Oakley Capital Investments (OCI) has made two new board appointments as it prepares for ‘next phase of growth’. 

From 17th November, Christopher Samuel and Kiernan Bell will join the pan-European private equity trust as independent non-executive directors. 

Samuel, who currently heads up the board of the £12.9bn Scottish Mortgage (SMT ) trust, is set to become chair in March following a planned transition period. 

Both appointments are subject to shareholder approval at the 2026 AGM.  

The incoming chair was formerly chief executive officer of Ignis Asset Management and has considerable trust experience, having previously served as chair of BlackRock Throgmorton (THRG ) and JPMorgan Japanese (JFJ ), as well as on the board of Alliance trust, now Alliance Witan (ALW ). 

As of 28 October, Samuel and persons closely associated with him held 22,398 shares in OCI.

Bell’s background is in the legal profession. Former managing partner of the Bermuda office of global law firm Appleby, she currently sits on the panel of Assistant Justices of the Supreme Court of Bermuda. 

Steve Pearce, interim chair of OCI, said the appointments strengthen the board’s depth and experience as it prepares for ‘OCI’s next phase of growth’. 

Samuel added that he joins ‘at a time of real momentum’, noting: ‘While the recent move to the Main Market and inclusion in the FTSE 250 reflect a clear strategic ambition to broaden investor access and enhance market visibility, the board remains rightly focused on addressing the long-term discount to NAV at which the shares trade. 

‘I look forward to working with the board as we explore various strategies to improve OCI’s rating and drive shareholder returns.’

In a third quarter trading update to the end of September, the trust posted muted results, with its net asset value (NAV) falling 1.5%, while trading stayed ‘robust’. 

Earnings growth from content, education, and testing companies offset weaker results from Time Out, ACE Education, and ProductLife Group.

Some £56m of look-through investments was attributed to new deals over the quarter, including with global advisory firm G3 and luxury brand Smythson, alongside bolt-on acquisitions for K12 education and business-services platforms.

The results also shared that, as part of its 2025 £50m buyback programme, OCI has spent £29 million repurchasing 5.8 million shares over the previous nine months, boosting NAV per share by 7p. 

As of yesterday, its discount rests at 25%.