FAQs | European Assets Trust update

European Assets Trust PLC (“EAT”) Combination with The European Smaller Companies Trust PLC (“ESCT”)

The Board of European Assets Trust PLC announced proposals to combine with The European Smaller Companies Trust PLC on 9 September 2025.

The combination proposals were approved by shareholders at the two General Meetings held in October 2025.

We’ve answered some common questions about how this affects you if you held EAT within a CT Savings Plan. If your question is not answered here, please get in touch using the contact information included on this page.

Who are ESCT?

What has happened to EAT and how did this affect the shares I/we held?

EAT is being formally wound up. More details on the Liquidators that were appointed, and their contact details can be found here.

Unless you chose the Cash Option under the Proposals, you received 0.428444 ESCT shares in exchange for each EAT share held. Cash Option electors received 97.036985 pence in cash for each EAT share previously held.

ESCT is not an investment option within the CT Savings Plans meaning these shares could only be held temporarily until you decided what action you wished us to take with them. We wrote last November to let you know this and the options open to the savings plan type held and what date we required an instruction by otherwise the default action would be taken on your behalf. The deadline to provide us with a valid instruction was 14 January 2026. Copies of the letters can be found here.

What happened to the ESCT shares that were held in a CT Savings Plan if I/we didn’t let you know what to do with them by 14 January 2026?

If you didn’t let us know what to do with the ESCT shares held by 14 January 2026. These were automatically sold on 21 January 2026 and proceeds added to your CT Savings Plan. An unpersonalised version of this letter can be found here.

Interest will not be earned on this cash. If Cash Sweep is active on your CT Savings Plan, the cash credited may be automatically reinvested into your nominated fund. You can change your Cash Sweep settings at ctinvest.co.uk/login or by calling 0345 600 3030.

What has happened to any monthly contribution that I/we used to invest into EAT?

Monthly contributions previously invested into EAT were collected until the earlier of: –

receipt of further instructions from you, or
up to and including the contribution on 1 January 2026.

Where no instruction was received by 14 January 2026, your monthly direct debit will have been reduced by the amount contributed previously to EAT. This means if you contributed to EAT only, the direct debit will be cancelled. If you saved into other investment trusts, the direct debit will be amended, and the reduced amount will be taken from February 2026.

What is Cash Sweep?

Cash Sweep is an optional feature (facility) that was recently introduced to allow plan holders to invest cash held on their account (except plans with Legacy Features and Matured Child Trust Funds) into a fund you nominate. If this feature has been activated by you, then any cash balance held in an account will be automatically invested monthly on the 15^th (or the next business date) into the fund that has been nominated.

I have more questions about this who do I contact?