Interim Management Statement

BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC Interim Management Statement - 3 months to 31 May 2009 To the members of BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust plc This interim management statement has been produced solely to provide additional information to shareholders as a body to meet the relevant requirements of the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure & Transparency Rules. It should not be relied on by any other party for any other reason. This interim management statement relates to the period from 1 March 2009 to 31 May 2009, and contains information that covers this period, and up to the date of publication of this interim management statement. Please note more detailed performance information, in particular the March, April and May 2009 month end announcements are available on the Manager's website - www.blackrock.co.uk/its. The Company invests mainly in smaller UK quoted companies, and seeks to achieve long term capital growth for shareholders. The Company is managed by Mike Prentis of BlackRock. Stock Performance Cumulative Performance (%): One Three One Three Five Month Months Year Years Years Net Asset Value 2.7% 25.4% -36.9% -21.9% 26.1% Share Price 5.1% 32.2% -36.3% -21.1% 36.4% HGSC ex Investment Trusts & AIM* 3.8% 29.3% -32.1% -35.1% -14.1% *With effect from 1 September 2007 the Hoare Govett Smaller Companies plus AIM (ex Investment Companies) Index replaced the FTSE SmallCap Index (ex Investment Companies) as the Company's benchmark. For three year and five year periods above the index has been blended to reflect this. All performance figures are in £ on a capital only basis. Ten Largest Equity Holdings (in alphabetical order) at 31 May 2009 Abcam Aveva Group Brewin Dolphin Holdings Chemring Group City of London Investment Group Dechra Pharmaceuticals Emerald Energy Fidessa Group Rathbone Brothers Victrex Financial position and performance as at 31 May 2009 Gross Assets (£m)* 152.3 Short term borrowings (£m) 0.3 7.75% Debenture 2022 at par value (£m) 15.2 7.75% Debenture 2022 at fair value (£m) 17.5 Net asset value - capital only (at par) 278.10p Net asset value - capital only (at fair value) 272.60p Net asset value - cum income (at par) 284.46p Net asset value - cum income (at fair value) 278.96p Share Price 234.00p Ordinary Shares in Issue** 48,194,792 Actual Gearing 11.7% Discount to NAV*** 15.9% Average Discount over the Period 17.4% *Includes current year revenue ** Excluding 1,798,731 shares held in treasury ***Calculated on a capital only (at par) basis Material Events & Transactions On 9 April 2009, 300,000 shares were bought back and placed in treasury. There were no other material events or transactions during the three months to 31 May 2009, other than the purchase and sale of securities undertaken in the normal course of business. The Board is not aware of any significant events or transactions, except as disclosed herein, occurring between 31 May 2009 and the date of publication of this interim management statement which would have a material impact on the financial position of the Company. Latest information is available by typing, www.blackrock.co.uk/its on the internet, "BLRKINDEX" on Reuters, "BLRK" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV terminal). Contact details: Caroline Driscoll Secretary Tel: 020 7743 2427 16 July 2009
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