The FY trading update in early October confirmed adj. EPS would be in-line with the consensus, as better top-line performance during the year was offset by increased COVID-related provisions. Cash generation has also been stronger than expected. Guidance on the recovery in NGPs will be important. Sentiment on Imperial is about as poor as we have ever seen, and we would not be surprised to see the new management team make some significant moves. We think Imperial should sell a slew of its small positions in emerging markets. These assets are low margin and do not confer a strategic advantage; they would be more valuable to other companies. In total, we think about £5bn of value could be unlocked from the portfolio, with the proceeds used to pay down debt and start buying back shares. We no longer believe Imperial should sell its NGP business or its Japan business. Having an NGP strategy is critical for maintaining a credible ESG philosophy, which investors now widely require. Complementary to NGPs is Japan, which is the largest heated tobacco market in the world. Thus we expect Imperial will keep both of those assets. We do not expect a sale of the high margin US business, either. Re-running our LBO maths suggests Imperial could generate a 60% IRR for PE on an IPO exit strategy and a 28% IRR on a managed liquidation strategy. Neither seems particularly likely to occur, but we note the maths are still compelling. We doubt investors would back an LBO down here, however. Although Imperial seems to be in a strategic vacuum currently, we are confident that there is value in the company’s assets that is not being recognised. We maintain our Buy recommendation ahead of the FY results next week and strategy update early next year.