Mid Wynd International Investment Trust
Mid Wynd International Investment Trust is a London-listed investment trust seeking long-term capital and income growth through globally diversified investments.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Mid Wynd International Investment Trust is a United Kingdom-listed investment trust whose present purpose is to invest internationally for long-term capital and income growth. Its roots reach back to 1797, when David Scott, a weaver from Hawkhill near Dundee, acquired property on Mid Wynd, a narrow Dundee street, to establish a flax-warping mill and hand-weaving shed. The enterprise developed over roughly a century and a half from a Dundee textile concern into a broader industrial group, with its evolution shaped by international commerce, colonial-era trading networks, and the disruptions and opportunities associated with two world wars. A major organisational change took place in 1949 after recommendations from a government-sponsored Jute Working Party. The business was reorganised under Mid Wynd Holding Co. Ltd., which became the parent of several subsidiaries. James Scott & Sons Ltd. continued as the producing company, while Dura (Investments) Co. Ltd. was established to hold financial reserves. The industrial structure changed again after the 1965 merger of James Scott & Sons Ltd., Thomas Boag & Co. Ltd., and Robertson Industrial Textiles Ltd. Following that combination, Mid Wynd was left principally with Dura (Investments) and associated subsidiaries. During the following fifteen years, the company sold its remaining operating assets other than Dura (Investments). The disposal programme transformed the nature of the organisation from an industrial and textile group into an entity centred on investments. In 1981, concerns including capital-gains-tax treatment and the restricted market for the company's shares contributed to a decision to seek a public quotation and convert the company into an investment trust. The investments held by Dura (Investments) were to be transferred to the new trust. Shareholders approved the changes at a general meeting on 25 September 1981, and shares in the reconstituted Mid Wynd International Investment Trust PLC began trading on the London Stock Exchange in October 1981. The new trust initially emphasised smaller and less well-known growth companies listed on overseas stock exchanges. This gave it a distinct international and growth-oriented investment profile rather than the industrial operating identity associated with its earlier history. In 1998, the trust amended its investment policy by removing the specific small-capitalisation bias, broadening the potential opportunity set. By 2012, its stated objective was to achieve capital and income growth by investing worldwide. Since 1 October 2023, the trust has been managed by Lazard Asset Management. The trust should be understood as a listed investment vehicle rather than as a conventional consumer-facing product brand: investors buy shares in the trust, while the portfolio is managed according to its investment mandate. Its historical continuity is unusual, linking a nineteenth-century Dundee textile origin, a mid-twentieth-century corporate reorganisation, the disposal of industrial assets, and a late-twentieth-century conversion into an internationally oriented investment trust.
History
Mid Wynd's origins are traced to 1797, when David Scott, a weaver associated with Hawkhill near Dundee, purchased property on Mid Wynd and established a flax-warping mill and hand-weaving shed. The name refers to Mid Wynd in Dundee; in local usage, a wynd is a narrow street. The enterprise subsequently developed over approximately 150 years, with its growth and changing activities influenced by international expansion, colonial-era commerce, and the economic effects of two world wars. In 1949, the organisation was restructured following recommendations from a Government-sponsored Jute Working Party. Mid Wynd Holding Co. Ltd. became the group parent, with James Scott & Sons Ltd. operating as the producing company and Dura (Investments) Co. Ltd. holding the group's financial reserves. This arrangement separated the industrial operating activities from the investment assets that would later become central to Mid Wynd's identity. A further change followed the 1965 merger of James Scott & Sons Ltd., Thomas Boag & Co. Ltd., and Robertson Industrial Textiles Ltd. After the merger, Mid Wynd retained Dura (Investments) and various subsidiaries. Over the next fifteen years it disposed of all remaining assets apart from Dura (Investments), progressively moving away from textile manufacturing and toward an investment-focused structure. In 1981, the company decided to seek a public quotation and convert itself into an investment trust. The plan involved transferring Dura (Investments)'s holdings to the new trust. The proposed investment strategy concentrated principally on smaller, relatively unfamiliar growth companies traded on overseas stock markets. Shareholders approved the changes on 25 September 1981, and the reconstituted Mid Wynd International Investment Trust PLC was introduced on the London Stock Exchange in October of that year. The trust later adjusted its mandate. In 1998, it removed the previous emphasis on small-capitalisation companies, allowing a broader range of international investments. By 2012, the stated objective was to achieve both capital and income growth through worldwide investment. From 1 October 2023, Lazard Asset Management became the trust's investment manager. The organisation therefore represents a transition from Dundee textile manufacturing to a listed global investment vehicle, while retaining the Mid Wynd name as a link to its industrial origins.
- 2023
Lazard appointed investment manager
[1]Lazard Asset Management began managing the trust on 1 October.
- 1998
Removal of small-cap bias
[1]The trust amended its investment policy to remove its specific emphasis on smaller companies.
- 1981
Conversion into an investment trust
[1]Shareholders approved the transformation into Mid Wynd International Investment Trust PLC, followed by a London Stock Exchange listing in October.
- 1965
Industrial merger
[1]James Scott & Sons Ltd., Thomas Boag & Co. Ltd., and Robertson Industrial Textiles Ltd. merged, leaving Mid Wynd focused on Dura (Investments) and related subsidiaries.
- 1949
Corporate reorganisation
[1]Mid Wynd Holding Co. Ltd. was formed as group parent, with manufacturing and reserve-investment activities placed in separate subsidiaries.
- 1797
Dundee textile origins
[1]David Scott established a flax-warping mill and hand-weaving shed on Mid Wynd in Dundee.
Products and positioning
A long-established, globally oriented listed investment trust offering investors exposure to an internationally diversified portfolio, with an objective focused on long-term capital and income growth.
Listed investment trust · 1981
Mid Wynd International Investment Trust shares
The trust's listed shares provide investors with exposure to a professionally managed portfolio of international investments. Unlike a conventional operating company, the trust is an investment vehicle whose value is linked to its underlying portfolio and whose shares trade publicly on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker MWY.
Global asset management · 1981
Worldwide investment portfolio
The trust invests on a worldwide basis with an objective of seeking capital and income growth. Its investment policy originally concentrated on smaller overseas growth companies, but the small-capitalisation bias was removed in 1998, broadening the range of companies and markets available to the portfolio.
Brand decisions
2023
Appoint Lazard Asset ManagementOtherBackground
The trust changed its investment-management arrangement.
Action taken
Lazard Asset Management assumed management of the trust on 1 October 2023.
Aftermath
Lazard became the trust's current investment manager.
1998
Remove the small-capitalisation investment biasStrategyBackground
The trust's original policy focused on smaller and less well-known growth companies listed on overseas exchanges.
Action taken
Mid Wynd amended its investment policy to remove the specific small-cap bias.
Aftermath
The change broadened the potential universe of international investments available to the trust.
1981
Convert the company into an investment trustStrategyBackground
After the disposal of its industrial assets, the company was centred on Dura (Investments). Capital-gains-tax considerations and a restricted market for its shares were cited in the decision to seek a public quotation and change the corporate structure.
Action taken
Shareholders approved the restructuring on 25 September 1981. Dura (Investments)'s holdings were to be transferred to the new trust, which was designed to invest principally in smaller overseas growth companies.
Aftermath
The reconstituted Mid Wynd International Investment Trust PLC began trading on the London Stock Exchange in October 1981.
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