Woodford crashes again

WOODFORD Patient Capital Trust shares fell again after it revealed one of its holdings is worth less than previously thought.

Link Fund Solutions, which oversees the valuation of the trust’s portfolio, cut the value of its investment in controversial nuclear fusion business Industrial Heat by £45m.

It followed an earlier write-down of £32m over the summer and means Patient Capital’s stake in the firm is worth just £18m.

Analysts at JP Morgan estimate that Industrial Heat has been written down by 83pc during Neil Woodford’s time as an investor, representing a monumental loss for the disgraced fund manager.

Other backers of Industrial Heat include Hollywood star Brad Pitt and Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs.

Link blamed the write-down on a ‘delay in operational progress’ at Industrial Heat. But the company – which is trying to master the as-yet unproven science of cold fusion – has always raised eyebrows among scientists and other investors.

The squeeze which Industrial Heat placed on the trust was partially moderated by Link’s decision to mark up the value of another unnamed company.

But, overall, the value of the Patient Capital Trust portfolio was still slashed by £39m. Shares slid 7.7pc, or 2.9p, to 35p, and are down around 60pc since the beginning of the year.

Schroders will begin managing Patient Capital at the end of this year, after Woodford quit last month.