Shares in the firm have fallen by a third since hitting highs of 615p in January, but Woodford said the long-term opportunities had been overlooked.

“Since its IPO last year, the shares initially performed very strongly but have since come back to more attractive territory,” he said.

“This is fundamentally a very attractive, cash generative business. It has its challenges, not least the competitive threat in profitable, densely populated areas.

“But it has its opportunities too, such as slowly working to bring its cost base into line with its competitors.”

Elsewhere, the manager has also bough new positions in Oakley Capital and Raven Russia, as well as participating in the IPOs of Abzena and Spire Healthcare.

Meanwhile Altria, Novartis and Serco were all sold in July. The manager’s Woodford Equity Income fund now stands at £2.4bn in size following further inflows last month.