The financial year to 31 December 2020 has been a very challenging period, during which the COVID-19 pandemic and the protective measures that were subsequently introduced, have had a significant impact on the economy, whilst also affecting the personal and working lives of most people. This global health crisis has had a wide reaching impact across our society and the thoughts of the Directors are with all of those who have been affected.
Against this economic backdrop, it is encouraging to report on the positive progress that has been achieved by your Company, with NAV total return at the year end increasing to 148.93p per share. This growth reflects the strength and resilience of the underlying portfolio, and the ability of investee companies to adapt to the evolving market conditions. The AIM quoted portfolio made a strong contribution to the overall performance with most investee companies reporting positive trading updates, which resulted in share price appreciation. Consistent with your Company's growth strategy, further progress was also made in the expansion and diversification of the portfolio, with the addition of 25 new private and AIM quoted holdings, alongside the provision of follow-on funding to support the continuing growth of certain companies. During the year, three profitable private company realisations completed, including the exit from Symphonic Software, which achieved a 2.92 times total return and is the first material realisation from the early stage portfolio. The Directors recognise the importance of distributions to Shareholders and are proposing a final dividend of 2.00p per share.