BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC
BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust plc is a public limited company registered in Scotland under company number SC006176. It was incorporated on 2 May 1906, and Companies House records its current status as active, with its registered office at Dundas House, 20 Brandon Street, Edinburgh, EH3 5PP. The company is classified under UK Standard Industrial Classification code 64301, "activities of investment trusts."
BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust plc operates as a closed-ended UK equity investment trust. Its ordinary shares, of 25p nominal value, are admitted to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker BRSC. The trust’s stated investment objective is to achieve capital growth for shareholders over the long term by investing primarily in smaller companies whose securities are admitted to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, with flexibility to invest up to 15% of gross assets in global small-cap equities listed overseas.
On 16 April 2026, BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust plc completed a combination with BlackRock Throgmorton Trust plc, acquiring approximately £303.2 million of net assets from that trust following approval by both trusts’ shareholders at general meetings held in March 2026. The combination, first proposed on 20 February 2026, was reported to have created an enlarged trust with net assets of approximately £780 million, positioned by industry commentators as the largest growth-focused trust in the Association of Investment Companies’ UK Smaller Companies sector, with the ongoing charges ratio reduced by close to 20 basis points to around 0.63%.
As an investment trust, BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust plc does not manufacture products or provide services to external customers. Its business consists of holding and managing a portfolio of predominantly UK-listed smaller-company equities on behalf of its shareholders.
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Shareholders
4
Shareholders of BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust plc
As at the most recent disclosure date reflected in this record (17 September 2026), four holdings in the ordinary share capital of BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust plc are disclosed. This reflects the major-shareholder notification regime that applies to companies listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, not a complete shareholder register.
The largest disclosed holding belongs to Saba Capital Income & Opportunities Fund, recorded at approximately 17.03% of ordinary shares (71,210 shares). Saba Capital has separately been reported in the financial press as having supported the trust’s 2026 combination with BlackRock Throgmorton Trust plc. Two index-tracking funds managed by State Street Global Advisors (SPDR ETFs tracking UK equity indices) are each recorded holding approximately 5.00% (20,931 shares each), and the HSBC FTSE 250 UCITS ETF is recorded holding approximately 1.70% (7,098 shares). All four disclosed holdings are ordinary shares; no other share class is recorded.
Data availability
Shareholder information for BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust plc is major shareholders only: UK-listed companies disclose shareholdings once they cross the notification thresholds set out in the Financial Conduct Authority’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, and the company does not publish a complete shareholder register. No verified ultimate beneficial owner has been identified, as the disclosed holders are institutional and pooled investment vehicles rather than natural persons.
Registry feed — rows exactly as filed with Companies House, including entries the profile above does not cover.
| Shareholder | Type | Holding | Source Document |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saba Capital Income & Opportunities Fd | 17% | Companies House | |
| SSgA SPDR ETFS Europe I-SPDR FTSE UK All Shares UCITS ETF | 5% | Companies House | |
| SSgA SPDR ETFS Europe I-SPDR FTSE UK All Share ETF | 5% | Companies House | |
| HSBC FTSE 250 UCITS ETF | 1.7% | Companies House |
Officers
28
Directors and officers of BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust plc
Companies House records seven active directors and one active corporate secretary for BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust plc, alongside a number of historical directors whose appointments have ended. All current directors hold the legal role of Director; the board is non-executive, as is typical for a UK investment trust, which has no executive management team of its own.
The current directors are Ronald Jay Gould (appointed 1 April 2019, and chairman of the board since June 2019), Timothy James Kentish Barnes (appointed 31 July 2021), Helen Rachelle Sinclair (appointed 1 March 2022), Dunke Ololade Afe (appointed 1 January 2024), Mark Jonathan Little (appointed 1 October 2020), and Angela Claire Lane and Louise Catherine Nash (both appointed 17 April 2026, coinciding with completion of the trust’s combination with BlackRock Throgmorton Trust plc). All current directors are recorded by Companies House as British nationals; their recorded countries of residence vary across England, Scotland and elsewhere in the United Kingdom, and residence is a separate field from nationality.
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited is recorded as the company’s corporate secretary, a role it has held since 29 September 2006. As a corporate officer it is identified here by its own name and registration rather than as a natural person, and this record does not attempt to identify its own individual directors.
Recent officer changes
- Angela Claire Lane and Louise Catherine Nash were appointed as directors on 17 April 2026, the day after completion of the combination with BlackRock Throgmorton Trust plc, per Companies House filings.
- Caroline Burton resigned as a director on 9 June 2022, per Companies House filings.
- Helen Rachelle Sinclair was appointed as a director on 1 March 2022, per Companies House filings.
Data availability
Officer information is sourced from Companies House, the UK’s official company registry, and reflects full disclosure of current and former directors with appointment and resignation dates. Companies House discloses officers’ nationality and country of residence as reported at appointment; these are separate fields from the correspondence address shown for each officer, which is a service address and not a home address.
Registry feed — rows exactly as filed with Companies House, including entries the profile above does not cover.
Group Structure
Group structure of BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust plc
BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust plc is an independently listed investment trust; no parent company, subsidiary or corporate-group ownership relationship has been identified for this entity via Companies House or other authoritative sources. As is standard for UK investment trusts, it has a verified external management relationship: BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited acts as the trust’s investment manager and is separately recorded by Companies House as the company’s secretary, a role it has held since 29 September 2006. This is a contractual management and administration relationship rather than a shareholding or corporate-ownership relationship, and it does not make BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited a parent company of the trust.
Recent structural changes
- On 16 April 2026, BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust plc completed a combination with BlackRock Throgmorton Trust plc, acquiring approximately £303.2 million of net assets from that trust following shareholder approval at general meetings held in March 2026. This was a scheme of reconstruction between two separately listed investment trusts, not the acquisition of a subsidiary company, and BlackRock Throgmorton Trust plc’s separate corporate existence ended as part of the transaction.
Data availability
No parent, subsidiary or sister-company relationship has been identified for BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust plc from Companies House or other authoritative sources; only the verified management relationship with BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited is described above.
BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC
United Kingdom
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC do?
BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust plc is a closed-ended UK equity investment trust that invests primarily in smaller companies listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, aiming for long-term capital growth.
Who owns BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC?
Major disclosed holder is Saba Capital Income & Opportunities Fund with approximately 17.03% of ordinary shares (as at 17 September 2026); remaining disclosed holders are index-tracking ETFs each holding 5% or less. Disclosure is major-shareholders-only, not a complete register.
Who is BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC's UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owner)?
Every shareholder recorded for BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC is itself a company rather than a natural person, so no Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) is identified at this level; establishing one would require tracing the ownership of each shareholding company in turn.
What is BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC's company registration number?
BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC's registration number is SC006176, filed with Companies House in United Kingdom. Its current status on the register is active.
Is BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC still an active company?
BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC's status on Companies House is listed as active.
When was BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC incorporated?
BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC was incorporated on 2 May 1906, according to Companies House.
What is BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC's registered address?
The registered address on file for BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC is Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
What legal structure is BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC registered as?
BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC is registered as a Public Limited Company in United Kingdom.
Is BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC listed on a stock exchange?
Ordinary shares trade on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under ticker BRSC. On 16 April 2026 the trust completed a combination with BlackRock Throgmorton Trust plc, creating an enlarged trust with net assets of approximately GBP 780 million.
Who are the officers/directors of BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC?
Seven non-executive directors are currently recorded, chaired by Ronald Jay Gould since June 2019; BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited is the corporate secretary.
Does BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC have a parent company or subsidiaries?
No parent or subsidiary relationship is identified; BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited acts as investment manager and company secretary under a contractual management relationship, not corporate ownership.
Can Zavia monitor changes to BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC's ownership over time?
This profile reflects a point-in-time snapshot from Companies House. Zavia's monitoring API can track changes to BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC's registered shareholders, officers, and group structure going forward, flagging updates as they're filed rather than requiring a manual recheck.
Can I access BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC's data through an API?
Yes. Zavia's API connects directly to official government ownership registries across 195 countries and territories, including United Kingdom, so records like BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC's registration, shareholder, UBO, and group-structure data can be queried programmatically instead of viewed one page at a time.
Where does this company information come from, and how current is it?
This record is sourced directly from Companies House and was last synced on 18 September 2026.