Kelso Group Reports FY25 Results and Positive Start to 2026

Kelso Group’s FY25 results are a bit of a split-screen story. The year-end numbers were softer, with net asset value, or NAV, per share slipping from 2.4p to 2.3p and the group reporting a post-tax loss of £597,877. But the more interesting bit for investors is that trading in early 2026 has improved, with NAV per share recovering to c.2.6p by 24 April 2026.

That matters because Kelso is not a normal trading company. It is a listed investment vehicle, so what really drives value is the performance of its portfolio rather than revenue in the usual sense. On that basis, the mood of this RNS is clearly more upbeat than the headline loss suggests.

Kelso Group FY25 results: softer year-end, stronger 2026 recovery

The basic numbers show a business that took a small step back in FY25, then bounced in the opening months of 2026. Net assets were £10,272,362 at 31 December 2025, up from £9,036,633 a year earlier, helped by the December fundraising, but NAV per share still edged lower because of portfolio moves and share issuance.

Key metric	FY25	What changed
NAV per share	2.3p	Down from 2.4p, then up to c.2.6p by 24 April 2026
Net assets	£10,272,362	Up from £9,036,633
Post-tax result	Loss of £597,877	2024 loss was £388,803
Administrative expenses	£294,489	Down from £483,310
Cash and cash equivalents	£1,332,450	Up from £118,369
Current asset investments	£10,068,162	Down slightly from £10,393,536

My read is that this is one of those investment company updates where the accounting result matters less than the underlying portfolio momentum. Kelso’s board is plainly steering investors towards the 2026 rebound, and on the numbers provided that is fair enough.

Kelso portfolio performance: good stock picking in 2025, but Selkirk was a clear drag

Kelso says three out of four active stocks rose in 2025, averaging 24%. The Works was the standout, up 70%, while Angling Direct rose 32% and THG added 2%. NCC Group fell 8%, although that was before a 3% dividend.

The problem child was Selkirk. Kelso says Selkirk, which represented c.13% of NAV at 31 December 2025, detracted from performance as its share price fell 35% from 2.85p to 1.85p. That one holding had an outsized effect because Kelso runs a concentrated portfolio, which simply means it owns a small number of positions and each one matters more.

There is one thing worth noting here. The RNS also later refers to Selkirk’s shares having closed the year at 2.0p, so the wording around Selkirk’s exact year-end price is not fully consistent. Either way, the message is the same – Selkirk hurt FY25 performance, although it had recovered to 2.0p by the time of the later update.

That is the downside of Kelso’s strategy in a nutshell. If the board gets its calls right, returns can move quickly. If one holding misfires, it shows up fast in NAV.

Kelso current trading update: NAV up c.13% with Saga and Filtronic doing the heavy lifting

The strongest part of the announcement is the current trading update to 24 April 2026. NAV per share is up c.13% from c.2.3p to c.2.6p, while net assets increased from c.£10.3 million to c.£11.3 million. Gross investments stand at c.£15.5 million, with gearing of c.£4.5 million.

Gearing means borrowing to invest. It can boost returns when the portfolio is rising, but it also increases risk when markets fall. Kelso says leverage is around 25%, which is not reckless, but it is definitely a number retail investors should keep an eye on.

The portfolio has expanded from five declarable holdings to eight, with new positions in Saga, CVS Group and Filtronic. The current portfolio is roughly 60% FTSE 250 and 40% AIM, which gives a decent mix of larger mid-caps and smaller, faster-moving opportunities.

• NCC Group – 18% of the portfolio
• Saga – 15%
• CVS Group – 15%
• The Works – 14%
• Filtronic – 10%
• THG – 10%
• Selkirk – 9%
• Angling Direct – 8%

Performance since 1 January 2026 has been mixed, but the winners have been big winners. Filtronic is up 66%, Saga is up 51%, The Works is up 31% and Selkirk is up 15%. Offsetting that, THG is down 19%, NCC is down 15%, CVS is down 10% and Angling Direct is down 9%.

The big takeaway is that Kelso has found at least two very strong new ideas in Saga and Filtronic. Filtronic looks especially sharp on the numbers given – Kelso owns 500,000 shares at an average acquisition cost of 183p, versus a closing price of 296p on 24 April 2026, giving a c.60% unrealised gain.

Kelso costs, fundraising and debt: disciplined overheads, but borrowing now enters the picture

One genuinely positive feature here is cost control. Administrative expenses fell to £294,489 from £483,310, and the company says ongoing routine administration costs are currently less than £20,000 per month. For a small listed vehicle, that is sensible and important, because high overheads can quietly eat returns.

Kelso also raised c.£2.05 million gross in December 2025 by issuing c.68 million new shares at 3.0p. That gives it more firepower, although it also means investors need management to keep earning returns above the dilution created by new equity issuance.

On debt, Kelso completed a new facility that went live in February 2026 with an annual interest rate of 7.8%. That is not cheap money. It is manageable if the portfolio keeps performing, but it raises the bar – investments now need to beat that cost comfortably to create value.

The encouraging bit is liquidity. The board estimates that c.69% of holdings by value could be liquidated within five days, so this is not a portfolio stuffed with impossible-to-sell positions.

What Kelso Group FY25 results mean for retail investors

My view is that this is a cautiously positive update. FY25 itself was only decent rather than exciting, and the reported loss plus Selkirk weakness prove this is not a smooth ride. But the early 2026 recovery is real, and it suggests Kelso’s stock selection has started to bite again.

The bullish case is easy to see. Board ownership is c.17%, costs are lean, the portfolio is concentrated in profitable UK-listed companies, and several holdings have had upgrades to earnings guidance. Kelso also argues that UK small and mid-cap shares remain undervalued, and that is a perfectly reasonable thesis based on the backdrop it describes.

The bear case is just as straightforward. This is a concentrated portfolio using leverage, with meaningful exposure to smaller companies and sentiment-sensitive stocks. That can deliver excellent returns, but it can also produce sharp swings in NAV, as Selkirk showed in FY25.

So, the bottom line is this: Kelso ended 2025 with a slightly disappointing NAV outcome, but it appears to have started 2026 much better. For retail investors who like active UK small and mid-cap investing and can stomach volatility, this RNS gives a credible reason to keep watching. For more cautious investors, the leverage and concentration are the bits that matter most.

Right now, Kelso looks like a listed investment vehicle with improving momentum rather than a finished success story. That is promising – but it is not risk-free.