ACENCIA DEBT STRATEGIES LIMITED

(The "Company")

(Registered in Guernsey - Number 43787)

Registered Office:

Sarnia House, Le Truchot,

St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 1GR

Telephone: +44 1481 737600

Facsimile: +44 1481 749810

Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2017

AcenciA Debt Strategies Ltd ("AcenciA" or the "Company"), the closed-ended investment company listed on the London Stock Exchange, today announces its unaudited interim results for the six month ended 30 June 2017.

A full copy of the interim results can be accessed through the link below:

Highlights

·     Net asset value ("NAV") per share at 30 June 2017 increased by 3.72% to $1.65 and the share price increased by 10.32% to $1.58 (taking account of dividends paid in both cases)

·     An interim dividend of 2.89¢ was declared, representing an annualised dividend yield of 3.6% based on the closing share price of the Company of $1.60 on 22 August 2017. 

Sub-Manager of Acencia, Saltus Partners commented; "Equity markets continued their ascent in the first two quarters of 2017. The S&P 500 put up its best first half since 2013 behind strong fundamentals and continued outperformance by the technology sector, in a growth environment that has kept the Fed on its rate‐hiking path. The Fed's quarter point rate hikes in March and June served to further bolster confidence in the US economy's strength.

After an early year recovery and a subdued April and May, high yield defaults spiked to US$3.5 billion in June. For 2017, US defaults total US$9.5 billion with 16 in the energy sector and 7 each in retail, restaurants, and consumer products. The default rate remained fairly constant at 2.0% (twelve month trailing high yield bond par‐weighted default rate). We believe market conditions point to increasing headwinds for overleveraged capital structures which will lead to a growing distressed opportunity landscape. At the same time, supportive equity markets continue to provide managers ample opportunities for profit realisation."

On the future of the company, William Scott, Chairman of AcenciA, said; "The Board cannot be certain of the outcome of the wind-up vote until it has happened.  However, given that the votes on the resolution are weighted such that only 25% of the votes cast need be in favour of winding up for the resolution to be passed, and based on soundings from significant shareholders, the Board currently believes that it is likely to pass, and accordingly the Interim Financial Statements have been prepared on a break-up or "non-going concern" basis. This is very much an accounting technicality resulting from the likelihood that the Company will be liquidated within the next 12 months. It has had no impact on the value of the assets and liabilities or the NAV per Ordinary Share and, if shareholders chose not to wind up the Company, it would have the ability to continue indefinitely in the absence of unforeseen events."

For further information, please contact:

Saltus Partners LLP, Jon Macintosh

+ 44 20 7408 7765

Canaccord Genuity Limited, David Yovichic

+44 20 7523 8361

Kepler Partners LLP, Hugh van Cutsem

+44 20 3384 8796

Click on or paste the link below to your web browser, to view the associated PDF document.

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8257O_-2017-8-23.pdf