Prospectus • Oct 5, 2018
Prospectus
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If you are in any doubt about the action to be taken, you should immediately consult your bank manager, stockbroker, solicitor, accountant or financial adviser authorised pursuant to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).
This document, which comprises a prospectus relating to Maven Income and Growth VCT 4 PLC dated 5 October 2018, has been prepared in accordance with the prospectus rules made under Part VI of FSMA, and has been approved for publication by the Financial Conduct Authority as a prospectus under the Prospectus Rules on 5 October 2018.
The Company, the Directors and the Proposed Director, whose names appear on page 25 of this document, accept responsibility for the information contained herein. To the best of the knowledge of the Company, the Directors and the Proposed Director (who have taken all reasonable care to ensure that such is the case), the information contained in this document is in accordance with the facts and does not omit anything likely to affect the import of such information.
Persons receiving this document should note that Howard Kennedy Corporate Services LLP, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting as sponsor for the Company and no-one else and will not, subject to the responsibilities and liabilities imposed by FSMA or the regulatory regime established thereunder, be responsible to any other person for providing the protections afforded to customers of Howard Kennedy Corporate Services LLP or providing advice in connection with any matters referred to herein.
(incorporated in Scotland under the Companies Act 1985 with registered number SC272568)
Sponsor Howard Kennedy Corporate Services LLP
The Ordinary Shares of the Company in issue at the date of this document are listed on the premium segment of the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and traded on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities. Application has been made to the UK Listing Authority for all of the Scheme Shares to be listed on the premium segment of the Official List and application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the Scheme Shares to be admitted to trading on its main market for listed securities. It is expected that such admission will become effective and that trading will commence in respect of the Scheme Shares within 10 business days of their allotment. The Scheme Shares will be issued in registered form, will be freely transferable in both certificated and uncertificated form and will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing Ordinary Shares.
The Scheme Shares have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (as amended) and may not be offered, sold or delivered, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan or the Republic of South Africa.
| SUMMARY | 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| RISK FACTORS | 11 | |
| EXPECTED TIMETABLE | 14 | |
| LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN | 15 | |
| PART ONE: | THE SCHEME The Scheme Conditions of the Scheme Terms of the Scheme Merger Calculations Share Certificates, Listing and Mandates Taxation |
19 19 20 20 21 22 22 |
| PART TWO: | THE DIRECTORS AND THE MANAGER | 24 |
| PART THREE: | TAX POSITION OF SHAREHOLDERS AND MAVEN VCT 2 SHAREHOLDERS | 31 |
| PART FOUR: | PRO FORMA FINANCIAL INFORMATION | 33 |
| PART FIVE: | FINANCIAL INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY AND MAVEN VCT 2 | 37 |
| PART SIX: | INVESTMENT PORTFOLIOS OF THE COMPANY AND MAVEN VCT 2 | 40 |
| PART SEVEN: | ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY AND MAVEN VCT 2 | 46 |
| PART EIGHT: | GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY | 56 |
| PART NINE: | DEFINITIONS | 68 |
| LIST OF ADVISERS TO THE COMPANY | 71 |
Summaries are made up of disclosure requirements known as 'Elements'. The Elements are numbered in Sections A—E.
This summary contains all the Elements required to be included in a summary for this type of securities and issuer. Because some Elements are not required to be addressed there may be gaps in the numbering sequence of the Elements.
Even though an Element may be required to be inserted into the summary because of the type of securities and issuer, it is possible that no relevant information can be given regarding the Element. In this case a short description of the Element is included in the summary with the mention of 'not applicable'.
| Section A — Introduction and Warnings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Element | Disclosure requirement | Disclosure |
| A.1 | Warning | This summary should be read as an introduction to the Prospectus. Any decision to invest in the securities should be based on consideration of the Prospectus as a whole by the investor. Where a claim relating to the information contained in the Prospectus is brought before a court, the plaintiff investor might, under the national legislation of the EEA States, have to bear the costs of translating the Prospectus before the legal proceedings are initiated. Civil liability attaches only to those persons who have tabled the summary, including any translation thereof, but only if the summary is misleading, inaccurate or inconsistent when read together with the other parts of the Prospectus or it does not provide, when read together with other parts of the Prospectus, key information in order to aid investors when considering whether to invest in such securities. |
| A.2 | Consent for Use of Prospectus by financial intermediaries |
Not applicable. There is no intended resale or placement of securities. |
| Schedule B — Issuer | ||
|---|---|---|
| Element | Disclosure requirement | Disclosure |
| B.1 | Legal and commercial name |
Maven Income and Growth VCT 4 PLC. |
| B.2 | Domicile and legal form |
The Company was incorporated and registered in Scotland on 26 August 2004 as a public company limited by shares under the Companies Act 1985 with registered number SC272568. |
| The principal legislation under which the Company operates is the Companies Act 2006 (and regulations made thereunder) ("CA 2006"). |
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| B.5 | Group description | Not applicable. The Company is not part of a group. |
| B.6 | Major shareholders | As at 3 October 2018, being the last practicable date prior to publication of this document, and save as set out below, the Company is not aware of any person or persons who have, or who following the Merger will or could have, directly or indirectly, voting rights representing 3% or more of the issued share capital of the Company or who can, or could, following the Merger, directly or indirectly exercise control over the Company. |
| Hargreaves Lansdown (Nominees) Limited – 3,801,574 Shares |
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|---|---|---|
| There are no different voting rights for any Shareholder. | ||
| B.7 | Selected financial information |
Certain selected historical financial information relating to the Company, which has been extracted from the audited and unaudited financial statements referenced in the following tables, is set out below: |
| Year Year Six months Year Six months Ended Ended ended Ended ended 31 December 31 December 30 June 31 December 30 June 2015 2016 2017 2017 2018 (audited) (audited) (unaudited) (audited) (unaudited) Net assets (£'000) 33,876 32,568 31,471 31,874 41,742 Net asset value per Share (p) 101.01 99.00 96.35 85.97 72.31 Revenue return after expenses and taxation (£'000) 1,016 361 250 581 109 NAV plus cumulative dividends paid (p) 140.16 143.40 143.80 145.87 145.91 Dividend paid per Share during the period (p) 5.1 5.25 3.05 15.5 13.7 Total Expenses (£'000) 1,572 1,477 540 1,290 583 As a percentage of |
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| average Shareholders' funds 4.64 4.54 1.72 4.05 1.4 |
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| On 20 October 2014 and 22 September 2017 the Company launched joint offers for subscription (together with other VCTs managed by Maven Capital Partners UK LLP (Maven or the Manager)). Pursuant to those offers, the Company raised £1,986,000 (net of costs) in the year to 31 December 2015, £nil in the year to 31 December 2016, £3,648,000 (net of costs) in the year to 31 December 2017 and £15,970,000 (net of costs) to the date of this document. Save for the offers for subscription referred to above and the payment of interim dividends of 8.90p and 4.80p per Share |
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| (paid on 13 April 2018 and 22 June 2018 respectively), during the financial periods referred to above and since 30 June 2018, there has been no significant change in the financial condition or operating results of the Company. |
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| B.8 | Key pro forma financial information |
The Enlarged Company is expected to have net assets of approximately £57,634,000 (assuming the Scheme is completed based on the NAVs of the Company as at 30 June 2018 and Maven Income and Growth VCT 2 PLC ("Maven VCT 2") as at 31 January 2018). |
| The Enlarged Company would have had a return on ordinary activities before tax of approximately £987,000 based on the Company's unaudited accounts for the six month period to 30 June 2018 and Maven VCT 2's audited accounts for the year ended 31 January 2018, after deducting the expenses of the Scheme of £429,000, assuming the Company and Maven VCT 2 (together the "Companies") were one Enlarged Company. |
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| A summary of the information is below: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Six months ended 30 June 2018 (unaudited) |
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| Net assets (£'000) | £57,634,000 | ||
| Return after expenses and taxation (£'000) |
(£987,000) | ||
| Total Expenses (£'000) | £429,000 | ||
| As a percentage of average Shareholders' funds |
0.74 | ||
| The pro forma statement of net assets is based on the assumption that the Merger had taken place on 1 January 2018 and the pro forma statement of earnings is based on the assumption that the Merger had taken place at the start of the period, 1 January 2018. |
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| The pro forma financial information has been prepared for illustrative purposes only and, because of its nature, addresses a hypothetical situation and, therefore, does not represent the Company's actual financial position or results. |
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| B.9 | Profit forecast | Not applicable. No profit forecast or estimate made. | |
| B.10 | Description of the nature of any qualifications in the audit report on the historical financial information |
Not applicable. The audit reports on the historical financial information contained within the document are not qualified. |
|
| B.11 | Insufficient working capital |
Not applicable. The Company is of the opinion that the working capital available to it is sufficient for its present requirements (that is, for at least the next twelve months from the date of this document). |
|
| B.34 | Investment objective | The investment policy of the Company is set out below. | |
| and policy including Investment restrictions |
Investment Objective and Policy | ||
| The Company aims to achieve appreciation and generate income for its Shareholders. |
long-term capital |
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| The Company intends to achieve its objective by: | |||
| • investing the majority of its funds in a diversified portfolio of shares and securities of companies and in AIM/NEX quoted companies which meet the criteria for VCT qualifying investments and have strong growth potential; |
smaller, unquoted UK | ||
| • investing no more than £1.25 million in any company in one year and no more than 15% of the Company's assets by cost in one business at any time; and |
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| • borrowing up to 15% of net asset value, if required and only on a selective basis, in pursuit of its investment strategy. |
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| The Company manages and minimises investment risk by: | |||
| • diversifying across a large number of companies; |
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| • diversifying across a range of economic sectors; |
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| • actively and closely monitoring the progress of investee companies; |
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|---|---|---|
| • co-investing with other clients of the Manager; |
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| • ensuring valuations of underlying investments are made accurately and fairly; |
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| • taking steps to ensure that share price discount is managed appropriately; and |
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| • choosing and appointing an FCA authorised investment manager with the appropriate skills, experience and resources required to achieve the investment objectives above, with ongoing monitoring to ensure the Manager is performing in line with expectations. |
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| B.35 | Borrowing limits | It is not the Company's intention to have any borrowings. The Company does, however, have the ability to borrow a maximum amount which is equal to the paid up capital of the Company and its distributable and undistributable reserves. In addition, the investment policy of the Company contains a limit on the amount of borrowings of 15% of net asset value. |
| There are no plans to utilise these facilities at the current time. |
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| B.36 | Regulatory status | The Company is a small registered internally managed Alternative Investment Fund under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Regulations 2013. |
| B.37 | Typical investor | The typical investor for whom investment in the Company is designed is an individual retail investor aged 18 or over who is a UK taxpayer. |
| B.38 | Investment of 20% or more in a single underlying asset or investment company |
Not applicable. The Company will not invest more than 20% in a single underlying asset or investment company. |
| B.39 | Investment of 40% or more in a single underlying asset or investment company |
Not applicable. The Company will not invest more than 40% in a single underlying asset or investment company. |
| B.40 | Applicant's service providers |
Maven Capital Partners UK LLP is the investment manager, administrator and company secretary of the Company. |
| Maven is paid the following fees in respect of its appointment as investment manager, administrator and company secretary of the Company: |
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| The Manager is entitled to an annual investment management fee of 2.5% of the net asset value of the Company payable quarterly in arrears (the fee being exclusive of VAT (if any)). The Manager is also entitled to a performance incentive fee for each six month period ending 30 June and 31 December of an amount equal to 20% of any increase in the total return (before applying any performance incentive fee) as at the end of the relevant six month period to the total return (after accruing for the performance incentive fee payable for that period) compared to the end of the last six month period on which a performance incentive fee was paid. Total return for these purposes means net asset value, adjusted for dividends, |
| share buy-backs and share issues since the period in which the last performance incentive fee was paid. These fees are exclusive of VAT (if any). |
|
|---|---|
| The Manager is also entitled to an annual fee for the provision of company secretarial and administrative services (which amounted to £79,000 for the year ended 31 December 2017, and increasing to £100,000 on completion of the Merger). This fee is subject to annual adjustment by reference to increases in the UK Consumer Prices Index, is payable quarterly in arrears is exclusive of VAT (if any). In relation to the Merger, the Manager is entitled to a merger administrative and secretarial services fee from the Company and Maven VCT 2 (for an aggregate amount of £100,000) for services provided under the terms of their investment management agreements. |
|
| The total management and administrative expenses of the Company are capped at 3.5% of the net asset value at the end of the relevant financial period (calculated before deduction of management and administrative expenses). All regulatory, compliance and any exceptional items, such as merger or performance incentive fees in respect of that financial year, are excluded from the cap. |
|
| In addition, in order to ensure that the Manager's staff are appropriately incentivised in relation to the management of the portfolio, a co-investment scheme allows employees and officers of the Manager to participate in new and follow on investments in portfolio companies alongside the Company. All such investments are made through a nominee and under terms agreed by the Board. The terms of the scheme ensure that all investments in ordinary shares are made at the same time and on identical terms to those of the Company and that no selection of investments will be allowed. Total investment by participants in the co-investment scheme is 5% of the aggregate amount of ordinary shares subscribed for by the Company and the co-investment scheme, except where the only securities to be acquired by the Company are ordinary shares, or are securities quoted on AIM or NEX, in which case the investment percentage will be 1.5%. Notwithstanding the above, co-investment will only be offered alongside the relevant investment if that co-investment would not result in the aggregate of all co-investments made in the relevant calendar year of the scheme exceeding 5% of the Company's net assets. |
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| The Manager also receives fees from investee companies for arranging transactions, monitoring business progress and providing non-executive directors for their boards. |
|
| Custodian Arrangements | |
| Investments in unquoted portfolio companies, comprising shares and loan stock, are held by Maven as custodian in the name of the Company. These services are provided to the Company as part of Maven's role as the investment manager, administrator and company secretary. |
|
| The London branch of JP Morgan Chase Bank acts as custodian for the Company's quoted assets and, in that |
| capacity, is responsible for ensuring safe custody and dealing and settlement arrangements. |
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|---|---|---|---|
| B.41 | Regulatory status of the Manager/ custodian |
Maven acts as investment manager of the Company and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. |
|
| The London branch of JP Morgan Chase Bank acts as custodian for the Company's quoted assets and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. |
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| B.42 | Calculation of Net Asset Value |
The Company's net asset value is calculated quarterly and published on an appropriate Regulatory Information Service. If for any reason valuations are suspended, Shareholders will be notified by an announcement published on a Regulatory Information Service. |
|
| B.43 | Umbrella collective investment scheme |
Not applicable. The Company is not part of an umbrella collective investment scheme. |
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| B.44 | No financial statements have been made up |
Not applicable. The Company has commenced operations and historical financial information is included within the document. |
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| B.45 | Portfolio | The Company invests in a diversified portfolio of small and medium sized growth companies, whether unquoted or traded on AIM/NEX. A summary of the Company's unquoted and quoted portfolio as at the date of this Summary is set out below, valuations as at 30 June 2018: |
|
| Cost Valuation % of net Investment £'000 £'000 assets Unlisted 20,420 18,532 44.4 |
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| AIM/Quoted 1,078 1,290 3.0 Investment Trusts 852 901 2.2 |
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| Save for any disposals/investments made after 30 June 2018, there has been no material change to the valuations used to prepare the above analysis since 30 June 2018. |
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| B.46 | Most recent Net Asset Value |
The unaudited NAV per Ordinary Share as at 30 June 2018 was 72.31p. |
| Section C — Securities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Element | Disclosure requirement | Disclosure |
| C.1 | Types and class of securities |
The Company will issue new Ordinary Shares of 10p each pursuant to the Scheme. The ISIN and SEDOL of the Scheme Shares are GB00B043QW84 and B043QW8 respectively, and the LEI of the Company is 213800WSH2TNL9NG5I06. |
| C.2 | Currency | Sterling. |
| C.3 | Number of securities to be issued |
The maximum number of Scheme Shares to be issued pursuant to the Scheme will be 21,600,000. |
| C.4 | Description of the rights attaching to the securities |
The Scheme Shares shall rank equally and pari passu with the existing shares in the Company and shall have the following rights: |
| • holders of the Scheme Shares shall be entitled to receive all dividends and other distributions made, paid or declared by the Company pari passu and equally with each other and with the existing shares; |
| • each Scheme Share carries the right to receive notice of and to attend or vote at any general meeting of the relevant Company; |
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|---|---|---|
| • on a winding-up, the holders of the Scheme Shares are entitled to receive back their nominal value and will participate in the distribution of any surplus assets of the Company pro rata with all other shares in the capital of the Company; |
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| • statutory pre-emption rights on any issue of Scheme Shares or the sale of any existing Shares from treasury for cash, unless dis-applied in accordance with the CA 2006; and |
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| • Scheme Shares are not redeemable at the option of the Company or the Shareholder. |
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| C.5 | Restrictions on the free transferability of the securities |
Not applicable. There are no restrictions on the free transferability of the Scheme Shares. |
| C.6 | Admission | Application has been made to the UK Listing Authority for the Scheme Shares to be issued pursuant to the Scheme to be admitted to the premium segment of the Official List and an application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the Scheme Shares to be admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities. It is expected that such admissions will become effective, and that dealings in the Scheme Shares will commence, within 10 business days of their allotment. |
| C.7 | Dividend policy | The Company has a policy of making distributions when realisations are achieved and paying regular tax-free dividends to Shareholders, subject to the availability of cash and distributable reserves and maintaining the longer term stability of the NAV. |
| Section D — Risks | ||
|---|---|---|
| Element | Disclosure requirement | Disclosure |
| D.2 | Key information on the key risks specific to the issuer |
There can be no guarantee that the investment objectives of the Company will be achieved or that suitable investment opportunities will be available. |
| Investment in AIM/NEX traded companies and unquoted companies, by its nature, involves a higher degree of risk than investment in companies traded on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange. The market for stock in smaller companies is often less liquid than that for stock in larger companies, bringing with it potential difficulties in acquiring, valuing and disposing of such stock. The Company's investments may be difficult to realise. |
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| Changes in legislation concerning VCTs may limit the number of Qualifying Investment opportunities, reduce the level of returns which would otherwise have been achievable or result in the Company not being able to meet its investment objectives. |
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| D.3 | Key information on the key risks specific to the securities |
The value of an investment in the Company and the level of income derived from it may go down as well as up. |
| Shareholders may get back less than the amount originally invested in the Company. |
|---|
| An investment in the Company is not suitable as a short or medium term investment. |
| Although the Company's existing Shares are already listed, and it is intended that the Scheme Shares will be listed on the premium segment of the Official List and admitted to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange, it is likely that there will not be a liquid market in such Scheme Shares (which may be partly due to upfront income tax relief not being available for VCT shares bought in the market, and also because VCT shares generally trade at a discount to their net asset value) and Shareholders may have difficulty in selling their Scheme Shares as a result. Accordingly, admission to the Official List and to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange should not be taken as implying that there will be a liquid market for the Scheme Shares. Shareholders may not be able to realise their investment at net asset value or at all. |
| Section E — Offer | ||
|---|---|---|
| Element | Disclosure requirement | Disclosure |
| E.1 | Net proceeds and expenses of the Issue |
The Merger will not result in any proceeds being raised by the Company. The aggregate anticipated costs of undertaking the Merger are approximately £429,000. |
| E.2a | Reason for the Offer, use of proceeds and estimated net amount of the proceeds |
Not applicable. There is no public offer of securities to raise capital. |
| E.3 | Terms and conditions of the Offer |
Not applicable. There is no public offer of securities to raise capital. |
| E.4 | Material interests | Not applicable. There is no public offer of securities to raise capital. |
| E.5 | Name of person selling securities |
Not applicable. There is no public offer of securities to raise capital. |
| E.6 | Amount and percentage of dilution |
Not applicable. There is no public offer of securities to raise capital. |
| E.7 | Expenses charged to the investor |
The anticipated cost of undertaking the Merger is approximately £429,000, including VAT, legal and professional fees, stamp duty and the costs of winding up Maven VCT 2. The costs of the Merger will be split proportionately between the Companies by reference to their respective net asset values as at the Scheme Calculation Date. |
Prospective investors should consider carefully the following risk factors in addition to the other information presented in this document. If any of the risks described below were to occur, it could have a material effect on the Company's business, financial condition or results of operations. The risks and uncertainties described below are the only known material risks the Company or the Shareholders will face.
Completion of the Scheme is dependent upon a number of conditions precedent being fulfilled, including the approval of the Shareholders and the Maven VCT 2 Shareholders. If the Scheme is not approved and/or effected, the expected benefits of the Scheme will not be realised and the Company will be responsible for the costs it has incurred relating to the Scheme.
Shareholders may be adversely affected by the performance of the investments, whether acquired from Maven VCT 2 or made by the Company. The performance of the investments acquired from Maven VCT 2, as well as the investments of the Company, may restrict the Company's ability following the Merger to distribute any capital gains and revenue received on the investments transferred from Maven VCT 2 to the Company (as well as the investments of the Company).
The successful implementation of the Company's investment policy is dependent on the expertise of Maven and its ability to attract and retain suitable staff. The Company's ability to achieve its investment objectives is largely dependent on the performance of the Manager in the acquisition and disposal of assets and the management of such assets. The Board has discretion to monitor the performance of the Manager and the power to appoint a replacement, but the Manager's performance, or that of any replacement, cannot be guaranteed.
The past performance of the Company or other funds managed or advised by the Manager is not a guide to the future performance of the Company. No assurance can be given that profits will be achieved or that substantial losses will not be incurred.
determined, among other things, by the interaction of supply and demand for such Shares in the market, as well as the NAV per Share. Generally, trading in VCT shares is not active, so shares tend to be valued at a discount to their NAV and may be difficult to realise.
| Latest time for receipt of forms of proxy for the General Meeting | 10.45 am on 30 October 2018 |
|---|---|
| General Meeting | 10.45 am on 1 November 2018 |
| Scheme Calculation Date | After 5.00 pm on 14 November 2018 |
| Scheme Effective Date for the transfer of the assets and liabilities of Maven VCT 2 to the Company and the issue of Scheme Shares |
After 5.00 pm on 15 November 2018 |
| Announcement of the results of the Scheme | After 5.00 pm on 15 November 2018 |
| Admission of, and dealings in, Scheme Shares to commence | 7.30 am on 16 November 2018 |
| CREST accounts credited (if applicable) | 16 November 2018 |
| Certificates for Scheme Shares despatched to Maven VCT 2 Shareholders |
Week commencing 19 November 2018 |
| Maven VCT 2 | |
| Latest time for receipt of forms of proxy for the Maven VCT 2 First General Meeting |
10.30 am on 30 October 2018 |
| Maven VCT 2 First General Meeting | 10.30 am on 1 November 2018 |
| Latest time for receipt of forms of proxy for the Maven VCT 2 Second General Meeting |
10.30 am on 13 November 2018 |
| Final expected date of trading of the Maven VCT 2 Shares | 14 November 2018 |
| Scheme Record Date for Maven VCT 2 Shareholders' entitlements under the Scheme |
5.00 pm on 14 November 2018 |
| Scheme Calculation Date | After 5.00 pm on 14 November 2018 |
| Dealings in Maven VCT 2 Shares suspended* | 7.30 am on 15 November 2018 |
| Maven VCT 2 register of members closed | 7.30 am on 15 November 2018 |
| Maven VCT 2 Second General Meeting | 10.30 am on 15 November 2018 |
| Scheme Effective Date for the transfer of the assets and liabilities of Maven VCT 2 to the Company and the issue of Scheme Shares |
After 5.00 pm on 15 November 2018 |
| Announcement of the results of the Scheme | After 5.00 pm on 15 November 2018 |
| Cancellation of the Maven VCT 2 Shares' listing | 7.30 am on 16 November 2018 |
* The final expected date of trading of the Maven VCT 2 Shares will be 14 November 2018. See the timetable for the Company with regard to admission, CREST accounts being credited and certificates being despatched in respect of the Scheme Shares.
The dates set out in the expected timetable above may be adjusted by the Company, in which event details of the new dates will be notified through a Regulatory Information Service.
Maven Income and Growth VCT 4 PLC Registered office: Kintyre House 205 West George Street Glasgow G2 2LW
5 October 2018
Dear Shareholder,
On 13 September 2018, Maven Income and Growth VCT 4 (the "Company") and Maven Income and Growth VCT 2 ("Maven VCT 2") announced that they were in discussions in respect of their proposed Merger, and today have announced proposals for the Merger. The rationale for the Merger is to improve the efficiency of management and administration, and to reduce running costs per share.
The Company and Maven VCT 2 were launched in 2004 and 2001 respectively. Since 1 January 2013 they have raised, in aggregate, over £39 million for investment in a diversified portfolio of Qualifying Companies and have net asset values of £41,742,000 and £14,160,000 respectively. Maven acts as investment manager to both Companies, which have each been run independently since launch.
The proposal is to merge the Companies through a scheme of reconstruction under which the assets and liabilities of Maven VCT 2 are transferred to the Company in exchange for shares in the Company, which are issued to Maven VCT 2 Shareholders. To preserve the VCT status of Maven VCT 2, this can only be done by Maven VCT 2 being placed into members' voluntary (solvent) liquidation, and hence it is proposed that Maven VCT 2 is placed into voluntary liquidation and, at that juncture, with shareholder approval, its assets and liabilities will be transferred to the Company.
The Merger is being implemented on a relative NAV basis and that will feed into the calculation for determining the number of Ordinary Shares in the Company to be issued to Maven VCT 2 Shareholders under the Merger. There is a complex formula for calculating this, which is set out on page 21.
The Merger is conditional upon the approval of Shareholders in the Company and shareholders in Maven VCT 2 and General Meetings have been convened for 1 November 2018 and 15 November 2018. If approved by both sets of shareholders, the Merger should complete in November 2018.
By way of illustration only, were the Merger to complete based upon the respective (unaudited) NAVs of the Companies as at 30 June 2018 and 31 July 2018, respectively, this would have resulted in the issue of 19,582,290 new Scheme Shares to Maven VCT 2 Shareholders, equivalent to approximately 1 Ordinary Share for every 2 Maven VCT 2 Shares held. This illustration assumes that there are no dissenting Maven VCT 2 Shareholders.
The Merger is expected to bring a number of benefits to Shareholders including:
The Scheme will, if effected, result in an Enlarged Company with net assets of just over £55.9 million.
The Company was launched in 2004 with the aim of achieving long term capital appreciation and to generate income for Shareholders. The Company has been managed by the Maven team since inception, initially at Aberdeen Asset Management plc (Aberdeen) until the senior team of the Aberdeen private equity and VCT business led a buyout to form Maven. Maven VCT 2 was launched in 2001 with a similar investment mandate and has been managed by the same Maven team since 2004.
The latest unaudited published NAV of the Company, as at 30 June 2018, was 72.31p per Ordinary Share and the latest unaudited published NAV of Maven VCT 2, as at 31 July 2018, was 35.28p per Maven VCT 2 Share. The table below sets out the unaudited NAVs of the companies and provides further detail on the investments in their portfolios as at these respective dates.
| NAV per share | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (unaudited) (p) | |||||
| as at 30 June | |||||
| 2018 (the | Carrying value | ||||
| Company) | Number of of the venture | NAV plus | |||
| Net Assets | and 31 July | venture | capital | cumulative | |
| (unaudited) | 2018 | capital | investments | dividends | |
| Company | (£'000) (Maven VCT 2) | investments | (£'000) | paid (p) | |
| Company | 41,742 | 72.31 | 67 | 20,723 | 145.91 |
| Maven VCT 2 | 14,160 | 35.28 | 58 | 12,549 | 97.56 |
Further information relating to the portfolios of the Companies is set out in Part Six of this document.
Each of the Companies has the same investment policy, with an investment objective of achieving long term capital appreciation and to generate income for shareholders by investing their funds in a broad spread of unquoted UK companies which meet the relevant criteria for VCTs.
In September 2004, the Merger Regulations were introduced allowing VCTs to be acquired by, or merge with, each other without prejudicing the VCT tax reliefs obtained by their shareholders. A number of VCTs have taken advantage of these regulations to create larger VCTs, without the loss of VCT tax reliefs.
With the above in mind, the Boards entered into discussions to consider a merger of the Companies to create a single, larger VCT with the potential to deliver improved shareholder value.
The Scheme will be completed on a relative unaudited NAV basis, adjusted for the anticipated costs of the Scheme. The Merger Value and the Roll-Over Value will be based on the latest unaudited valuations of each of the Companies' investments. The effect of the Scheme will be that Maven VCT 2 Shareholders will receive Scheme Shares with the same total net asset value as at the Scheme Calculation Date as their Maven VCT 2 Shares. Maven VCT 2 Shareholders who do not vote in favour of the resolution to be proposed at the First General Meeting are entitled to dissent and have their shareholding purchased by the Liquidators at a price agreed between the dissenting Maven VCT 2 Shareholders and the Liquidators (or by arbitration), which would be expected to be at a significant reduction to the net asset value of a Maven VCT 2 Share. If the conditions of the Scheme are not satisfied, the Companies will continue in their current form and the Boards will continue to review all options available to them regarding the future of the Companies.
Clearance has been obtained from HMRC that the Scheme meets the requirements of the Merger Regulations and, therefore, that the implementation of the Scheme should not affect the status of the Company as a VCT. It is the intention of the Board to continue to comply with the requirements of ITA 2007 following the Merger so that the Company continues to qualify as a VCT.
Further information regarding the terms of the Scheme is set out in Part One of this document. Details of the risks relating to the Scheme and those generally associated with investing in a VCT are set out on pages 11 to 13 of this document.
Maven has a team of over 45 experienced professionals working on behalf of the Maven VCTs and their shareholders, including more than 35 investment and portfolio executives responsible for sourcing, executing and managing a wide range of private company investments from a network of regional offices.
Since 2016, Maven has significantly expanded its UK operations, with five new offices opened in key corporate finance territories. As a result, the Maven team can now access transactions across a regional office network that extends to 11 offices, and introduces its VCT clients to transactions across the UK. This nationwide presence and ability to complete and manage a broadly based, diverse portfolio of private company investments, has been further strengthened through a significant expansion of Maven's investment team, which has included the recruitment of a number of PhD qualified executives with backgrounds of investing in innovative, early-stage UK businesses in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, technology, life science and biotechnology, and specifically with experience of the development capital type deals required by the new VCT rules. The Maven team is now one of the largest in the industry, with the experience and long-standing regional presence to ensure that it can maximise UK coverage and consistently access high quality opportunities.
Since the changes to the VCT legislation in November 2015, Maven has effectively and rapidly refocussed its VCT investment strategy towards providing development and growth finance to earlier stage businesses, alongside managing the later-stage assets in the existing portfolios. Having completed a number of development capital deals for non-VCT client funds since 2009, the Maven team has been able to make the transition to earlier stage investment more easily than managers with less resource and experience in this specialist area.
The Maven VCTs also benefit from the additional deal flow developed by Maven's local investment teams as part of their work for non-VCT clients, including a number of regional debt and equity funds across the UK. This ensures that Maven can maintain a comprehensive offering to the SME market and corporate finance advisers, and can result in introductions to companies where the level or type of funding required is more suited to VCT investment.
Over the last five years, the Company has delivered progressive growth in NAV total return up to 30 June 2018 and distributed regular dividend payments, consistent with the objective of maintaining a regular turnover of assets through a cycle of investment, realisation, distribution and re-investment. This strategy has produced a number of profitable exits, supporting a programme of regular new investment and tax-free shareholder payments.
In addition, the Company recently completed a significant new fundraising through an offer for subscription, which closed fully subscribed in April 2018 raising £20 million of new capital. This will be used to continue to grow a diverse and broadly based portfolio of attractive VCT qualifying assets that are capable of supporting long-term growth in Shareholder value.
The Company maintains a generalist investment strategy, aiming to make further investments predominantly in a range of private companies at various stages of their development. Maven has demonstrated that it has the resources, experience and expertise to access a continuous flow of private company investment opportunities across a range of sectors, to add value to those businesses in order to drive capital appreciation across the portfolio, and to achieve regular profitable exits for VCT investors.
Since June 2009, Maven has launched ten successful fundraisings for the Maven VCTs, raising more than £120 million, with four of them closing early due to being oversubscribed. Those fundraisings have allowed the Maven VCTs to continually expand their portfolios by making additional new Qualifying Investments and continuing to support portfolio companies through follow-on funding.
Maven VCT 2 Shareholders will be eligible for dividends paid by the Enlarged Company after completion of the Merger. All existing dividend mandate instructions in respect of non-dissenting Maven VCT 2 Shareholders will transfer automatically to the Company and be applied to the resulting shareholding. Similarly, any previous request for participation in the suspended dividend investment scheme (DIS) operated by Maven VCT 2 will also transfer automatically to the Company and be applied to the resulting shareholding within its operational DIS with immediate effect, unless the registrar is advised to the contrary.
Following completion of the Merger, the Enlarged Company will continue to target the payment of regular tax-free dividends to Shareholders, subject to available reserves, cash and regulations.
It is intended that, on the successful completion of the Merger, Peter Linthwaite, an independent nonexecutive director of Maven VCT 2 and chairman of its audit and risk committees, will join the Board of the Company.
Please note that Maven is not able to provide you with investment, financial or tax advice. If you have any questions in this regard, you should contact your relevant adviser. If you have any general queries in relation to the Merger and the process please contact Maven Capital Partners on 0141 306 7400 or at [email protected].
On behalf of the Board I thank all Shareholders for their continued support.
Yours sincerely
Ian Cormack Chairman
The mechanism by which the Merger will be completed is as follows:
The Scheme will be completed on a relative unaudited NAV basis, adjusted for the anticipated costs of the Scheme, and will be based on the latest unaudited valuations of the Company's investments. The effect of the Scheme will be that Maven VCT 2 Shareholders will receive Scheme Shares with effectively the same aggregate net asset value as at the Scheme Calculation Date as their Maven VCT 2 Shares.
The Scheme is conditional upon the approval by the Shareholders of Resolution 1 to be proposed at the General Meeting and by the Maven VCT 2 Shareholders of the resolutions to be proposed at the Maven VCT 2 General Meetings, as well as the other conditions set out below.
As the Companies have the same investment manager and other common advisers, the Merger should be achievable without major cost or disruption to the Companies and the combined portfolio of investments. The costs of the Merger are expected to be recovered from the anticipated costs savings within 25 months.
The aggregate anticipated cost of undertaking the Merger is approximately £429,000 including VAT, legal and professional fees, stamp duty and the costs of winding up Maven VCT 2. The Liquidators' fees are expected to be up to £15,000 (plus VAT). Maven will be paid a merger administrative and secretarial services fee by the Company and Maven VCT 2 (for an aggregate amount of £100,000) for services provided under the terms of their investment management agreements. The costs of the Merger will be split proportionately between the Companies by reference to their respective net asset values as at the Scheme Calculation Date.
Shareholders should note that the Merger will be outside the provisions of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers. Consequently, the Merger does not need to follow the timetable and disclosure requirements of the Code, but does need to comply with the Listing Rules and the Prospectus Rules which impose similar disclosure obligations.
As is required by CA 2006, a report on the Merger prepared by Scott-Moncrieff will be sent to Shareholders and the Maven VCT 2 Shareholders, prior to the allotment of the Scheme Shares. The report will be sent to Shareholders at their registered addresses and a copy will be uploaded on to the Company's website at www.mavencp.com/migvct4.
The portfolio of assets, which will be transferred from Maven VCT 2 to the Company as part of the Scheme, are all considered to be consistent with the Company's investment policy, particularly as both Companies have investments in predominantly the same companies (with only ten exceptions as at the date of this document). The extent of the liabilities (if any) which will be transferred from Maven VCT 2 to the Company as part of the Scheme will be those which are incurred in the ordinary course of business, and merger costs which remain unpaid at the time of transfer. Any such liabilities are expected to be nominal in comparison to the value of the assets.
Maven VCT 2 Shareholders who do not vote in favour of the resolution to be proposed at the Maven VCT 2 First General Meeting are entitled to dissent and have their shareholdings purchased by the Liquidators at a price agreed between the dissenting Maven VCT 2 Shareholders and the Liquidators (or by arbitration), which would be expected to be at a significant discount to the net asset value of a Maven VCT 2 Share. If the conditions of the Scheme are not satisfied, the Companies will continue in their current form and the Boards will continue to review all options available to them regarding the future of their Companies.
Clearance has been obtained from HMRC that the Scheme meets the requirements of the Merger Regulations and, therefore, that the implementation of the Scheme should not affect the status of the Company as a VCT. It is the intention of the Board to continue to comply with the requirements of ITA 2007 following the Merger so that the Enlarged Company continues to qualify as a VCT.
Further information regarding the terms of the Scheme is set out below. Details of the risks relating to the Scheme and those generally associated with investing in a VCT are set out on pages 11 to 13.
Following the transfer of the assets and liabilities by Maven VCT 2 to the Company, the listing of the Maven VCT 2 Shares will be cancelled and Maven VCT 2 will be wound up.
The Scheme is conditional upon:
Subject to the above, the Scheme will become effective immediately after the passing of the special resolution for the winding up of Maven VCT 2 to be proposed at the Maven VCT 2 Second General Meeting. If it becomes effective, the Scheme will be binding on the Shareholders and the Maven VCT 2 Shareholders (and any dissenting Maven VCT 2 Shareholders) and all persons claiming through or under them.
On the Scheme Effective Date, the Liquidators will receive all the cash, undertakings and other assets and liabilities of Maven VCT 2 and will deliver to the Company:
On the Scheme Effective Date, the Company and the Liquidators (on behalf of Maven VCT 2) will enter into the Transfer Agreement pursuant to which the Liquidators will procure the transfer of all of the assets and liabilities of Maven VCT 2 to the Company in exchange for the issue of Scheme Shares (credited as fully paid) to the Maven VCT 2 Shareholders on the basis set out below.
As further consideration for the transfer of assets and liabilities of Maven VCT 2, the Company will, pursuant to the Transfer Agreement, undertake to pay all liabilities incurred by the Liquidators including, but not limited to, the costs of implementation of the Scheme, the winding up of Maven VCT 2 and the purchase for cash of any holdings of dissenting Maven VCT 2 Shareholders.
Except as otherwise provided for in the Scheme terms, for the purposes of calculating the Merger Value, the Roll-Over Value and the number of Scheme Shares to be issued pursuant to the Scheme, in order that the Maven VCT 2 Shareholders will receive Scheme Shares with the same total net asset value as at the Scheme Calculation Date as their Maven VCT 2 Shares, the following provisions will apply:
The Roll-Over Value will be calculated as:
$$
\frac{A-(B+C)}{D}
$$
where:
A = the unaudited net assets of Maven VCT 2 as at the Scheme Calculation Date (taken from the Maven VCT 2 unaudited management accounts to that date), plus or minus any adjustment that both the Board and the Maven VCT 2 Board consider appropriate to reflect any other actual or contingent benefit or liability of Maven VCT 2;
B = the costs of the Scheme to be apportioned to Maven VCT 2 (by reference to the Roll-Over Value and the Merger Value, but ignoring merger costs), plus £1,000 (representing an amount of contingency to cover any unforeseen additional costs attributable to Maven VCT 2 incurred by the Company, which will indemnify the Liquidators in respect of all costs of Maven VCT 2 following the transfer on the Scheme Effective Date);
C = the amount estimated to be required to purchase the holdings of Maven VCT 2 Shares from dissenting Maven VCT 2 Shareholders; and
D = the number of Maven VCT 2 Shares in issue as at close of business on the Scheme Record Date (save for any Maven VCT 2 Shares held by dissenting Maven VCT 2 Shareholders).
The Merger Value will be calculated as:
E – F ––––– G
where:
E = the unaudited net assets of the Company as at the Scheme Calculation Date (taken from the Company's unaudited management accounts to that date), plus or minus any adjustment that the Board and the Maven VCT 2 Board consider appropriate to reflect any other actual or contingent benefit or liability of the Company;
F = the costs of the Scheme to be apportioned to the Company (by reference to the Roll-Over Value and the Merger Value, but ignoring merger costs); and
G = the number of Shares in issue as at close of business on the Scheme Record Date.
The number of Scheme Shares to be issued to Maven VCT 2 Shareholders (save for any dissenting Maven VCT 2 Shareholders) will be calculated as follows:
H x J —
I
where:
H = the Roll-Over Value;
I = the Merger Value; and
J = the number of Maven VCT 2 Shares in issue as at close of business on the Scheme Record Date (save for any Maven VCT 2 Shares held by dissenting Maven VCT 2 Shareholders).
The Scheme Shares will be issued directly to Maven VCT 2 Shareholders (but not to dissenting Maven VCT 2 Shareholders, if any), in each case pro rata to their existing holdings of Maven VCT 2 Shares on the instruction of the Liquidators.
The merger ratios used to allocate the Scheme Shares to each Maven VCT 2 Shareholder will be rounded down to six decimal places and entitlements will be rounded down to the nearest whole number and any fractional entitlements per Maven VCT 2 Shareholder (which will not exceed £5) will be aggregated and sold, with the proceeds retained for the benefit of the Enlarged Company.
The Company will not issue the Scheme Shares until the report prepared by Scott-Moncrieff under CA 2006 in respect of the Scheme has been provided to the Company and sent to Shareholders and Maven VCT 2 Shareholders.
Based on the formulae but using a NAV per share of 72.31p and 35.28p for the Company and Maven VCT 2 respectively (being the latest published unaudited NAVs of the Company as at the date of this document), 0.488 Scheme Shares would have been issued to Maven VCT 2 Shareholders for every Maven VCT 2 Share held (assuming no dissenting Maven VCT 2 Shareholders) had the Merger been completed on 31 July 2018.
Where Maven VCT 2 Shareholders hold their Maven VCT 2 Shares in certificated form, they will receive a new certificate for the Scheme Shares issued. Where Maven VCT 2 Shareholders hold their Maven VCT 2 Shares in uncertificated form, their CREST accounts will be credited with the holding in Scheme Shares. Maven VCT 2 Shareholders should continue to retain their share certificates in Maven VCT 2 for record keeping purposes, but once the Merger has completed they will cease to have any value.
An application has been made to the UKLA for the Scheme Shares to be issued pursuant to the Scheme to be listed on the premium segment of the Official List and will be made to the London Stock Exchange for such Scheme Shares to be admitted to trading on its main market for listed securities. From the date of issue, the Scheme Shares will rank pari passu with each other.
All existing dividend mandate instructions in respect of non-dissenting Maven VCT 2 Shareholders will transfer automatically to the Company and be applied to their resulting shareholdings. Similarly, any previous request for participation in the suspended DIS operated by Maven VCT 2 will also transfer automatically to the Company and be applied to the resulting shareholding within its operational DIS with immediate effect.
The following paragraphs apply to the Company and to persons holding Shares as an investment in the Company who are the absolute beneficial owners of such Shares and are resident in the UK. They may not apply to certain classes of persons, such as dealers in securities. The following information is based on current UK law and practice, is subject to changes therein, is given by way of general summary and does not constitute legal or tax advice.
If you are in any doubt about your position, or if you may be subject to tax in a jurisdiction other than the UK, you should consult your financial adviser.
The implementation of the Scheme should not affect the VCT reliefs obtained by Shareholders on subscription for existing Shares. The implementation of the Scheme should not affect the status of the Company as a VCT. It is the intention of the Board to continue to comply with the requirements of ITA 2007 so as to continue to qualify as a VCT.
The receipt by Maven VCT 2 Shareholders of Scheme Shares should not constitute a disposal of their Maven VCT 2 Shares for UK tax purposes. Maven VCT 2 Shareholders should, for UK tax purposes, effectively be able to treat the Scheme Shares received as if they had been acquired at the same cost and on the same date as the original Maven VCT 2 Shares from which they derive (but with that cost allocated proportionately between such resulting Scheme Shares). Any initial income tax relief obtained and attaching to the original Maven VCT 2 Shares will not, therefore, be subject to clawback, but instead will then attach to the Scheme Shares.
As the Company is also a VCT, the usual VCT tax reliefs should continue to apply. As a result, qualifying Shareholders should continue to receive tax-free dividends and should not be subject to UK taxation on any capital gains on the disposal of Scheme Shares.
For those Maven VCT 2 Shareholders holding (together with their associates) more than 5% of the Maven VCT 2 Shares in issue, clearance has been obtained from HMRC in terms of Section 138 of TCGA 1992 that the tax treatment described above should also apply to them.
Maven VCT 2 Shareholders who do not vote in favour of the resolution to be proposed at the Maven VCT 2 First General Meeting are entitled to dissent and have their shareholding purchased by the Liquidators at a price agreed between the dissenting Maven VCT 2 Shareholders and the Liquidators (or by arbitration), which is expected to be at a significant reduction to the most recently published net asset value of a Maven VCT 2 Share. In addition, a purchase of Maven VCT 2 Shares by the Liquidators from a dissenting Maven VCT 2 Shareholder will be regarded as a disposal of such Maven VCT 2 Shares for tax purposes, thereby triggering the repayment of any income tax relief on Maven VCT 2 Shares subscribed for in the five years prior to purchase. The sale price received may not be sufficient to cover the amount of any repayment due.
Although the Company will be required to pay UK stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax on the transfer to it of certain assets of Maven VCT 2 (which forms part of the merger costs), no UK stamp duty will be payable directly by Shareholders as a result of the implementation of the Scheme.
Clearance has been obtained from HMRC in respect of the Scheme under Section 701 ITA 2007 confirming that the receipt of Scheme Shares should, except in the case of dealers, be regarded as an income receipt for the purposes of UK taxation.
Clearance has also been obtained from HMRC confirming that the Scheme meets the requirements of the Merger Regulations and that, as such, the receipt by Maven VCT 2 Shareholders of Scheme Shares should not prejudice tax reliefs obtained by those Maven VCT 2 Shareholders on existing Maven VCT 2 Shares and should not be regarded as a disposal.
The Finance Act 2014 restricts income tax relief on subscription to a VCT after 5 April 2014 where, within 6 months (before or after), the investor had disposed of shares in that VCT or in a VCT which at the time of the subscription or disposal was known to be seeking a merger with that VCT. A receipt of Scheme Shares pursuant to the Merger is not a subscription to the Company for these purposes but Shareholders who have recently subscribed for or disposed of shares in the Company or Maven VCT 2 should note this.
The Directors of the Company are responsible for the determination of the Company's investment objective and policy and have overall responsibility for the Company's activities including the review of investment activity and performance. The Directors of the Company, together with the Manager, intend to maintain the VCT status of the Company and, in this regard, recognise its critical importance to existing and potential Shareholders of the Company. The Board has put in place procedures designed to ensure that VCT status is maintained and monitored closely through the provision of regular reports from the Manager on the status of the Company against the various conditions that the Company must meet in order to maintain its VCT status.
The Directors have established an ongoing formal process to ensure that risk exposure is reviewed regularly. As part of this regular review, the Board assesses its service providers in order to improve both service standards and value for money. The Directors are all non-executive and (with the exception of Bill Nixon, the managing partner of Maven) are all independent of the Manager, and all have relevant experience of similar investment funds, regulatory organisations, corporate governance of listed companies, the private equity industry and/or investee companies. Bill Nixon is, therefore, interested in those contracts with the Company referred to in paragraph 4 (a-e) of Part Seven of this document.
The Listing Rules require premium-listed companies, such as the Company, to include in the annual report a statement of how they apply the principles of good corporate governance set out in the UK Corporate Governance Code (the Code) and whether or not they have complied with the best practice provisions set out in the Code throughout the accounting period. Where any of the provisions have not been complied with, the relevant company must state the provisions in question, the period within which non-compliance occurred and the reasons for non-compliance.
For the financial year ended 31 December 2017 and as at the date of this document, the Company has complied with the main principles of the Code, except where noted below.
The areas and reasons for non-compliance of the Company from the provisions of the Code are set out below:
The Code has been revised in respect of accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019.
The Board currently consists of four non-executive Directors. All of the Directors, with the exception of Bill Nixon the managing partner of Maven, are considered to be independent of the Manager. The Board is responsible for overseeing the investment strategy of the Company. The Board has wide experience of investment in both smaller private companies and quoted companies. It is proposed that, on completion of the Merger, Peter Linthwaite (currently an independent director of Maven VCT 2) will also join the Board.
Ian spent 30 years at Citigroup (formerly Citibank), occupying a number of senior positions in the bank including country head (CCO) for Citicorp in the UK, chairman of Citibank International and the position of co-head of global financial institutions. After Citigroup, he spent two years at AIG Inc where he was chief executive of insurance, financial services and asset management businesses in Europe. He holds a number of directorships, including The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, National Westminster Bank plc, Hasting Group Holdings plc and Just plc.
Malcolm began his career with Wood Mackenzie in 1979 as a financial analyst and then spent 12 years at James Capel, after which he became head of equities at Williams de Broe. He is a founding partner of Hydrocarbon Capital, which provides independent advisory services to the oil and gas sector.
Bill is managing partner of Maven and has over 35 years' experience in banking and private equity. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland and obtained an MBA from Strathclyde University in 1996. In the 1990's, Bill was head of the private equity business at Clydesdale Bank plc, then a subsidiary of National Australia Bank, before joining Aberdeen in 1999. In 2004, he was appointed as principal fund manager to all Aberdeen managed VCTs. In 2009, Bill and his senior colleagues led a management buyout from Aberdeen to form Maven. As well as the Company, he is a director of Maven VCT 2, Maven Income and Growth VCT 3 PLC and Maven Income and Growth VCT 6 PLC.
Steven is a qualified Chartered Accountant. He worked in the Bank of Scotland Structured Finance Group before becoming a director of Royal Bank Development Capital, the private equity division of The Royal Bank of Scotland plc. In 1999, he founded Penta Capital, an independent UK private equity manager with over £300 million under management and specialising in buy-and-build investments in the UK.
Peter oversees the portfolio of private equity fund investments of The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Limited. He has over 25 years of private equity experience and was chief executive of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA) from 2005 to 2007. He is a Director of Maven VCT2.
Steven Scott is Chairman of the Audit Committee, which operates within clearly defined terms of reference. The Audit Committee examines the annual or half-yearly reports and financial statements and, when considering the annual reports, reviews the scope of the audit and the auditor's report to the Board. Historically, the Audit Committee has also reviewed the internal controls, but in future this will be covered by the Risk Committee. The Company also has in place a policy governing and controlling the provision of non-audit services by the external auditor, so as to safeguard the independence and objectivity. The Shareholders are asked to approve the re-appointment, and the Directors' responsibility for the remuneration, of the auditor at each annual general meeting. Any non-audit work, other than interim reviews, requires the specific approval of the Audit Committee in each case. Non-audit work, where independence may be compromised or conflicts arise, is prohibited and the Audit Committee considers the external auditor to be independent.
The Management Engagement Committee is chaired by Ian Cormack and, on an annual basis, reviews the management contract with the Manager.
Ian Cormack is Chairman of the Nomination Committee, which makes recommendations to the Board on matters, including the evaluation of the performance of the Board and its committees, succession planning and the identification and nomination of candidates to fill Board vacancies, as and when they arise, for the approval of the Board. The performance of the Board, committees and individual Directors is evaluated through an assessment process, led by the Chairman of the Company, and the performance of the Chairman of the Company is evaluated by the other Directors.
Malcolm Graham-Wood is Chairman of the Risk Committee, which comprises the full Board. At least one meeting is held each quarter and further at such times as required by the Board. The principal function of the Risk Committee is to review the Company's risk management systems which allow the Company to identify measure, manage and monitor all risks on a continuous basis.
Where a VCT has only non-executive directors, the Code principles relating to directors' remuneration do not apply. The Company does not have a remuneration committee. Matters relating to remuneration policy and the Directors' remuneration are dealt with by the Board as a whole. The level of remuneration for the Directors has been set in order to attract and retain individuals of a calibre appropriate to the future development of the Company.
The Directors and the Proposed Director are currently, or have been within the last five years, a member of the administrative, management or supervisory bodies or partners of the companies and partnerships mentioned below:
| Past directorships/partnerships | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Current directorships/partnerships | (five years) |
| Ian Cormack | BTO II Offshore Feeder Fund LP CRP Opportunities Fund LP Hastings Group Holdings Plc HH Pre-IPO Offshore Feeder Fund II LP Hub Financial Solutions Limited Hub Pension Solutions Limited Just Group Plc Just Retirement Limited Just Retirement Money Limited Maven Income and Growth VCT PLC 4 National Angels Limited* NatWest Holdings Limited National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company Partnership Assurance Group Limited Partnership Home Loans Limited Partnership Life Assurance Company Limited Pimco Bravo Special Offshore Feeder Fund LP Revel Venture Fund II LP The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company Ulster Bank, Limited |
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Phoenix Group Holdings Phoenix Life Holdings Limited Xchanging Limited |
| Past directorships/partnerships | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Current directorships/partnerships | (five years) |
| Malcolm Graham-Wood |
Maven Income and Growth VCT 4 PLC |
|
| Hydrocarbon Capital Limited | ||
| Bill Nixon | Constant Progress Limited Dalglen (No. 1030) Limited Dalglen (NO.1148) Limited Finance Durham GP Limited GMLF GP Limited Maven Capital Cardiff Trustee Limited Maven Capital GCM Limited Maven Capital Investments Limited Maven Capital (Llandudno) LLP Maven Capital Partners UK LLP Maven Capital Security Trustee Limited Maven Capital (Telfer House) LLP Maven Co-Invest GP Limited Maven GMLF CI LLP Maven GPC0 1 Limited Maven GPC0 2 Limited Maven Income and Growth VCT 2 PLC Maven Income and Growth VCT 3 PLC Maven Income and Growth VCT 4 PLC Maven Income and Growth VCT 6 PLC Maven NEDF GP Limited Maven Nominee Limited Maven MEIF (EM) CIP LLP Maven MEIF (EM) GP (ONE) Limited Maven MEIF (WM) CIP LLP Maven MEIF (WM) GP (ONE) Limited Maven Property CI LLP Maven SLF CI LLP Maven SLF FP Limited NPIF NW Equity Carried Interest LLP NPIF NW Equity (GP) Limited SLF GP Limited VC Retail Limited Vectis Technology Limited |
Cardoness Capital Limited (Dissolved) Airth Capital Limited (Dissolved) Almecam Holdings Ltd Blackford Capital Limited (Dissolved) CFE A FP General Partner Limited (Dissolved) CFE A General Partner Limited (Dissolved) Corinthian Foods Limited (Dissolved) Finance Durham LP Kelvinlea Limited (Dissolved) Linnfield Capital Management Limited (Dissolved) Linnfield Investment Limited (Dissolved) Maven MEIF (EM) GP Limited (Dissolved) Maven MEIF (WM) GP Limited (Dissolved) Moriond Limited (Dissolved) NPIF NW Equity (CI) Limited (Dissolved) Ortus VCT Plc (Dissolved)* Staffa Capital Limited (Dissolved) |
| Steven Scott | BDL Select Hotels Limited BDL Select Operations Limited Daisy Group Holdings Limited Dropapp Limited Global Risk Partners Limited Heritage Park S6 Limited Mabec (Nottingham) Limited Maven Capital (Llandudno) LLP Maven Income and Growth VCT PLC 4 MP Derby Road Limited Paten & Co Limited |
Daisy Group Limited Daisy Finco Limited Daisy Midco Limited Daisy Pikco Limited Endura Ltd Ensco 948 Limited (Dissolved)* ID Support Services Group Limited (Dissolved) IQSA Nottingham Holding Company Limited Junior Golf Plus (Dissolved)* MP Newlands Limited |
Steven Scott (Continued)
Paten Hotels Limited Penta 2011 SP Limited Penta 2012 SP Limited Penta Capital Investments Limited Penta Capital Investments 2016 LLP Penta Capital LLP Penta Capital Partners Limited Penta Capital SP GP Limited Penta Co-Invest GP Limited Penta Co-Investment (2008) Limited Partnership Penta ESOP Trustee Limited Penta Founder Limited Penta Fund I GP Limited Penta GP Holdings Limited Penta GPCO Limited Penta Investments (2008) SP Limited Partnership Penta Investments (2012) SP Limited Partnership Penta Investments (2013) SP Limited Partnership Penta Investments (2014) Limited Partnership Penta Investments (2016) SP Limited Partnership Penta Investments SP Limited Partnership Penta Partner Limited Penta Private Equity Limited Penta Tour Limited Partnership Penta TPE GP Limited Partnership Penta TPE Limited Pentech Fund I Co-Investment Limited Partnership Seneca Asset Managers Limited Seneca Investment Managers Limited Thames Tower Lease Limited Tosca Mill Limited Tosca Penta Endeavour LP Tosca Penta Media Limited Tosca Penta Property LP Toscafield Leicester Limited Toscafield Property Limited Toscafield Property 2 Limited
Peter Linthwaite
Maven Income and Growth VCT 2 PLC Sephton Park Fund 1 Carry LP The North London Collegiate School
MP Newtown Limited Newlands Studios Limited Newtown Studios Limited Penta 2011 Limited (Dissolved)*** Penta 2012 Limited (Dissolved)*** Penta Capital GP (2009) Limited Partnership (Dissolved) Penta Co-Investment 2011 GP Limited (Dissolved)*** Penta Enterprises LP (Dissolved) Penta Founder (2012) Limited Partnership (Dissolved) Penta Fund I SP Limited Partnership (Dissolved) Penta Fund I SP (2005) Limited Partnership (Dissolved) Penta General Partner Limited Partnership (Dissolved) Penta GP 2011 Limited Partnership (Dissolved) Penta GP 2012 Limited Partnership (Dissolved) Penta GP LP (2009) Limited (Dissolved)*** Penta Investments (2009) SP LP (Dissolved) Penta Investments (2010) SP Limited Partnership (Dissolved) Penta Investments (2011) SP Limited Partnership (Dissolved) Penta TPI GP Limited Partnership (Dissolved) Penta TPI Limited (Dissolved)*** Penta TPI SP Limited (Dissolved)*** Six Degrees Holdings Limited TOSCA Acquisition Limited (Dissolved)*** Troon Investments Limited (Dissolved)***
350 Investment Partners LLP Acoustic Sensing Technology (UK) LTD CTIP Founder Partner Limited CTIP GP Limited ELR Northwest Limited RL Private Equity SBS Fund LP
* The company is in members' voluntary liquidation.
** The company was dissolved after a members' voluntary liquidation.
Save for those companies referred to in the tables above, and the disclosures set out below, there were no bankruptcies, receiverships or liquidations of any companies or partnership where any of the Directors or the Proposed Director were acting as: (i) a member of the administrative, management or supervisory body; (ii) a partner with unlimited liability, in the case of a limited partnership with a share capital; (iii) a founder where the company had been established for fewer than five years; or (iv) a senior manager, during the previous five years.
Maven Capital Partners UK LLP is appointed as the Company's investment manager and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Reg. No. 495929). It took over the management of the Company when senior members of the private equity division of Aberdeen Asset Management bought out that business. That team had been solely responsible for VCT activities at Aberdeen since October 2004. The key staff and services provided were unchanged on transfer to Maven.
Maven Capital Partners UK LLP is a limited liability partnership incorporated and registered in England and Wales on 14 August 2008 under number OC339387 pursuant to the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000. The registered office is Fifth Floor, 1-2 Royal Exchange Buildings, London, EC3V 3LF. Maven's principal place of business is Kintyre House, 205 West George Street, Glasgow G2 2LW (telephone number 0141 306 7400). Maven is authorised to advise on and manage investments, arrange deals in investments and to make arrangements with a view to transactions in investments. The principal legislation under which Maven operates is the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2000 and the applicable provisions of CA 2006 (and regulations made thereunder).
The Manager is controlled by five individual partners: Bill Nixon, Andrew Craig, Stella Panu, Andrew Ferguson and Bill Kennedy.
As a result of recent significant expansion, the Manager now employs over 35 investment and portfolio executives staff throughout its network of 11 offices nationwide.
Maven is paid the following fees in respect of its appointment as Manager, administrator and secretary of the Company.
Maven is entitled to an annual investment management fee of 2.5% per annum of the net asset value of the Company, payable quarterly in arrears and exclusive of VAT (if any).
Maven is also entitled to a performance incentive fee for each six month period ending 30 June and 31 December of an amount equal to 20% of any increase in the total return (before applying any performance incentive fee) as at the end of the relevant six month period to the total return (after accruing for the performance incentive fee payable for that period) compared to the end of the last six month period on which a performance incentive fee was paid. Total return for these purposes means net asset value, adjusted for dividends, share buy-backs and share issues since the period in which the last performance incentive fee was paid.
Fees are exclusive of VAT (if any).
Maven is entitled to an annual fee for the provision of company secretarial and administrative services (which amounted to £79,000 for the year ended 31 December 2017 and increasing to £100,000 on completion of the Merger). This fee is subject to annual adjustment by reference to increases in the Consumer Prices Index, is payable quarterly in arrears and is exclusive of VAT (if any). In relation to the Merger, Maven is entitled to a merger administrative and secretarial services fee from the Company and Maven VCT 2 (for an aggregate amount of £100,000) for services to be provided under the terms of their investment management agreements.
The total management and administrative expenses are capped at 3.5% of the Company's net asset value at the end of the relevant financial period (calculated before the deduction of management and administration expenses). All regulatory, compliance and any exceptional items such as merger or performance incentive fees in respect of that year are excluded from the cap.
Maven also receives fees from investee companies for arranging transactions, monitoring business progress and providing non-executive directors for their boards.
The following section contains a description of the investment policy of the Company as at the date of this document.
The Company aims to achieve long-term capital appreciation and generate income for its Shareholders.
The Company intends to achieve its objective by:
The Company manages and minimises investment risk by:
The following paragraphs apply to the Company and to individuals holding Shares as an investment who are the absolute beneficial owners of such Shares and who are resident in the UK. They may not apply to certain classes of individuals, such as dealers in securities. The following information is based on current UK law and practice, is subject to changes therein, is given by way of general summary and does not constitute legal or tax advice.
If you are in any doubt about your position, or if you may be subject to tax in a jurisdiction other than the UK, you should consult your financial adviser.
The tax reliefs set out below are available to individuals aged 18 or over who receive Scheme Shares.
The Company has obtained approval as a VCT under Chapter 3 of Part 6 ITA 2007.
The Board considers that the Company has conducted its affairs, and will continue to do so, to enable it to qualify as a VCT.
Clearance has been obtained from HMRC in respect of the Scheme under Section 701 ITA 2007 confirming that the receipt of the Scheme Shares should not, except in the case of dealers, be regarded as an income receipt for the purposes of UK taxation.
Clearance has been obtained from HMRC confirming that the Scheme meets the requirements of the Merger Regulations and as such the receipt by Maven VCT 2 Shareholders of Scheme Shares should not prejudice tax reliefs obtained by the Maven VCT 2 Shareholders on existing Maven VCT 2 Shares and should not be regarded as a disposal.
The implementation of the Scheme should not affect the VCT reliefs obtained by Shareholders on subscription for existing Shares. The implementation of the Scheme should not affect status of the Company as a VCT. It is the intention of the Board to continue to comply with the requirements of the ITA 2007 so as to continue to qualify as a VCT.
Shareholders not resident in the UK should seek their own professional advice as to the consequences of making and holding an investment in the Company, as they may be subject to tax in other jurisdictions as well as in the UK.
The receipt by Maven VCT 2 Shareholders of Scheme Shares should not constitute a disposal of their Maven VCT 2 Shares for UK tax purposes. Maven VCT 2 Shareholders should, for UK tax purposes, effectively be able to treat the Scheme Shares received pursuant to the Scheme as if they had acquired at the same cost and on the same date as the original Maven VCT 2 Shares from which they derive (but allocated proportionately between such resulting Scheme Shares). Any initial income tax relief obtained and attaching to the original Maven VCT 2 Shares will not, therefore, be subject to clawback, but instead will then attach to the Scheme Shares. As the Company is also a VCT, the usual VCT tax implications should continue to apply. As a result, qualifying Shareholders should continue to receive tax free dividends and should not be subject to UK taxation on any capital gains on the disposal of Scheme Shares.
For those Maven VCT 2 Shareholders holding (together with their associates) more than 5% of the Maven VCT 2 Shares in issue, clearance has been obtained from HMRC in terms of Section 138 of TCGA 1992 confirming that the tax treatment described above for persons who (together with their associates) own less than 5% of the Maven VCT 2 Shares should also apply to them.
Maven VCT 2 Shareholders who do not vote in favour of the Resolution to be proposed at the Maven VCT 2 First General Meeting are entitled to dissent and have their shareholding purchased by the Liquidators at a price agreed between the dissenting Maven VCT 2 Shareholders and the Liquidators (or by arbitration), which is expected to be at a significant reduction to the net asset value of a Maven VCT 2 Share. In addition, Maven VCT 2 Shareholders should note that a purchase of Maven VCT 2 Shares by the Liquidators from dissenting Maven VCT 2 Shareholders will be regarded as a disposal of such Maven VCT 2 Shares for tax purposes, thereby triggering the repayment of any income tax relief on Maven VCT 2 Shares subscribed for in the five years prior to purchase. The sale price received may not be sufficient to cover the amount of payment due.
Although the Company will be required to pay UK stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax on the transfer to it of certain of the assets of Maven VCT 2 (which form part of the merger costs), no UK stamp duty will be payable directly by Shareholders as a result of the implementation of the Scheme.
The Directors Maven Income and Growth VCT 4 PLC Kintyre House 205 West George Street Glasgow G2 2LW
Howard Kennedy Corporate Services LLP No. 1 London Bridge London SE1 9BG
5 October 2018
Dear Sirs
We report on the pro forma financial information (the "Pro Forma Financial Information") set out in Parts A and B of Part Four of the prospectus dated 5 October 2018 (the "Prospectus") of Maven Income and Growth VCT 4 PLC, which has been prepared on the basis described in the notes to the Pro Forma Financial Information, for illustrative purposes only, to provide information about how the Merger (as defined in the Prospectus) might have affected the financial information presented on the basis of the accounting policies adopted by the Company in preparing the unaudited half yearly report for the six month period ended 30 June 2018. This report is required by item 20.2 of Annex I of the Commission Regulation (EC) No. 809/2004 (the "PD Regulation") and is given for the purpose of complying with that item and for no other purpose.
Save for any responsibility arising under paragraph 20.2 of Annex I of Appendix 3.1.1 of the Prospectus Rules to any person as and to the extent there provided, to the fullest extent permitted by law we do not assume any responsibility and will not accept any liability to any other person for any loss suffered by any such other person as a result of, arising out of, or in connection with this report or our statement, and given solely for the purposes of complying with paragraph 20.2 of Annex I of Appendix 3.1.1 of the Prospectus Rules, or consenting to its inclusion in the Prospectus.
It is the responsibility of the directors of the Company (the "Directors") to prepare the Pro Forma Financial Information in accordance with item 20.2 of Annex I of the PD Regulation.
It is our responsibility to form an opinion, as required by item 7 of Annex II of the PD Regulation, as to the proper compilation of the Pro Forma Financial Information and to report that opinion to you.
Save for any responsibility arising under Prospectus Rule 5.5.3R(2)(f) to any person as and to the extent there provided, to the fullest extent permitted by the law we do not assume any responsibility and will not accept any liability to any other person for any loss suffered by any such other person as a result of, arising out of, or in connection with this report or our statement, which are included, in the form and context in which they are included, with our consent and with our having authorised the contents of this Part Four, required by and given solely for the purposes of complying with item 23.1 of annex 1 of the PD Regulation.
In providing this opinion we are not updating or refreshing any reports or opinions previously made by us on any financial information used in the compilation of the Pro Forma Financial Information, nor do we accept responsibility for such reports or opinions beyond that owed to those to whom those reports or opinions were addressed by us at the dates of their issue.
We conducted our work in accordance with the Standards for Investment Reporting issued by the Financial Reporting Council in the United Kingdom. The work that we performed for the purpose of making this report, which involved no independent examination of any of the underlying financial information, consisted primarily of comparing the unadjusted financial information with the source documents, considering the evidence supporting the adjustments and discussing the Pro Forma Financial Information with the directors of the Company.
We planned and performed our work so as to obtain the information and explanations we considered necessary in order to provide us with reasonable assurance that the Pro Forma Financial Information has been properly compiled on the basis stated and that such basis is consistent with the accounting policies of the Company.
Our work has not been carried out in accordance with auditing or other standards and practices generally accepted in any jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom and accordingly should not be relied upon as if it had been carried out in accordance with those other standards and practices.
In our opinion:
For the purposes of Prospectus Rule 5.5.3R(2)(f) we are responsible for this report as part of the Prospectus and declare that we have taken all reasonable care to ensure that the information contained in this report is, to the best of our knowledge, in accordance with the facts and contains no omission likely to affect its import. This declaration is included in the Prospectus in compliance with item 1.2 of Annex I and item 1.2 of Annex III of Appendix 3.1.1 of the Prospectus Rules.
Yours faithfully
25 Bothwell Street Glasgow G2 6NL
The following unaudited pro forma statement of earnings of the Enlarged Company has been prepared to illustrate the effect of the Merger on the earnings of the Company for the six month period ended 30 June 2018 as if the Merger had occurred at the start of the period, 1 January 2018. The earnings for Maven Income and Growth VCT 2 PLC are for the year ended 31 January 2018.
The unaudited pro forma statement of earnings has been prepared for illustrative purposes only and, because of its nature, addresses a hypothetical situation and does not, therefore, represent Maven Income and Growth VCT 4 PLC's actual financial position or results nor is it indicative of the results that may or may not be expected to be achieved in the future.
The unaudited pro forma statement of earnings is based on the earnings of Maven Income and Growth VCT 4 PLC for the six month period ended 30 June 2018 as set out in the unaudited half yearly report of the Company for that period which is incorporated by reference in Part Five of this document and has been prepared in a manner consistent with the accounting policies adopted by Maven Income and Growth VCT 4 PLC in preparing such information and on the basis set out in the notes set out below.
| Maven | Maven | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income and Income and | ||||
| Growth | Growth | Merger | ||
| VCT 4 PLC VCT 2 PLC | Costs | Pro forma | ||
| (Note 1) | (Note 2) | (Note 3) | total | |
| £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | |
| Realised gain on disposal of fixed asset | ||||
| investments | 192 | 1,137 | – | 1,329 |
| Fixed asset investment holding gains/(losses) | 198 | (1,825) | – | (1,627) |
| Current asset investment holding gains | – | – | – | – |
| Investment income | 325 | 678 | – | 1,003 |
| Other income | 9 | 9 | – | 18 |
| Investment management fees | (459) | (449) | – | (908) |
| Other expenses | (124) | (249) | (429) | (802) |
| Return on ordinary activities before tax | –––––––– 141 |
–––––––– (699) |
–––––––– (429) |
–––––––– (987) |
| Taxation on return of ordinary activities | – | – | – | – |
| Return on ordinary activities after tax | –––––––– 141 |
–––––––– (699) |
–––––––– (429) |
–––––––– (987) |
| –––––––– | –––––––– | –––––––– | –––––––– |
The following unaudited pro forma statement of net assets of the Enlarged Company has been prepared to illustrate the effect on the net assets of Maven Income and Growth VCT 4 PLC as if the Merger had taken place on 1 January 2018. The unaudited net assets of Maven Income and Growth VCT 2 PLC are stated as at 31 January 2018.
The unaudited pro forma statement of net assets has been prepared for illustrative purposes only and, because of its nature, addresses a hypothetical situation and does not, therefore, represent the Company's actual financial position or results.
The unaudited pro forma statement of net assets is based on the net assets of the Company as at 30 June 2018, as set out in the unaudited half yearly report of the Company for the six month period ended 30 June 2018 which is incorporated by reference in Part Five of this document and has been prepared in a manner consistent with the accounting policies adopted by the Company in preparing such information and on the basis set out in the notes set out below.
| Maven | Maven | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income and Income and | ||||
| Growth | Growth | Merger | ||
| VCT 4 PLC VCT 2 PLC | Costs | Pro forma | ||
| (Note 1) | (Note 2) | (Note 3) | total | |
| £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | |
| Fixed asset investments | 20,723 | 12,276 | – | 32,999 |
| Current assets: | ||||
| Money market funds | – | – | – | – |
| Debtors | 939 | 315 | – | 1,254 |
| Cash at bank | 20,385 | 3,764 | – | 24,149 |
| –––––––– 21,324 |
–––––––– 4,079 |
–––––––– – |
–––––––– 25,403 |
|
| Creditors | (305) | (34) | (429) | (768) |
| Net current assets | –––––––– 21,019 |
–––––––– 4,045 |
–––––––– (429) |
–––––––– 24,635 |
| Net assets | –––––––– 41,742 |
–––––––– 16,321 |
–––––––– (429) |
–––––––– 57,634 |
| –––––––– | –––––––– | –––––––– | –––––––– |
The Company has produced annual statutory accounts for the three financial years ended 31 December 2015, 31 December 2016 and 31 December 2017 and unaudited accounts for the six months ended on 30 June 2017 and 30 June 2018. The auditor of the Company, Deloitte LLP of 110 Queen Street, Glasgow, G1 3BX, has reported on these statutory accounts without qualification and without statements under Sections 495 to 497 of CA 2006.
These statutory accounts were prepared in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 102, the fair value rules of CA 2006 and the Statement of Recommended Practice 'Financial Statements of Investment Trust Companies and Venture Capital Trusts'. The annual reports contain a description of the Company's financial condition, changes in financial condition and results of operation for each relevant financial year and are being incorporated by reference and can be accessed at the following website: www.mavencp.com/migvct4.
Where these documents make reference to other documents, such other documents are not incorporated into and do not form part of this document. Those parts of the annual statutory accounts or the half yearly reports referred to above which are not being incorporated into this document by reference are either not relevant for investors or are covered elsewhere in this document.
Such information includes the following:
| 30 June | 30 June | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2017 | 2018 | |
| Annual | Annual | Interim | Annual | Interim | |
| Description | Report | Report | Report | Report | Report |
| Balance sheet | Page 58 | Page 56 | Page 21 | Page 59 | Page 21 |
| Income statement (or equivalent) | Page 57 | Page 55 | Page 19 | Page 57 | Page 19 |
| Statement showing all changes in | |||||
| equity (or equivalent note) | Page 57 | Page 55 | Page 20 | Page 58 | Page 20 |
| Cash flow statement | Page 59 | Page 57 | Page 22 | Page 60 | Page 22 |
| Notes to the financial statements | Pages 60 - 72 Pages 58 - 68 | Page 23 Pages 61 - 71 | Page 23 | ||
| Auditor's report | Pages 52 - 55 Pages 49 - 53 | N/A Pages 50 - 55 | N/A |
The Company's published annual reports for the three financial years ended 31 December 2015, 31 December 2016 and 31 December 2017 and unaudited accounts for the six months ended on 30 June 2017 and 30 June 2018 contain, on the pages specified in the table below, descriptions of the Company's financial condition (in both capital and revenue terms), details of its investment activity and portfolio exposure and changes in its financial condition for each of those periods:
| 30 June | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | ||
| Annual | Annual | Interim | Annual | Interim |
| Report | Report | |||
| Page 13 | Page 2 | |||
| Pages 5 - 6 | Pages 5 - 6 | |||
| Pages 5 - 6 | Pages 5 - 6 | |||
| Page 13 | Page 13 | N/A | ||
| Pages 9 - 11 | Pages 9 - 11 | N/A | ||
| Pages 7 - 12 | ||||
| Page 15 | Page 15 | N/A | ||
| 2015 Report Page 13 Pages 5 - 6 Pages 5 - 6 Page 13 Pages 9 - 11 Page 15 |
2017 Report Report Page 13 Pages 5 - 6 Pages 5 - 6 Pages 18 - 24 Pages 18 - 23 |
30 June Page 2 Pages 5 - 6 Pages 5 - 6 N/A N/A Pages 8 - 12 Pages 18 - 23 Pages 31 - 32 Pages 30 - 31 Pages 13 - 15 Pages 30 - 32 Pages 13 - 15 N/A |
The key figures that summarise the Company's financial position in respect of the three financial years ended 31 December 2015, 31 December 2016 and 31 December 2017 and the six months ended 30 June 2017 and 30 June 2018 which have been extracted without material adjustment from the historical financial information referred to above, are set out in the following table:
| 30 June | 30 June | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2017 | 2018 | |
| Annual | Annual | Interim | Annual | Interim | |
| Description | Report | Report | Report | Report | Report |
| Net return on ordinary activities | |||||
| before taxation (£'000) | 3,004 | 1,008 | 107 | 887 | 141 |
| Earnings per Share (p) | 8.90 | 3.04 | 0.32 | 2.67 | 0.30 |
| Dividends declared per Share (p) | 5.25 | 5.25 | 3.05 | 12.45 | 13.7 |
| Net assets (£'000) | 33,876 | 32,568 | 31,471 | 31,874 | 41,742 |
| NAV per Share (p) | 101.01 | 99.00 | 96.35 | 85.97 | 72.31 |
The unaudited NAV as at 30 June 2018 (being the most recent NAV per Share announced by the Company prior to the publication of this document) was 72.31p per Share.
There has been no significant change in the financial or trading position of the Company since 30 June 2018 (being the last date up to which the Company has published unaudited half-yearly financial information).
Maven VCT 2 has produced annual statutory accounts for the three financial years ended 31 January 2016, 31 January 2017 and 31 January 2018. The auditor of Maven VCT 2, Deloitte LLP of 110 Queen Street, Glasgow, G1 3BX, has reported on these statutory accounts without qualification and without statements under Sections 495 to 497 of CA 2006.
These statutory accounts were prepared in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 102, the fair value rules of CA 2006 and the Statement of Recommended Practice 'Financial Statements of Investment Trust Companies and Venture Capital Trusts'. The annual reports contain a description of Maven VCT 2's financial condition, changes in financial condition and results of operation for each relevant financial year and are being incorporated by reference and can be accessed at the following website: www.mavencp.com/migvct2.
Where these documents make reference to other documents, such other documents are not incorporated into and do not form part of this document. Those parts of the annual statutory accounts or the half yearly reports referred to above which are not being incorporated into this document by reference are either not relevant for investors or are covered elsewhere in this document.
Such information includes the following:
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | Annual | Annual | |
| Description | Report | Report | Report |
| Balance sheet | Page 57 | Page 56 | Page 58 |
| Income statement (or equivalent) | Page 56 | Page 55 | Page 56 |
| Statement showing all changes in equity | |||
| (or equivalent note) | Page 56 | Page 55 | Page 57 |
| Cash flow statements | Page 58 | Page 57 | Page 59 |
| Notes to the financial statements | Pages 59 - 71 Pages 58 - 68 Pages 60 - 70 | ||
| Auditor's report | Pages 51 - 54 Pages 49 - 53 Pages 49 - 54 |
Maven VCT 2's published annual reports for the three financial years ended 31 January 2016, 31 January 2017 and 31 January 2018 contain, on the pages specified in the table below, descriptions of Maven VCT 2's financial condition (in both capital and revenue terms), details of its investment activity and portfolio exposure and changes in its financial condition for each of those periods:
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | Annual | Annual | |
| Description | Report | Report | Report |
| Objective | Page 13 | Page 13 | Page 13 |
| Performance summary | Pages 5 - 6 | Pages 5 - 6 | Pages 5 - 6 |
| Results and dividend | Pages 5 - 6 | Pages 5 - 6 | Pages 5 - 6 |
| Investment policy | Page 13 | Page 13 | Page 13 |
| Chairman's statement | Pages 9 - 11 | Pages 9 - 11 | Pages 9 - 11 |
| Managers' review/Interim review | Pages 18 - 23 Pages 18 - 23 Pages 18 - 23 | ||
| Portfolio summary | Pages 30 - 31 Pages 30 - 31 Pages 30 - 31 | ||
| Valuation policy | Page 15 | Page 15 | Page 15 |
The key figures that summarise Maven VCT 2's financial position in respect of the three financial years ended 31 January 2016, 31 January 2017 and 31 January 2018 which have been extracted without material adjustment from the historical financial information referred to above, are set out in the following table:
| Description | 2016 Annual Report |
2017 Annual Report |
2018 Annual Report |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net return on ordinary activities before taxation (£'000) |
2,765 | 697 | (699) |
| Earnings per Share (p) | 6.81 | 1.70 | (1.73) |
| Dividends declared per Share (p) | 14.25 | 4.25 | 6.11 |
| Net assets (£'000) | 21,770 | 20,502 | 16,321 |
| NAV per Share (p) | 52.98 | 50.52 | 40.47 |
The unaudited NAV as at 31 July 2018 (being the most recent NAV per Maven VCT 2 Share announced by Maven VCT 2 prior to the publication of this document) was 35.28p per Share.
Save for the payment of an interim dividend of 5.20p per Maven VCT 2 Share (paid on 22 June 2018), there has been no significant change in the financial or trading position of Maven VCT 2 since 31 January 2018 (being the last date up to which Maven VCT 2 has published financial information).
The investment portfolio of Company as at the date of this document is shown below (the valuations being the latest valuations carried out by the Board as set out in its unaudited interim report for the six month period ended 30 June 2018 as adjusted for disposals (if relevant), or, in the case of new investments undertaken since that date, at cost (unaudited) at the time of investment)*. The information on the investment portfolio below represents more than 50% of the net asset value of the Company. Unless otherwise stated, all the investments set out below are in portfolio companies incorporated in the UK.
| % of | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Structure | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Debt/equity | |||
| Sector Support services Telecommunication services Diversified industrials Oil and gas Household goods & textiles Electronic and electrical equipment Financial services Diversified industrials Real Estate (trading as Cursor Controls) Engineering & machinery Support services Communications Oil and gas Communications Health Energy services Support services Energy services Automobiles & parts Support services |
Valuation £'000 1,202 1,069 986 957 796 Industrial products & services 779 730 720 681 650 645 626 619 603 598 584 581 554 463 Software & computer services 453 403 400 |
Cost 1,060 592 672 957 522 498 559 360 681 650 299 626 619 836 598 558 774 777 463 453 403 98 |
total £'000 assets 2.8 2.5 2.4 2.3 1.9 1.9 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.0 |
| % of | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure | ||||
| Equity | ||||
| Equity | ||||
| Debt/equity | ||||
| Equity | ||||
| Equity | ||||
| Debt/equity | ||||
| Debt/equity | ||||
| Equity | ||||
| Equity | ||||
| Equity | ||||
| Debt/equity | ||||
| Debt/equity | ||||
| Debt/equity | ||||
| Support services | 1209 | 0.3 | Debt/equity | |
| Waste Management Limited Support services | 770 | 0.3 | Debt/equity | |
| Automobile parts | 504 | 0.2 | Debt/equity | |
| Support services | – | 0.2 | Debt/equity | |
| Debt/equity | ||||
| Debt/equity | ||||
| Sector ADC Biotechnology Limited Biotechnology Electronic and electrical equipment Financial services Financial services Financial Energy services Energy services Total unlisted investments |
Valuation 338 Software & computer services 323 299 Software & computer services 224 221 Software & computer services 207 Pharmaceuticals & biotechnology 199 Software & computer services 159 Software & computer services 159 Software & computer services 149 109 2 |
Cost £'000 338 323 310 347 299 252 241 224 347 327 199 159 159 150 150 149 120 80 67 65 298 2,411 18,532 20,420 687 184 187 197 177 80 94 85 87 100 25 27 20 – 10 151 2 33 1 221 1,290 1,078 |
total £'000 assets 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.2 – –––––– –––––– –––––– 44.4 –––––– –––––– –––––– 1.7 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.1 – – – – –––––– –––––– –––––– 3.0 –––––– –––––– –––––– |
| % of | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valuation | Cost | total | ||
| Sector | £'000 | £'000 assets | Structure | |
| Private equity investment | ||||
| trusts | ||||
| HgCapital Trust PLC | 137 | 100 | 0.4 | |
| Princess Private Equity | ||||
| Holding Limited** | 121 | 120 | 0.4 | |
| F&C Private Equity | ||||
| Investment Trust PLC | 121 | 123 | 0.3 | |
| Apax Global Alpha Limited** | 104 | 103 | 0.1 | |
| Standard Life Private | ||||
| Equity Trust PLC | 54 –––––– –––––– –––––– |
43 | 0.1 | |
| Total private equity | ||||
| investment trusts | 537 | 489 | 1.3 | |
| Real estate investment trusts | –––––– –––––– –––––– | |||
| Schroder REIT Limited** | 106 | 107 | 0.2 | |
| Target Healthcare REIT | ||||
| Limited** | 97 | 96 | 0.2 | |
| Regional REIT Limited** | 88 | 89 | 0.2 | |
| Custodian REIT PLC | 73 | 71 | 0.3 | |
| Total real estate investment | –––––– –––––– –––––– | |||
| trusts | 364 | 363 | 0.9 | |
| Total investments | –––––– –––––– –––––– | 20,723 22,350 | 49.6 |
* The Company has since 30 June 2018:
and, save for the above investments and realisations and general movements in cash/listed fixed income balances as a result of ongoing investments and realisations, and for general working capital purposes, there has been no material change to the valuations used to prepare the above analysis (as at 30 June 2018, being the date by reference to which those valuations were undertaken).
** The investment trusts indicated above are companies incorporated in Guernsey (with the exception of Target Healthcare REIT Limited which is incorporated in Jersey).
Torridon (Gibraltar) Limited is a company incorporated in Gibraltar.
The investment portfolio of Maven VCT 2 as at the date of this document is shown below (the valuations being the latest valuations carried out by the Board of Maven VCT 2 as set out in its audited annual report for the year ended 31 January 2018, as adjusted for disposals (if relevant), or, in the case of new investments undertaken since that date, at cost (unaudited) at the time of investment)*. The information on the investment portfolio below represents more than 50% of the net asset value of Maven VCT 2. Unless otherwise stated, all the investments set out below are in portfolio companies incorporated in the UK.
| Sector | Valuation £'000 |
Cost | % of total £'000 assets |
Structure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unlisted | |||||
| Martel Instruments Holdings Limited |
Electronic and electrical equipment |
669 | 748 | 4.1 | Debt/equity |
| Ensco 969 Limited (trading as DPP) |
Support services | 660 | 584 | 4.0 | Debt/equity |
| Rockar 2016 Limited (trading as Rockar) |
Automobiles & parts | 551 | 551 | 3.4 | Debt/equity |
| CatTech International Limited |
Support services | 507 | 323 | 3.1 | Debt/equity |
| Vodat Communications Group Limited Maven Co-invest Endeavour Limited |
Telecommunication services | 462 | 298 | 2.8 | Debt/equity |
| Partnership (invested in | |||||
| Global Risk Partners) | Financial services | 455 | 227 | 2.8 | Debt/equity |
| Horizon Cremation Limited Glacier Energy Services |
Support services | 437 | 437 | 2.7 | Debt/equity |
| Holdings Limited The GP Service (UK) |
Oil and gas | 434 | 434 | 2.7 | Debt/equity |
| Limited JT Holdings (UK) Limited |
Health | 398 | 398 | 2.4 | Debt/equity |
| (trading as Just Trays) | Household goods & textiles | 392 | 298 | 2.4 | Debt/equity |
| Flow UK Holdings Limited Castlegate 737 Limited |
Communications | 374 | 374 | 2.3 | Debt/equity |
| (trading as Cursor Controls) Engineering & machinery Fathom Systems Group |
370 | 224 | 2.3 | Debt/equity | |
| Limited CB Technology Group |
Diversified industrials | 355 | 355 | 2.2 | Debt/equity |
| Limited | Electronic & electrical equipment | 347 | 347 | 2.1 | Debt/equity |
| GEV Holdings Limited HCS Control Systems |
Diversified industrials | 336 | 336 | 2.1 | Debt/equity |
| Group Limited ITS Technology Group |
Oil and gas | 305 | 423 | 1.9 | Debt/equity |
| Limited | Communications | 299 | 299 | 1.8 | Debt/equity |
| ADC Biotechnology Limited Biotechnology | 298 | 298 | 1.8 | Equity | |
| QikServe Limited | Software & computer services | 298 | 298 | 1.8 | Debt/equity |
| Torridon (Gibraltar) Limited R&M Engineering |
Financial | 275 | – | 1.7 | Debt/equity |
| Group Limited | Energy services | 268 | 357 | 1.6 | Debt/equity |
| RMEC Group Limited Chic Lifestyle Limited |
Energy services | 249 | 249 | 1.5 | Debt/equity |
| (trading as Chic Retreats) Attraction World Holdings |
Software & computer services | 224 | 224 | 1.4 | Debt/equity |
| Limited | Support services | 220 | 12 | 1.3 | Debt/equity |
| Whiterock Group Limited Contego Fraud Solutions |
Software & computer services | 209 | 209 | 1.3 | Debt/equity |
| Limited (trading as NorthRow) Software & computer services | 199 | 199 | 1.2 | Equity |
| Structure | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt/equity | ||||
| Debt/equity | ||||
| Debt/equity | ||||
| Debt/equity | ||||
| Debt/equity | ||||
| Debt/equity | ||||
| Curo Compensation Limited Software & computer services | 124 | 124 | 0.8 | Debt/equity |
| Energy services | 115 | 181 | 0.7 | Equity |
| Financial services | 100 | 100 | 0.6 | Debt/equity |
| Waste Management Limited Support services | 52 | 367 | 0.3 | Debt/equity |
| Debt/equity | ||||
| Debt/equity | ||||
| Total unlisted investments | 67.2 | |||
| 62 | 53 | 0.4 | ||
| 32 | 31 | 0.2 | ||
| Apax Global Alpha Limited** | 110 | 99 | 0.6 | |
| 57 | 43 | 0.4 | ||
| 527 | 443 | 3.2 | ||
| (formerly Work Group PLC) | Sector Support services General retailers Software & computer services Software & computer services Software & computer services Energy services Private equity investment trusts |
Valuation 180 171 149 Construction & building materials 145 133 129 34 46 31 16 12 1 154 124 120 116 |
Cost £'000 309 114 149 408 133 129 154 1,359 10,969 12,029 25 251 – 222 582 100 98 103 |
% of total £'000 assets 1.1 1.1 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.2 0.3 –––––– –––––– –––––– –––––– –––––– –––––– 0.2 0.1 0.1 – –––––– –––––– –––––– 1.0 –––––– –––––– –––––– 0.8 0.7 0.7 –––––– –––––– –––––– |
| Total investments | –––––– –––––– –––––– | 12,276 13,647 | 75.3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total real estate investment trusts |
626 | 593 | 3.9 | |
| –––––– –––––– –––––– | ||||
| Regional REIT Limited** | 93 | 99 | 0.5 | |
| Limited** | 99 | 98 | 0.6 | |
| Target Healthcare REIT | ||||
| Limited** | 106 | 99 | 0.7 | |
| Property Income Trust | ||||
| Standard Life Investment | ||||
| Schroder REIT Limited** | 109 | 99 | 0.7 | |
| Custodian REIT PLC | 109 | 99 | 0.7 | |
| British Land Company PLC | 110 | 99 | 0.7 | |
| Real estate investment trusts | ||||
| Sector | £'000 | £'000 assets | Structure | |
| Valuation | Cost | total | ||
| % of |
* Maven VCT 2 has since 31 January 2018:
and, save for the above investments and realisations and general movements in cash/listed fixed income balances as a result of ongoing investments and realisations, and for general working capital purposes, there has been no material change to the valuations used to prepare the above analysis (as at 31 January 2018, being the date by reference to which those valuations were undertaken).
** The investment trusts indicated above are companies incorporated in Guernsey (with the exception of Target Healthcare REIT Limited which is incorporated in Jersey).
Torridon (Gibraltar) Limited is a company incorporated in Gibraltar.
no further changes in the issued share capital of the Company since that date, and as at that date, the issued share capital of the Company comprised 57,726,293 Shares, none of which were held in treasury.
and shall expire at the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company held after the passing of the resolution or, if earlier, on the expiry of 15 months after the passing of the resolution, and so that the Company may before such expiry make an offer or agreement which would or might require equity securities to be allotted after such expiry and the Directors may allot equity securities in pursuance of such offer or agreement as if the power conferred had not expired;
18 months from the date of the passing of this resolution (unless renewed, varied or revoked by the Company in general meeting).
(a) As at 3 October 2018 (being the latest practicable date prior to publication of this document), save as set out below, the Company was not aware of any person who directly or indirectly, has an interest in the Company's share capital or voting rights which is notifiable under UK law:
| Percentage | ||
|---|---|---|
| of the | ||
| Company's | ||
| issued | ||
| Shareholder | No. of Shares | share capital |
| Hargreaves Lansdown (Nominees) Limited | 3,801,574 | 6.59 |
(b) As at 3 October 2018 (being the latest practicable date before the publication of this document), the shareholdings of the Directors and the Proposed Director were as follows:
| Percentage of | ||
|---|---|---|
| the Company's | ||
| Number of | issued share | |
| Director | Shares | capital |
| Ian Cormack | 167,815 | 0.29 |
| Malcolm Graham-Wood | 72,931 | 0.13 |
| Bill Nixon | 309,023 | 0.54 |
| Steven Scott | 181,174 | 0.31 |
| Peter Linthwaite | – | – |
which were effected by the Company during the current or immediately preceding financial year or during an earlier financial year and remaining in any respect outstanding or unperformed:
Save as disclosed in this paragraph, the Company has not entered, other than in the ordinary course of business, into any contract which is or may be material to the Company within the two years immediately preceding the publication of this document or which are expected to be entered into prior to Admission or into any contract which contains any provision under which the Company has any obligation or entitlement which is material to the Company as at the date of this document:
(a) A management and administration deed dated 1 January 2016 between the Company and Maven, pursuant to which the Manager provides discretionary investment management and administrative services to the Company. This deed superseded the investment and administration agreements that were previously in place. Maven is entitled to an annual investment management fee of 2.5% per annum of the net asset value of the Company payable quarterly in arrears (the fees being exclusive of VAT (if any)). Maven is also entitled to a performance incentive fee for each six month period ending 30 June and 31 December of an amount equal to 20% of any increase in the total return (before applying any performance incentive fee) as at the end of the relevant six month period to the total return (after accruing for the performance incentive fee payable for that period) compared to the end of the last six month period on which a performance incentive fee was paid. Total return for these purposes means net asset value, adjusted for dividends, share buy-backs and share issues since the period in which the last performance incentive fee was paid. These fees are exclusive of VAT (if any). Maven is entitled to an annual fee for the provision of company secretarial and administrative services (which amounted to £79,000 for the year ended 31 December 2017, increasing to £100,000 on completion of the Merger). This fee is subject to annual adjustment by reference to increases in the Consumer Prices Index, is payable quarterly in arrears and is subject to VAT. In relation to the Merger, Maven is entitled to a merger administrative and secretarial services fee from the Company and Maven VCT 2 (for an aggregate amount of £100,000) for services to be provided under the terms of their investment management agreements.
The total management and administrative expenses of the Company are capped at 3.5% of the Company's net asset value at the end of the relevant financial period (calculated before the deduction of management and administration expenses). All regulatory, compliance and any exceptional items such as merger or performance incentive fees in respect of that year) are excluded from the cap.
(b) A co-investment agreement dated 19 June 2006 between the Company and Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited (which was subsequently novated to Maven) in respect of a co-investment scheme with the Manager, which enables employees and officers of Maven to participate in new and follow-on investments in portfolio companies alongside the Company. All such investments are made through a nominee and under terms agreed by the Board. The terms of the scheme ensure that all investments in ordinary shares are made at the same time and on identical terms to those of the Company and that no selection of investments will be allowed. Total investment by participants in the co-investment scheme is 5% of the aggregate amount of ordinary shares subscribed for by the Company and the co-investment scheme, except where the only securities to be acquired by the Company are ordinary shares or are securities quoted on AIM or NEX, in which case the investment percentage will be 1.5%. Notwithstanding the above, co-investment will only be offered alongside the relevant investment if that co-investment would not result in the aggregate of all co-investments made in the relevant calendar year of the scheme exceeding 5% of the Company's net assets.
acting by the Liquidators, will also undertake to execute and deliver such other documents and take such other steps as shall be reasonably required by the Company to vest in the Company the assets to be transferred to the Company under this agreement and otherwise to give the Company the full benefit of this agreement. The Liquidators will agree under this agreement that all sale proceeds and/or dividends received in respect of the underlying assets of Maven VCT 2 will be transferred on receipt to the Company as part of the Scheme.
(g) A deed of indemnity from the Company to the Liquidators pursuant to which the Company will indemnify the Liquidators for expenses and costs incurred by them in connection with the Scheme.
The Board has a policy of distributing regular tax-free dividends to qualifying Shareholders, subject to the availability of cash and distributable reserves and maintaining the longer term stability of the NAV. There will, therefore, be variations in the amount of dividends paid year on year.
(h) The following table shows the capitalisation of the Company as 30 June 2018.
| 30 June 2018 (half-yearly report) (£'000) |
|
|---|---|
| Capital and reserves | |
| Called up share capital | 5,773 |
| Share premium account | 37,116 |
| Capital reserve – realised | (8,822) |
| Capital reserve – unrealised | (1,627) |
| Distributable reserve | 8,082 |
| Capital redemption reserve | 409 |
| Revenue reserve | 811 |
| Total: | –––––––– 41,742 |
| –––––––– |
In relation to the Company, since 30 June 2018 there has been no material change to the capitalisation of that Company.
(n) Other than the introduction of The Finance Acts 2015 and Finance Act 2018, with the consequent effects on future investment activities of the Company, there have been no significant factors, whether governmental, economic, fiscal, monetary or political, including unusual or infrequent events or new developments nor any known trends, uncertainties, demands, commitments or events that are reasonably likely to have an effect on the Company's prospects or which have materially affected the Company's income from operations so far as the Company and the Directors are aware.
(o) The Company is subject to the investment restrictions relating to a venture capital trust in the ITA 2007 (a summary of which is set out in paragraph 5 of Part Eight of this document). In addition, for so long as the Shares are admitted to the Official List, the Company is required to abide by applicable Listing Rules including the following:
(a) Convening of general meeting
The Board shall convene and the Company shall hold a general meeting as the annual general meeting in accordance with the requirements of the Statutes. Any meeting of the Company other than an annual general meeting shall be called a general meeting. The provisions of the Articles relating to proceedings of general meetings shall apply equally to annual general meetings. The Board may convene a general meeting whenever it thinks fit.
(b) Notice of general meeting
The annual general meeting and all other general meetings shall be convened by notice in writing or by electronic communication of at least such length as is required in the circumstances by the Statutes. The notice shall specify the place, day and time of the meeting, and the general nature of the business to be transacted. Notice of every general meeting shall be given to all members (other than any who, under the provisions of the Articles or the terms of issue of the shares they hold, are not entitled to receive such notices from the Company), to the Directors and also to the Auditor or, if more than one, each of them.
The accidental omission to give any notice of a meeting or the accidental omission to send any document, including an instrument of proxy, relating to any meeting to, or the non-receipt of any such notice or document by, any person entitled to receive the notice or document shall not invalidate the convening of or proceedings at that meeting.
No business shall be transacted at any general meeting unless a quorum is present when the meeting proceeds to business, but the absence of a quorum shall not preclude the choice or appointment of a chairman which shall not be treated as part of the business of the meeting. Save as otherwise provided by the Articles, two members present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote shall be a quorum for all purposes.
If within thirty minutes after the time appointed for the commencement of the meeting a quorum is not present, the meeting, if convened by or upon the requisition of members, shall be dissolved. In any other case it shall stand adjourned to such other day and at such time or place as the chairman of the meeting (or, in default, the Board) may decide and the Company shall give not less than ten clear days' notice in writing (or by electronic communication in accordance with the Acts) of the adjourned meeting. At any adjourned meeting one member present in person or by proxy (whatever the number of shares held by him) shall be a quorum and any notice of an adjourned meeting shall state that one member present in person or by proxy (whatever the number of shares held by him) shall be a quorum.
(e) Method of voting
At any general meeting a resolution put to the vote of the meeting shall be decided on a show of hands unless (before or on the declaration of the result of the show of hands or on the withdrawal of any other demand for a poll) a poll is duly demanded. Subject to the Statutes, a poll may be demanded by:
Subject to any special rights or restrictions as to voting attached to any shares by or in accordance with the Articles, on a show of hands:
(a) Right to transfer
Subject to such restrictions of the Articles:
The Board may decline to register any transfer of a certificated share unless:
(c) Disclosure of interests in Shares
If any holder of shares, or any other person appearing to be interested in shares is in default in supplying within 14 days after the date of service of a notice requiring such member or other person to supply to the Company in writing all or any such information as is referred to in Section 793 of CA 2006, the Directors may give such holder a notice imposing restrictions upon the relevant shares for such period as the default shall continue. The restrictions available in the case of a person with a 0.25% interest are the suspension of voting or other rights conferred by membership in relation to meetings, the withholding of payment of any dividends on, and the restriction of transfer of the relevant shares.
Subject to the provisions of the Articles, on a winding up or other return of capital, the net assets of the Company (including any income and/or revenue arising from or relating to such assets) less the Company's liabilities, including fees and expenses of liquidation or return of capital, shall be divided amongst the holders of shares pro rata according to their holdings of shares.
(exclusive of borrowings owing by one member of the Group to another member of the Group) shall not at any time without the previous sanction of an ordinary resolution of the Company exceed an amount equal to three times the aggregate of the Adjusted Capital and Reserves (provided that, prior to the publication of the first audited balance sheet of the Company, the aggregate principal amount of such borrowing shall not exceed 90% of the amount paid on the issued share capital of the Company, without the previous sanction of an ordinary resolution of the Company).
possibly may conflict, with the interests of the Company and which may reasonably be regarded as likely to give rise to a conflict of interest (including a conflict of interest and duty or conflict of duties); and
(viii) any contract for the purchase or maintenance of insurance against any liability for, or for the benefit of, any Director or for, or for the benefit of, persons who include Directors.
A Director shall not be counted in the quorum present at a meeting to a resolution on which he is not entitled to vote.
The Company may sell at the best price reasonably obtainable any certificated shares of a member, or any share to which a person is entitled by transmission, provided that:
At any time when the Company has given notice in the prescribed form (which has not been revoked) to the Registrar of Companies of its intention to carry on business as an investment company ("a Relevant Period") distribution of the Company's capital profits (as defined in the Acts) shall be prohibited as described below.
The Board shall establish a reserve to be called the "capital reserve" and during any Relevant Period shall either, at the discretion of the Board, carry to the credit of such reserve from time to time all capital profits or appreciations arising on the sale, realisation, transposition, repayment or revaluation of any investment (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any increase in the value of any investments in any subsidiary undertaking or amounts that may be paid by way of subscription under any subscription agreement) or other capital asset of the Company in excess of the book value thereof or apply the same in providing for depreciation or contingencies. Any losses realised on the sale, realisation, repayment or revaluation of any investment or other capital asset and any other expenses, loss or liability (or provision therefore) considered by the Board to be of a capital nature may be carried to the debit of the capital reserve. Subject to the Statutes and without prejudice to the foregoing generality, the Board may also debit the capital reserve with the whole or such part of: (i) any management fees incurred by the Company; and (ii) any finance costs (including, without limitation, any interest payable by the Company in respect of any borrowings of the Company) as may be deemed appropriate by the Board. During a Relevant Period all sums carried and standing to the credit of the capital reserve may be applied for any of the purposes to which sums standing to any reserve under the provisions of Article 127 are applicable, provided that during a Relevant Period no part of the capital reserve or any other moneys in the nature of accretion to capital shall in any event be transferred to the revenue reserves of the Company or be treated or regarded as profits of the Company available for distribution as dividend or any other distribution (within the meaning ascribed thereto by the Acts), otherwise than by way of the redemption of purchase of any of the Company's own shares in accordance with the Acts. In periods other than a Relevant Period, any amount standing to the credit of the capital reserve may be transferred to the revenue reserves of the Company or be regarded or treated as profits of the Company available for distribution (as so defined) or be applied in paying dividends on any shares in the capital of the Company.
Under the Articles, the Board is required to procure that a continuation resolution is proposed (as to whether the Company shall continue in being as a venture capital trust) at the annual general meeting of the Company to be held after the fifth anniversary of the last allotment of shares in that Company, and at 5 yearly intervals thereafter. If, at such meeting, such a resolution is not passed, the Board shall within twelve months of such meeting, convene a general meeting of the Company at which a special resolution shall be proposed for the re-organisation or reconstruction of the Company or (in the event of this resolution not being passed) the winding up of the Company.
Investments in unquoted portfolio companies are held in the name of the Company. Investments in the Company's quoted assets are held by JP Morgan Chase Bank as custodian and, in that capacity, JP Morgan Chase Bank is responsible for ensuring safe custody and dealing and settlement arrangements. JP Morgan Chase Bank, National Association, London Branch is a sub-custodian of JP Morgan Chase Bank Association (incorporated on 11 April 1960 and registered as an overseas company in England and Wales under company number FC004891 and with branch number BR000746 and authorised and regulated by the FCA). The fees payable to JPMorgan Chase Bank in relation to its role as custodian is 0.0025% per annum of the market value of the Company's listed investments. JP Morgan is a National Banking Association, organised under the laws of the State of New York and has its registered UK branch at 125 London Wall, London EC2Y 5AJ. Its telephone number at its registered UK branch is 0207 777 2000.
The following paragraphs, which are intended as a general guide only and are based on current legislation and HMRC practice, summarise advice received by the Directors as to the position of the Shareholders who hold Shares in the Company other than for trading purposes. Any person who is in any doubt as to their taxation position or is subject to taxation in any jurisdiction other than the United Kingdom should consult their professional advisers.
(a) Taxation of dividends – under current law, no tax will be withheld by the Company when it pays a dividend.
The Company has to satisfy a number of tests to continue to qualify as a VCT. A summary of these tests is set out below. The following information is based on current UK law and practice and is subject to changes therein, is given by way of a general summary and does not constitute legal or tax advice.
(a) Qualification as a VCT
To qualify as a VCT, a company must be approved as such by HMRC. To obtain such approval it must:
The term "eligible shares" means shares which carry no preferential rights to assets on a windingup and no rights to be redeemed, although they may have certain preferential rights to dividends.
(b) Qualifying Investments
A Qualifying Investment consists of shares or securities first issued to the VCT (and held by it ever since) by a company satisfying the conditions set out in Chapter 4 of Part 6 of the ITA 2007.
The conditions are detailed, but include that the company must be a Qualifying Company, have gross assets not exceeding £15 million immediately before and £16 million immediately after the investment, have fewer than 250 full-time equivalent employees, apply the money raised for the purposes of a qualifying trade within a certain time period, cannot be controlled by another company and at the time of investment did not obtain more than £5 million of Risk Finance State Aid investment (£10 million for a Knowledge Intensive Company) in the 12 month period ending on the date of the investment by the VCT.
A Qualifying Company must be unquoted (for VCT purposes this includes companies whose shares are traded on AIM or NEX) and must carry on a qualifying trade. For this purpose certain activities are excluded such as dealing in land or shares or providing financial services. The qualifying trade must either be carried on by, or be intended to be carried on by, the Qualifying Company or by a qualifying subsidiary at the time of the issue of shares or securities to the VCT (and at all times thereafter). The company's first commercial sale must be less than seven years before the first investment from Risk Finance State Aid (ten years for a Knowledge Intensive Company) or the investment must meet a turnover test and be used to enter a new market. The company must have a permanent establishment in the UK, but the company need not be UK resident. A company intending to carry on a qualifying trade must begin to trade within two years of the issue of shares or securities to the VCT and continue it thereafter. A Qualifying Company may have no subsidiaries other than qualifying subsidiaries which must, in most cases, be at least 51% owned.
With effect from 6 April 2012 a "disqualifying purpose" test was introduced under which an investment will not be a Qualifying Investment if the investee company has been set up for the purpose of accessing tax reliefs or is in substance a financing business. From 15 March 2018 there is a new "risk-to-capital" condition for Qualifying Investments, designed to focus investments towards earlier stage, growing businesses, and away from investments which could be regarded as lower risk. Any loans made by VCTs must be unsecured.
VCT funds cannot be used by an investee company to fund the purchase of shares in another company or to acquire an existing trade or intangible assets in use in a trade.
(d) Non-Qualifying Investments
From 6 April 2016, a VCT may only make Qualifying Investments or certain Non-Qualifying Investments. Non-Qualifying Investments include short term deposit accounts, investments in UCITS and AIF funds, and shares and securities purchased on a European regulated market.
(e) Approval as a VCT
A VCT must be approved at all times by HMRC. Approval has effect from the time specified at approval. A VCT cannot be approved unless the tests detailed above are met throughout the most recent complete accounting period of the VCT and HMRC is satisfied that they will be met in relation to the accounting period of the VCT which is current when the application is made. However, where a VCT raises further funds, VCTs are given grace periods to invest those funds before those funds need to meet such tests. The Company has received approval as a VCT from HMRC.
Approval of a VCT may be withdrawn by HMRC if the various tests set out above are not satisfied. The exemption from corporation tax on capital gains will not apply to any gain realised after the point at which VCT status is lost. Withdrawal of approval generally has effect from time to time when notice is given to the VCT but in relation to capital gains tax of the VCT only can be backdated to not earlier than the first day of the accounting period commencing immediately after the last accounting period of the VCT in which all of the tests were satisfied.
The Manager may be involved in other financial, investment or professional activities that may on occasion give rise to conflicts of interest with the Company. In particular, it currently does, and may continue to, provide investment management, investment advice or other services in relation to a number of other funds or accounts that may have similar investment objectives and/or policies to that of the Company and may receive ad valorem and/or performance-related fees for doing so. As a result, the Manager may have conflicts of interest in allocating investments among the Company and other clients and in effecting transactions between the Company and other clients. The Manager may give advice or take action with respect to such other clients that differs from the advice given or actions taken with respect to the Company. The Board has noted that the Manager has other clients and have satisfied themselves that the Manager has procedures in place to address potential conflicts of interest.
The City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the City Code) applies to the Company. Under Rule 9 of the City Code, if:
(b) The distribution of the Prospectus in jurisdictions other than the UK may be restricted by law and therefore persons into whose possession the Prospectus comes should inform themselves about and observe any of these restrictions. Any failure to comply with any of those restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities law of any such jurisdiction.
(c) It is the responsibility of any person outside the UK wishing to make an application to satisfy himself as to the full observance of the laws of the relevant territory in connection therewith, including obtaining any requisite governmental or other consents, observing any other formalities required to be observed in such territory and paying any issue, transfer or other taxes required to be paid in such territory.
Copies of the following documents will be available for inspection during usual business hours on weekdays, weekends and public holidays excepted, at the offices of Howard Kennedy LLP at No. 1 London Bridge, London SE1 9BG, until the Merger completes:
Dated: 5 October 2018
The following definitions apply throughout this document, unless otherwise expressed or the context otherwise requires:
| "2014 Offer" | the offer for subscription contained in the summary, securities note and registration document issued by Maven Income and Growth VCT PLC, Maven VCT 2, Maven Income and Growth VCT 3 PLC, the Company and Maven Income and Growth VCT 5 PLC dated 20 October 2014 |
|---|---|
| "2017 Offer" | the offer for subscription contained in the summary, securities note and registration document issued by Maven Income and Growth VCT 3 PLC and the Company dated 22 September 2018 |
| "Aberdeen" | Aberdeen Asset Management plc |
| "Acts" | CA 1985 and CA 2006 |
| "Admission" | the admission of Scheme Shares to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities |
| "Articles" | the articles of association of the Company |
| "Board" | the board of directors of the Company |
| "Boards" | the Board and the Maven VCT 2 Board |
| "CA 1985" | Companies Act 1985 |
| "CA 2006" | Companies Act 2006, as amended |
| "Circular" | the circular to Shareholders dated 5 October 2018 |
| "Companies" | the Company and Maven VCT 2 |
| "Company" | Maven Income and Growth VCT 4 PLC |
| "CREST" | the relevant system (as defined in the Regulations) operated by Euroclear |
| "Directors" | the directors of the Company (and each a "Director") |
| "Enlarged Company" | the Company following implementation of the Scheme |
| "FCA" | the Financial Conduct Authority |
| "FSMA" | the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended |
| "General Meeting" | the general meeting of the Company to be held on 1 November 2018 (or any adjournment thereof) |
| "General Meetings" | the General Meeting and the Maven VCT 2 General Meetings |
| "HMRC" | HM Revenue and Customs |
| "Howard Kennedy" | Howard Kennedy Corporate Services LLP |
| "IA 1986" | Insolvency Act 1986, as amended |
| "IMA" | the investment management agreement between the Company and the Manager dated 1 January 2016 |
| "ITA 2007" | Income Tax Act 2007, as amended |
| "Knowledge Intensive Company" |
a company satisfying the conditions in Section 331(A) of Part 6 ITA 2007 |
|---|---|
| "Link Market Services" | a trading division of the Link Group |
| "Liquidator" | Stewart MacDonald of Scott-Moncrieff, being the proposed liquidators for Maven VCT 2 |
| "Listing Rules" | the listing rules of the UKLA |
| "London Stock Exchange" | London Stock Exchange plc |
| "Merger Regulations" | Venture Capital Trusts (Winding-up and Mergers) (Tax) Regulations 2004 |
| "Maven" or the "Manager" | Maven Capital Partners UK LLP, or any predecessor investment adviser to either of the Companies |
| "Maven VCT 2" | Maven Growth and Income VCT 2 PLC |
| "Maven VCT 2 Board" | the board of directors of Maven VCT 2 |
| "Maven VCT 2 Directors" | the directors of Maven VCT 2 |
| "Maven VCT 2 First General Meeting" |
the general meeting of Maven VCT 2 to be held on 1 November 2018 (or any adjournment thereof) |
| "Maven VCT 2 General Meetings" |
the Maven VCT 2 First General Meeting and the Maven VCT 2 Second General Meeting |
| "Maven VCT 2 Second General Meeting" |
the general meeting of Maven VCT 2 to be held on 15 November 2018 (or any adjournment thereof) |
| "Maven VCT 2 Shares" | ordinary shares of 10p each in the capital of Maven VCT 2 |
| "Maven VCT 2 Shareholders" |
holders of Maven VCT 2 Shares (and each an "Maven VCT 2 Shareholder") |
| "Maven VCTs" | Maven Income and Growth VCT PLC, Maven VCT 2, Maven Income and Growth VCT 3 PLC, Maven VCT 4, Maven Income and Growth VCT 5 PLC and/or Income and Growth VCT 6 PLC |
| "NAV" | |
| net asset value per share | |
| "Official List" | the official list maintained by the UK Listing Authority |
| "Ordinary Shareholder" | a holder of Ordinary Shares (and each an "Ordinary Shareholder") |
| "Proposed Director" | Peter Linthwaite, who will become a director of the Company in the event that the Merger proceeds |
| "Prospectus" | this document |
| "Prospectus Rules" | the prospectus rules made in accordance with the EU Prospectus Directive 2003/71/EC |
| "Qualifying Company" | a company satisfying the requirements of Chapter 4 of Part 6 of ITA 2007 |
| "Qualifying Investments" | shares in, or securities of, a Qualifying Company held by a VCT which meets the requirements described in chapter 4 of Part 6 ITA 2007 |
| "Regulatory Information Service" |
a regulatory information service that is on the list of regulatory information services maintained by the FCA |
| "Reporting Accountant" | Scott-Moncrieff |
| "Risk Finance Guidelines" | the guidelines on state aid to promote risk finance investment published by the European Commission |
|---|---|
| "Risk Finance State Aid" | State aid received by a company as defined in Section 280B (4) of ITA |
| "Scheme" or "Merger" | the proposed merger of the Company with Maven VCT 2 by means of placing Maven VCT 2 into members' voluntary liquidation pursuant to Section 110 of IA 1986 and the acquisition by the Company of all of the assets and liabilities of Maven VCT 2 in consideration for Scheme Shares, further details of which are set out in Part One of this document |
| "Scheme Calculation Date" the date on which the number of Scheme Shares to be issued pursuant to the Scheme will be calculated, anticipated as being after 5.00 pm on 14 November 2018 |
|
| "Scheme Effective Date" | the date on which the Scheme will be completed, anticipated as being after 5.00 pm on 15 November 2018 |
| "Scheme Record Date" | the record date to which entitlements will be allocated pursuant to the Scheme, anticipated as being 5.00 pm on 14 November 2018 |
| "Scheme Shares" | the Shares being issued by the Company subject to the Scheme (and each a "Scheme Share") |
| "Shares" or "Ordinary Shares" |
ordinary shares of 10p each in the capital of the Company (and each a "Share") |
| "TCGA 1992" | Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, as amended |
| "Transfer Agreement" | the agreement between Maven VCT 2 (acting through the Liquidators) and the Company for the transfer of all of the assets and liabilities of Maven VCT 2, by the Liquidators, to the Company pursuant to the Scheme |
| "UKLA" | the UK Listing Authority, being the Financial Conduct Authority acting in its capacity as the competent authority for the purposes of Part VI of the Financial Services and Market Act 2000 |
| "Uncertificated Securities Regulations" |
the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001 (S.I. 2001/3755), as amended |
| "VCT Value" | the value of an investment calculated in accordance with Section 278 of the ITA 2007 |
| "venture capital trust" or "VCTs" |
a company which is, for the time being, approved as a venture capital trust under Section 259 of the ITA 2007 |
| "VCT Rules" | Part 6 ITA 2007 and every other statute (including any orders, regulations or other subordinate legislation made under them) for the time being in force concerning VCTs |
| Investment Manager, Administrator and Secretary |
Maven Capital Partners UK LLP Kintyre House 205 West George Street Glasgow G2 2LW |
|---|---|
| Auditor | Deloitte LLP 110 Queen Street Glasgow G1 3BX |
| Sponsor | Howard Kennedy Corporate Services LLP No. 1 London Bridge London SE1 9BG |
| Solicitor | Howard Kennedy LLP No. 1 London Bridge London SE1 9BG |
| Tax Adviser | Philip Hare & Associates LLP Suite C First Floor 4-6 Staple Inn London WC1V 7QH |
| Registrars | Link Market Services The Registry 34 Beckenham Road Beckenham Kent BR3 4TU |
| Reporting Accountant | Scott-Moncrieff 25 Bothwell Street Glasgow G2 6NL |
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