For UK portfolio managers and investors alike, the experiences of 2020 will prove difficult to erase from the memory. However, after the protracted pandemic winter for dividends, the green shoots are sprouting.

After nearly five years of Brexit uncertainty, UK equities have come into favour, with the swift rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and the re-opening of the economy bringing hope of a return to relative ‘normality’. Continued central bank and government support, coupled with the release of pent-up consumer demand, have also led to increased optimism about the prospects for the UK economy.

Amidst all the talk of a return to normality, one further aspect casts a positive light on the UK: regular service being resumed with regard to the payment of dividends.