Half-yearly Report

28 November 2008

                      London Stock Exchange Announcement

                 Finsbury Worldwide Pharmaceutical Trust PLC

     Unaudited Interim Results For the Six Months Ended 30 September 2008

INVESTMENT POLICY AND BENCHMARK

Finsbury Worldwide Pharmaceutical Trust PLC invests worldwide in
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with the objective of achieving a
high level of capital growth.

Performance is measured against the Datastream World Pharmaceutical &
Biotechnology Index (total return, sterling adjusted).

In order to achieve its investment objective, the Company invests in a
diversified portfolio of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and related securities
on a worldwide basis. It uses gearing and derivative transactions to mitigate
risk and also to enhance capital returns. The Company does not hedge its
foreign currency exposure.

The Board seeks to manage the Company's risk by imposing various investment
limits and restrictions.

- The Company will not invest more than 15% of its assets in other UK listed
investment companies

- The Company will not invest more than 15% of the investment portfolio in any
one individual stock at the time of acquisition

- At least 60% of the investment portfolio will normally be invested in larger
companies (i.e. with a market capitalisation of at least US$5bn)

- At least 20% of the investment portfolio will normally be invested in
smaller companies (i.e. with a market capitalisation of less than US$5bn)

- Investment in unquoted securities will not exceed 10% of the investment
portfolio

- The Company's gearing policy is that it may borrow up to the lower of £70m
or 20% of the Company's net asset value

- Derivative (using options) transactions can be used to mitigate risk or
enhance capital returns and exposure will be restricted to 5% of the
investment portfolio.

Performance                           30          31
                               September       March
                                    2008        2008  % Change
 
Shareholders' funds              £254.7m     £224.8m    +13.3
Net asset value per share -       584.1p      486.6p    +20.0
basic
Net asset value per share -
diluted (for warrants)            560.3p      482.4p    +16.1
Share price                       515.0p      457.0p    +12.7
Warrant price                      44.5p       27.5p    +61.8
Discount of share price to
diluted net asset value per
share                               8.1%        5.3%        -
Benchmark Index*                 7,643.7    7,049.7%     +8.4
Gearing#                           12.4%        1.8%        -
Total expense ratio                 1.2%        1.3%        -
(annualised)

* Datastream World Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Index, total return,
sterling adjusted.

# Calculated using the Association of Investment Companies' definition (prior
charges as a percentage of net assets).

Capital Structure

Shares

At 30 September 2008 the Company had in issue 43,607,481 shares of 25p each
(30 September 2007: 48,643,468, 31 March 2008: 46,190,161).

During the half year, a total of 2,595,750 shares were bought back by the
Company. On 24 July 2008, a total of 2,679,750 shares held in treasury were
cancelled. The Board has confirmed that any shares held in treasury will be
cancelled on or as soon as practicable following the Annual General Meeting
each year. At 30 September 2008, 812,000 of the Company's shares were held as
treasury shares. Since the end of the half year a further 560,900 shares have
been repurchased. As at 25 November 2008 the Company had 43,046,581 shares in
issue.

Interim Dividend

The Company has not declared an interim dividend (2007: nil).

Warrants

On 31 July 2008, 13,070 warrants were exercised at the exercise price of 464p
per share.

At 30 September 2008 the Company had in issue 10,745,610 warrants to subscribe
for shares of 25p each (30 September 2007: 10,758,680, 31 March 2008:
10,758,680).

The final remaining exercise date for the Company's warrants is 31 July 2009.

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

Performance

In my first Chairman's Statement, I am delighted to report that despite the
severe effects of the economic slowdown on global financial markets the
Company has performed well, both in relative and absolute terms during the
period under review. The six month period has been an extremely challenging
one for stock markets as a whole and, against a background of turbulent market
conditions particularly towards the end of the summer, the Datastream World
Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Index, measured in sterling terms on a total
return basis, rose by 8.4% as the healthcare sector was able to provide some
insulation from the significant declines seen in other equity sectors. Against
this background of difficult market conditions, I am pleased to report that
the Company's undiluted net asset value per share rose by 20.0% over the same
period, an outperformance of some 11.6%. This outperformance was derived
principally from the Company's holdings in biotechnology stocks which
performed strongly when compared to larger capitalisation pharmaceutical
stocks, the latter having been held back due to a combination of weak drug
development pipelines, low R&D productivity and the prospect of an increase in
patent expirations commencing in 2010. The Company's performance was also
helped by a strengthening U.S. dollar; during the half year it appreciated
10.3% against sterling.

The Company's share price rose over the period by 12.7% as the
discount of share price to the diluted net asset value per share widened
slightly from 5.3% at 31 March 2008 to 8.1% at the interim stage.

The difficult market environment has continued post the half year end and the
Company's net asset value per share and share price fell by c.5% in October
compared to a small rise in the benchmark index. Early November, however, has
seen a recovery in the Company's performance. It is pleasing to note that for
the calendar year to 31 October 2008, the Company's share price performance
(total return) was ranked fifth out of 247 UK listed investment companies
(source: Winterflood Securities Limited).


Share Capital

The Company continues to exercise its power to buy-back shares in order to
support the discount control mechanism and enhance net asset value per share.
During the six months under review the Company repurchased a total of
2,595,750 shares at a cost of £12.6m (including expenses) to be held in
treasury. On 23 July 2008, all of the shares held in treasury, totalling
2,679,750 shares, were cancelled; the Board confirms that any shares held in
treasury will be cancelled following the Annual General Meeting each year. As
at 30 September 2008, the Company held 812,000 shares in treasury.


The annual exercise date for the Company's warrants occurred on 31 July 2008,
at which time a total of 13,070 warrants were exercised, raising £61,000. The
remaining 10.7m warrants have a final exercise date of 31 July 2009 at an
exercise price 464.0p per share which compares to the current share price of
482.0p per share.

Revenue and Dividends

The revenue return for the period was £614,000 (six months ended 30 September
2007: £674,000) and no interim dividend is declared (six months ended 30
September 2007: nil).

VAT

The position with regard to the repayment of VAT remains as described in the
Chairman's Statement in the Annual Report & Accounts for the year ended 31
March 2008. We continue to work towards a settlement with the Company's
previous Manager, Close Investments Limited, and will report on developments
as they arise.

Outlook

Market turbulence has resulted in unprecedented write-downs in financial
assets and losses for many of the world's largest banks leading to a shortage
of liquidity within the financial sector. When this is combined with the
prospect of a deflationary environment and with many governments and
individuals still financially over-stretched, a further slowdown in economic
growth may be expected. Against this background, merger and acquisition
activity within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors is expected to
continue and will be a key strategic focus for the Company. On balance, it is
not expected that Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. Presidential Election
will be a significant factor for the industry in the future. Your Board
remains cautious in its outlook but it continues to believe that the
underlying secular trends are positive for the healthcare sector overall and
that current market circumstances will offer interesting buying opportunities.

Martin Smith

Chairman

25 November 2008


INTERIM MANAGEMENT REPORT

Risks and Uncertainties

A review of the half year, including reference to the risks and uncertainties
that existed during the period, and the outlook for the Company can be found
in the Chairman's Statement beginning on page 2 and in the Review of
Investments beginning on page 5 of the interim report. The principal risks faced 
by the Company fall into eight broad categories: objective and strategy; level of
discount/premium; market price; liquidity; investment portfolio performance
and financial instruments; operational and regulatory; industry; currency.
Information on each of these areas is given in the Business Review within the
Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2008. In the view of
the Board these principal risks and uncertainties are applicable to the
remaining six months of the financial year as they were to the six months
under review.

Related Parties Transactions

During the first six months of the current financial year, no transactions
with related parties have taken place which have affected the financial
position or the performance of the Company during the period.

Directors' Responsibilities

The Directors are responsible for preparing the interim report in accordance
with applicable law and regulations. The Directors confirm that to the best of
their knowledge the condensed set of financial statements, within the interim
report, have been prepared in accordance with the Accounting Standards Board's
Statement `Half Yearly Financial Reports' and that the Chairman's Statement
and the Interim Management Report include a fair review of the information
required by 4.2.7R and 4.2.8R of the FSA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

The interim report has not been reviewed by the Company's auditors.

The interim report was approved by the Board on 25 November 2008 and the above
responsibility statement was signed on its behalf by:

Martin Smith Chairman


REVIEW OF INVESTMENTS (Companies held in the investment portfolio are shown in
bold type)

Performance

Amidst a collapsing broader equity market triggered by the worst global
financial crisis in decades, we are pleased to report that the Company posted
a strong increase of 20.0% in its undiluted net asset value per share during
the period, well ahead of the benchmark increase of 8.4%.

Our strategy of emphasising investments in the biotechnology sector to a
greater extent than traditional "big pharma" companies paid dividends during
this period as the biotechnology sector increased while pharmaceutical stocks
declined slightly on average. Our top individual contributors to performance
reflect the success of several different investment strategies: ImClone
Systems is an example of our focus on mergers and acquisition ("M&A")
candidates, Vertex Pharmaceuticals' performance reflects investor enthusiasm
for their exciting novel treatment for Hepatitis C, and both Schering-Plough
and Amgen reflect contrarian "value play" investments in stocks which were
indiscriminately sold by the market because of overblown concerns about key
marketed products.

Contribution by Investment - Excluding Options

Top and bottom five contributors to net asset value performance over the six
months to 30 September 2008

                         Contribution for Contribution
                           the six months    per Share
Top Five Contributors               £'000         (p)*

ImClone Systems                     7,344        16.40
Schering-Plough                     3,720         8.31
Tepnel Life Sciences                3,220         7.19
Vertex Pharmaceuticals              3,059         6.83
Amgen                               3,027         6.76
                                                 45.49
Bottom Five Contributors
Roche Holdings                    (1,454)       (3.25)
Amylin                            (1,177)       (2.63)
BioMarin Pharmaceutical           (1,135)       (2.53)
Par Pharmaceutical                (1,075)       (2.40)
Biogen Idec                         (650)       (1.45)
                                               (12.26)

*based on the weighted average number of the Company's shares in issue during
the six months ended 30 September 2008 (44,783,068)

Source: Frostrow Capital LLP

Sector Developments

The market's performance during the period proved somewhat parabolic, with
depressed conditions at the beginning and end of the period interposed by a
strong rally in July. The spring months proved treacherous, particularly for
smaller capitalisation companies as investor risk appetite diminished amidst
the credit crisis. Financial market conditions were difficult for
biotechnology companies, and the pace of total financing raised by the biotech
sector declined nearly 65% from the previous year.

During July however, the healthcare sector rallied strongly thanks to a
combination of resurgent M&A activity and strong fund flows driven by
increasingly favorable investor sentiment towards the sector. This rotation
into healthcare generally, and biotechnology in particular, is reminiscent of
the 1990/1991 economic slowdown, a period with many parallels to today's
declining housing market, financial market stresses, rising corporate and
individual default rates and poor economic growth. The biotechnology sector
posted extraordinary gains during this period, with the Amex Biotechnology
Index increasing 46% in 1990 and over 190% in 1991 (both in US$ terms).

Markets declined towards the end of the summer months as the credit crisis
accelerated and the financial markets generally started to unravel. However
the healthcare sector has been able to offer a modest degree of insulation
from the precipitous declines seen in other equity sectors thanks to several
fundamental underpinnings of the industry: products which are generally
non-discretionary consumer purchases, historically low valuations, continuing
robust levels of M&A activity providing support for biotech companies in
particular, and an unexpectedly quiet election cycle with fewer attacks on
"big pharma" companies than we have come to expect during U.S. Presidential
election years. In fact we believe that Barack Obama's victory in the U.S.
Presidential race will not be a crucial determinant of industry fortunes in
the coming years, as he favours increased healthcare coverage (favourable to
industry) and increased government influence on drug prices (unfavourable to
industry).

We hope that the new Democrat administration will bring a welcome changing of
the guard at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"), where the
situation has gone from bad to worse as drugs under evaluation are
increasingly getting delayed or rejected. The bar for outright drug approval
is at historical highs, and 2008 is on track to have among the lowest level of
new drug approvals in history. An example of the current FDA morass is the
blood-thinning agent Prasugrel, being developed in the U.S. by Eli Lilly. The
FDA had an original deadline for rendering a decision last June, and notified
the company that it would require a 90 day extension to late September. The
revised deadline has come and gone with no word from the FDA about a decision.
Investors typically assume the worst in these situations and punish the stock
prices of companies caught up in these delays.

Strategy Review

Our M&A theme yielded strong results during the period and continues to be a
key strategic focus for the Company. The recent surge in acquisitions coupled
with high premiums for the acquired companies demonstrate continued strong
demand from "big pharma" companies as they look to smaller biotechs to offset
their generally low R&D productivity and pipeline gaps. As shown in the table
below, the past six months have seen over a dozen acquisitions of smaller drug
companies, with acquisition premiums ranging from 15% to 233%. In addition to
these smaller deals, there have been several blockbuster announcements such as
Teva's US$9 billion bid (including debt) for Barr Pharmaceuticals, Roche's
US$44 billion bid for 100% ownership of Genentech, and a bidding war for
ImClone between Bristol-Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly. Both ImClone and Genentech
were significant holdings when the deals were announced. Eventually Lilly
triumphed with a US$6.5 billion bid, and we expect the offer price for
Genentech, currently US$89, will also be raised before the acquisition process
is concluded by Roche.

Recent Biotechnology Acquisition Announcements

Announce                                                Premium
Date      Target           Acquirer           Deal Size    Paid

06/10/08  ImClone          Eli Lilly             US$6.5     51%
                                                billion
25/07/08  Acambis          Sanofi Aventis        US£275     65%
                                                million
23/07/08  Arius Research   Roche Holdings  $119 million     15%
                                                  (CAD)
15/07/08  Lev              ViroPharma            US$443     49%
          Pharmaceuticals                       million
10/07/08  Speedel          Novartis              US$880     94%
                                                million
08/07/08  SGX              Eli Lilly              US$64    119%
          Pharmaceuticals                       million
07/07/08  APP              Fresenius             US$3.6     29%
          Pharmaceuticals                       billion
03/07/08  Jerini           Shire                 US$521     73%
                                                million
23/06/08  Barrier          Stiefel               US$148    136%
          Therapeutics     Laboratories         million
09/06/08  Third Wave       Hologic               US$580      7%
          Technologies                          million
05/06/08  Tercica          Ipsen                 US$665    104%
                                                million
29/05/08  Kosan            Bristol-Myers         US$190    233%
                           Squibb               million
12/05/08  Iomai            Intercell             US$189    128%
                                                million
22/04/08  Sirtris          GlaxoSmithKline       US$720     84%
                                                million
11/04/08  Millennium       Takeda                US$8.8     53%
                                                billion

Another key investment theme for the Company is our expectation for
significant price/earnings multiple expansion at the larger biotechnology
companies as investors properly discount the future earnings growth potential
of these companies. The second quarter was a strong period for these "big
biotechs", as companies such as Genentech, Genzyme and Biogen Idec announced
strong EPS growth and reiterated future EPS growth expectations of 20-25% per
year.

REVIEW OF INVESTMENTS (continued)

Finally, during the past few months we have taken advantage of the difficult
market conditions to add exposure to a selection of "fallen angels":
development stage companies with promising compounds that had fallen 50% or
more from their highs.

The number of holdings has remained relatively concentrated at approximately
35, exclusive of unquoted investments and options contracts. The approximate
geographic distribution of the assets is 80% North America, 15% Europe and 5%
Far East including Japan. Consistent with the Company's mandate, we are
currently invested 60% in larger companies and 40% in smaller capitalisation
companies. Our large capitalisation holdings are weighted slightly in favour
of the biotechnology sector versus traditional "big pharma" companies, while
our smaller capitalisation holdings emphasise biotechnology companies but also
include a selection of generic pharmaceuticals, diagnostics companies and
specialty pharmaceutical investments.

Samuel D Isaly

OrbiMed Capital LLC, Investment Manager 
25 November 2008

INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO

as at 30 September 2008                                
                                     Fair Value        % of
                        Country           £'000 Investments

Genentech               USA              22,082         7.5
ImClone Systems         USA              18,519         6.3
Pfizer                  USA              16,463         5.6
Genzyme                 USA              16,014         5.4
Novartis                Switzerland      14,647         5.0
Abbott Laboratories     USA              14,340         4.9
Bristol-Myers Squibb    USA              12,867         4.4
Biogen Idec             USA              11,635         3.9
Amgen                   USA              11,619         3.9
Vertex Pharmaceuticals  USA              10,630         3.6
Top 10 Investments                      148,816        50.5
Gen-Probe               USA              10,235         3.5
Shionogi & Company      Japan             8,850         3.0
Roche Holdings          Switzerland       8,761         3.0
Onyx Pharmaceuticals    USA               8,503         2.9
Gilead Sciences         USA               8,503         2.9
Merck KGaA              Germany           8,458         2.9
Shire                   UK                8,171         2.8
Tepnel Life Sciences*   UK                7,770         2.6
BioMarin Pharmaceutical USA               5,945         2.0
Schering-Plough         USA               5,751         1.9
Top 20 Investments                      229,763        78.0
United Therapeutics     USA               5,611         1.9
Xoma                    USA               5,406         1.8
Cubist Pharmaceuticals  USA               4,625         1.6
NPS Pharmaceutical      USA               4,522         1.5
Par Pharmaceutical      USA               4,028         1.4
Sawai Pharmaceutical    Japan             3,980         1.4
Intermune               USA               3,685         1.3
OSI Pharmaceuticals     USA               3,656         1.2
Amylin Pharmaceuticals  USA               3,618         1.2
Genomic Health          USA               3,244         1.1
Top 30 Investments                      272,138        92.4
Towa Pharmaceutical     Japan             3,064         1.0
Mylan                   USA               3,035         1.0
Exelixis                USA               2,729         0.9
Nichi-Iko               Japan             2,195         0.8
Pharmaceutical
Nippon Chemiphar        Japan             1,046         0.4
Total Equities &                        284,207        96.5
Warrants
M & A Basket OTC Swap   -                11,133         3.8
Options - (Put & Call)  -                 (748)       (0.3)
Total Investments                       294,592       100.0

*includes warrants


INCOME STATEMENT
for the six months ended 30 September 2008

                                                                                                       
 
                                                                                                      
 
                                                                                   
                                   (Unaudited)                   (Unaudited)                      (Audited)
                                 Six months ended              Six months ended                  Year ended
                                 30 September 2008            30 September 2007                 31 March 2008 
 
                             Revenue Capital            Revenue    Capital            Revenue      Capital 
                              Return  Return    Total    Return     Return     Total   Return       Return     Total

                               £'000   £'000    £'000     £'000      £'000     £'000    £'000        £'000     £'000
INCOME STATEMENT

Gains/(losses) on                  -   47,367   47,367         -     15,373    15,373        -      (16,666)  (16,666)
investments held at fair
value through profit or
loss

Exchange (losses)/gains            - (3,090)  (3,090)         -      1,024     1,024        -         1,332     1,332
on currency balances

Income from investments        1,208     -      1,208     1,363          -     1,363    3,404             -     3,404
held at fair value
through profit or loss
(note 2)

Investment management
and management fee (note
3)                              (55) (1,052)  (1,107)      (65)    (1,244)   (1,309)    (122)       (2,323)   (2,445)

Other expense                  (289)       -    (289)     (304)          -     (304)    (708)             -     (708)

Net return/(loss) before
finance charges and
taxation                         864  43,225   44,089       994     15,153    16,147    2,574      (17,657)  (15,083)

Finance charges                  (8)   (150)    (158)      (35)      (658)     (693)     (51)         (976)   (1,027)

Net return/(loss) on             856  43,075   43,931       959     14,495    15,454    2,523      (18,633)  (16,110)
ordinary activities
before taxation
Taxation on net
return/(loss) on
ordinary activities            (242)      88    (154)     (285)        140     (145)    (782)           372     (410)

Net return/(loss) on
ordinary activities
after taxation                   614  43,163   43,777       674     14,635    15,309    1,741      (18,261)  (16,520)

Return/(loss) per share
- basic (note 4)                1.4p   96.4p    97.8p      1.3p      28.9p     30.2p     3.5p       (37.1p)   (33.6p)

Return/(loss) per share
- diluted (note 4)              1.4p   95.2p    96.6p      1.3p      28.5p     29.8p     3.5p       (37.1p)   (33.6p)

 
The total column of this statement is the Income Statement of the Company. The
revenue and capital return columns are supplementary to this and are prepared
under guidance published by the Association of Investment Companies.

All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing
operations.

The Company has no recognised gains and losses other than those shown above
and therefore no separate statement of total recognised gains and losses has
been presented.

No operations were acquired or discontinued during the period.


RECONCILIATION OF MOVEMENTS IN SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS

for the six months ended 30 September 2008

(Unaudited)      Called-up    Share  Warrant  Capital    Capital
Six months ended     share  premium  reserve  reserve redemption Revenue
30 September       capital  account                      reserve reserve        Total 
2008                 £'000    £'000   £'000    £'000      £'000   £'000         £'000

At 31 March 2008    11,772  117,639   7,426   81,611      3,008   3,327       224,783

Net return on
ordinary
activities               -        -       -   43,163          -     614        43,777

Dividend paid in
respect of year
ended 31 March
2008                     -        -       -        -          - (1,344)       (1,344)

Proceeds from
exercise of
warrants                 3       58       -        -          -       -            61

Transfer from
warrant reserve
following
exercise of
warrants                 -        9     (9)        -          -       -             -

Shares purchased                 
including
expenses             (670)        -       -  (12,582)       670       -       (12,582)

At 30 September     11,105  117,706   7,417  112,192      3,678   2,597       254,695
2008



(Unaudited)      Called-up    Share  Warrant  Capital    Capital
Six months ended     share  premium  reserve  reserve redemption Revenue
30 September       capital  account                      reserve reserve        Total 
2007                 £'000    £'000   £'000    £'000      £'000   £'000         £'000
 
At 31 March 2007    14,401  117,565   7,436  130,724        375   3,130       273,631

Net return from
ordinary
activities               -        -       -   14,633          -     674        15,309

Dividends paid
in respect of of
year ended 31
March 2007               -        -       -        -          - (1,544)       (1,544)

Proceeds from
exercise of
warrants                 4       64       -        -          -       -            68

Transfer from
warrant reserve
following
exercise of
warrants                 -       10     (10)       -          -       -             -

Shares purchased                  
including
expenses             (946)        -       - (19,077)        946       -      (19,077)

At 30 September     13,459  117,639   7,426  126,280      1,321   2,260       268,387
2007

(Audited)

Year ended 31 March 2008

                          Called-up   Share                     Capital
                              share premium Warrant  Capital redemption Revenue
                            capital account reserve  reserve    reserve reserve    Total
                              £'000   £'000   £'000    £'000      £'000   £'000    £'000
At March 2007                14,401 117,565   7,436  130,724        375   3,130  273,631
Net (loss)/return from
ordinary activities               -       -       - (18,261)          -   1,741 (16,520)
Dividends paid in respect
of year ended 31 March
2007                              -       -       -        -          - (1,544)  (1,544)
Proceeds from exercise
of warrants                       4      64       -        -          -       -       68
Transfer from warrant
reserve following
exercise of warrants              -      10    (10)        -          -       -        -
Shares purchased
including expenses          (2,633)       -       - (30,852)      2,633       - (30,852)
At 31 March 2008             11,772 117,639   7,426   81,611      3,008   3,327  224,783

BALANCE SHEET

As at 30 September 2008

                              (Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
                                       30          30        31 
                                September   September     March
                                     2008        2007      2008
                                    £'000       £'000     £'000
Fixed assets

Investments held at fair          284,207     283,534   220,587
value through profit or loss

M&A Basket - OTC Swap              11,133       6,312    10,244

                                  295,340     289,846   230,831

Current assets

Debtors                               441       5,191     4,399

Cash at bank                        5,458       1.971     7,050

Derivative (options) -                  -          83         -
financial instruments
                                    5,899       7,245    11,449

Creditors

Amounts falling due within       (45,796)    (28,704)  (17,035)
one year

Derivative (options) -              (748)           -     (462)
financial instruments

                                 (46,544)    (28,704)  (17,497)


Net current liabilities          (40,645)    (21,459)   (6,048)

Total net assets                  254,695     268,387   224,783

Share capital and reserves

Called-up share capital            11,105      13,459    11,772

Share premium account             117,706     117,639   117,639

Warrant reserve                     7,417       7,426     7,426

Capital reserves                  112,192     126,280    81,611

Capital redemption reserve          3,678       1,321     3,008

Revenue reserve                     2,597       2,262     3,327

Total equity shareholders'
funds                             254,695     268,387   224,783

Net asset value per share -
basic (note 5)                     584.1p      551.7p    486.6p

Net asset value per share -        560.3p      535.9p    482.4p
diluted (note 5)


CASH FLOW STATEMENT

for the six months ended 30 September 2008

                              (Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Unaudited)
                               Six months  Six months        Year 
                                    ended       ended       ended         
                                       30          30          31
                                September   September       March
                                     2008        2007       2008
                                    £'000       £'000       £'000
Net cash outflow from
operating activities                (210)       (432)       (332)

Servicing of finance

Interest paid                       (168)       (644)     (1,023)

Taxation

Taxation recovered                     24         135         124

Financial investment

Purchases of investments        (143,872)    (98,888)   (219,443)

Sales of investments              132,902     119,927     269,680

Net cash (outflow)/inflow
from financial investment        (10,970)     21,039       50,237

Equity dividends paid             (1,344)    (1,544)      (1,544)

Net cash (outflow)/inflow
before financing                 (12,668)     18,554       47,462

Financing

Shares issued from exercise            61         68           68
of warrants

Purchase of shares               (13,236)   (19,382)     (30,618)

Increase/(decrease) in short       24,725      2,098     (10,308)
term loans

Net cash inflow/(outflow)
from financing                     11,550   (17,216)     (40,858)

(Decrease)/increase in cash
in the period                     (1,118)      1,338        6,604


NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. Accounting Policies

The condensed financial statements have been prepared under the historical
cost convention, modified to include the valuation of investments at fair
value and in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting
Practice and with the Statement of Recommended Practice `Financial Statements
of Investment Trust Companies' dated December 2005. All of the Company's
operations are of a continuing nature.

The same accounting policies used for the year ended 31 March 2008 have been
applied.

2. Income

                              (Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
                               Six months  Six months      Year
                                    ended       ended     ended
                                       30          30  31 March
                                September   September      2008
                                     2008        2007     £'000
                                    £'000       £'000

   Investment income                1,149       1,152     3,032 
   
   Interest receivable                 59         211       372

   Total                            1,208       1,363     3,404

3. Investment Management and Management Fees


                                    (Unaudited)          (Unaudited)             (Audited)
                                 Six months ended      Six months ended         Year ended
                                30 September 2008     30 September 2007        31 March 2008

                             Revenue Capital Total  Revenue Capital Total  Revenue Capital Total

                               £'000  £'000  £'000    £'000  £'000  £'000    £'000  £'000  £'000

Investment 
management and
management fees                   55  1,052  1,107       65  1,244  1,309      122  2,323  2,445


4. Return/(loss) per Share



                              (Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
                               Six months  Six months      Year
                                    ended       ended     ended
                                       30          30  31 March
                                September   September      2008
                                     2008        2007     £'000
                                    £'000       £'000
The return/(loss) per
share is based on the
following figures:

Revenue return                        614         674     1,741

Capital return/(loss)              43,163      14,635   (18,261)

Total return/(loss)                43,777      15,309   (16,520)

Weighted average number of
shares in issue for the                       
period - Basic                 44,783,068  50,710,624 49,231,108

Revenue return per share             1.4p        1.3p      3.5p

Capital return/(loss) per           96.4p       28.9p    (37.1p)
share

Total return/(loss) per             97.8p       30.2p    (33.6p)
share

Weighted average number of
shares in issue for the                       
period - diluted               45,332,435  51,325,484 49,675,682

Revenue return per share             1.4p        1.3p     *3.5p

Capital return/(loss) per           95.2p       28.5p   *(37.1p)
share

Total return/(loss) per            96.6p        29.8p   *(33.6p)
share - diluted

*dilution not applicable


5. Net Asset Value per Share and Issued Share Capital

Net asset value per share is calculated on attributable assets at 30 September
2008 of £254,695,000 (30 September 2007: £268,387,000; 31 March 2008:
£224,783,000) and 43,607,481 being the number of shares in issue at 30
September 2008 (30 September 2007: 48,643,468; 31 March 2008: 46,190,161).

The diluted net asset value per share assumes all 10,745,610 outstanding
warrants are exercised at 464p per share resulting in assets attributable to
equity shareholders of £304,555,000 (30 September 2007: £318,307,000; 31 March
2008: £274,703,000) and on the resultant number of shares of 54,353,091 (30
September 2007: 59,402,148; 31 March 2008: 56,948,841).

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

6. Transaction Costs

Purchase transaction costs for the six months ended 30 September 2008 were
£161,000 (six months ended 30 September 2007: £165,000; year ended 31 March
2008: £349,000).

Sales transaction costs for the six months ended 30 September 2008 were
£168,000 (six months ended 30 September 2007: £218,000; year ended 31 March
2008: £395,000).

7. Publication of Non Statutory Accounts

The financial information contained in this interim report does not constitute
statutory accounts as defined in section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The
financial information for the half years ended 30 September 2008 and 30
September 2007 has not been audited, or reviewed by the auditors.

The information for the year ended 31 March 2008 has been extracted from the
latest published audited financial statements. The audited financial
statements for the year ended 31 March 2008 have been filed with the Registrar
of Companies. The report of the auditors on those accounts was unqualified,
did not include a reference to any matters to which the auditors drew
attention by way of emphasis without qualifying the report, and did not
contain statements under section 237(2) or 237(3) of the Companies Act 1985.