Baillie Gifford UK growth (BGUK ) is seeking approval to renew its share buyback authority after repurchasing a bumper level of shares since the start of the year. 

The underperforming £252m equity investment trust, managed by Iain McCombie and Milena Mileva, first announced its intention to ramp up buybacks in January, with the goal of keeping its persistent discount in the single digits. 

Since then, its discount has narrowed from 14.2% to 9.6%. 

The scale-up in buyback ambitions builds on a package of existing corporate governance measures introduced last autumn, including a milder buyback scheme and a one-off 100% performance-related tender offer in 2029.

According to Stifel, as of 4 June, the trust has bought back nearly 16.3m shares in total and has ‘substantially utilised’ the authority last granted for buybacks at the 2024 annual general meeting (AGM), which took place last September.

The cap for authority initially granted was 14.99% of issued share capital, three-quarters of which has already been used up. 

Responding to today’s announcement, Stifel’s Iain Scouller noted: ‘If buybacks were to continue at the same rate as they have since the 2024 AGM, the remaining buyback capacity would be fully utilised before the next AGM.’

BGUK’s portfolio net asset value (NAV) is up 8.8% over three years to the end of April, well behind a 22.6% rise for the FTSE All-Share. Its share price rose 11.6% over the same period. 

While the trust has had to ramp up buybacks to defend its discount, recent performance has improved somewhat. Over the past year, the NAV is up 7%, though that is still behind 7.5% for the All-Share. 

The trust’s board said it is seeking ‘immediate approval’ for renewed buyback authority and has proposed a general meeting for 3 July.