Consumer Duty;
· reviewing, at least annually, the continued retention of
the Manager; and
· reviewing, at least annually, the terms of appointment of
the Manager including, but not limited to, the level and
methodology of the management fees as well as the
notice period of the Manager.
In monitoring the performance of the Manager, the
Committee considers the investment record of the
Company over the short and long term, taking into
account its performance against the Benchmark, peer
group investment trusts and open-ended funds, and
against its delivery of the investment objective to
shareholders. The Committee also reviews the
management processes, risk control mechanisms and
promotional activities of the Manager.
On 3 July 2025, the Board announced that it was
commencing a strategic review of the options available to
the Company in the pursuit of delivering improved
performance and returns for its shareholders, whilst
continuing to provide an attractive yield from a portfolio
predominantly focused on UK equities. The Board is
reviewing proposals for the future of the Company from
the Manager, third party investment managers and other
Directors’ Report
Continued
Murray Income Trust PLC 45
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
investment companies, and expects to provide an update
to shareholders during the fourth quarter of 2025.
Consumer Duty
The FCA’s Consumer Duty rules are a fundamental
component of the FCA’s consumer protection strategy
and aim to improve outcomes for retail customers across
the entire financial services industry through the
assessment of various outcomes, one of which is an
assessment of whether a product provides value. Under
the Consumer Duty, the Manager is the product
‘manufacturer’ of the Company and therefore the
Manager is required to publish an annual assessment. The
Manager uses its proprietary assessment methodology to
assess the Company as 'expected to provide fair value for
the reasonably foreseeable future'. The Committee
reviewed the Manager's basis of assessment in June 2025
and no concerns were identified with either the
assessment method or the outcome of the assessment.
Nomination Committee
The Board has established a Nomination Committee,
comprising all of the Directors, chaired by Peter Tait. The
Committee is responsible for:
· determining the overall size and composition of the
Board (including the skills, knowledge, experience and
diversity);
· undertaking longer term succession planning, including
setting a policy on tenure for Directors;
· undertaking an annual evaluation of the Directors,
including establishing that each Director possesses the
capacity to commit sufficient time to discharge their
responsibilities;
· oversight of appointments to the Board, including open
advertising or engagement of independent search
consultants, with a view to attracting candidates from a
wide range of backgrounds and with different
experience, with due regard to the benefits of diversity
on the Board;
· assessing, annually, the effectiveness and
independence of each Director; and
· making recommendations for the election or re-
election of any Director, having evaluated their individual
performance, capacity and contribution.
The Committee’s overriding priority in appointing new
Directors is to identify the candidate with the optimal
range of skills and experience to complement the existing
Directors. The Board also recognises the benefits, and is
supportive, of the principle of diversity in its recruitment of
new Directors.
Cornforth Consulting, an independent recruitment firm
with no connection to the Company, was engaged for the
search which resulted in the appointment of Andrew Page
as a Director during the Year.
Through the work of the Nomination Committee, the
Directors undertook a review of the Board, its Committees
and the performance of individual Directors. The process,
which was facilitated by Lintstock Limited, an independent
consultancy, involved the completion of questionnaires by
each Director with the results discussed by the Board
thereafter, with appropriate action points agreed.
Following the evaluation process, the Board concluded
that it operates effectively to promote the success of the
Company and that each Director makes a significant
contribution to the collective Board. The review of the
Chair was undertaken by the Senior Independent Director.
The biographies of each of the Directors seeking re-
election are shown on pages 38 to 40 and include their
experience, length of service and the contribution that
each Director makes to the Board. Each Director
has the requisite high level and range of business and
financial experience which enables the Board to provide
clear and effective leadership and proper stewardship
of the Company.
Policy on Tenure
The Committee has adopted a policy whereby all
Directors will stand for re-election at each AGM. In
addition Directors, including the Chair, will not stand for re-
election as a Director of the Company later than the AGM
following the ninth anniversary of their appointment to the
Board unless in relation to exceptional circumstances.
46 Murray Income Trust PLC
Re-election of Directors
During the Year, each Director attended all meetings for
which they were eligible, as set out in the table. The Board
meets more frequently when business needs require:
Board
Meetings
(7)
Audit
Committee
Meetings
(3)
Management
Engagement
Committee
Meetings
(1)
Nomination
Committee
Meetings
(2)
Remuneration
Committee
Meetings
(1)
Peter Tait
A
7 - 1 2 1
Stephanie
Eastment
7 3 1 2 1
Nandita
Sahgal
Tully
7 3 1 2 1
Angus
Franklin
7 3 1 2 1
Andrew
Page
B
3 2 1 1 1
Alan
Giles
C
3 1 - - -
A
The Chair of the Board is not a member of the Audit Committee but attended all
of the meetings at the invitation of the Committee Chair.
B
Appointed as a Director on 17 January 2025 and attended all meetings for which
he was eligible.
C
Retired as a Director on 5 November 2024; attended all meetings for which he
was eligible.
The Board as a whole believes that Peter Tait, Stephanie
Eastment, Nandita Sahgal Tully, Angus Franklin and
Andrew Page each remains independent of the Manager
and free of any relationship which could materially
interfere with the exercise of his or her independent
judgement on issues of strategy, performance, resources
and standards of conduct and confirms that, following
formal performance evaluations, the individuals’
performance continues to be effective and demonstrates
commitment to the role.
Peter Tait, Stephanie Eastment, Nandita Sahgal Tully and
Angus Franklin, each being eligible, offer themselves for
re-election as Directors of the Company at the AGM on 4
November 2025. Andrew Page, being eligible, offers
himself for election as a Director of the Company.
Remuneration Committee
The Board has established a Remuneration Committee,
comprising all of the Directors, whose Chair was Alan Giles
until 5 November 2024, when he was succeeded by
Stephanie Eastment. The Directors’ Remuneration Report,
on pages 51 to 54, sets out the responsibilities of the
Committee and work undertaken by the Committee
during the Year.
Accountability and Audit
The responsibilities of the Directors and the auditor in
connection with the financial statements appear on
pages 58, 64 and 65.
The Directors who held office at the date of this Report
each confirm that, so far as they are aware, there is no
relevant audit information of which the Company’s auditor
is unaware and that they have taken all the steps that they
could reasonably be expected to have taken as a Director
in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit
information and to establish that the Company’s auditor is
aware of that information. Further, there have been no
important, additional events since the year end which
warrant disclosure. The Directors confirm that no non-
audit services were provided by the auditor during the
Year and, after reviewing the auditor’s procedures in
connection with the provision of any such services, remain
satisfied that the auditor’s objectivity and independence is
being safeguarded.
Going Concern
The Directors have undertaken a rigorous review and
consider both that there are no material uncertainties and
that the adoption of the going concern basis of accounting
is appropriate. This conclusion is consistent with the longer
term Viability Statement on page 26.
The Company’s assets consist primarily of a diverse
portfolio of listed equity shares nearly all of which, in most
circumstances, are realisable within a short timescale. The
Board has set limits for borrowing and regularly reviews
the level of any gearing, cash flow projections and
compliance with banking and loan note covenants.
The Directors are mindful of the principal risks and
uncertainties disclosed on pages 21 to 25, and have
reviewed forecasts detailing revenue and liabilities. The
Directors are satisfied that the Company has adequate
resources to continue in operational existence for the
foreseeable future, being at least 12 months from the date
of approval of this Annual Report.
Relations with Shareholders
The Directors place great importance on communication
with shareholders noting that the Company’s shareholder
register is retail-dominated. The Manager, together with
the Company’s broker, regularly meets with current and
prospective shareholders to discuss performance. The
Board receives investor relations updates from the
Manager on at least a quarterly basis. Any changes in the
shareholder register as well as shareholder feedback is
discussed by the Directors at each Board meeting.
Directors’ Report
Continued
Murray Income Trust PLC 47
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Regular updates are provided to shareholders through the
Annual Report, Half Yearly Report, monthly factsheets and
company announcements, including daily net asset
values, all of which are available through the Company’s
website at: murray-income.co.uk. The Annual Report is also
widely distributed to other parties who have an interest in
the Company’s performance. Shareholders and investors
may obtain up-to-date information on the Company
through its website or by contacting the Company via
email at: murray.income@aberdeenplc.com.
The Board’s policy is to communicate directly with
shareholders and their representative bodies without the
involvement of the management group (either the
Company Secretary or Aberdeen) in situations where
direct communication is required and representatives
from the Board offer to meet with major shareholders on
an annual basis in order to gauge their views. The
Company Secretary acts on behalf of the Board, not the
Manager, and there is no filtering of communication. At
each Board meeting the Board receives full details of any
communication from shareholders to which the Chair
responds, as appropriate, on behalf of the Board.
In addition, in relation to institutional shareholders,
members of the Board may be either accompanied by
the Manager or conduct meetings in the absence of
the Manager.
The Company’s Annual General Meeting ordinarily
provides a forum, both formal and informal, for
shareholders to meet and discuss issues with the Directors
and Investment Manager. The Notice of AGM included
within the Annual Report is normally sent out at least 20
working days in advance of the meeting.
Relations with Suppliers, Customers
and Others
The Directors have regard to the need to foster the
Company’s business relationships with suppliers,
customers and others, and the effect of that regard,
including on the principal decisions taken by the Company
during the financial year; further information on the
Company’s responsibilities under Section 172 of
Companies Act 2006 may be found on pages 28 and 29.
Independent Auditor
Shareholders approved the re-appointment of
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the Company’s auditor
at the AGM on 5 November 2024 and resolutions to
approve its re-appointment for the year to 30 June 2026,
and to authorise the Audit Committee to determine its
remuneration, will be proposed at the forthcoming AGM.
Substantial Interests
As at 30 June 2025 the following interests over 3% in the
issued Ordinary share capital of the Company (excluding
treasury shares) had been disclosed in accordance with
the requirements of the FCA’s Guidance and
Transparency Disclosure Rules:
30 June 2025
Shareholder Number of
shares held
%
held
Interactive Investor
(execution only)
23,270,676 23.8
Hargreaves
Lansdown
(execution only)
14,867,400 15.2
Rathbones 9,160,941 9.4
A J Bell
(execution only)
4,234,445 4.3
Halifax Share
Dealing
(execution only)
3,508,715 3.6
The Company had not been notified of any change to the
above interests, as at 8 September 2025, being the latest
practicable date prior to approval of this Report.
Future Developments of the Company
Disclosures relating to the future developments of the
Company may be found in the Chair’s Statement on
pages 4 to 7.
Disclosures Required by FCA Listing
Rule 9.8.4
This rule requires listed companies to report certain
information in a single identifiable section of their annual
financial reports. None of the prescribed information is
applicable to the Company in the Year.
Financial Instruments
The financial risk management objectives and policies
arising from financial instruments and the exposure of
the Company to risk are disclosed in note 18 to the
financial statements.
Annual General Meeting (“AGM”)
Among the special business being put to the AGM of the
Company to be held on 4 November 2025, the following
resolutions will be proposed:
48 Murray Income Trust PLC
Authority to allot shares and disapply pre-emption rights
(Resolutions 11 and 12)
Ordinary resolution 11 will renew the authority to allot the
unissued share capital up to an aggregate nominal
amount of £1.2 million (equivalent to approximately 4.9
million Ordinary shares, or, if less, 5% of the Company’s
existing issued share capital (excluding treasury shares)
on the date of passing of this resolution). Such authority
will expire on the date of the AGM in 2026 or on 31
December 2026, whichever is earlier. This means that the
authority will require to be renewed at the next AGM.
When shares are to be allotted for cash, Section 561 of the
Companies Act 2006 (the “Act”) provides that existing
shareholders have pre-emption rights and that the new
shares to be issued, or sold from treasury, must be offered
first to such shareholders in proportion to their existing
holding of shares. However, shareholders can, by special
resolution, authorise the Directors to allot shares or sell
from treasury otherwise than by a pro rata issue to
existing shareholders. Special resolution 12 will, if passed,
give the Directors power to allot for cash or sell from
treasury equity securities up to an aggregate nominal
amount of £2.4 million (equivalent to approximately 9.8m
Ordinary shares, or, if less, 10% of the Company’s existing
issued share capital (excluding treasury shares) on the
date of passing of this resolution, as if Section 561 of the
Act does not apply). This authority will also expire on the
date of the AGM in 2026 or on 31 December 2026,
whichever is earlier. This authority will not be used in
connection with a rights issue by the Company.
The Directors intend to use the authorities given by
resolutions 11 and 12 to allot shares or sell shares from
treasury and disapply pre-emption rights only in
circumstances where this will be clearly beneficial to
shareholders as a whole. The issue proceeds would be
available for investment in line with the Company’s
investment policy. No issue of shares will be made which
would effectively alter the control of the Company without
the prior approval of shareholders in general meeting. It is
the intention of the Board that any issue of shares or any
re-sale of treasury shares would only take place at a price
not less than 0.5% above the NAV per share prevailing at
the date of sale. It is also the intention of the Board that
sales from treasury would only take place when the Board
believes that to do so would assist in the provision of
liquidity to the market.
Purchase of the Company’s own Ordinary shares
(Resolution 13)
At the AGM held on 5 November 2024, shareholders
approved the renewal of the authority permitting the
Company to repurchase its Ordinary shares. The Directors
wish to renew the authority given by shareholders at the
previous AGM. A share buyback facility enhances
shareholder value by acquiring shares at a discount to
NAV as and when the Directors consider this to be
appropriate. The purchase of shares, when they are
trading at a discount to NAV per share, should result in an
increase in the NAV per share for the remaining
shareholders. This authority, if conferred, will only be
exercised if to do so would result in an increase in the NAV
per share for the remaining shareholders and if it is in the
best interests of shareholders generally. Any purchase of
shares will be made within guidelines established from
time to time by the Board. It is proposed to seek
shareholder authority to renew this facility for another
year at the AGM.
Under the FCA’s Listing Rules, the maximum price that
may be paid on the exercise of this authority must not
exceed the higher of (i) 105% of the average of the middle
market quotations for the shares over the five business
days immediately preceding the date of purchase and (ii)
the higher of the last independent trade and the highest
current independent bid on the trading venue where the
purchase is carried out. The minimum price which may be
paid is 25p per share. Shares which are purchased under
this authority will either be cancelled or held as treasury
shares. Special resolution 13 will renew the authority to
purchase in the market a maximum of 14.99% of shares in
issue at the date of passing of the resolution (amounting to
approximately 14.7 million Ordinary shares). Such
authority will expire on the date of the AGM in 2026, or on
31 December 2026, whichever is earlier. This means in
effect that the authority will have to be renewed at the
next AGM, or earlier, if the authority has been exhausted.
No dividends may be paid on any shares held in treasury
and no voting rights will attach to such shares. The benefit
of the ability to hold treasury shares is that such shares
may be sold at short notice. This should give the Company
greater flexibility in managing its share capital, and
improve liquidity in its shares.
Directors’ Report
Continued
Murray Income Trust PLC 49
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Recommendation
The Directors believe that the resolutions to be proposed
at the AGM are in the best interests of the Company and
its shareholders as a whole, and recommend that
shareholders vote in favour of the resolutions, as the
Directors intend to do in respect of their own beneficial
shareholdings, amounting to 26,095 Ordinary shares,
representing 0.03% of the Company’s issued share capital
(excluding treasury shares) at 30 June 2025.
On behalf of the Board
Peter Tait
Chair
11 September 2025
50 Murray Income Trust PLC
Murray Income Trust PLC (the “Company”) is committed
to high standards of corporate governance. The Board is
accountable to the Company’s shareholders for good
governance and this statement describes how the
Company has applied the principles identified in the UK
Corporate Governance Code as published in July 2018
(the “UK Code”), which is available on the Financial
Reporting Council’s (the “FRC”) website: frc.org.uk, and is
applicable for the Company’s Year.
The Board has also considered the principles and
provisions of the AIC Code of Corporate Governance as
published in February 2019 (the “AIC Code”). The AIC
Code addresses the principles and provisions set out in the
UK Code, as well as setting out additional provisions on
issues that are of specific relevance to the Company. The
AIC Code is available on the AIC’s website: theaic.co.uk.
The Board considers that reporting against the principles
and provisions of the AIC Code, which has been endorsed
by the FRC, provides more relevant information to
shareholders.
The Board confirms that, during the Year, the Company
has complied with the principles and provisions of the AIC
Code and the relevant provisions of the UK Code, except
for those provisions relating to:
· the role and responsibility of the chief executive;
· executive directors’ remuneration; and
· the requirement for an internal audit function.
The Board considers that these provisions are not relevant
to the position of the Company being an externally
managed investment company. In particular, all of the
Company’s day-to-day management and administrative
functions are outsourced to third parties. As a result, the
Company has no executive directors, employees or
internal operations. The Company has therefore not
reported further in respect of these provisions.
Information on how the Company has applied the AIC
Code, the UK Code, the Companies Act 2006 and the
FCA’s UK Listing Rule 7.2.6 can be found in the Annual
Report as follows:
· the composition and operation of the Board and its
Committees are detailed on pages 42 to 46, and on
page 55 in respect of the Audit Committee;
· the Board’s policy on diversity, and related information, is
on page 43;
· the Company’s approach to internal control and risk
management is detailed on pages 55 and 56;
· the contractual arrangements with the Manager are set
out on pages 41 and 42 while details of the annual
assessment of the Manager may be found on pages 44
and 45;
· the Company’s capital structure and voting rights are
summarised on page 41;
· the substantial interests disclosed in the Company’s
shares are listed on page 47;
· the rules concerning the appointment and replacement
of Directors are contained in the Company’s Articles of
Association and are summarised on pages 51 and 52.
There are no agreements between the Company and
its Directors concerning compensation for loss of office;
and
· the powers to issue or buyback the Company’s ordinary
shares, which are sought annually, and any
amendments to the Company’s Articles of Association
require a special resolution (75% majority) to be passed
by shareholders and information on these resolutions
may be found on pages 47 to 49.
By order of the Board
abrdn Holdings Limited, Secretaries
1 George Street
Edinburgh
EH2 2LL
11 September 2025
Statement of Corporate Governance
Murray Income Trust PLC 51
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
The Remuneration Committee, established by the Board,
has prepared this Directors’ Remuneration Report which
consists of three parts:
a) a Remuneration Policy, which is subject to a binding
shareholder vote every three years, was most
recently voted on at the AGM on 7 November 2023
where the result of the poll on the relevant resolution
was: For – 33,554,452 votes (99.2%); Against - 277,825
votes (0.8%); and Withheld – 217,548 votes. The
Remuneration Policy will be put to a shareholder vote
no later than the AGM in 2026;
b) an annual Implementation Report, which is subject to
an advisory vote; and
c) an Annual Statement.
The fact that the Remuneration Policy is subject to a
binding vote at least every three years does not imply any
change on the part of the Company. The principles
remain the same as for previous years. There has been no
change to the Remuneration Policy during the period of
this Report, since the AGM on 5 November 2024.
The law requires the Company’s auditor to audit certain of
the disclosures provided in this report. Where disclosures
have been audited, they are indicated as such. The
independent auditor’s opinion is included on pages
59 to 66.
Remuneration Policy
This part of the Report provides details of the Company’s
Policy for Directors of the Company, which takes into
consideration corporate governance principles, and
which was approved by shareholders at the AGM in 2023.
The Board considers, where raised, shareholders’ views on
Directors’ remuneration.
Fees for Directors are determined by the Board within the
limit stated in the Company's Articles of Association (the
"Articles"). The Articles limit aggregate fees to £250,000
per annum. The limit can be amended by shareholder
resolution and was last increased at the AGM in 2017.
The remuneration of Directors is reviewed annually,
although such review may not necessarily result in any
change. The annual review ensures that remuneration
supports the strategic objectives of the Company, reflects
Directors’ duties and responsibilities, expected time
commitment, the level of skills and experience required,
and the need for Directors to maintain on an ongoing basis
an appropriate level of knowledge of regulatory and
compliance requirements in an industry environment of
increasing complexity. Remuneration should be fair and
comparable to that of similar investment trusts.
The Policy applies to any new Directors who will be paid
the appropriate fee based on the Directors’ fees level in
place at the date of appointment.
· The Company has no employees and consequently has
no policy on the remuneration of employees.
· All the Directors are non-executive and are appointed
under the terms of letters of appointment.
· Directors do not have service contracts.
· No incentive or introductory fees will be paid to
encourage a directorship.
· Directors’ remuneration is not subject to any
performance-related fee.
· Directors are not eligible for bonuses, pension benefits,
share options, long term incentive schemes or other
benefits.
· Directors are not entitled to exit payments or any
compensation for loss of office.
· Directors are entitled to be reimbursed for any
reasonable expenses properly incurred in the
performance of their duties.
· Directors can be paid additional discretionary payments
for services which , in the opinion of the Directors, are
outside of the scope of the ordinary duties of a Director.
· The terms of appointment provide that a Director may
be removed subject to three months’ written notice.
· Directors must retire and be subject to re-election at the
first AGM after their appointment; the Company has
also determined that every Director will stand for re-
election at each AGM.
· No Director will stand for re-election as a Director of the
Company later than the AGM following the ninth
anniversary of their appointment to the Board unless in
relation to exceptional circumstances.
Directors’ Remuneration Report
52 Murray Income Trust PLC
· The Company indemnifies its Directors for all costs,
charges, losses together with certain expenses and
liabilities which may be incurred in the discharge of
duties, as a Director of the Company.
Directors’ & Officers’ liability insurance cover is maintained
by the Company on behalf of the Directors.
Implementation Report
Directors’ Fees
The level of fees for the Year and the preceding year are
set out in the table below. There are no further fees to
disclose as the Company has no employees, Chief
Executive or Executive Directors.
30 June 2025
£
30 June 2024
£
Chair 44,625 43,125
Audit Committee Chair 37,200 35,950
Senior Independent Director 32,725 31,625
Director 29,750 28,750
The Remuneration Committee carried out its annual
review of Directors’ fees during the Year by reference to
inflation, measured by the increase in the Consumer
Prices Index since 1 July 2024, and taking account of peer
group comparisons by sector and by market
capitalisation. In addition, the increasing demands,
responsibilities and time commitment required of
Directors, both in general and specifically for the Senior
Independent Director ("SID"), Audit Committee Chair and
Chair of the Board, was noted - with such things as
heightened corporate governance, increasingly complex
and onerous regulatory requirements, and strategic
developments. Taking these factors and others into
account, the Committee resolved to effect the following
fee rates from 1 July 2025: Directors’ base fee of £31,000
(+4.2%); SID fee of £35,650 (+ 8.9%); Audit Committee
Chair fee of £40,300 (+8.3%); and Chair of the Board fee of
£48,050 (+7.7%).
Company Performance
The graph shows the share price total return (assuming all
dividends are reinvested) to Ordinary shareholders
compared to the total return from the FTSE All-Share
Index for the ten year period ended 30 June 2025
(rebased to 100 at 30 June 2015). This index was chosen
for comparison purposes, as it is the benchmark used for
investment performance measurement purposes.
100
120
140
160
180
200
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Share Price Total Return FTSE Allshare
Statement of Proxy Voting at Annual General Meeting
At the Company’s latest AGM, held on 5 November 2024,
shareholders approved the Directors’ Remuneration
Report (other than the Directors’ Remuneration Policy) in
respect of the year ended 30 June 2024, where the result
of the poll on the relevant resolution was: For – 28,352,507
(99.3%); Against – 203,135 votes (0.7%); and Withheld –
85,252 votes.
Audited Information
Directors’ Remuneration
The Directors received remuneration in the form of fees
and taxable expenses as set out in the tables on the
following page.
The Directors’ remuneration excludes any employers’
national insurance contributions, if applicable. All
remuneration is fixed in nature and there is no variable
remuneration. Fees are pro-rated where a change takes
place during a financial year. No payments were made to
third parties. There are no other fees to disclose as the
Company has no employees, chief executive or executive
directors. Taxable expenses refer to amounts claimed by
Directors for travelling to attend meetings.
Directors’ Remuneration Report
Continued
Murray Income Trust PLC 53
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Directors’ Remuneration Table (audited)
Year ended 30 June 2025 Year ended 30 June 2024
Fees
£
Taxable
Expenses
£
Total
£
Fees
£
Taxable
Expenses
£
Total
£
Peter Tait (appointed Chair on 7 November 2023) 44,625 467 45,092 39,068 573 39,641
Stephanie Eastment (appointed SID on 5 November 2024,
previously Chair of the Audit Committee)
34,279 263 34,542 35,950 511 36,461
Nandita Sahgal Tully (appointed Chair of the Audit
Committee on 5 November 2024)
34,613 274 34,887 28,750 476 29,226
Angus Franklin (appointed on 1 January 2024) 29,750 - 29,750 14,375 - 14,375
Andrew Page (appointed on 17 January 2025) 13,595 - 13,595 n/a n/a n/a
Alan Giles
(retired on 5 November 2024) 11,363 - 11,363 30,611 371 30,982
Neil Rogan (retired on 7 November 2023) n/a n/a n/a 15,213 1,446 16,659
Merryn Somerset Webb (retired on 7 November 2023) n/a n/a n/a 10,142 - 10,142
Total 168,225 1,004 169,229 174,109 3,377 177,486
Annual Percentage Change in Directors’ Remuneration
The table below sets out, for the Directors who served during the Year, the annual percentage change in Directors’ fees
for the past five years.
Year ended
30 June 2025
Year ended
30 June 2024
Year ended
30 June 2023
Year ended
30 June 2022
Year ended
30 June 2021
Fees
%
Fees
%
Fees
%
Fees
%
Fees
%
Peter Tait (appointed SID on 2 November 2021 and
Chair on 7 November 2023)
14.2 29.4
C
5.6 12.1 0.0
Stephanie Eastment (4.6)
C
4.8 2.4 11.7 0.0
Alan Giles (retired on 5 November 2024) See note
A
11.3
C
2.6 68.9
B
See note
A
Nandita Sahgal Tully (appointed on 3 November 2021) 20.4
C
4.5 55.2
B
See note
A
n/a
Angus Franklin (appointed on 1 January 2024) 107.0
A
See note
A
n/a n/a n/a
Andrew Page (appointed on 17 January 2025) See note
A
n/a n/a n/a n/a
Neil Rogan (retired on 7 November 2023) n/a
A
See note
A
2.5 7.2 0.0
Merryn Somerset Webb (retired on 7 November 2023) n/a
A
See note
A
2.6 5.1 11.0
B
A
A meaningful percentage change figure cannot be calculated in the year of appointment nor for a year when a Director resigns/retires.
B
If the Director had been appointed for the whole of the previous year, the annual change figure would have been nil for Merryn Somerset
Webb, 5.1% for Alan Giles and 2.6% for Nandita Sahgal Tully.
C
In a year of change to a more senior role, and in the following year, the percentage change figures will be distorted to show a higher or lower
figure than the ‘real’ change of fee levels in the year.
54 Murray Income Trust PLC
Spend on Pay
As the Company has no employees, the Directors do not
consider it appropriate to present a table comparing
remuneration paid to Directors with distributions to
shareholders. However, for ease of reference, the total
fees paid to Directors are shown in the table on page 53
while dividends paid to shareholders are set out in note 7
and share buybacks are detailed in note 15.
Directors’ Interests in the Company (audited)
The Directors are not required to have a shareholding in
the Company. The Directors (including their persons
closely associated) at 30 June 2025, and 30 June 2024,
had no interest in the share capital of the Company other
than those interests shown below, all of which are
beneficial interests, unless indicated otherwise:
30 June 2025 30 June 2024
Director Ord. 25p Ord. 25p
Peter Tait 7,528 7,000
Stephanie Eastment 4,500
A
4,500
A
Nandita Sahgal Tully 560 560
Angus Franklin 11,007 6,044
Andrew Page 2,500 n/a
Alan Giles n/a 5,000
A
Of which 1,700 shares were held non-beneficially
There have been no changes to the Directors’ interests in
the share capital of the Company since the year end up to
the date of approval of this Report.
Annual Statement
On behalf of the Board and in accordance with Part 2 of
Schedule 8 of the Large and Medium-sized Companies
and Groups (Accounts and Reports) (Amendment)
Regulations 2013, I confirm that the above Report on
Remuneration Policy and Remuneration Implementation
summarises, as applicable, for the Year:
· the major decisions on Directors’ remuneration;
· any substantial changes relating to Directors’
remuneration made during the Year; and
· the context in which the changes occurred and in which
decisions have been taken.
On behalf of the Board
Stephanie Eastment
Chair of the Remuneration Committee
11 September 2025
Directors’ Remuneration Report
Continued
Murray Income Trust PLC 55
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
The Audit Committee, chaired by Stephanie Eastment
until 5 November 2024 and by Nandita Sahgal Tully
thereafter, comprises all of the Directors of the Company,
with the exception of the Chair of the Board. In
compliance with the July 2018 UK Code on Corporate
Governance (the “Code”), the Chair of the Board is not a
member of the Committee but attends by invitation of the
Chair of the Committee.
The Directors have satisfied themselves that all four of the
Committee’s members have recent and relevant financial
experience – Stephanie Eastment and Nandita Sahgal
Tully are both Fellows, while Angus Franklin and Andrew
Page are both Members, of the Institute of Chartered
Accountants in England & Wales – and that, collectively,
the Committee possesses competence relevant to
investment trusts.
The Committee meets at least twice each year, in line with
the cycle of annual and half-yearly reports, which is
considered by the Directors to be a frequency
appropriate to the size and complexity of the Company.
Role of the Audit Committee
In summary, the Committee’s main audit review
functions are:
· to review and monitor the internal control systems and
risk management systems (including review of non-
financial risks) on which the Company is reliant (see
“Internal Controls and Risk Management”, below);
· to consider annually whether there is a need for the
Company to have its own internal audit function;
· to monitor the integrity of the half-yearly and annual
financial statements of the Company by reviewing, and
challenging where necessary, the actions and
judgements of the Manager;
· to review, and report to the Board on, the significant
financial reporting issues and judgements made in
connection with the preparation of the Company’s
financial statements, half-yearly reports,
announcements and related formal statements;
· to review the content of the Annual Report and financial
statements and advise the Board on whether, taken as a
whole, it is fair, balanced and understandable and
provides the information necessary for shareholders to
assess the Company’s position and performance,
business model and strategy;
· to meet with the external auditor to review their
proposed audit programme of work and the findings
as auditor;
· to develop and implement a policy on the engagement
of the auditor to supply non-audit services;
· to review a statement from the Manager detailing the
arrangements in place for the Manager’s staff, in
confidence, to escalate concerns about possible
improprieties in matters of financial reporting or other
matters (“whistleblowing”);
· to oversee and manage audit tenders and selection
processes, to make recommendations to the Board in
relation to the appointment of the auditor and removal
of the auditor and to approve the remuneration and
terms of engagement of the auditor;
· to monitor and review annually the auditor’s
independence, objectivity, effectiveness, resources
and qualification; and
· to investigate the reasons giving rise to any resignation
of the auditor and consider whether any action
is required.
The Committee fulfilled all the above required roles and
responsibilities during the Year.
Internal Controls and Risk Management
Through the Committee, the Board is ultimately
responsible for the Company’s system of internal control
and risk management and for reviewing its effectiveness.
The Committee confirms that there is a robust process for
identifying, evaluating and managing the Company’s
significant business and operational risks, that it has been
in place for the Year and up to the date of approval of the
Annual Report and Financial Statements, and that it is
regularly reviewed by the Board and accords with the risk
management and internal control guidance for directors
in the Code.
The design, implementation and maintenance of controls
and procedures to safeguard the assets of the Company
and to manage its affairs extends to operational and
compliance controls and risk management.
The Directors have delegated the investment
management of the Company’s assets to the Manager
within overall guidelines and this embraces
implementation of the system of internal control, including
financial, operational and compliance controls and risk
management. Internal control systems are monitored and
supported by the Manager’s Internal Audit department
which undertakes periodic examination of business
processes and ensures that recommendations to improve
controls are implemented.
Audit Committee Report
56 Murray Income Trust PLC
Risks are identified and documented through a risk
management framework by each function within the
Manager’s activities. Risk is considered in the context of the
FRC and AIC Code guidance, and includes financial,
regulatory, market, operational and reputational risks. This
helps the internal audit risk assessment model identify
those functions for review. Any weaknesses identified are
reported to the Board, and timetables are agreed for
implementing improvements to systems. The
implementation of any remedial action required is
monitored and feedback provided to the Board.
The principal risks and uncertainties facing the Company
are identified on pages 21 to 25 of this Report.
The key components designed to provide effective
internal control are outlined below:
· the Manager prepares forecasts and management
accounts which allow the Board to assess the
Company’s activities and review its performance; the
emphasis is on obtaining the relevant degree of
assurance and not merely reporting by exception;
· the Board and Manager have agreed clearly-defined
investment criteria, specified levels of authority and
exposure limits. Reports on these, including
performance statistics and investment valuations, are
regularly submitted to the Board and there are
meetings with the Manager as appropriate;
· as a matter of course, the Manager’s compliance
department continually reviews the Manager’s
operations;
· written agreements are in place which specifically
define the roles and responsibilities of the Manager and
other third-party service providers and the Committee
reviews, where relevant, ISAE3402 Reports, a global
assurance standard for reporting on internal controls for
service organisations; in particular, the Board receives
equivalent assurance from MUFG Corporate Markets
(formerly Link Group), the Company’s Registrar; and
· at its September 2025 meeting, the Committee carried
out its annual assessment of internal controls for the Year
including the internal audit and compliance functions, and
taking account of events since 30 June 2025.
In addition, the Manager ensures that clearly documented
contractual arrangements exist in respect of any activities
that have been delegated to external professional
organisations. A senior member of the Manager’s Internal
Audit department reports six-monthly to the Committee
and has direct access to the Directors at any time.
Internal control systems are designed to meet the
Company’s particular needs and the risks to which it is
exposed. Accordingly, the internal control systems are
designed to manage, rather than eliminate, the risk of
failure to achieve business objectives and, by their nature,
can only provide reasonable, and not absolute, assurance
against misstatement and loss.
Significant Risks for the Audit Committee
During its review of the Company’s financial statements
for the Year, the Committee considered the following
significant risks including, in particular, those
communicated by the auditor as key areas of audit
emphasis during their planning and reporting of the year
end audit:
Valuation and Existence of Investments
How the risk was addressed
The valuation of investments is undertaken in accordance
with the accounting policies, disclosed in note 2(e) to the
financial statements. All investments are considered liquid
and quoted in active markets and have been categorised
as Level 1 within the FRS 102 fair value hierarchy and can
be verified against daily market prices. The portfolio is
reviewed and verified by the Manager on a regular basis
and management accounts, including a full portfolio
listing, are prepared each month and circulated to the
Board. The Company used the services of an independent
depositary, BNP Paribas SA, London Branch, through
which the assets of the Company were held. The
depositary confirmed that the accounting records
correctly reflected all investee holdings and that these
agreed to custodian records.
Income Recognition
How the risk was addressed
The recognition of investment income is undertaken in
accordance with accounting policy note 2(b) to the
financial statements. Special dividends are allocated to
the capital or revenue accounts according to the nature
of the payment and the intention of the underlying
company. The Directors also review, at each meeting, the
Company’s income, including income received, revenue
forecasts and dividend comparisons.
Audit Committee Report
Continued
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Internal Auditor
The Board has considered the need for an internal audit
function but, because the Company is externally-
managed, the Board has decided to place reliance on the
Manager’s risk management/internal controls systems
and internal audit procedures.
External Auditor
Review of the Auditor
The Committee has reviewed the effectiveness of the
auditor including:
· independence - the auditor discusses with the
Committee, at least annually, the steps it takes to ensure
its independence and objectivity, including the level of
non-audit fees it has received from the Company, and
makes the Committee aware of any potential issues,
explaining all relevant safeguards;
· quality of audit work including the ability to resolve issues
in a timely manner - identified issues are satisfactorily
and promptly resolved;
· its communications/presentation of outputs - the
explanation of the audit plan, any deviations from it and
the subsequent audit findings are comprehensive and
comprehensible, and working relationship with
management - the auditor has a constructive working
relationship with the Manager; and
· quality of people and service including continuity and
succession plans - the audit team is made up of
sufficient, suitably experienced staff with provision
made for knowledge of the investment trust sector and
retention of that knowledge on rotation of the partner.
For the Year, the Committee was satisfied with the
auditor’s effectiveness, independence and the objectivity
of the audit process.
Re-appointment of the Auditor
This year’s audit of the Company’s Annual Report is the
sixth performed by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP since
their appointment following an audit tender process in
2019. In accordance with professional and regulatory
standards, the individual auditor responsible for the audit is
rotated at least every five years in order to protect the
independence and objectivity and to provide fresh
challenge to the business. The year ended 30 June 2025 is
the first year for which Lauren Cooper has served as the
senior statutory auditor.
Shareholders will have the opportunity to vote on the re-
appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditor
and to authorise the Committee to approve the auditor’s
remuneration, as Ordinary Resolutions 9 and 10, at the
AGM on 4 November 2025.
Provision of Non-Audit Services
The Committee has put in place a policy on the supply of
non-audit services provided by the auditor. Such services
are considered on a case-by-case basis and may only be
provided if the service is at a reasonable and competitive
cost and does not constitute a conflict of interest or
potential conflict of interest or prevent the auditor from
remaining objective and independent. All non-audit
services require the pre-approval of the Committee. No
non-audit fees were paid to the auditor during the Year
(2024 - nil). The Committee confirms that it has complied
with Part 5.1 of the Competitions and Market Authority’s
Order 2014.
Nandita Sahgal Tully
Chair of the Audit Committee
11 September 2025
58 Murray Income Trust PLC
The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual
Report and the financial statements in accordance with
applicable law and regulation.
Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial
statements for each financial year. Under that law the
Directors have elected to prepare the financial
statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally
Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom
Accounting Standards and applicable law) comprising
FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in
the UK and Republic of Ireland”.
Under company law, Directors must not approve the
financial statements unless they are satisfied that they
give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the
Company and of the return of the Company for that
period. In preparing these financial statements, the
Directors are required to:
· select suitable accounting policies and then apply
them consistently;
· state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards,
comprising FRS 102 have been followed, subject to any
material departures disclosed and explained in the
financial statements;
· make judgements and accounting estimates that are
reasonable and prudent; and
· prepare the financial statements on the going concern
basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the
Company will continue in business.
The Directors are also responsible for safeguarding the
assets of the Company and hence for taking reasonable
steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other
irregularities
The Directors are also responsible for keeping adequate
accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain
the Company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable
accuracy at any time the financial position of the
Company and enable them to ensure that the financial
statements and Directors’ Remuneration Report comply
with the Companies Act 2006.
The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and
integrity of the Company’s financial statements published
on the Manager’s website, but excluding any other
information included on the Manager’s website.
Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the
preparation and dissemination of financial statements
may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Directors’ confirmations
Each of the Directors, whose names and functions are
listed in the Directors’ Report confirm that to the best of
their knowledge:
· the Directors consider that the Annual Report and
accounts, taken as a whole, is fair, balanced and
understandable and provides the information necessary
for shareholders to assess the Company’s position and
performance, business model and strategy;
· the Company financial statements, which have
prepared in accordance with United Kingdom
Accounting Standards, give a true and fair view of the
assets, liabilities, financial position and return of the
Company; and
· the Strategic Report includes a fair review of the
development and performance of the business and
the position of the Company, together with a description
of the principal risks and uncertainties that the
Company faces.
For and on behalf of the Board of Murray Income Trust PLC
Peter Tait
Chair
11 September 2025
Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities
Murray Income Trust PLC 59
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Report on the audit of the financial statements
Opinion
In our opinion, Murray Income Trust PLC’s financial statements:
· give a true and fair view of the state of the Company’s affairs as at 30 June 2025 and of its return and cash flows for the
year then ended;
· have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United
Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic
of Ireland”, and applicable law); and
· have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
We have audited the financial statements, included within the Annual Report, which comprise: the Statement of Financial
Position as at 30 June 2025; the Statement of Comprehensive Income, the Statement of Changes in Equity and the
Statement of Cash Flows for the year then ended; and the notes to the financial statements, which include a description
of the significant accounting policies.
Our opinion is consistent with our reporting to the Audit Committee.
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (“ISAs (UK)”) and applicable law.
Our responsibilities under ISAs (UK) are further described in the Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the financial
statements section of our report. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to
provide a basis for our opinion.
Independence
We remained independent of the Company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit
of the financial statements in the UK, which includes the FRC’s Ethical Standard, as applicable to listed public interest
entities, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.
To the best of our knowledge and belief, we declare that non-audit services prohibited by the FRC’s Ethical Standard
were not provided.
We have provided no non-audit services to the Company in the period under audit.
Our audit approach
Context
The Company is a standalone Investment Trust Company and engages abrdn Fund Managers Limited (the “AIFM”) to
manage its assets.
Overview
Audit scope
· We conducted our audit of the financial statements using information from the AIFM to whom the Directors have
delegated the provision of all administrative functions.
· We tailored the scope of our audit taking into account the types of investments within the Company, the involvement
of the AIFM, the accounting processes and controls, and the industry in which the Company operates.
· We obtained an understanding of the control environment and adopted a fully substantive testing approach.
Independent Auditors’ Report to the Members
of Murray Income Trust PLC
60 Murray Income Trust PLC
Key audit matters
· Income from investments.
· Valuation and existence of listed investments.
Materiality
· Overall materiality: £9,167,000 (2024: £9,902,000) based on approximately 1% of Net assets.
· Performance materiality: £6,876,000 (2024: £7,426,500).
The scope of our audit
As part of designing our audit, we determined materiality and assessed the risks of material misstatement in the
financial statements.
Key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in the auditors’ professional judgement, were of most significance in the audit
of the financial statements of the current period and include the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement
(whether or not due to fraud) identified by the auditors, including those which had the greatest effect on: the overall
audit strategy; the allocation of resources in the audit; and directing the efforts of the engagement team. These matters,
and any comments we make on the results of our procedures thereon, were addressed in the context of our audit of the
financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on
these matters.
This is not a complete list of all risks identified by our audit.
The key audit matters below are consistent with last year.
Key audit matter How our audit addressed the key audit matter
Income from investments
Refer to the Audit Committee’s Report, Accounting Policies and
Notes to the Financial Statements.
Income from investments comprised dividend income.
We focused on the accuracy, completeness and occurrence
of investment income recognition as incomplete or inaccurate
income could have a material impact on the Company’s net
asset value and dividend cover.
We also focused on the accounting policy for investment
income recognition and its presentation in the Statement of
Comprehensive Income for compliance with the requirements
of The Association of Investment Companies Statement of
Recommended Practice (the “AIC SORP”) as incorrect
application could indicate a misstatement in income
recognition.
We assessed the accounting policy for income recognition for
compliance with accounting standards and the AIC SORP and
performed testing to confirm that income had been accounted for
in accordance with this stated accounting policy. We found that the
accounting policies implemented were in accordance with
accounting standards and the AIC SORP, and that income has been
accounted for in accordance with the stated accounting policy.
We tested the accuracy of all dividend receipts by agreeing the
dividend rates from investments to independent market data.
We tested occurrence by testing that all dividends recorded in the
year had been declared in the market.
To test for completeness, we tested, for all investment holdings in
the portfolio, that all dividends declared in the market for
investment holdings had been recorded.
We tested the allocation and presentation of dividend income
between the revenue and capital return columns of the Statement
of Comprehensive Income in line with the requirements set out in
the AIC SORP.
Our procedures did not identify any material misstatements.
Independent Auditors’ Report to the Members
of Murray Income Trust PLC
Continued
Murray Income Trust PLC 61
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Key audit matter How our audit addressed the key audit matter
Valuation and existence of investments
Refer to the Audit Committee’s Report, Accounting Policies and
Notes to the Financial Statements.
The investment portfolio at 30 June 2025 comprised listed
equity investments of £1,011 million. We focused on the
valuation and existence of investments because investments
represent the principal element of the net asset value as
disclosed in the Statement of Financial Position in the
financial statements.
We assessed the accounting policy for investments held at fair
value through profit or loss for compliance with accounting
standards and performed testing to check that investments are
accounted for in accordance with the stated accounting policy.
We tested the valuation of all the listed investments by agreeing
the prices used in the valuation to independent third party sources.
We tested the existence of all the listed investments by agreeing
the holdings to an independent confirmation as at 30 June 2025.
Our procedures did not identify any material misstatements.
How we tailored the audit scope
We tailored the scope of our audit to ensure that we performed enough work to be able to give an opinion on the
financial statements as a whole, taking into account the structure of the Company, the accounting processes and
controls, and the industry in which it operates.
As part of designing our audit, we determined materiality and assessed the risks of material misstatement in the
financial statements. In particular, we looked at where the directors made subjective judgements, for example in
respect of significant accounting estimates that involved making assumptions and considering future events that are
inherently uncertain.
The impact of climate risk on our audit
In conducting our audit, we made enquiries of the Directors to understand the extent of the potential impact of climate
change risk on the Company’s financial statements. The Directors concluded that the impact on the measurement and
disclosures within the financial statements is not material because the Company's investment portfolio is made up of
level 1 quoted securities which are valued at fair value based on market prices. We found this to be consistent with our
understanding of the Company's investment activities. We also considered the consistency of the climate change
disclosures included in the Strategic Report with the financial statements and our knowledge from our audit.
Materiality
The scope of our audit was influenced by our application of materiality. We set certain quantitative thresholds for
materiality. These, together with qualitative considerations, helped us to determine the scope of our audit and the
nature, timing and extent of our audit procedures on the individual financial statement line items and disclosures and in
evaluating the effect of misstatements, both individually and in aggregate on the financial statements as a whole.
62 Murray Income Trust PLC
Based on our professional judgement, we determined materiality for the financial statements as a whole as follows:
Overall Company materiality £9,167,000 (2024: £9,902,000).
How we determined it approximately 1% of Net assets.
Rationale for benchmark applied We believe that net assets is the primary measure used by the
shareholders in assessing the performance of the entity, and is a
generally accepted auditing benchmark. This benchmark provides an
appropriate and consistent year on year basis for our audit.
We use performance materiality to reduce to an appropriately low level the probability that the aggregate of
uncorrected and undetected misstatements exceeds overall materiality. Specifically, we use performance materiality in
determining the scope of our audit and the nature and extent of our testing of account balances, classes of transactions
and disclosures, for example in determining sample sizes. Our performance materiality was 75% (2024: 75%) of overall
materiality, amounting to £6,876,000 (2024: £7,426,500) for the Company financial statements.
In determining the performance materiality, we considered a number of factors - the history of misstatements, risk
assessment and aggregation risk and the effectiveness of controls - and concluded that an amount at the upper end of
our normal range was appropriate.
We agreed with the Audit Committee that we would report to them misstatements identified during our audit above
£458,000 (2024: £495,100) as well as misstatements below that amount that, in our view, warranted reporting for
qualitative reasons.
Conclusions relating to going concern
Our evaluation of the Directors’ assessment of the Company’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of
accounting included:
· evaluating the Directors' updated risk assessment and considering whether it addressed relevant threats;
· evaluating the Directors' assessment of potential operational impacts, considering their consistency with other
available information and our understanding of the business and assessed the potential impact on the financial
statements;
· reviewing the Directors' assessment of the Company's financial position in the context of its ability to meet future
expected operating expenses and debt repayments, their assessment of liquidity as well as their review of the
operational resilience of the Company and oversight of key third-party service providers; and
· assessing the implication of significant reductions in Net Asset Value (“NAV”) as a result of market performance on the
ongoing ability of the Company to operate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions
that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a
period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting
in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
However, because not all future events or conditions can be predicted, this conclusion is not a guarantee as to the
Company's ability to continue as a going concern.
Independent Auditors’ Report to the Members
of Murray Income Trust PLC
Continued
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Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
From our work on the corporate governance statement described below, we have nothing material to add or draw
attention to in relation to the Directors’ statement in the financial statements about whether the Directors considered it
appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant
sections of this report.
Reporting on other information
The other information comprises all of the information in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our
auditors’ report thereon. The Directors are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements
does not cover the other information and, accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion or, except to the extent
otherwise explicitly stated in this report, any form of assurance thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so,
consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge
obtained in the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify an apparent material inconsistency
or material misstatement, we are required to perform procedures to conclude whether there is a material misstatement
of the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have
performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that
fact. We have nothing to report based on these responsibilities.
With respect to the Strategic report and Directors’ Report, we also considered whether the disclosures required by the
UK Companies Act 2006 have been included.
Based on our work undertaken in the course of the audit, the Companies Act 2006 requires us also to report certain
opinions and matters as described below.
Strategic report and Directors’ Report
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit, the information given in the Strategic report and
Directors’ Report for the year ended 30 June 2025 is consistent with the financial statements and has been prepared in
accordance with applicable legal requirements.
In light of the knowledge and understanding of the Company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we
did not identify any material misstatements in the Strategic Report and Directors’ Report.
Directors’ Remuneration
In our opinion, the part of the Directors' Remuneration Report to be audited has been properly prepared in accordance
with the Companies Act 2006.
Corporate governance statement
As explained in the Statement of Corporate Governance, the Directors have chosen to demonstrate how the Company
has meet its obligations under UK Corporate Governance Code (“the Code”) by reporting under the 2019 Association of
Investment Companies’ Code of Corporate Governance (‘the AIC Code’). As such, we refer to the AIC Code where we
report the matters required under ISAs (UK) in respect of the Directors’ statements in relation to going concern, longer-
term viability and that part of the corporate governance statement relating to the Company’s compliance with the
provisions of the Code specified by the Listing Rules for our review. Our additional responsibilities with respect to the
corporate governance statement as other information are described in the Reporting on other information section of
this report.
64 Murray Income Trust PLC
Based on the work undertaken as part of our audit, we have concluded that each of the following elements of the
corporate governance statement is materially consistent with the financial statements and our knowledge obtained
during the audit, and we have nothing material to add or draw attention to in relation to:
· The Directors’ confirmation that they have carried out a robust assessment of the emerging and principal risks;
· The disclosures in the Annual Report that describe those principal risks, what procedures are in place to identify
emerging risks and an explanation of how these are being managed or mitigated;
· The Directors’ statement in the financial statements about whether they considered it appropriate to adopt the
going concern basis of accounting in preparing them, and their identification of any material uncertainties to the
Company’s ability to continue to do so over a period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of the
financial statements;
· The Directors’ explanation as to their assessment of the Company’s prospects, the period this assessment covers and
why the period is appropriate; and
· The Directors’ statement as to whether they have a reasonable expectation that the Company will be able to continue
in operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due over the period of its assessment, including any related disclosures
drawing attention to any necessary qualifications or assumptions.
Our review of the Directors’ statement regarding the longer-term viability of the Company was substantially less in
scope than an audit and only consisted of making inquiries and considering the Directors’ process supporting their
statement; checking that the statement is in alignment with the relevant provisions of the Code; and considering
whether the statement is consistent with the financial statements and our knowledge and understanding of the
Company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit.
In addition, based on the work undertaken as part of our audit, we have concluded that each of the following elements of
the corporate governance statement is materially consistent with the financial statements and our knowledge obtained
during the audit:
· The Directors’ statement that they consider the Annual Report, taken as a whole, is fair, balanced and understandable,
and provides the information necessary for the members to assess the Company's position, performance, business
model and strategy;
· The section of the Annual Report that describes the review of effectiveness of risk management and internal control
systems; and
· The section of the Annual Report describing the work of the Audit Committee.
We have nothing to report in respect of our responsibility to report when the Directors’ statement relating to the
Company’s compliance with the Code does not properly disclose a departure from a relevant provision of the Code
specified under the Listing Rules for review by the auditors.
Responsibilities for the financial statements and the audit
Responsibilities of the Directors for the financial statements
As explained more fully in the Statement of Directors' Responsibilities, the Directors are responsible for the preparation of
the financial statements in accordance with the applicable framework and for being satisfied that they give a true and
fair view. The Directors are also responsible for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the
preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the Directors are responsible for assessing the Company’s ability to continue as a
going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of
accounting unless the Directors either intend to liquidate the Company or to cease operations, or have no realistic
alternative but to do so.
Independent Auditors’ Report to the Members
of Murray Income Trust PLC
Continued
Murray Income Trust PLC 65
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from
material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditors’ report that includes our opinion.
Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with
ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are
considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic
decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line
with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The
extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
Based on our understanding of the Company and industry, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with
laws and regulations related to breaches of section 1158 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010, and we considered the extent
to which non-compliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and
regulations that have a direct impact on the financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006. We evaluated
management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of
override of controls), and determined that the principal risks were related to posting of inappropriate journal entries to
manipulate revenue or to increase net asset value. Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included:
· discussions with the Directors, the AIFM and the Company Secretary, including specific enquiry of known or suspected
instances of non-compliance with laws and regulation and fraud where applicable;
· reviewing relevant meeting minutes, including those of the Audit Committee;
· assessment of the Company’s compliance with the requirements of section 1158 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010,
including recalculation of numerical aspects of the eligibility conditions;
· identifying and testing higher risk journal entries posted during the preparation of the financial statements; and
· designing audit procedures to incorporate unpredictability around the nature, timing or extent of our testing.
There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above. We are less likely to become aware of instances
of non-compliance with laws and regulations that are not closely related to events and transactions reflected in the
financial statements. Also, the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not
detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional
misrepresentations, or through collusion.
Our audit testing might include testing complete populations of certain transactions and balances, possibly using data
auditing techniques. However, it typically involves selecting a limited number of items for testing, rather than testing
complete populations. We will often seek to target particular items for testing based on their size or risk characteristics.
In other cases, we will use audit sampling to enable us to draw a conclusion about the population from which the sample
is selected.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the FRC’s website at:
www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditors’ report.
Use of this report
This report, including the opinions, has been prepared for and only for the Company’s members as a body in
accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving these
opinions, accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or
into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.
66 Murray Income Trust PLC
Other required reporting
Companies Act 2006 exception reporting
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report to you if, in our opinion:
· we have not obtained all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
· adequate accounting records have not been kept by the Company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been
received from branches not visited by us; or
· certain disclosures of Directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
· the financial statements and the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report to be audited are not in agreement with
the accounting records and returns.
We have no exceptions to report arising from this responsibility.
Appointment
Following the recommendation of the Audit Committee, we were appointed by the members on 5 November 2019 to
audit the financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2020 and subsequent financial periods. The period of total
uninterrupted engagement is six years, covering the years ended 30 June 2020 to 30 June 2025.
Lauren Cooper (Senior Statutory Auditor)
for and on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors
London
11 September 2025
Independent Auditors’ Report to the Members
of Murray Income Trust PLC
Continued
Murray Income Trust PLC 67
Financial
Statements
Diageo, the Company’s fifth largest investment at 30 June
2025, produces, distills and markets alcoholic beverages
including premium branded vodkas, whiskies (such as Johnnie
Walker), tequilas, gins and beer. Diageo should benefit from
attractive long term drivers such as population and income
growth, and premiumisation.
68 Murray Income Trust PLC
Year ended 30 June 2025 Year ended 30 June 2024
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
Note £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
(Losses)/gains on investments 10 – (12,495) (12,495) – 58,747 58,747
Currency gains – 460 460 – – –
Income 3 42,224 – 42,224 43,899 – 43,899
Investment management fees 4 (991) (2,313) (3,304) (1,108) (2,584) (3,692)
Administrative expenses 5 (1,424) – (1,424) (1,334) – (1,334)
Net return before finance costs and tax 39,809 (14,348) 25,461 41,457 56,163 97,620
Finance costs 6 (772) (1,802) (2,574) (770) (1,797) (2,567)
Net return before tax 39,037 (16,150) 22,887 40,687 54,366 95,053
Taxation 8 (7) – (7) (274) – (274)
Net return after tax 39,030 (16,150) 22,880 40,413 54,366 94,779
Return per Ordinary share – basic and diluted 9 38.6p (16.0)p 22.6p 37.4p 50.2p 87.6p
The total column of this statement represents the profit and loss account of the Company prepared in accordance with FRS 102. The
‘Revenue’ and ‘Capital’ columns represent supplementary information prepared under guidance issued by the Association of
Investment Companies.
All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing operations.
No operations were acquired or discontinued in the year.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
Statement of Comprehensive Income
Murray Income Trust PLC 69
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
As at As at
30 June 2025 30 June 2024
Note £’000 £’000
Non-current assets
Investments at fair value through profit or loss 10 1,011,048 1,073,534
Current assets
Other debtors and receivables 11 12,106 12,512
Cash and cash equivalents 12 10,426 25,148
22,532 37,660
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Other payables (4,695) (7,056)
Bank loans and overdrafts (6,140) (6,282)
13 (10,835) (13,338)
Net current assets 11,697 24,322
Total assets less current liabilities 1,022,745 1,097,856
Non-current liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year
2.51% Senior Loan Notes (39,969) (39,955)
4.37% Senior Loan Notes (66,038) (67,619)
14 (106,007) (107,574)
Net assets 916,738 990,282
Capital and reserves
Share capital 15 29,882 29,882
Share premium account 438,213 438,213
Capital redemption reserve 4,997 4,997
Capital reserve 411,182 484,787
Revenue reserve 32,464 32,403
Total Shareholders’ funds 916,738 990,282
Net asset value per Ordinary share – basic and diluted 16
Debt at fair value 944.8p 957.9p
Debt at par value 936.3p 946.0p
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 11 September 2025 and were signed on
its behalf by:
Peter Tait
Chair
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
Statement of Financial Position
70 Murray Income Trust PLC
For the year ended 30 June 2025
Share Capital
Share premium redemption Capital Revenue
capital account reserve reserve reserve Total
Note £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Balance at 1 July 2024 29,882 438,213 4,997 484,787 32,403 990,282
Net return after tax – – – (16,150) 39,030 22,880
Buyback of Ordinary shares for treasury 15 – – – (57,455) – (57,455)
Dividends paid 7 – – – – (38,969) (38,969)
Balance at 30 June 2025 29,882 438,213 4,997 411,182 32,464 916,738
For the year ended 30 June 2024
Share Capital
Share premium redemption Capital Revenue
capital account reserve reserve reserve Total
Note £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Balance at 1 July 2023 29,882 438,213 4,997 489,428 36,664 999,184
Net return after tax – – – 54,366 40,413 94,779
Buyback of Ordinary shares for treasury 15 – – – (59,007) – (59,007)
Dividends paid 7 – – – – (44,674) (44,674)
Balance at 30 June 2024 29,882 438,213 4,997 484,787 32,403 990,282
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
Statement of Chan
g
es in Equity
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Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Year ended Year ended
30 June 2025 30 June 2024
Note £’000 £’000
Operating activities
Net return before finance costs and taxation 25,461 97,620
Decrease in accrued expenses (67) (703)
Overseas withholding tax 101 (1,332)
Increase in dividend income receivable (76) (422)
Decrease in interest income receivable 8 32
Interest paid (2,619) (2,858)
Losses/(gains) on investments 10 12,495 (58,747)
Foreign exchange gains (460) -
Amortisation of loan note expenses 6 14 14
Accretion of loan note book cost 6 (1,581) (1,581)
Increase in other debtors (3) (2)
Stock dividends included in investment income 3 2,198 -
Net cash inflow from operating activities 35,471 32,021
Investing activities
Purchases of investments (239,369) (177,080)
Sales of investments 285,407 259,782
Net cash inflow from investing activities 46,038 82,702
Financing activities
Dividends paid 7 (38,969) (44,674)
Buyback of Ordinary shares for treasury (57,580) (59,920)
Repayment of bank loans (6,118) (6,327)
Draw down of bank loans 6,122 6,270
Net cash outflow from financing activities (96,545) (104,651)
(Decrease)/increase in cash (15,036) 10,072
Analysis of changes in cash during the year
Opening balance 25,148 15,115
Effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash held 17 314 (39)
(Decrease)/increase in cash as above 17 (15,036) 10,072
Closing balance 10,426 25,148
Represented by:
Cash at bank and in hand 12 3,371 1,045
Money market funds 12 7,055 24,103
10,426 25,148
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Statement of Cash Flows
72 Murray Income Trust PLC
1. Principal activity
The Company is a closed-end investment company, registered in Scotland No SC012725, with its Ordinary shares being listed
on the London Stock Exchange.
2. Accounting policies
(a) Basis of preparation. The financial statements have been prepared under the historic cost method modified by revaluation
of investments at fair value through profit and loss and in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 102, the
Companies Act 2006 and with the Statement of Recommended Practice ‘Financial Statements of Investment Trust
Companies and Venture Capital Trusts’ issued in July 2022. The financial statements are prepared in Sterling which is the
functional currency of the Company and rounded to the nearest £’000. They have also been prepared on the assumption
that approval as an investment trust will continue to be granted. The accounting policies applied are unchanged from the
prior year and have been applied consistently.
The Directors have undertaken a rigorous review and consider both that there are no material uncertainties and that the
adoption of the going concern basis of accounting is appropriate. This conclusion is consistent with the longer term
Viability Statement on page 26.
The Company’s assets consist primarily of a diverse portfolio of listed equity shares nearly all of which, in most
circumstances, are realisable within a very short timescale. The Board has set limits for borrowing and regularly reviews
the level of any gearing, cash flow projections and compliance with banking and loan note covenants. The Directors are
mindful of the principal risks and uncertainties disclosed on pages 21 to 25, and have reviewed forecasts detailing revenue
and liabilities. The Directors are satisfied that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence
for the foreseeable future being at least 12 months from the date of approval of this Annual Report.
(b) Income. Dividends receivable on equity shares are treated as revenue for the year on an ex-dividend basis. Where no ex-
dividend date is available dividends receivable on or before the year end are treated as revenue for the year. Where the
Company has elected to receive dividends in the form of additional shares rather than cash, the amount of the cash
dividend foregone is recognised as revenue and any residual amount is recognised as capital. Provision is made for any
dividends not expected to be received. Special dividends are credited to capital or revenue, according to the
circumstances. Dividend revenue is presented gross of any non-recoverable withholding taxes, which are disclosed
separately within the Statement of Comprehensive Income.
Interest receivable from cash and short-term deposits and stock lending income is recognised on an accruals basis.
(c) Expenses. All expenses are accounted for on an accruals basis. All expenses are charged through the revenue column of
the Statement of Comprehensive Income except as follows:
– transaction costs on the acquisition or disposal of investments are recognised as a capital item in the Statement of
Comprehensive Income.
– expenses are charged as a capital item in the Statement of Comprehensive Income where a connection with the
maintenance or enhancement of the value of the investments can be demonstrated. In this respect the investment
management fee has been allocated 30% to revenue and 70% to capital to reflect the Company’s investment policy and
prospective income and capital growth.
(d) Taxation. Taxation represents the sum of tax currently payable and deferred tax. Any tax payable is based on the taxable
profit for the year. Taxable profit differs from net profit as reported in the Statement of Comprehensive Income because it
excludes items of income or expense that are taxable or deductible in other years and it further excludes items that are
never taxable or deductible. The Company’s liability for current tax is calculated using tax rates that were applicable at the
Statement of Financial Position date.
Notes to the Financial Statements
For the year ended 30 June 2025
Murray Income Trust PLC 73
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Deferred taxation is recognised in respect of all timing differences that have originated but not reversed at the Statement
of Financial Position date, where transactions or events that result in an obligation to pay more tax in the future or right to
pay less tax in the future have occurred at the Statement of Financial Position date. This is subject to deferred tax assets
only being recognised if it is considered more likely than not that there will be suitable profits from which the future reversal
of the underlying timing differences can be deducted. Timing differences are differences arising between the Company’s
taxable profits and its results as stated in the financial statements which are capable of reversal in one or more
subsequent periods. Deferred tax is measured on a non-discounted basis at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the
periods in which timing differences are expected to reverse, based on tax rates and laws enacted or substantively
enacted at the Statement of Financial Position date.
Due to the Company’s status as an investment trust company and the intention to continue meeting the conditions
required to obtain approval in the foreseeable future, the Company has not provided deferred tax on any capital gains
and losses arising on the revaluation or disposal of investments.
The tax effect of different items of income/gain and expenditure/loss is allocated between capital and revenue within the
Statement of Comprehensive Income on the same basis as the particular item to which it relates using the Company’s
effective rate of tax for the year, based on the marginal basis.
(e) Valuation of investments. The Company has chosen to apply the recognition and measurement provisions of IAS 39
Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement. All investments have been designated upon initial recognition at fair
value through profit or loss. This is done because all investments are considered to form part of a group of financial assets
which is evaluated on a fair value basis, in accordance with the Company’s documented investment strategy, and
information about the grouping is provided internally on that basis. Investments are recognised and de-recognised at
trade date where a purchase or sale is under a contract whose terms require delivery within the timeframe established by
the market concerned, and are measured initially at fair value. Subsequent to initial recognition, investments are valued at
fair value through profit or loss. For listed investments, this is deemed to be bid market prices or closing prices for stocks
traded on recognised stock exchanges. Gains and losses arising from changes in fair value are included in the net return
for the period as a capital item in the Statement of Comprehensive Income and are ultimately recognised in the capital
reserve.
(f) Cash and cash equivalents. Cash comprises cash in hand and demand deposits. Cash equivalents are short-term, highly
liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and that are subject to insignificant risk of
change in value.
(g) Borrowings and finance costs. Borrowings of interest bearing bank loans and 2.51% Senior Loan Notes are recognised
initially at the fair value of the consideration received, net of any issue expenses, and subsequently at amortised cost using
the effective interest method. Borrowings of 4.37% Senior Loan Notes, which were novated to the Company on the
merger with Perpetual Income and Growth Investment Trust plc, were recorded initially at their fair value of £73,344,000
and are amortised over the remaining life of the loan towards their redemption value of £60,000,000. The amortisation
adjustment is presented as a finance cost. Finance costs accrue using the effective interest rate over the life of the
borrowings and are allocated 30% to revenue and 70% to capital.
(h) Traded options. The Company may enter into certain derivative contracts (eg options) to gain exposure to the market.
The option contracts are classified as fair value through profit or loss, held for trading, and accounted for as separate
derivative contracts and are therefore shown in other assets or other liabilities at their fair value ie market value. The
premium on the option (as with written options generally) is treated as the option’s initial fair value and is recognised over
the life of the option in the revenue column of the Statement of Comprehensive Income along with fair value changes in
the open position which occur due to the movement in underlying securities. Losses realised on the exercise of the
contracts are recorded in the capital column of the Statement of Comprehensive Income as they arise. Where the
Company enters into derivative contracts to manage market risk, gains or losses arising on such contracts are recorded in
the capital column of the Statement of Comprehensive Income.
74 Murray Income Trust PLC
(i) Segmental reporting. The Directors are of the opinion that the Company is engaged in a single segment of business
activity, being investment business. Consequently, no business segmental analysis is provided.
(j) Nature and purpose of reserves
Share capital. The Ordinary share capital on the Statement of Financial Position relates to the number of shares in issue
and in treasury. Only when the shares are cancelled, either from treasury or directly, is a transfer made to the capital
redemption reserve. This is a non-distributable reserve.
Share premium account. The balance classified as share premium includes the premium above nominal value from the
proceeds on issue of any equity share capital comprising Ordinary shares of 25p and includes the premium arising
following the issue of shares on the combination with Perpetual Income and Growth Investment Trust plc on 17 November
2020. This is a non-distributable reserve.
Capital redemption reserve. The capital redemption reserve reflects the cancellation of Ordinary shares, when an amount
equal to the par value of the Ordinary share capital is transferred from the share capital reserve to the capital redemption
reserve. This is a non-distributable reserve.
Capital reserve. This reserve reflects any gains or losses on investments realised in the period along with any movements in
the fair value of investments held that have been recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive Income. These include
gains and losses from foreign currency exchange differences. Additionally, expenses, including finance costs, are charged
to this reserve in accordance with (b) and (f) above. When making a distribution to shareholders, the Directors determine
profits available for distribution by reference to ‘Guidance on realised and distributable profits under the Companies Act
2006’ issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Institute of Chartered Accountants
of Scotland in April 2017. The availability of distributable reserves in the Company is dependent on those distributions
meeting the definition of qualifying consideration within the guidance and on available cash resources of the Company
and other accessible sources of funds. The distributable reserves are therefore subject to any future restrictions or
limitations at the time such distribution is made.
The capital reserve, to the extent it constitutes realised profits, is distributable. This may include unrealised (losses)/gains
on investments where these are readily convertible to cash. The amount of the capital reserve that is distributable is
complex to determine and is not necessarily the full amount of the reserve as disclosed within these financial statements
of £411,182,000 as at 30 June 2025 as this is subject to fair value movements and may not be readily realisable at
short notice.
Revenue reserve. This reserve reflects all income and costs which are recognised in the revenue column of the Statement
of Comprehensive Income. The revenue reserve is distributable by way of dividend.
(k) Treasury shares. When the Company buys back the Company’s equity share capital as treasury shares, the amount of the
consideration paid, including directly attributable costs and any tax effects, is recognised as a deduction from equity.
When these shares are sold or reissued subsequently, the net amount received is recognised as an increase in equity, and
the resulting surplus or deficit on the transaction is transferred to or from the capital reserve.
(l) Dividends payable. Final dividends are recognised from the date on which they are approved by Shareholders. Interim
dividends are recognised when paid. Dividends are shown in the Statement of Changes in Equity.
(m) Foreign currency. Transactions in foreign currencies are converted to Sterling at the exchange rate ruling at the date of
the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities and non-monetary assets held at fair value denominated in foreign
currencies are translated into Sterling at rates of exchange ruling at the Statement of Financial Position date. Exchange
gains and losses are taken to the Statement of Comprehensive Income as a capital or revenue item depending on the
nature of the underlying item.
Notes to the Financial Statements
Continued
Murray Income Trust PLC 75
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
(n) Significant estimates and judgements. The Directors do not believe that any accounting estimates or judgements have
been applied to these financial statements that have a significant risk of causing material adjustment to the carrying
amount of assets and liabilities.
3. Income
2025 2024
£’000 £’000
Income from investments
UK dividends (all listed):
- ordinary 23,901 27,115
- special 401 -
Property income dividends 1,285 681
Overseas dividends (all listed)
- ordinary 11,007 12,277
- special - -
Stock dividends 2,198 -
38,792 40,073
Other income
Deposit interest 37 64
Money Market interest 606 926
Traded option premiums 2,789 2,836
3,432 3,826
Total income 42,224 43,899
There were special dividends in the year of £401,000 (2024 - £nil) which were recognised as being revenue in nature.
During the year, the Company received premiums totalling £2,789,000 (2024 - £2,836,0000) in exchange for entering into
derivative transactions. At the year end there were no open positions (2024 - none).
76 Murray Income Trust PLC
4. Investment management fees
2025 2024
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Management fee 991 2,313 3,304 1,108 2,584 3,692
The management fee is based on 0.35% per annum for net assets up to £1.1 billion and 0.25% per annum for net assets above
£1.1 billion (2024: 0.55% per annum for net assets up to £350 million, 0.45% per annum on the next £100 million of net assets and
0.25% per annum for net assets over £450 million), calculated and payable monthly. The fee has been allocated 30% to revenue
and 70% to capital. The management agreement is terminable on three months’ notice. The fee payable to the Manager at the
year end was £537,000 (2024 – £622,000).
Under the terms of the management agreement, the value of the Company’s investments in other funds managed by
Aberdeen Group is excluded from the calculation of the management fee. The Company held no such other funds managed
by Aberdeen Group at the year end (2024 – none).
5. Administrative expenses
2025 2024
£’000 £’000
Shareholders’ services
A
400 406
Directors’ remuneration
B
168 174
Secretarial fees
C
75 75
Registrars fees 68 68
Depositary fees 77 78
Custody fees 64 72
Printing and postage 16 41
Auditors’ remuneration:
– fees payable to the Company’s auditors for the audit of the Company’s
annual financial statements
55 54
Legal and professional fees
D
169 15
Brokers fees 52 15
Irrecoverable VAT 104 137
Other expenses 176 179
1,424 1,334
A
Includes savings scheme and other wrapper administration and promotion expenses, paid to the Manager under a delegation agreement with the Manager to cover
promotional activities during the year. There was £100,000 (2024 – £98,000) due to the Manager in respect of these promotional activities at the year end.
B
Refer to the Directors’ Remuneration section of the Directors’ Remuneration Report on page 53 for further details.
C
Payable to the Manager, balance outstanding of £19,000 (2024 – £38,000) at the year end.
D
Includes directors’ search fee of £35,000 (2024–£20,000) and fee to broker in respect of strategic review £85,000 (2024 – £nil).
Notes to the Financial Statements
Continued
Murray Income Trust PLC 77
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6. Finance costs
2025 2024
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Bank loans and overdraft interest 154 361 515 152 356 508
2.51% Senior Loan Note 301 703 1,004 301 703 1,004
4.37% Senior Loan Note 787 1,835 2,622 787 1,835 2,622
Amortisation of 2.51% Senior Loan Note issue
expenses
4 10 14 4 10 14
Amortisation of 4.37% Senior Loan Note (474) (1,107) (1,581) (474) (1,107) (1,581)
772 1,802 2,574 770 1,797 2,567
Details of the Loan Notes and their amortisation are set out in note 14. Finance costs are allocated 30% to revenue and 70% to
capital.
7. Ordinary dividends on equity shares
2025 2024
Rate £’000 Rate £’000
Fourth interim dividend previous year 10.00p 10,428 12.75p 14,100
First interim dividend current year 9.50p 9,734 9.50p 10,334
Second interim dividend current year 9.50p 9,496 9.50p 10,208
Third interim dividend current year 9.50p 9,311 9.50p 10,032
38,969 44,674
The fourth interim dividend for 2025 of 10.50p per Ordinary share has not been included as a liability in these financial
statements as it was not paid until after the reporting date (11 September 2025).
The following table sets out the total dividends paid and proposed in respect of the financial year, which is the basis on which
the requirements of Section 1158–1159 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 are considered. The revenue available for distribution
by way of dividend for the year is £39,030,000 (2024 – £40,413,000).
2025 2024
Rate £’000 Rate £’000
Three interim dividends of 9.50p each (2024: three interim
dividends of 9.50p each)
28.50p 28,541 28.50p 30,574
Fourth interim dividend 11.50p 11,258 10.00p 10,428
40.00p 39,799 38.50p 41,002
78 Murray Income Trust PLC
8. Taxation
2025 2024
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
(a) Analysis of charge for the year
Overseas tax incurred 87 – 87 1,104 – 1,104
Overseas tax reclaimable (80) – (80) (830) – (830)
Total tax charge for the year 7 – 7 274 – 274
(b) Factors affecting the tax charge for the year. The UK corporation tax rate is 25% (2024 – 25%). The tax charge for the year
is lower than the corporation tax rate (2024 – lower). The differences are explained below:
2025 2024
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Net return before taxation 39,037 (16,150) 22,887 40,687 54,366 95,053
Net return multiplied by the standard rate of
corporation tax of 25% (2024 – 25%)
9,759 (4,038) 5,721 10,172 13,592 23,764
Effects of:
Non-taxable UK dividends (6,636) – (6,636) (6,853) – (6,853)
Non-taxable overseas dividends (2,752) – (2,752) (3,069) – (3,069)
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes 2 – 2 11 – 11
Movement in unutilised management
expenses
(378) 1,029 651 (261) 1,095 834
Realised and unrealised gains on
investments held
– 3,124 3,124 – (14,687) (14,687)
Currency movements not taxable – (115) (115) – – –
Overseas tax payable 7 – 7 274 – 274
Total tax charge 2 – 2 274 – 274
Notes to the Financial Statements
Continued
Murray Income Trust PLC 79
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
(c) Factors that may affect future tax charges. No provision for deferred tax has been made in the current or prior
accounting period.
The Company has not provided for deferred tax on capital gains or losses arising on the revaluation or disposal of
investments as it is exempt from tax on these items because of its status as an investment trust company.
At the year end, the Company has, for taxation purposes only, accumulated unrelieved management expenses and loan
relationship deficits of £80,363,000 (2024 – £77,761,000). A deferred tax asset at the standard rate of corporation of 25%
(2024 – 25%) of £20,091,000 (2024 – £19,440,000) has not been recognised and these expenses will only be utilised if the
Company has profits chargeable to corporation tax in the future. It is considered too uncertain that the Company will
generate such profits and therefore no deferred tax asset has been recognised.
9. Return per Ordinary share - basic and diluted
2025 2024
£’000 p £’000 p
Returns are based on the following figures:
Revenue return 39,030 38.6 40,413 37.4
Capital return (16,150) (16.0) 54,366 50.2
Total return 22,880 22.6 94,779 87.6
Weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue 101,127,810 108,144,845
During the year ended 30 June 2025 there were no potentially dilutive shares in issue (2024 - none).
10. Investments at fair value through profit or loss
2025 2024
£’000 £’000
Opening book cost 922,927 989,936
Opening investment holdings gains 150,607 108,375
Opening fair value 1,073,534 1,098,311
Analysis of transactions made during the year
Purchases at cost 235,047 180,045
Sales proceeds received (285,038) (263,569)
(Losses)/gains on investments (12,495) 58,747
Closing fair value 1,011,048 1,073,534
80 Murray Income Trust PLC
2025 2024
£’000 £’000
Closing book cost 917,729 922,927
Closing investment gains 93,319 150,607
Closing fair value 1,011,048 1,073,534
2025 2024
Gains on investments £’000 £’000
Realised gains on sale of investments at fair value 44,793 16,515
Net movement in investment holdings gains (57,288) 42,232
(12,495) 58,747
The Company received £285,038,000 (2024 – £263,569,000) from investments sold in the year. The book cost of these
investments when they were purchased was £240,245,000 (2024 – £247,054,000). These investments have been revalued over
time and until they were sold any unrealised gains/(losses) were included in the fair value of the investments.
The Company may write and purchase both exchange traded and over the counter derivative contracts as part of its
investment policy. The Company pledges collateral greater than the market value of the traded options in accordance with
standard commercial practice. At 30 June 2025 there were no shares pledged as part of the option underwriting programme
(30 June 2024 – none). The liability of collateral held at the year end was £nil as no open positions existed (30 June 2024 – £nil).
Transaction costs. During the year expenses were incurred in acquiring or disposing of investments classified at fair value
through profit or loss. These have been expensed through capital and are included within gains on investments in the Statement
of Comprehensive Income. The total costs were as follows:
2025 2024
£’000 £’000
Purchases 1,040 842
Sales 169 114
1,209 956
The above transaction costs are calculated in line with the AIC SORP. The transaction costs in the Company’s Key Information
Document are calculated on a different basis and in line with the PRIIPs regulations.
Notes to the Financial Statements
Continued
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11. Other debtors and receivables
2025 2024
£’000 £’000
Amounts due from brokers 3,418 3,787
Accrued income 3,539 3,471
Taxation recoverable 5,120 5,228
Prepayments 29 26
12,106 12,512
12. Cash and cash equivalents
2025 2024
£’000 £’000
Cash at bank and in hand 3,371 1,045
Money market funds 7,055 24,103
10,426 25,148
The Company holds £7,055,000 (2024 – £24,103,000) in Aberdeen Standard Liquidity Fund (Lux) – Sterling Fund which is
managed and administered by Aberdeen.
13. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
2025 2024
£’000 £’000
Other creditors 1,447 1,563
Amounts due to brokers for purchase of investments 3,043 5,167
Amounts due to brokers for Ordinary shares bought back 205 326
4,695 7,056
Bank loans and overdrafts 6,140 6,282
10,835 13,338
The Company has a three year £30 million multi-currency unsecured revolving bank credit facility with The Royal Bank of
Scotland International Limited, committed until 22 October 2027 (2024: £50 million multi-currency unsecured revolving bank
credit facility with Bank of Nova Scotia Limited, committed until 27 October 2024). Under the terms of the agreement, the
Company has the option to increase the level of the commitment from £30 million to £50 million at any time, subject to the
Lender’s credit approval.
82 Murray Income Trust PLC
As at 30 June 2025, the Company had drawn down the following amounts from the facility, all with a maturity date of 30 July
2025 (2024 – 29 July 2024):
2025 2024
Currency £’000 Currency £’000
Swiss Franc at an all-in rate of nil (2024: 2.55%) – – 363,000 319
Euro at an all-in rate of 3.38% (2024: 4.79%) 3,500,000 2,998 4,050,000 3,434
Norwegian Krone at an all-in rate of 5.76% (2024: 5.78%) 5,900,000 426 4,275,000 318
Danish Krona at an all-in rate of nil (2024: 4.75%) – – 2,750,000 313
Swedish Krona at an all-in rate of 3.56% (2024: nil) 9,500,000 727 – –
US Dollar at an all-in rate of 5.74% (2024: 6.57%) 2,725,000 1,989 2,400,000 1,898
6,140 6,282
At the date this Report was approved, the Company had drawn down the following amounts from the facility, all with a maturity
date of 2 October 2025:
– Euro 3,500,000 at an all-in rate of 3.309%, equivalent to £3,037,000.
– Norwegian Krone 5,900,000 at an all-in rate of 5.7%, equivalent to £436,000.
– Swedish Krona 9,500,000 at an all-in rate of 3.544%, equivalent to £749,000.
– US Dollar 2,725,000 at an all-in rate of 5.82%, equivalent to £2,013,000.
Financial covenants contained within the facility agreement provide, inter alia, that the ratio of net assets to borrowings must
be greater than 3.5:1 and that net assets must exceed £550 million. All financial covenants were met during the year and also
during the period from the year end to the date of this report.
Notes to the Financial Statements
Continued
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14. Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year
2025 2024
£’000 £’000
2.51% Senior Loan Note 40,000 40,000
Unamortised 2.51% Senior Loan Note issue expenses (31) (45)
39,969 39,955
4.37% Senior Loan Note at fair value 73,344 73,344
Amortisation of 4.37% Senior Loan Note (7,306) (5,725)
66,038 67,619
106,007 107,574
On 8 November 2017 the Company issued £40,000,000 of 10 year Senior Loan Notes at a fixed rate of 2.51%. Interest is payable
in half yearly instalments in May and November and the Loan Notes are due to be redeemed at par on 8 November 2027.
As a result of the transaction with Perpetual Income and Growth Investment Trust plc on 17 November 2020, £60,000,000 of 15
year Senior Loan Notes at a fixed rate of 4.37% issued on 8 May 2014 were novated to the Company. Under FRS 102 the loan
notes are required to be recorded initially at their fair value of £73,344,000 in the Company’s Financial Statements and are then
amortised over the remaining life of the loan towards their redemption value of £60,000,000. The amortisation adjustment is
presented as a finance cost, split 70% to capital and 30% to revenue. Interest is payable in half yearly instalments in May and
November and the Loan Notes are due to be redeemed at par on 8 May 2029.
Both the Loan Notes are secured by a floating charge over the whole of the assets of the Company and rank pari passu. The
Company has complied with the Senior Loan Note Purchase Agreements covenants throughout the year that the ratio of net
assets to gross borrowings must be greater than 3.5:1, and that net assets will not be less than £550,000,000 throughout
the year.
15. Share capital
2025 2024
Shares £’000 Shares £’000
Allotted, called-up and fully-paid:
Ordinary shares of 25p each: publicly held 97,912,184 24,478 104,685,001 26,171
Ordinary shares of 25p each: held in treasury 21,617,348 5,404 14,844,531 3,711
119,529,532 29,882 119,529,532 29,882
During the year 6,772,817 Ordinary shares were bought back (2024 - 7,035,000) to be held in treasury by the Company at a
total cost of £57,455,000 (2024 - £59,007,000) representing 6.5% (2024 - 6.3%) of called-up share capital excluding Ordinary
shares held in treasury at the start of the year.
84 Murray Income Trust PLC
16. Net asset value per Ordinary share – basic and diluted
The net asset value per Ordinary share and the net asset value attributable to the Ordinary shares at the year end follow. These
were calculated using 97,912,184 (2024 – 104,685,001) Ordinary shares in issue at the year end (excluding treasury shares). At
30 June 2025 there were no potentially dilutive shares in issue (2024 – none).
2025 2024
Net Asset Value Attributable Net Asset Value Attributable
£’000 pence £’000 pence
Net asset value – debt at par 916,738 936.3 990,282 946.0
Add: amortised cost of 2.51% Senior Loan Notes 39,969 40.8 39,955 38.2
Less: fair value of 2.51% Senior Loan Notes (38,170) (39.0) (36,530) (34.9)
Add: amortised cost of 4.37% Senior Loan Notes 66,038 67.5 67,619 64.5
Less: fair value of 4.37% Senior Loan Notes (59,550) (60.8) (58,535) (55.9)
Net asset value – debt at fair value 925,025 944.8 1,002,791 957.9
17. Analysis of changes in net debt
At Currency Non-cash At
1 July 2024 differences Cash flows movements 30 June 2025
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Cash and cash equivalents* 25,148 314 (15,036) – 10,426
Debt due within one year (6,282) 146 (4) – (6,140)
Debt due after more than one year (107,574) – – 1,567 (106,007)
(88,708) 460 (15,040) 1,567 (101,721)
At Currency Non-cash At
1 July 2023 differences Cash flows movements 30 June 2024
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Cash and cash equivalents* 15,115 (39) 10,072 – 25,148
Debt due within one year (6,378) 39 57 – (6,282)
Debt due after more than one year (109,141) – – 1,567 (107,574)
(100,404) – 10,129 1,567 (88,708)
* An analysis of cash and cash equivalents between cash at bank and in hand and money market funds is provided in note 12 on page 81.
A statement reconciling the movement in net funds to the net cash flow has not been presented as there are no differences
from the above analysis.
Notes to the Financial Statements
Continued
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18. Financial instruments
This note summarises the risks deriving from the financial instruments that comprise the Company’s assets and liabilities.
The Company’s investment activities expose it to various types of financial risk associated with the financial instruments and
markets in which it invests. The Company’s financial instruments, other than derivatives, comprise securities and other
investments, cash balances, liquid resources, loans and debtors and creditors that arise directly from its operations; for
example, in respect of sales and purchases awaiting settlement, and debtors for accrued income. The Company also has the
ability to enter into derivative transactions in the form of forward foreign currency contracts, futures and options, subject to
Board approval, for the purpose of enhancing portfolio returns and for hedging purposes in a manner consistent with the
Company’s broader investment policy. As at 30 June 2025 there were no open positions in derivatives transactions
(2024 – same).
Risk management framework. The directors of abrdn Fund Managers Limited collectively assume responsibility for the
Manager’s obligations under the AIFMD including reviewing investment performance and monitoring the Company’s risk profile
during the year.
The Manager is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Aberdeen Group (“the Group”), which provides a variety of services and
support to the Manager in the conduct of its business activities, including in the oversight of the risk management framework for
the Company. The Manager has delegated the day to day administration of the investment policy to abrdn Investments
Limited, which is responsible for ensuring that the Company is managed within the terms of its investment guidelines and the
limits set out in its pre-investment disclosures to investors (details of which can be found on the Company’s website). The
Manager has retained responsibility for monitoring and oversight of investment performance, product risk and regulatory and
operational risk for the Company.
The Manager conducts its risk oversight function through the operation of the Group’s risk management processes and
systems which are embedded within the Group’s operations. The Group’s Risk Division (“the Division”) supports management in
the identification and mitigation of risks and provides independent monitoring of the business. The Division includes
Compliance, Business Risk, Market Risk, Risk Management and Legal. The team is headed up by the Group’s Chief Risk Officer,
who reports to the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of the Group. The Risk Division achieves its objective through embedding the
Risk Management Framework throughout the organisation using the Group’s operational risk management system (“SHIELD”).
The Group’s Internal Audit Department is independent of the Risk Division and reports directly to the Group CEO and to the
Audit Committee of the Group’s Board of Directors. The Internal Audit Department is responsible for providing an independent
assessment of the Group’s control environment.
The Group’s corporate governance structure is supported by several committees to assist the board of directors, its
subsidiaries and the Company to fulfil their roles and responsibilities. The Group’s Risk Division is represented on all committees,
with the exception of those committees that deal with investment recommendations. The specific goals and guidelines on the
functioning of those committees are described in the committees’ terms of reference.
Risk management of the financial instruments. The main risks the Company faces from these financial instruments are (a)
market risk (comprising (i) interest rate, (ii) foreign currency and (iii) other price risk), (b) liquidity risk and (c) credit risk.
In order to mitigate risk, the investment strategy is to select investments for their fundamental value. Stock selection is therefore
based on disciplined accounting, market and sector analysis. It is the Board’s policy to hold an appropriate spread of
investments in the portfolio in order to reduce the risk arising from factors specific to a particular sector. The Attribution
Analysis, detailing the allocation of assets and the stock selection, is shown in the Performance Attribution table on page 12. The
Investment Manager actively monitors market prices throughout the year and reports to the Board, which meets regularly in
order to consider investment strategy. The Company’s strategy is detailed in the Chair’s Statement on pages 4 to 7, in the
Investment Manager’s Report on pages 8 to 16 in Overview of Strategy on pages 20 to 27.
86 Murray Income Trust PLC
The Board has agreed the parameters for net gearing, which was 11.1% of net assets as at 30 June 2025 (2024 – 9.1%). The
Manager’s policies for managing these risks are summarised below and have been applied throughout the current and
previous year. The numerical disclosures in the tables listed below exclude short-term debtors and creditors.
18 (a) Market risk. The Company’s investment portfolio is exposed to market price fluctuations, which are monitored by the
Manager in pursuance of the investment objective as set out on page 20. Adherence to investment guidelines and to
investment and borrowing powers set out in the management agreement mitigates the risk of exposure to any particular
security or issuer. Further information on the investment portfolio is set out in the Investment Manager’s Report on pages 8 to 16.
Market price risk arises mainly from uncertainty about future prices of financial instruments used in the Company’s operations.
It represents the potential loss the Company might suffer through holding market positions as a consequence of price
movements. It is the Board’s policy to hold equity investments in the portfolio in a broad spread of sectors in order to reduce the
risk arising from factors specific to a particular sector. A summary of investment changes during the year under review is on
page 35 and an analysis of the equity portfolio by sector is on page 34.
18 (a)(i) Interest rate risk. Interest rate movements may affect:
– the level of income receivable on cash deposits;
– interest payable on the Company’s variable rate borrowings; and
– the fair value of any investments in fixed interest rate securities.
Management of the risk. The possible effects on fair value and cash flows that could arise as a result of changes in interest rates
are taken into account when making investment and borrowing decisions. Details of the bank loan and interest rates
applicable can be found in note 13.
The Board imposes borrowing limits to ensure gearing levels are appropriate to market conditions and reviews these on a
regular basis. Interest rate risk is the risk of movements in the value of financial instruments as a result of fluctuations in
interest rates.
Financial assets. The interest rate risk of the portfolio of financial assets at the reporting date was as follows:
Floating rate Non-interest bearing
2025 2024 2025 2024
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Danish Krona – – – 9,923
Euro – – 91,964 104,139
Norwegian Krone – – 13,137 10,535
Singapore Dollars – – 27,367 27,374
Sterling 10,382 25,148 828,582 853,898
Swedish Krone – – 20,979 18,454
Swiss Francs – – – 9,486
Taiwan Dollars 44 – 9,652 10,827
US Dollars – – 19,367 28,898
Total 10,426 25,148 1,011,048 1,073,534
Notes to the Financial Statements
Continued
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The floating rate assets consist of cash at bank and cash held in money market funds earning interest at prevailing
market rates.
The non-interest bearing assets represent the equity element of the portfolio.
Financial liabilities. The Company has floating rate borrowings by way of its loan facility and fixed rate senior loan note issues,
details of which are in notes 13 and 14.
Interest rate sensitivity. The sensitivity analysis below has been determined based on the exposure to interest rates for both
derivative and non-derivative instruments at the reporting date and the stipulated change taking place at the beginning of the
financial year and held constant in the case of instruments that have floating rates.
If interest rates had been 1% higher or lower and all other variables were held constant, the Company’s profit before tax for the
year ended 30 June 2025 and net assets would increase/decrease by £47,000 (2024 – £175,000) respectively. This is mainly
attributable to the Company’s exposure to interest rates on its floating rate cash balances and borrowings.
18 (a)(ii) Foreign currency risk. A proportion of the Company’s investment portfolio is invested in overseas securities whose
values are subject to fluctuation due to changes in foreign exchange rates. In addition, the impact of changes in foreign
exchange rates upon the profits of investee companies can result, indirectly, in changes in their valuations. Consequently, the
Statement of Financial Position can be affected by movements in exchange rates.
Management of the risk. The revenue account is subject to currency fluctuations arising on dividends receivable in foreign
currencies and, indirectly, due to the impact of foreign exchange rates upon the profits of investee companies. It is not the
Company’s policy to hedge this currency risk but the Board keeps under review the currency returns in both capital
and income.
Foreign currency risk exposure by currency of denomination falling due within one year is set out in the table below. Net
monetary assets/(liabilities) comprise cash and loan balances and exclude other debtors and receivables and other payables
(including amounts due to or from brokers).
88 Murray Income Trust PLC
30 June 2025 30 June 2024
Net Net
monetary Total monetary Total
assets/ currency assets/ currency
Investments (liabilities) exposure Investments (liabilities) exposure
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Danish Krona – – – 9,923 (313) 9,610
Euro 91,964 (2,998) 88,966 104,139 (3,434) 100,705
Norwegian Krone 13,137 (426) 12,711 10,535 (318) 10,217
Singapore Dollars 27,367 – 27,367 27,374 – 27,374
Swedish Krone 20,979 (727) 20,252 18,454 – 18,454
Swiss Francs – – – 9,486 (319) 9,167
Taiwan Dollars 9,652 44 9,696 10,827 – 10,827
US Dollars 19,367 482 19,849 28,898 (1,898) 27,000
Total 182,466 (3,625) 178,841 219,636 (6,282) 213,354
Foreign currency sensitivity. The following table details the impact on the Company’s net assets to a 10% decrease (in the
context of a 10% increase the figures below should all be read as negative) in Sterling against the foreign currencies in which
the Company has exposure. The sensitivity analysis includes foreign currency denominated monetary and non-monetary
items and adjusts their translation at the period end for a 10% change in foreign currency rates.
2025 2024
£’000 £’000
Danish Krona – 961
Euro 8,897 10,071
Norwegian Krone 1,271 1,022
Singapore Dollars 2,737 2,737
Swedish Krone 2,025 1,845
Swiss Francs – 917
Taiwan Dollars 970 1,083
US Dollars 1,985 2,700
Total 17,885 21,336
18(a)(iii) Other price risk. Other price risks (ie changes in market prices other than those arising from interest rate or currency
risk) may affect the value of the quoted investments.
Management of the risk. It is the Board’s policy to hold an appropriate spread of investments in the portfolio in order to reduce
the risk arising from factors specific to a particular sector. The allocation of assets to international markets and the stock
selection process, as detailed in the section “Delivering the Investment Policy” on page 20, both act to reduce market risk. The
Manager actively monitors market prices throughout the year and reports to the Board, which meets regularly in order to
review investment strategy.
Notes to the Financial Statements
Continued
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Other price risk sensitivity. If market prices at the reporting date had been 10% higher or lower while all other variables
remained constant, the return attributable to Ordinary shareholders and equity for the year ended 30 June 2025 would have
increased/decreased by £101,105,000 (2024 – £107,353,000).
18 (b) Liquidity risk. This is the risk that the Company will encounter difficulty in meeting obligations associated with financial
liabilities as they fall due in line with the maturity profile analysed as follows:
Within Within Within
1 year 1-3 years 3-5 years Total
At 30 June 2025 £000 £000 £000 £000
Bank loans 6,140 – – 6,140
2.51% Senior Loan Note 8/11/27 – 40,000 – 40,000
4.37% Senior Loan Note 8/5/29 – – 60,000 60,000
Interest cash flows on bank loans 3 – – 3
Interest cash flows on 2.51% Senior Loan Note 1,004 1,506 – 2,510
Interest cash flows 4.37% Senior Loan Note 2,622 5,244 2,622 10,488
Cash flows on other creditors 4,695 – – 4,695
14,464 46,750 62,622 123,836
Within Within Within
1 year 1-3 years 3-5 years Total
At 30 June 2024 £000 £000 £000 £000
Bank loans 6,282 – – 6,282
2.51% Senior Loan Note 8/11/27 – – 40,000 40,000
4.37% Senior Loan Note 8/5/29 – – 60,000 60,000
Interest cash flows on bank loans 10 – – 10
Interest cash flows on 2.51% Senior Loan Note 1,004 2,008 502 3,514
Interest cash flows 4.37% Senior Loan Note 2,622 5,244 5,244 13,110
Cash flows on other creditors 7,056 – – 7,056
16,974 7,252 105,746 129,972
Management of the risk. The Company’s assets comprise readily realisable securities which can be sold to meet funding
commitments if necessary. Short-term flexibility is achieved through the use of committed loan and overdraft facilities.
As at 30 June 2025 the Company utilised £6,140,000 (2024 – £6,282,000) of a £30,000,000 (2024 – £50,000,000) multi–currency
revolving bank credit facility, which is committed until 22 October 2027 (2024 – 27 October 2024). Details of maturity dates and
interest charges can be found in note 13. The aggregate of all future interest payments at the rate ruling at 30 June 2025 and
the redemption of the loan amounted to £6,140,000 (2024 – £6,292,000).
90 Murray Income Trust PLC
18 (c) Credit risk. This is the risk that one party to a financial instrument will fail to discharge an obligation and cause the other
party to incur a financial loss.
Management of the risk. The risk is mitigated by the Investment Manager reviewing the credit ratings of counterparties. The risk
attached to dividend flows is mitigated by the Investment Manager’s research of potential investee companies. The
Company’s custodian bank is responsible for the collection of income on behalf of the Company and its performance is
reviewed by the Depositary (on an ongoing basis) and by the Board on a regular basis. It is the Manager’s policy to trade
only with A– and above (Long Term rated) and A–1/P–1 (Short Term rated) counterparties. The maximum credit risk at
30 June 2025 is £17,329,000 (2024 – £32,365,000) consisting of £3,485,000 (2024 – £3,430,000) of dividends receivable from
equity shares, £3,418,000 (2024 – £3,787,000) receivable from brokers and £10,426,000 (2024 – £25,148,000) in cash
and cash equivalents.
None of the Company’s financial assets are past due or impaired (2024 – none).
19. Fair value hierarchy
FRS 102 requires an entity to classify fair value measurements using a fair value hierarchy that reflects the significance of the
inputs used in making the measurements. Categorisation within the hierarchy is determined on the basis of the lowest level
input that is significant to the fair value measurement of each relevant asset or liability. The fair value hierarchy has the
following levels:
Level 1: unadjusted quoted prices in an active market for identical assets or liabilities that the entity can access at the
measurement date;
Level 2: inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable (ie developed using market data) for the
asset or liability, either directly or indirectly; and
Level 3: inputs are unobservable (ie for which market data is unavailable) for the asset or liability.
The valuation techniques used by the Company are explained in the accounting policies note 2(e). The Company’s portfolio
consists wholly of quoted equities, all of which are Level 1.
The fair value of both the 2.51% Senior Loan Notes and 4.37% Senior Loan Note have been calculated by aggregating the
expected future cash flows for that loans discounted at a rate based on UK gilts issued with comparable coupon rates and
maturity dates plus a margin representing the credit risk for Investment Grade A bonds. The fair value and amortised cost
amounts can be found in note 16.
All other financial assets and liabilities of the Company are included in the Statement of Financial Position at their book value
which in the opinion of the Directors is not materially different from their fair value.
20. Related party transactions and transactions with the Manager
Fees payable during the year to the Directors and their interests in shares of the Company are considered to be related party
transactions and are disclosed within the Directors’ Remuneration section of the Directors’ Remuneration Report on page 53.
The Company has agreements with the Manager for the provision of management, secretarial, accounting and administration
services and promotional activities. Details of transactions during the year and balances outstanding at the year end are
disclosed in notes 4 and 5.
Notes to the Financial Statements
Continued
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21. Capital management policies and procedures
The investment objective of the Company is to achieve a high and growing income combined with capital growth through
investment in a portfolio principally of UK equities.
The capital of the Company consists of debt (comprising loan notes and bank loans) and equity (comprising issued capital,
reserves and retained earnings). The Company manages its capital to ensure that it will be able to continue as a going concern
while maximising the return to shareholders through the optimisation of the debt and equity balance.
The Board monitors and reviews the broad structure of the Company’s capital on an ongoing basis. This review includes:
– the level of equity shares in issue;
– the planned level of gearing which takes into account the Investment Manager’s views on the market (net gearing figures can
be found on page 19); and
– the extent to which revenue in excess of that which is required to be distributed should be retained.
The Company’s objectives, policies and processes for managing capital are unchanged from the preceding
accounting period.
Notes 13 and 14 give details of the Company’s bank facility agreement and loan notes respectively.
92 Murray Income Trust PLC
Corporate Information
Unilever is one of the world’s largest and most global consumer goods companies
with 3.4 billion consumers using its products every day. Unilever’s 30 brands
include Magnum, Ben&Jerry’s, Cornetto and Walls as well as other household
names such as Dove, Ponds, Vaseline and Tresemme in ‘Beauty and Wellbeing’, Cif,
Domestos and Surf in ‘Home Care’, and Hellmans and Knorr in ‘Food’.
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abrdn Fund Managers Limited
The Company’s Manager is abrdn Fund Managers
Limited, a subsidiary of Aberdeen Group plc, whose assets
under management and administration were £518 billion
as at 30 June 2025. The Manager delegates portfolio
management to abrdn Investments Limited.
The Investment Team
Charles Luke
Senior Investment Director
Charles Luke is a Senior Investment Director in the
Developed Markets Equities team at Aberdeen. He joined
the company in 2000 and has subsequently managed a
broad variety of UK and European quality-focused funds.
Charles began his career at Framlington Investment
Management in 1998, where he covered UK equities.
Charles holds a BA in Economics and Japanese Studies
from Leeds University and an MSc in Economic History
from the London School of Economics. As the lead
manager of the Company, Charles is responsible for
overseeing the implementation of its investment strategy
and objectives. He focuses on long-term quality income
and manages the investment portfolio with the goal of
providing sustainable growth and income for its investors.
Rhona Millar
Investment Manager
Rhona is an Investment Manager in the Developed
Markets Equities team. She joined Aberdeen in 2016 after
working at EY. Rhona has a BSc in Mathematics from
the University of St Andrews and is a CFA Charterholder
and a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants
of Scotland.
Ian Hewett
Investment Director
Ian is an Investment Director in the Developed Markets
Equities team at Aberdeen. He joined the company as a
graduate in 2007 and has managed various UK and
European equity mandates over his time with the firm as
well as conducting detailed research across a broad
range of sectors. Ian graduated with a Masters degree in
Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and is
a CFA Charterholder. Ian is also a member of the UKEB
Investor Advisory Group.
Information about the Manager including
Investment Process
94 Murray Income Trust PLC
The Investment Process
Investment Approach and Style
The Investment Manager believes that company
fundamentals ultimately drive stock prices but are often
priced inefficiently. It believes that in-depth company
research delivers insights that can be used to exploit these
market inefficiencies. It focuses on investing in high quality
companies, with the market often underestimating the
sustainability of their returns. Quality companies tend to
produce more resilient earnings streams with fewer tail
risks, allowing them to better navigate challenging market
conditions whilst also capitalising on opportunities to
create value. This makes the approach well suited to
identifying companies with sustainable and growing
income generation. Investment insights are generated by
the extensive equity research platform at Aberdeen. Ideas
are generated through frequent direct company contact,
deep fundamental analysis with rigorous team debate
strengthening analytical conclusions. Although the
Company does not have a sustainable objective and its
investment policy does not have sustainable
characteristics, consideration of these matters are
integrated into the research analysis. The Investment
Manager has a long-term approach, aiming to buy and
hold companies for a multi-year time horizon although it
has the ability to react quickly if necessary. It is willing to
take sizeable deviations to the benchmark based on the
companies where it finds the highest quality and most
attractive valuations.
Investment Process
The investment process has five stages:
Information about the Manager including
Investment Process
Continued
Murray Income Trust PLC 95
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
1.
Idea Generation
. Comprehensive coverage of the UK
equity market with a team of analysts generating
investment ideas from company meetings, combined
with corroborating evidence from competitors,
suppliers and customers. External secondary research
is also sourced to gain insight on the consensus view
and supplement proprietary research.
2.
Research
. The market implicitly embeds a lot of
information in a stock price, and the Investment
Manager takes time to understand and interpret this as
it builds a view about the outlook of companies and the
way the market is likely to value them in the future.
Aberdeen’s in-depth analysis of a company’s financials
and business prospects helps it to formulate a
forward-looking view of earnings and cash flow
trajectories, and it applies a variety of forward-looking
multiples in comparing valuations with competitors
and across industries and markets. To fully leverage
the benefits of our considerable research resource, the
Investment Manager’s equity teams use a common
investment language and research framework that
structures how the Investment Manager expresses its
thinking on companies. This facilitates the effective
and unambiguous articulation of research insights.
External research is also utilised to gain insight on the
consensus view and supplement proprietary research.
ESG considerations are integrated into the research
process with each stock receiving an ESG score
alongside an overall quality score.
3.
Stock and Sector Review
. Buy ideas are peer reviewed
by the Developed Markets equity team, evaluating the
level of conviction and the materiality, corroboration
and correlation of those investment opportunities.
4.
Portfolio Construction.
Portfolio construction is bottom-
up driven, focused on investing in companies that pass
the Investment Manager’s rigorous quality assessment,
are attractively valued, and have appealing income
characteristics. The largest component of the
portfolio’s active risk will be stock-specific with
appropriate diversification across a broad range of
countries and sectors. The Investment Manager sells a
stock if it has come to reflect all the upside it expects
and now prices in Aberdeen’s view of the
fundamentals. The Investment Manager will also sell if
our investment thesis has played out or is proved
wrong, or if the Investment Manager finds more
interesting opportunities elsewhere. Continuous
monitoring of company fundamentals and valuation is
critical and Aberdeen uses a variety of proprietary and
external quantitative tools to support portfolio
construction. The Investment Manager aims to select
high quality stocks with attractive income
characteristics. Quality is defined by reference to
factors including management, business model,
balance sheet and ESG considerations.
The Investment Manager believes that good
investment decision making requires clarity of
responsibility for those decisions. Every stock in the
portfolio has a named analyst responsible for its
coverage while every portfolio has a named fund
manager responsible for its management. The
individual fund manager makes investment decisions,
supported and challenged by the wider team, but
involving clear accountability.
5.
Engagement.
As part of the investment process, the
Investment Manager undertakes a significant number
of company meetings each year, during which trading
performance, strategy and broader corporate
developments are discussed. This engagement also
provides an opportunity to address broader ESG issues
including board composition, remuneration, audit,
climate change, and labour relations.
96 Murray Income Trust PLC
Sustainability considerations
The Company does not have a sustainability objective,
however consideration of sustainability is integrated into
the Investment Manager’s investment process, as outlined
above, and is a considered part of each investment
decision.
At the investment stage, sustainability analysis can help to
frame where best to invest by considering material risks
and opportunities alongside other financial metrics. Due
diligence can ascertain whether such risks are being
adequately managed, and whether the market has
understood and priced them accordingly.
Aberdeen has a well-established central sustainability
team which supports investment teams across different
asset classes with its thematic work on areas such as
shareholder engagement, remuneration issues, and
climate change, as well as taking responsibility for voting
policies. Aberdeen believes in active engagement with its
investments and potential investments: from providing
initial guidance on suitable metrics through to holding the
investee company to account for delivering on its
promises. In practice, it is through applying this
sustainability filter that the Investment Manager is
comfortable investing on the Company’s behalf in, for
example, sectors such as mining and oil and gas, subject
to the belief, based on such engagement and investee
companies delivering on their commitments, that a
company is taking the necessary action to address the
energy transition. The Investment Manager follows these
developments closely given that many commodities are
necessary for the transition to a low carbon future.
The latest Carbon Report published by the Investment
Manager on behalf of the Company for the year ended 31
December 2024 may be found on the Company’s website
(www.murray-income.co.uk) under ‘TCFD Product Report’
in ‘Key Documents’.
The portfolio is AA rated by MSCI for its ESG
characteristics: the MSCI Fund Ratings measures the ESG
characteristics of a fund portfolio, ranking funds from
CCC to AAA (being the highest score).
Breadth of experience
The investment process also leverages a wealth of
knowledge, insight and expertise across asset classes and
regions within Aberdeen. This allows the Investment
Manager to take advantage of equity colleagues across
the globe who are meeting companies and conducting
research and sharing their insights using one common
global research platform. This is invaluable when investing
in the UK equity market, which is one of the most global
markets in the world given that more than 70% of
revenues generated by companies in the FTSE 100 come
from overseas. Corporate level insights are shared with
the credit team which enriches the equity view through an
understanding of the full capital structure of the
businesses invested in. Members of the Investment
Manager’s multi-asset and economics teams regularly
share macro level insights with the Developed Markets
equity team.
Risk Management
The Investment Manager utilises a number of quantitative
risk tools to ensure it is fully aware of and understand all
the risks prevalent in portfolios it manages. These risk
management systems monitor and analyse active risk, the
composition of portfolio positions, as well as contribution
to risk and marginal contribution to risk of the portfolio’s
holdings. The systems break down the risk within the
portfolio by industry and country factors, and highlight the
stocks with the highest marginal contribution to risk and
the largest diversification benefit. Sector, thematic and
geographical positions are a residual of stock selection
decisions, but are monitored to ensure excessive risk is not
taken in any one area. The Investment Manager also
makes use of pre-trade analytics to assess the impact of
any trades on the portfolio risk metrics.
Information about the Manager including
Investment Process
Continued
Information about the Manager including
Investment Process
Continued
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Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Snapshot data for the Company
92%
Lower carbon intensity
relative to the Benchmark
c. 171
Dedicated engagements with
companies in the Company’s
portfolio
53
Number of meetings where
the Company voted
35.9%
Number of meetings with
at least one vote against
management
1
st
Quartile
Peer Group MSCI Rating
AA
Fund MSCI ESG Rating
Carbon intensity is measured annually, as at 31 December 2024 and is included in the ‘Carbon Report’ prepared by the Manager on behalf of the Company, which may be found
under “TCFD Product Report” within “Key documents” on the Company’s website at www.murray-income.co.uk.
Engagement: time period referenced is the year ended 30 June 2025.
Voting: time period referenced is the year ended 30 June 2025.
The Manager’s latest ‘Sustainability and TCFD Report”, for 2024, is available at:
https://www.aberdeenplc.com/en-gb/corporate-sustainability
98 Murray Income Trust PLC
Engagement Activity
The following chart shows the nature of the 171
engagements undertaken by the Company with portfolio
companies during the year ended 30 June 2025 (Source:
Aberdeen). This does not include positions sold by the
Investment Manager or potential stocks under
consideration. Themes engaged on include:
Climate Corporate Behaviour
Corporate Governance Envrionment
Human Rights & Stakeholders Labour Management
Voting Activity
The following is a summary of the Investment Manager’s
voting activity, on behalf of the Company, for the year
ended 30 June 2025 (Source - Aberdeen):
Voting Summary Total
Number of meetings the Company was eligible
to vote at
56
Number of meetings the Company voted at 53
Number of resolutions the Company was eligible
to vote on
1,113
Proportion of resolutions voted on for which
the Company was eligible to vote
94.4%
Proportion of resolutions voted on where the
Company voted with management
95.2%
Proportion of resolutions voted on where the
Company voted against management
4.6%
Proportion of resolutions voted on where the
Company abstained from voting
0.3%
Proportion of meetings voted at where the
Company voted against management at
least once
35.9%
While the Manager will typically vote in line with an investee board’s voting recommendation, it will vote against
resolutions that are not consistent with the Company’s best interests. For example, Aberdeen may vote against
resolutions which are not aligned with its policies or which conflict with local governance guidelines, such as the
Investment Association in the UK. Although the Investment Manager seeks to vote either ‘in favour’ or ‘against’ a
resolution, it does make use of an abstain vote where this is considered appropriate. The Investment Manager aims to
vote at all eligible meetings unless share blocking (which can be a feature of voting in non-UK jurisdictions) makes
this unviable.
Information about the Manager including
Investment Process
Continued
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Investors may receive more regular
information about the Company via email by
registering on the website: murray-
income.co.uk
The website also includes current and historic Annual and
Half-Yearly Reports, performance data, the latest monthly
factsheet issued by the Manager together with links to the
Company’s share price and recent London Stock
Exchange announcements.
If you have any general questions about the Company,
please send an email to murray.income@aberdeenplc.com
or write to:
Murray Income Trust PLC
1 George Street
Edinburgh EH2 2LL
Information about the Company, and other investment
companies managed by the Manager, may also be found
on social media channels, as follows:
X: @murrayincome; @aberdeenTrusts
LinkedIn: Murray Income Trust PLC;
aberdeen Investment Trusts
YouTube: @aberdeenInvestmentTrusts
Benchmark
The Company’s benchmark is the FTSE All-Share Index.
Alternative Investment Fund Managers
Directive (“AIFMD”) and Pre-Investment
Disclosure Document (“PIDD”)
The Company has appointed the Manager as its
alternative investment fund manager and BNP Paribas SA,
London Branch as its depositary under the AIFMD.
The AIFMD requires the Manager, as the Company’s
alternative investment fund manager, to make available
to investors certain information prior to such investors’
investment in the Company. Details of the leverage and
risk policies which the Company is required to have in
place under AIFMD are published in the Company’s PIDD
which can be found on its website: murray-income.co.uk
The periodic disclosures required to be made by the
Manager under the AIFMD are set out on page 102.
Investor Warning: Be alert to share fraud
and boiler room scams
The Company has been made aware by Aberdeen that
some investors have received telephone calls from people
purporting to work for Aberdeen, or third parties, who
have offered to buy their investment trust shares. These
may be scams which attempt to gain personal
information with which to commit identity fraud or could
be ‘boiler room’ scams where a payment from an investor
is required to release the supposed payment for their
shares. These callers do not work for Aberdeen and any
third party making such offers has no link with Aberdeen.
Aberdeen never makes these types of offers and does not
‘cold-call’ investors in this way. If investors have any doubt
over the veracity of a caller, they should not offer any
personal information, end the call and contact the
Company using details which can be found in Additional
Shareholder Information.
The Financial Conduct Authority provides advice with
respect to share fraud and boiler room scams at:
fca.org.uk/consumers/scams
Shareholder Enquiries
In the event of queries regarding holdings of shares, lost
certificates, dividend payments, registered details,
shareholders holding their shares in the Company directly
should contact the registrar, MUFG Corporate Markets
(formerly Link Group), whose contact details may be
found in Additional Shareholder Information. Calls may be
recorded and monitored randomly for security and
training purposes. Changes of address must be notified to
the registrar in writing.
Suitable for Retail/NMPI Status
The Company’s shares are intended for investors,
primarily in the UK, including retail investors, professionally-
advised private clients and institutional investors who are
seeking a high and growing income combined with capital
growth through investment in a portfolio principally of UK
equities, and who understand and are willing to accept the
risks of exposure to equities.
Investors should consider consulting a financial adviser
who specialises in advising on the acquisition of shares
and other securities before acquiring shares. Investors
should be capable of evaluating the risks and merits of
such an investment and should have sufficient resources
to bear any loss that may result.
Investor Information
100 Murray Income Trust PLC
The Company currently conducts its affairs so that the
securities issued by the Company can be recommended
by a financial adviser to ordinary retail investors in
accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority’s rules in
relation to non-mainstream pooled investments (“NMPIs”)
and intends to continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
The Company’s securities are excluded from the Financial
Conduct Authority’s restrictions which apply to NMPIs
because they are securities issued by an investment trust.
Key Information Document (“KID”)
The KID relating to the Company can be found under ‘Key
Documents’ in the ‘Literature’ section of the Company’s
website at murray-income.co.uk.
How to Invest in Murray Income Trust PLC
and other Aberdeen-managed
investment trusts
A range of leading investment platforms and share
dealing services let you buy and sell Aberdeen-managed
investment trusts including Murray Income Trust PLC.
Many of these platforms operate on an ‘execution-only’
basis. This means they can carry out your instruction to
buy or sell a particular investment trust. But they may not
be able to advise on suitable investments for you. If you
require advice, please speak to a qualified financial
adviser (see below).
Flexibility
Many investment platform providers will allow you to buy
and hold the shares of Aberdeen-managed investment
trusts within an Individual Savings Account (ISA), Junior ISA
or Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP), all of which have
potential tax advantages. Most will also allow you to invest
on both a lump sum and regular savings basis.
Costs and service
It is important to choose the right platform for your needs,
so take time to research what each platform offers before
you make your decision, as well as considering charges.
When it comes to charges, some platforms have flat fee
structures while others levy percentage-based charges.
Typically, you will also pay a fee every time you buy and
sell shares, so you need to bear in mind these transaction
costs if you are trading frequently. There may also be
additional charges for ISA and SIPP investments.
Can I exercise my voting rights if I hold my
shares through an investment platform?
Yes, you should be able to exercise your right to vote by
contacting your platform. Procedures differ, but some
platforms will automatically alert you when new statutory
documents are available and then allow you to vote
online. Others will require you to contact them to vote.
Your chosen platform will provide further guidance.
Getting advice
Aberdeen recommends that you seek financial advice
prior to making an investment decision. If you do not
currently have a financial adviser, details of authorised
financial advisers in your area can be found at pimfa.co.uk
or unbiased.co.uk (see below). You will pay a fee for
advisory services.
Platform providers
Platforms featuring Murray Income Trust PLC, as well as
other Aberdeen-managed investment trusts, include:
· AJ Bell:
www.ajbell.co.uk/markets/investment-trusts
· Barclays Smart Investor:
www.barclays.co.uk/smart-investor
· Charles Stanley Direct:
www.charles-stanley-direct.co.uk
· Fidelity: www.fidelity.co.uk
· Halifax: www.halifax.co.uk/investing
· Hargreaves Lansdown:
www.hl.co.uk/shares/investment-trusts
· interactive investor (owned by Aberdeen):
www.ii.co.uk/investment-trusts
The companies above are shown for illustrative purposes
only. Other platform providers are available. The links
above direct you to external websites operated by each
platform provider. Aberdeen is not responsible for the
content and information on these third-party sites, apart
from interactive investor, which is owned by Aberdeen.
Discretionary Private Client Stockbrokers
If you have a large sum to invest, you may wish to contact
a discretionary private client stockbroker. They can
manage your entire portfolio of shares and will advise you
on your investments. To find a private client stockbroker
visit The Personal Investment Management & Financial
Advice Association at: pimfa.co.uk.
Investor Information
Continued
Murray Income Trust PLC 101
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Financial Advisers
To find an adviser who recommends on investment trusts,
visit: unbiased.co.uk
Regulation of Stockbrokers
Before approaching a stockbroker, always check that
they are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority:
Tel: 0800 111 6768 or at
at https://register.fca.org.uk
Email: consumerqueries@fca.org.uk
Note
Please remember that past performance is not a guide
to the future. Stock market and currency movements may
cause the value of shares and the income from them to
fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the
amount they originally invested. As with all equity
investments, the value of investment trusts purchased will
immediately be reduced by the difference between the
buying and selling prices of the shares, the market maker’s
spread. Investors should further bear in mind that the
value of any tax relief will depend on the individual
circumstances of the investor and that tax rates and
reliefs, as well as the tax treatment of ISAs, may be
changed by future legislation.
The information on pages 99 to 101 has been approved
for the purposes of Section 21 of the Financial Services
and Markets Act 2000 (as amended by the Financial
Services Act 2012) by abrdn Investments Limited, 280
Bishopsgate, London EC2M 4AG which is authorised and
regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the
United Kingdom.
Financial Calendar
Payment months of quarterly dividends March, June, September, December
Financial year end 30 June
Expected announcement of annual results September
Annual General Meeting November
102 Murray Income Trust PLC
The Manager and the Company are required to make certain disclosures available to investors in accordance
with the AIFMD. Those disclosures that are required to be made pre-investment are included within a pre-investment
disclosure document (“PIDD”) which may be found on the Company’s website (murray-income.co.uk), maintained
by the Manager.
AIFMD or the Directive
The Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive -
There have been no material changes to the disclosures contained within the PIDD since its latest publication
in September 2025.
The periodic disclosures as required under the AIFMD to investors are made below:
· information on the investment strategy, geographic and sector investment focus and principal stock exposures is
included in the Strategic Report;
· none of the Company’s assets are subject to special arrangements arising from their illiquid nature;
· the Strategic Report, Note 18 to the financial statements and the PIDD, together set out the risk profile and risk
management systems in place. There have been no changes to the risk management systems in place in the period
under review and no breaches of any of the risk limits set, with no breach expected;
· there are no new arrangements for managing the liquidity of the Company or any material changes to the liquidity
management systems and procedures employed by the Manager;
· all authorised Alternative Investment Fund Managers are required to comply with the AIFMD Remuneration Code. In
accordance with the AIFMD Remuneration Code, the AIFM’s remuneration policy in respect of its reporting period
ended 31 December 2024 is available on the website of abrdn plc at www.aberdeenplc.com/en-gb/about-us/our-
leadership-team/remuneration-disclosure or on request from the Company Secretaries, abrdn Holdings Limited (see
Additional Shareholder Information for contact details).
Leverage
For the purposes of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, leverage is any method which increases the
Company’s exposure, including the borrowing of cash and the use of derivatives. It is expressed as a ratio between the
Company’s exposure and its net asset value and can be calculated on a gross and a commitment method. Under the
gross method, exposure represents the sum of the Company’s positions after the deduction of Sterling cash balances,
without taking into account any hedging and netting arrangements. Under the commitment method, exposure is
calculated without the deduction of Sterling cash balances and after certain hedging and netting positions are offset
against each other.
The table below sets out the current maximum permitted limit and actual level of leverage for the Company:
Gross Method Commitment Method
Maximum level of leverage 2.50:1 2.00:1
Actual level at 30 June 2025 1.23:1 1.24:1
There have been no breaches of the maximum level during the period and no changes to the maximum level of
leverage employed by the Company. There is no right of re-use of collateral or any guarantees granted under the
leveraging arrangement. Changes to the information contained either within this Annual Report or the PIDD in relation to
any special arrangements in place, the maximum level of leverage which the AIFM may employ on behalf of the
Company; the right of use of collateral or any guarantee granted under any leveraging arrangement; or any change to
the position in relation to any discharge of liability by the Depositary will be notified via a regulatory news service without
undue delay in accordance with the AIFMD.
The information on this page has been approved for the purposes of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act
2000 (as amended by the Financial Services Act 2012) by the Manager which is authorised and regulated by the
Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom.
AIFMD Disclosures
(
Unaudited
)
Murray Income Trust PLC 103
General
Convatec, a top ten holding for the Company, is a global medical group
whose products are used for advanced chronic and acute wound care,
ostomy care, continence & critical care, and infusion care used in the
treatment of diabetes and other conditions. Convatec is owned by the
Company for its long term revenue growth potential driven by the tailwind
of aging populations and the increasing incidence of chronic conditions
which provide recurring revenues and lower cyclicality. The company has
strong brands, an innovative development pipeline of products and a
strong management team and currently trades around 30% below the
Manager’s intrinsic value estimate.
104 Murray Income Trust PLC
Alternative performance measures are numerical measures of the Company’s current, historical or future performance, financial
position or cash flows, other than financial measures defined or specified in the applicable financial framework. The Company’s
applicable financial framework includes FRS 102 and the AIC SORP. The Directors assess the Company’s performance against a range
of criteria which are reviewed as particularly relevant for closed-end investment companies.
Discount to net asset value per Ordinary share with debt at fair value
The discount is the amount by which the share price is lower than the net asset value per share with debt at fair value, expressed as a
percentage of the net asset value.
30 June 2025 30 June 2024
NAV per Ordinary share a 944.8p 957.9p
Share price b 854.0p 857.0p
Discount (b-a)/a (9.6)% (10.5)%
Discount to net asset value per Ordinary share with debt at par value
The discount is the amount by which the share price is lower than the net asset value per share with debt at par value, expressed as a
percentage of the net asset value.
30 June 2025 30 June 2024
NAV per Ordinary share a 936.3p 946.0p
Share price b 854.0p 857.0p
Discount (b-a)/a (8.8)% (9.4)%
Dividend cover
Dividend cover is the revenue return per Ordinary share dividend by dividends per Ordinary share expressed as a ratio.
30 June 2025 30 June 2024
Revenue return per share a 38.60p 37.40p
Dividends per share b 40.00p 38.50p
Dividend cover a/b 0.97 0.97
Alternative Performance Measures
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Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
Dividend yield
The annual dividend per Ordinary share divided by the share price, expressed as a percentage.
30 June 2025 30 June 2024
Dividends per share (p) a 40.00p 38.50p
Share price (p) b 854.00p 857.00p
Dividend yield a/b 4.7% 4.5%
Net asset value per Ordinary share with debt at fair value
The calculation of the Company’s net asset value per Ordinary share with debt at fair value is set out in Note 16.
Net gearing with debt at fair value
Net gearing with debt at fair value measures the total borrowings less cash and cash equivalents dividend by net assets with debt at
fair value, expressed as a percentage. Under AIC reporting guidance cash and cash equivalents includes amounts due to and from
brokers at the year end as well as cash and cash equivalents.
30 June 2025 30 June 2024
Bank loans (£’000) a (6,140) (6,282)
Senior Loan Notes (£’000) b (106,007) (107,574)
Total borrowings (£’000) c=a+b (112,147) (113,856)
Cash (£’000) d 10,426 25,148
Amounts due to brokers (£’000) e (3,043) (5,167)
Amounts due from brokers (£’000) f 3,418 3,787
Net assets with debt at fair value (£’000) g 925,025 1,002,791
Net gearing –(c+d+e+f)/g 11.0% 9.0%
106 Murray Income Trust PLC
Ongoing charges
The ongoing charges ratio has been calculated based on the total of investment management fees and administrative expenses less
non-recurring charges and expressed as a percentage of the average daily net asset values with debt at fair value published
throughout the year.
30 June 2025 30 June 2024
Investment management fees (£’000) a 3,304 3,692
Administrative expenses (£’000) b 1,424 1,334
Less: non-recurring charges
A
(£’000) c (143) (25)
Ongoing charges (£’000) a+b+c 4,585 5,001
Average net assets (£’000) d 954,383 991,404
Ongoing charges ratio (a+b+c)/d 0.48% 0.50%
A
30 June 2025 comprises £85,000 relating to costs accrued in respect of the strategic review, £35,000 Directors recruitment fee, £20,000 relating to legal fees for the new loan
facility and £3,000 relating to other professional services unlikely to recur. 30 June 2024 comprises £20,000 Directors recruitment fee and £5,000 relating to other professional fees
unlikely to recur.
The ongoing charges ratio provided in the Company’s Key Information Document is calculated in line with the PRIIPs regulations, which
includes financing and transaction costs.
Total return
Share price and NAV total returns show how the NAV and share price has performed over a period of time in percentage terms, taking
into account both capital returns and dividends paid to shareholders. Share price and NAV total returns are monitored against open-
ended and closed-ended competitors, and the FTSE All-Share Index, respectively.
Share NAV NAV
Year ended 30 June 2025 price (debt at fair value) (debt at par)
Opening at 1 July 2024 a 857.0p 957.9p 946.0p
Closing at 30 June 2025 b 854.0p 944.8p 936.3p
Price movements c=(b/a)-1 (0.4)% (1.4)% (1.0)%
Dividend reinvestment
A
d 4.7% 4.1% 4.1%
Total return c+d 4.3% 2.7% 3.1%
Share NAV NAV
Year ended 30 June 2024 price (debt at fair value) (debt at par)
Opening at 1 July 2023 a 837.0p 911.7p 894.4p
Closing at 30 June 2024 b 857.0p 957.9p 946.0p
Price movements c=(b/a)-1 2.4% 5.1% 5.8%
Dividend reinvestment
A
d 5.2% 4.8% 5.0%
Total return c+d 7.6% 9.9% 10.8%
A
Share price total return involves reinvesting the net dividend in the share price of the Company on the date on which that dividend goes ex-dividend. NAV total return involves
investing the net dividend in the NAV of the Company with debt at fair value on the date on which that dividend goes ex-dividend.
Alternative Performance Measures
Continued
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Active Share
A measure of the difference between a portfolio and a
benchmark, calculated as a percentage.
Aberdeen or the Aberdeen Group
Aberdeen Group plc and it subsidiary companies.
AIFMD
Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive
AIC
The Association of Investment Companies (theaic.co.uk).
Benchmark
FTSE All-Share Index.
Depositary
A depositary is responsible for cash monitoring, the
custody and safeguarding of the Company’s financial
instruments and monitoring the Company’s compliance
with investment limits and leverage requirements. The
Company’s depositary is BNP Paribas SA, London Branch.
FCA
The Financial Conduct Authority.
Investment Manager
abrdn Investments Limited.
Investment Trust
A type of Closed-End Fund which invests in other
securities, allowing shareholders to share the risks, and
returns, of collective investment.
Key Information Document or KID
The Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment
Products (“PRIIPS”) Regulation requires the Manager, as
the Company’s PRIIP ‘manufacturer’, to prepare a Key
Information Document (“KID”) in respect of the Company.
This KID must be made available by the Manager to retail
investors prior to them making any investment decision
and is available via the Company’s website. The Company
is not responsible for the information contained in the KID
and investors should note that the procedures for
calculating the risks, costs and potential returns are
prescribed by law. The figures in the KID may not reflect
the expected returns for the Company and performance
returns cannot be guaranteed.
Manager (the “Manager”)
abrdn Fund Managers Limited is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Aberdeen and acts as the alternative
investment fund manager for the Company. abrdn Fund
Managers Limited is authorised and regulated by the
Financial Conduct Authority.
Net Asset Value or NAV
The net asset value or NAV is the Company’s total assets
less liabilities. Liabilities for this purpose include current and
long-term liabilities such as the Company’s £40m senior
loan notes expiring in 2027 and £60m senior loan notes
expiring in 2029.
NAV per Ordinary Share
The calculation of the NAV per Ordinary share is shown in
note 16 on the basis of debt at par value (amortised cost)
and debt at fair value (discounted cashflow basis, as set
out in note 19).
Price/Earnings Ratio
The ratio is calculated by dividing the middle-market price
per share by the earnings per share. The calculation
assumes no change in earnings but in practice the
multiple reflects the stock market’s view of a company’s
prospects and profit growth potential.
PRIIPs
Packaged retail and insurance-based investment
products marketed to retail investors which are subject to
investment risk.
Glossary of Terms
108 Murray Income Trust PLC
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual General Meeting of Murray Income Trust PLC will be held at 12.30pm on
Tuesday 4 November 2025 at Wallacespace Spitalfields, 15 Artillery Lane, London E1 7HA for the purpose of considering
and if thought fit passing the following resolutions, of which Resolutions 1 to 11 inclusive will be proposed as Ordinary
Resolutions and Resolutions 12 and 13 inclusive will be proposed as Special Resolutions:–
Ordinary Business
1. To receive and adopt the Directors’ Report, Auditor’s Report and the audited financial statements for the year
ended 30 June 2025.
2. To receive and adopt the Directors’ Remuneration Report for the year ended 30 June 2025 other than the Directors’
Remuneration Policy.
3. To approve the Company’s dividend policy to pay four quarterly interim dividends per year.
4. To elect Andrew Page* as a Director of the Company.
5. To re-elect Angus Franklin* as a Director of the Company.
6. To re-elect Stephanie Eastment* as a Director of the Company.
7. To re-elect Nandita Sahgal Tully* as a Director of the Company.
8. To re-elect Peter Tait* as a Director of the Company.
9. To re-appoint PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as independent auditor of the Company.
10. To authorise the Audit Committee to fix the remuneration of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as independent auditor
of the Company for the year ended 30 June 2026.
Special Business
Authority to Allot
11. THAT, in substitution of all existing powers, the Directors be and are hereby generally and unconditionally authorised
in accordance with Section 551 of the Companies Act 2006 (the “Act”) to exercise all the powers of the Company to
allot Ordinary shares of 25p each in the capital of the Company (“shares”) up to an aggregate nominal amount of
£1,223,652 (or, if less, the number representing 5 per cent. of the total Ordinary shares in issue (excluding treasury
shares) as at the date of passing of this resolution), during the period expiring on the conclusion of the next Annual
General Meeting of the Company after the passing of this resolution or on 31 December 2026, whichever is the
earlier, but so that this authority shall allow the Company to make offers or agreements before the expiry of this
authority which would or might require shares to be allotted after such expiry and the Directors shall be entitled to
allot shares in pursuance of such an offer or agreement as if such authority had not expired.
Disapplication of Pre-emption Rights
12. THAT, subject to the passing of Resolution 11 proposed at the Annual General Meeting of the Company convened
for 4 November 2025, and in substitution for all existing powers, the Directors be and are hereby empowered,
pursuant to Section 570 of the Companies Act 2006 (the “Act”), to allot equity securities (as defined in Section 560(1)
of the Act) for cash pursuant to the authority given in accordance with Section 551 of the Act by Resolution 11 or
otherwise as if Section 561 of the Act did not apply to any such allotment and to sell or transfer equity securities if,
immediately before the sale or transfer, such equity securities are held by the Company as treasury shares (as
defined in Section 724(5) of the Act) as if Section 561 of the Act did not apply to any such sale or transfer, provided
that this power:-
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Murray Income Trust PLC 109
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
i. expires at the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting of the Company after the passing of this resolution
or on 31 December 2026, whichever is the earlier, but so that this power shall enable the Company to make
offers or agreements which would or might require equity securities to be allotted or treasury shares to be sold
or transferred after the expiry of this power and the Directors may allot equity securities or sell or transfer
treasury shares in pursuance of any such offers or agreements as if this power had not expired;
ii. shall be limited to the allotment of equity securities up to an aggregate nominal amount of £2,447,304 (or, if less,
the number representing 10 per cent. of the total Ordinary shares in issue (excluding treasury shares) as at the
date of passing of this resolution); and
iii. shall be limited in respect of the issue of shares or the sale of equity securities from treasury in the
circumstances as detailed in the section headed “Authority to allot shares and disapply pre-emption rights” in
the Directors’ Report on page 48 of the Annual Report of the Company for the year ended 30 June 2025 and at a
price not less than 0.5% above the net asset value per share (as determined by the Directors).
Authority to Make Market Purchases of Shares
13. THAT the Company be and is hereby generally and, subject as hereinafter appears, unconditionally authorised in
accordance with Section 701 of the Companies Act 2006 (the “Act”) to make market purchases (within the meaning
of Section 693(4) of the Act) of Ordinary shares of 25p each in the capital of the Company (“shares”) and to cancel
or hold in treasury such shares, provided always that:
i. the maximum number of shares hereby authorised to be purchased shall be an aggregate of 14,674,038
Ordinary shares or, if less, the number representing 14.99% of the total Ordinary shares in issue (excluding
treasury shares) as at the date of passing this resolution;
ii. the minimum price which may be paid for each share shall be 25p;
iii. the maximum price (exclusive of expenses) which may be paid for a share is the higher of (i) 5% above the
average of the middle market quotations for a share taken from, and calculated by reference to, the London
Stock Exchange Daily Official List for the five business days immediately preceding the day on which the share is
purchased; and (ii) the higher of the price of the last independent trade and the highest current independent bid
on the London Stock Exchange at the time the purchase is carried out;
iv. the authority hereby conferred shall expire on 31 December 2026 or, if earlier, at the conclusion of the next
Annual General Meeting of the Company, unless such authority is previously varied, revoked or renewed prior to
such time; and
v. the Company may enter into a contract to purchase shares under the authority hereby conferred prior to the
expiry of such authority and may purchase shares pursuant to any such contract notwithstanding such
expiry above.
*The biographies of the Directors offering themselves for election or re-election may be found on pages 38 to 40.
By order of the Board
abrdn Holdings Limited
Secretaries
11 September 2025
Registered Office
1 George Street
Edinburgh
EH2 2LL
110 Murray Income Trust PLC
Notes
i. To be entitled to attend and vote at the Meeting (and for the purpose of the determination by the Company of the
number of votes they may cast), shareholders must be registered in the Register of Members of the Company at
close of trading on 31 October 2025. Changes to the Register of Members after the relevant deadline shall be
disregarded in determining the rights of any person to attend and vote at the Meeting.
ii. Shareholders, or their proxies, intending to attend the Meeting in person are requested, if possible, to arrive at the
Meeting venue at least 20 minutes prior to the commencement of the Meeting at 12.30pm (UK time) on 4
November 2025 so that their shareholding may be checked against the Company’s Register of Members and
attendances recorded.
iii. Shareholders are entitled to appoint another person as a proxy to exercise all or part of their rights to attend and to
speak and vote on their behalf at the Meeting. A shareholder may appoint more than one proxy in relation to the
Meeting provided that each proxy is appointed to exercise the rights attached to a different ordinary share or
ordinary shares held by that shareholder. A proxy need not be a shareholder of the Company.
iv. In the case of joint holders, where more than one of the joint holders purports to appoint a proxy, only the
appointment submitted by the most senior holder will be accepted. Seniority is determined by the order in which
the names of the joint holders appear in the Company’s Register of Members in respect of the joint holding (the first
named being the most senior).
v. A vote withheld is not a vote in law, which means that the vote will not be counted in the calculation of votes for or
against the resolution. If no voting indication is given, your proxy will vote or abstain from voting at his or her
discretion. Your proxy will vote (or abstain from voting) as he or she thinks fit in relation to any other matter which is
put before the Meeting.
vi. You can vote:
· electronically via the Investor Centre app (see (ix), below) or web browser at
https://uk.investorcentre.mpms.mufg.com/ and by following the instructions; or
· you may request a hard copy form of proxy directly from the registrars, MUFG Corporate Markets, by sending an
email to shareholderenquiries@cm.mpms.mufg.com or by calling Tel: 0371 664 0300. Calls are charged at the
standard geographic rate and will vary by provider. Calls from outside the UK will be charged at the applicable
international rate. Lines are open between 08:30 – 17:30, Monday to Friday excluding public holidays in England
and Wales. In order for a proxy appointment to be valid a form of proxy must be completed and received by
MUFG Corporate Markets at PXS 1, Central Square, 29 Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 4DL by 12.30pm on 31
October 2025; or
· in the case of CREST members, by utilising the CREST electronic proxy appointment service in accordance with
the procedures set out below; or
· if you are an institutional investor, you may also be able to appoint a proxy electronically via the Proxymity
platform, a process which has been agreed by the Company and approved by the Registrar. For further
information regarding Proxymity, please go to www.proxymity.io. Your proxy must be lodged by 12:30pm on
31 October 2025 in order to be considered valid or, if the meeting is adjourned, by the time which is 48 hours
before the time of the adjourned meeting. Before you can appoint a proxy via this process you will need to have
agreed to Proxymity’s associated terms and conditions. It is important that you read these carefully as you will be
bound by them and they will govern the electronic appointment of your proxy. An electronic proxy appointment
via the Proxymity platform may be revoked completely by sending an authenticated message via the platform
instructing the removal of your proxy vote.
vii. If you return more than one proxy appointment, either by paper or electronic communication, the appointment
received last by the Registrar before the latest time for the receipt of proxies will take precedence. You are advised
to read the terms and conditions of use carefully. Electronic communication facilities are open to all shareholders
and those who use them will not be disadvantaged.
Notice of Annual General Meetin
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Murray Income Trust PLC 111
Strategic Report Governance Overview General Portfolio Corporate Information Financial Statements
viii. The return of a completed form of proxy, electronic filing or any CREST Proxy Instruction (as described below) will
not prevent a shareholder from attending the Meeting and voting in person if he/she wishes to do so.
ix. Shareholders can vote electronically via the Investor Centre, a free app for smartphone and tablet provided by
MUFG Corporate Markets. The app allows you to securely manage and monitor your shareholdings in real time,
take part in online voting, keep your details up to date, access a range of information including payment history and
much more.
The app is available to download on both the Apple App Store and Google Play, or by scanning the relevant QR
code below. Alternatively, you may access the Investor Centre via a web browser at:
https://uk.investorcentre.mpms.mufg.com/
x. CREST members who wish to appoint a proxy or proxies through the CREST electronic proxy appointment service
may do so for the Meeting (and any adjournment of the Meeting) by using the procedures described in the CREST
Manual (available from www.euroclear.com). CREST Personal Members or other CREST sponsored members, and
those CREST members who have appointed a service provider(s), should refer to their CREST sponsor or voting
service provider(s), who will be able to take the appropriate action on their behalf.
xi. In order for a proxy appointment or instruction made by means of CREST to be valid, the appropriate CREST
message (a ‘CREST Proxy Instruction’) must be properly authenticated in accordance with Euroclear UK &
International Limited’s specifications and must contain the information required for such instructions, as described
in the CREST Manual. The message must be transmitted so as to be received by the issuer’s agent (ID RA10) by
12.30pm on 31 October 2025. For this purpose, the time of receipt will be taken to mean the time (as determined by
the timestamp applied to the message by the CREST application host) from which the issuer’s agent is able to
retrieve the message by enquiry to CREST in the manner prescribed by CREST. After this time, any change of
instructions to proxies appointed through CREST should be communicated to the appointee through other means.
xii. CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting service providers should note that
Euroclear UK & International Limited does not make available special procedures in CREST for any particular
message. Normal system timings and limitations will, therefore, apply in relation to the input of CREST Proxy
Instructions. It is the responsibility of the CREST member concerned to take (or, if the CREST member is a CREST
personal member, or sponsored member, or has appointed a voting service provider(s), to procure that his CREST
sponsor or voting service provider(s) take(s)) such action as shall be necessary to ensure that a message is
transmitted by means of the CREST system by any particular time. In this connection, CREST members and, where
applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting system providers are referred, in particular, to those sections of the
CREST Manual concerning practical limitations of the CREST system and timings. The Company may treat as invalid
a CREST Proxy Instruction in the circumstances set out in Regulation 35(5)(a) of the Uncertificated Securities
Regulations 2001.
xiii. Any corporation which is a shareholder can appoint one or more corporate representatives who may exercise on
its behalf all of its powers as a shareholder provided that no more than one corporate representative exercises
powers in relation to the same shares.
xiv. As at 11 September 2025, the Company’s ordinary issued share capital consists of 97,892,184 ordinary shares,
carrying one vote each and 21,637,348 shares held in treasury. Therefore, the total voting rights in the Company as
at 11 September 2025 are 97,892,184.
112 Murray Income Trust PLC
xv. Under Section 527 of the Companies Act 2006, shareholders meeting the threshold requirements set out in that
section have the right to require the Company to publish on a website a statement setting out any matter relating
to: (i) the audit of the Company’s financial statements (including the Auditor’s Report and the conduct of the audit)
that are to be laid before the Meeting; or (ii) any circumstances connected with an auditor of the Company ceasing
to hold office since the previous meeting at which annual financial statements and reports were laid in accordance
with Section 437 of the Companies Act 2006 (in each case) that the shareholders propose to raise at the relevant
meeting. The Company may not require the shareholders requesting any such website publication to pay its
expenses in complying with Sections 527 or 528 of the Companies Act 2006. Where the Company is required to
place a statement on a website under Section 527 of the Companies Act 2006, it must forward the statement to the
Company’s auditor not later than the time when it makes the statement available on the website. The business
which may be dealt with at the Meeting for the relevant financial year includes any statement that the Company
has been required under Section 527 of the Companies Act 2006 to publish on a website.
xvi. Any shareholder attending the Meeting has the right to ask questions. The Company must cause to be answered
any such question relating to the business being dealt with at the Meeting but no such answer need be given if: (a)
to do so would interfere unduly with the preparation for the Meeting or involve the disclosure of confidential
information; (b) the answer has already been given on a website in the form of an answer to a question; or (c) it is
undesirable in the interests of the Company or the good order of the Meeting that the question be answered.
xvii. Copies of the Directors’ letters of appointment will be available for inspection during normal business hours at the
registered office of the Company on any business day from the date of this Notice until the time of the Meeting and
may also be inspected at the Meeting venue, as specified in this Notice, for 15 minutes before and during the
Annual General Meeting until the conclusion of the Meeting.
xviii. Any electronic address (within the meaning of Section 333(4) of the Companies Act 2006) provided either in this
Notice or in any related documents (including the Form of Proxy) may not be used to communicate with the
Company for any purposes other than those expressly stated. Submission of a Proxy vote shall not preclude a
member from attending and voting in person at the meeting in respect of which the proxy is appointed or at any
adjournment thereof.
xix. Unless otherwise indicated on the Form of Proxy, CREST, Proxymity or any other electronic voting instruction, the
proxy will vote as they think fit or, at their discretion or withhold from voting.
xx. A copy of this Notice, and other information required by Section 311A of the Companies Act 2006, can be found on
the Company’s website at murray-income.co.uk
xxi. If the law or Government guidance so requires at the time of the Meeting, physical attendance at the Meeting may
not be possible. In these circumstances, the Chair will limit, in their sole discretion, the number of individuals in
physical attendance at the meeting to two persons. Should there be no restrictions imposed by law or Government
at the time of the Meeting, the Company may still impose entry restrictions on certain persons wishing to attend the
Meeting in order to ensure the safety of those attending the Meeting. As set out in the Chair’s Statement,
shareholders are encouraged to submit questions in advance of the Meeting by email to:
murray.income@aberdeenplc.com
THIS DOCUMENT IS IMPORTANT AND REQUIRES YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. If you are in any doubt about the action
you should take, you are recommended to seek your own independent financial advice from your stockbroker, bank
manager, solicitor, accountant or other independent financial adviser authorised under the Financial Services and
Markets Act 2000 (as amended by the Financial Services Act 2012) if you are in the United Kingdom or, if not, from
another appropriately authorised financial adviser.
If you have sold or otherwise transferred all your Ordinary shares in Murray Income Trust PLC, please forward this
document together with the accompanying documents immediately to the purchaser or transferee, or to the
stockbroker, bank or agent through whom the sale or transfer was effected for transmission to the purchaser or
transferee.
Notice of Annual General Meetin
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Continued
Murray Income Trust PLC 113
Directors
Peter Tait (Chair)
Stephanie Eastment (Senior Independent Director)
Nandita Sahgal Tully (Chair of the Audit Committee)
Angus Franklin
Andrew Page
Company Secretaries and Registered Office
abrdn Holdings Limited
1 George Street
Edinburgh EH2 2LL
Registered in Scotland under company number SC012725
Website
murray-income.co.uk
Points of Contact
The Chair or Company Secretaries at the Registered
Office of the Company
Email: murray.income@aberdeenplc.com
Legal Entity Identifier
549300IRNFGVQIQHUI13
United States Internal Revenue Service
FATCA Registration Number (“GIIN”)
8Q8ZFE.99999.SL.826
Social Media
X: @murrayincome; @aberdeenTrusts
LinkedIn: Murray Income Trust PLC; aberdeen Investment
Trusts
YouTube: @aberdeenInvestmentTrusts
Alternative Investment Fund Manager
abrdn Fund Managers Limited
Authorised and regulated by the Financial
Conduct Authority
Investment Manager
abrdn Investments Limited
Authorised and regulated by the Financial
Conduct Authority
Registrar (for direct shareholders)
The Company’s registrar is MUFG Corporate Markets
(formerly Link Group) which operates the Investor Centre
app (which is available to download on both the Apple
App Store and Google Play; see note (ix) on page 111)
where shareholdings can be managed quickly and easily,
including changing address or arranging to pay dividends
directly into a bank account, or to receive electronic
communications.
Alternatively, you may access the Investor Centre via a
web browser at:
https://uk.investorcentre.mpms.mufg.com/
To register, shareholders will need their Investor Code
which may be found on their share certificate or by
contacting the Registrar via the above website, or by
phone or by post:
By phone:
0371 664 0300 and +44 (0) 371 664 0300 (international).
Calls are charged at the standard geographic rate and
will vary by provider. Calls from outside the United
Kingdom will be charged at the applicable international
rate. Lines are open between 09:00 - 17:30, Monday to
Friday excluding public holidays in England and Wales
By post:
MUFG Corporate Markets
Central Square
29 Wellington Street
Leeds LS1 4DL
Independent Auditor
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
7 More London Place
London SE1 2RT
Depositary
BNP Paribas SA, London Branch
10 Harewood Avenue
London NW1 6AA
Lawyer
Dickson Minto W.S.
16 Charlotte Square
Edinburgh EH2 4DF
Stockbroker
Investec Bank plc
30 Gresham Street
London EC2V 7QP
Additional Shareholder Information
For more information visit murray-income.co.uk
aberdeenplc.com