Share capital and disclosure requirements
Shareholders can use the reported voting-rights total as the denominator when calculating whether they must disclose their interest in the company or a change to that interest. The notice was issued under DTR 5.6.1 of the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
The company's issued capital at October 31 comprised 46,359,383 Participating Preference shares with no par value, each carrying one vote, and 1,000 founder shares. A founder shareholder attending in person or by proxy is entitled to a single vote for all founder shares they hold.
The voting-rights total excludes 9,025,940 Participating Preference shares held in treasury, which have no voting rights.
Earlier buybacks and annual returns
The October purchases followed buybacks during the financial year ended June 30, 2026. Over that year, Fidelity Emerging Markets repurchased 8,527,914 shares in the market, equivalent to 13.2% of the shares in issue at the start of the period. Its discount to net asset value, or NAV, narrowed from 10.5% to 7.4%.
Those market purchases excluded the November 2025 repurchase of Strathclyde Pension Fund's entire holding, which accounted for about 25% of shares in issue. The company said the Strathclyde transaction increased NAV per share by approximately 4.5%.
In annual results announced on October 6, 2026, the company reported a NAV total return of 92.3% in British pound terms for the year ended June 30. Its benchmark, the MSCI Emerging Markets Total Return Index, returned 48.2%, while the company's share price total return was 99.3%.
Tender offer decision and December shareholder votes
A separate five-year performance test determined that the conditional 25% tender offer would not proceed. Following the September 30, 2026, calculation date, the company confirmed that its NAV total return had exceeded its benchmark's return over the relevant five-year period. The board plans to renew the conditional tender offer on the same terms, with the new review period running from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031.
At the December 1, 2026, annual general meeting, shareholders will hold the company's next five-yearly continuation vote. The board unanimously recommends voting in favor of continuation.
Shareholders will also be asked to approve a final dividend of $0.33 per Participating Preference share for the year ended June 30, 2026. The board's recommendation is up from $0.26 for the previous year.
