Neil Woodford’s contract to manage the investment trust he founded in 2015 is safe for now, but the trust’s independent board said it will continue to look at possible replacements after the company announced a pre-tax loss of £230m for the first half of the year.

Woodford Patient Capital Trust said today, in its interim results, that the investment firm had not yet come to any decision on Woodford’s role, despite talks with rival companies since at least late July.