Welcome to Hardy Plc

Hardy is an investing company with an investing policy under which the directors of Hardy (“the Directors”) sought to acquire interests in in investment opportunities that they perceive to be undervalued and where they believe there is an opportunity to generate added value for shareholders over the medium to long term, primarily in the form of a capital gain.

However, in the Hardy Interim Financial Report for the six months ended 30 September 2024, the Company announced proposals to pursue a realisation of investments strategy and a return of capital to shareholders over the short to medium term.

Proposed realisation of investments and return of capital to shareholders

The Directors believe that UK small-cap public markets are facing a continuing deterioration in liquidity and declining access to cost-effective growth capital and there are no indications that these markets are expected to recover in the foreseeable future.

As a result, the Directors consider that the Company’s strategy, with a focus to invest in the small to middle market capitalisation sectors of the UK or Europe, is no longer sufficiently attractive. In addition, the Company only has a small capital base which severely limits the alternative investment strategy options available to it. The Directors have, therefore, concluded that the Company should not make any further investments and instead should pursue an orderly realisation of existing investments and return of capital to Shareholders over the short to medium term, following which it is expected that the Company will be voluntarily wound up or subject to an administrative dissolution pursuant to the Isle of Man Companies Act 2006 (“the Companies Act”).

The return of capital to shareholders is expected to be by way of one or more capital distributions as and when funds permit but there can be no certainty on the timing or monetary amounts of such distributions.