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British Smaller Companies VCT

BSV.L
30
Asset Management · Financial Services
Price
72.50 GBp
+0.00 (+0.00%)
Market Cap
£301.6M
Exchange
London Stock Exchange
Winston Score
30
Winston is serious
Below-average fundamentals — multiple weak pillars.
Based on the IPO prospectus (annual filing). This score will refine automatically once the company reports its first quarters.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Dec 31, 2025
How the score breaks down
Quality
Mixed
Growth
Weak
Cash Flow
Weak
Stability
Exceptional
Valuation
Mixed

Share count rising — dilution

+129.1% over 3y

The company has issued more shares over this period, which dilutes each existing shareholder’s stake.

Diluted shares outstanding: 155.1M (2022) → 355.5M (2025)

Winston Score History

The full picture

British Smaller Companies VCT plc is a Venture Capital Trust (VCT) based in the United Kingdom. It pools money from individual investors and uses that money to buy stakes in small, early-stage British companies that need funding to grow. The fund is managed by YFM Equity Partners and focuses on unquoted UK businesses, meaning companies not yet listed on a stock exchange.

The company makes money by earning returns on its investments — through dividends, interest, and profits when it sells its stakes in portfolio companies. Because it is structured as a VCT, UK investors receive tax breaks for putting money in, which helps attract capital and gives the fund a built-in advantage over regular investment funds. The fund operates entirely within the UK, making it heavily exposed to the health of the British small business economy. The main risk is that small, early-stage companies often fail, and a weak UK economic environment could reduce both the value of its holdings and the returns paid out to shareholders.

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

-79.1% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue declining

EPS Growth

-108.3% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

£0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (7%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

11.1%ownership

Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Runway

~6 years

£26M cash & investments

£26M cash & investments at current burn rate

Revenue declining

British Smaller Companies VCT's revenue is actually shrinking. In a growth stock, that removes the core investment thesis. The low Winston Score here may be warranted — unless there's a turnaround story.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

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Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
26.6%
Modest — 26.6% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
14.4%
Healthy — 14.4% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
0.5%
Weak — 0.5% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
-14.4%
Shrinking sales (-14.4% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
-88.2%
Earnings shrinking (-88.2% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
N/A
Data not available

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
-144%
Weak — only -144% of profit becomes cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
-26.5%
Burning cash (-26.5%)

Free cash flow is negative. They are burning cash, not generating it.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
0.00
Conservative — low debt load (0.00)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
100.00x
Comfortably covers interest (100.0x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
21.5x
Growth-priced — P/E 21.5

P/E above the market average. People are paying up for expected growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
N/A
not available
Data not available

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.
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