Edinburgh stepping up its gearing reduction

Edinburgh Smaller Companies investment trust continues to reduce gearing from a high of 53.5%, the position it held in the immediate aftermath of 11 September. The £124m trust, the ninth largest in the 37-strong UK Smaller Companies sector, issued its results to 31 December last week, which showed that it currently has gearing of around 30.6%. The board and manager Alistair Currie of Edinburgh Fund Managers are aiming to bring that down further to below 25%. The trust's NAV fell by 27.8% in the year to 31 December, compared to a fall of 8.8% in its benchmark, the Hoare Govett Smaller...