AGM Information • Dec 4, 2019
AGM Information
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THIS CIRCULAR IS IMPORTANT AND REQUIRES YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. If you are in any doubt as to the action you should take, you should consult an appropriate independent financial adviser authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 immediately. If you have sold or transferred all your Ordinary Shares in the Company, please forward this Circular together with the Form of Proxy to the purchaser, transferee, stockbroker or other agent through whom the sale or transfer was effected for transmission to the purchaser or transferee.
Notice of a general meeting of the Company to be held at the offices of NVM Private Equity LLP, Time Central, 32 Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4SN at 10.00am on Wednesday 8 January 2020, is set out on pages 6 to 9 of this Circular. A Form of Proxy for use at the meeting is attached. To be valid, Forms of Proxy should be completed and returned in accordance with the notes to the Notice of Meeting and the Form of Proxy itself.
Time Central 32 Gallowgate Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4SN
T 0191 244 6000 F 0191 244 6001 E [email protected]
Registered in England no 4280530
Directors: 4 December 2019 James Ferguson, Chairman Chris Fleetwood Tim Levett John Waddell
The purpose of this Circular is to provide further information about, and to seek your consent to, proposals to issue new Ordinary Shares under a public share offer by the Company and to extend the life of the Company.
A General Meeting, at which Shareholders will be asked to approve the proposals referred to in the first paragraph above, is to be held at 10.00am on Wednesday 8 January 2020 at the offices of NVM Private Equity LLP, Time Central, 32 Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4SN. The formal Notice of General Meeting is set out on pages 6 to 9 of this Circular, which includes a map showing the location of the offices of NVM Private Equity LLP.
Further information on the proposals is set out below. In addition, explanatory notes on all the business to be considered at the General Meeting appear on pages 4 and 5 of this Circular.
You will also find enclosed with this Circular a letter dated 4 December regarding the proposed transfer of the Company's management from NVM to Mercia Asset Management.
Your Board has considered the likely funding requirements of the Company, taking into account the strong pipeline of potential investment opportunities (including follow-on investments into the current portfolio), and proposes that there should be a public share offer by the Company to raise a total of up to £13,333,333 for future investment. On 10 October 2019 the Company announced that it intends, in conjunction with Northern Venture Trust PLC ("NVT") and Northern 2 VCT PLC ("N2VCT"), to launch a joint prospectus offer of new Ordinary Shares for subscription in the 2019/20 tax year (the "Offer"). It is envisaged that the Offer will seek to raise a total of £40,000,000, of which £13,333,333 will be for the Company, £13,333,334 for NVT and £13,333,333 for N2VCT. Subject to obtaining the requisite approvals, including Shareholder approval at the General Meeting, it is expected that a prospectus will be issued in January 2020.
Applications for the new Ordinary Shares will be dealt with on a "first come first served" basis. It is envisaged that the Offer will remain open until 5 April 2020, unless fully subscribed at an earlier date and subject to your Board's right to close the Offer at any time.
The new Ordinary Shares will be issued at a premium to the most recent NAV published prior to the allotment date, such that the net proceeds per new Ordinary Share, after deducting issue costs, will be equivalent to the NAV attributable to the existing Ordinary Shares.
All new Ordinary Shares will rank equally in all respects with the existing Ordinary Shares and will rank for all dividends which are both declared and paid following Admission. Application will be made for the Admission of any new Ordinary Shares allotted and it is proposed that Admission will be effected at the earliest practicable opportunity.
The Articles currently require that a resolution for the continuation of the Company be put to the annual general meeting of the Company held in 2023 and, unless defeated, at five-yearly intervals thereafter. The proposed amendment to the Articles requires the continuation resolution to be considered at the annual general meeting of the Company expected to be held in 2025 and every five years thereafter. This amendment will have the effect of postponing the continuation resolution until after a period of five years has elapsed from the allotment of Ordinary Shares under the Offer, five years being the minimum holding period to ensure that investors retain the initial income tax relief on their subscription.
If you would like to vote on the Resolutions but cannot attend the General Meeting, please complete the Form of Proxy attached to this Circular and return it to the Company's registrars, Equiniti Limited, at Aspect House, Spencer Road, Lancing BN99 6DA as soon as possible. They must receive it no later than 10.00am on Monday 6 January 2020. Completion and return of the Form of Proxy will not preclude you from attending the General Meeting and voting in person should you so wish.
Your Board considers that all the Resolutions to be put to the meeting are in the best interests of the Company and its Shareholders as a whole and are most likely to promote the success of the Company for the benefit of its Shareholders, and unanimously recommends that you vote in favour of the Resolutions. Your Directors will be voting in favour of the Resolutions in respect of their own shareholdings and unanimously recommend that you do so as well.
Yours sincerely
James Ferguson Chairman
In this letter, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions bear the following meanings:
| Act | the Companies Act 2006 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Admission | admission of the Ordinary Shares to the Official List and to trading on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange's market for listed securities |
||
| Articles | the articles of association of the Company as amended from time to time | ||
| Circular | this document dated 4 December 2019, addressed to the Shareholders | ||
| Company | Northern 3 VCT PLC | ||
| Directors or Board | the directors of the Company, whose names are set out on page 1 of this Circular, or any duly authorised committee thereof |
||
| FCA | the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom or any successor authority |
||
| Form of Proxy | the form of proxy for use at the General Meeting | ||
| General Meeting | the general meeting of the Company to be held at the offices of NVM Private Equity LLP at 10.00am on Wednesday 8 January 2020 |
||
| NAV | net asset value in pence per Ordinary Share | ||
| Listing Rules | the listing rules published from time to time by the Financial Conduct Authority acting in its capacity as the United Kingdom Listing Authority under Part VI of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended from time to time) |
||
| Offer | has the meaning set out on page 1 of this Circular | ||
| Official List | the Official List of the FCA | ||
| Ordinary Shares | ordinary shares of 5p each in the capital of the Company | ||
| Resolutions | resolutions 1 to 7 to be proposed at the General Meeting and each such resolution shall be a "Resolution" |
||
| Shareholders | registered holders of Ordinary Shares |
All Resolutions will be proposed as ordinary resolutions, unless otherwise mentioned. For an ordinary resolution to be passed, more than half of the votes cast (in person or by proxy) must be in favour of the Resolution. For a special resolution to be passed, at least three-quarters of the votes cast (in person or by proxy) must be in favour of the Resolution.
Shareholders are being asked, under the Act, to grant the Directors authority to allot Ordinary Shares in the Company up to a maximum nominal value of £1,000,000 representing approximately 21.25% of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company at the date of the notice convening the General Meeting. No shares are currently held in treasury. The authority granted by Resolution 1 is intended to be used solely for the purposes of the Offer.
This authority will be effective until the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company (expected to be held in July 2020) or, if earlier, 31 March 2021, except insofar as commitments to allot shares have been entered into before that date.
In substitution for the authority conferred on the Directors at the Company's last annual general meeting and in addition to the authority conferred by resolution 1, Shareholders are being asked, under the Act, to grant the Directors a general authority to allot shares in the Company. This Resolution, if passed, gives the Directors authority to allot Ordinary Shares up to a maximum nominal value of £542,813 or, if lower, such amount as shall represent 10% of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company following the issue of Ordinary Shares pursuant to the Offer. The Directors' current intention is that the authority granted by Resolution 2 will be used in connection with the issue of Ordinary Shares pursuant to the Company's dividend investment scheme.
This authority will be effective until the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company (expected to be held in July 2020) or, if earlier, 31 March 2021, except insofar as commitments to allot shares have been entered into before that date.
This Resolution supplements the Directors' specific authority to allot shares in the Company given to them by Resolution 1 and authorises the Directors to allot equity Ordinary Shares, or sell treasury shares, for cash (otherwise than pro rata to existing Shareholders) up to an aggregate nominal value of £1,000,000 (representing approximately 21.25% of the Company's issued ordinary share capital at the date of the notice convening the General Meeting). The authority is intended to be used for the purposes of the Offer.
This authority will be effective until the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company (expected to be held in July 2020) or, if earlier, 31 March 2021, save that the Company may before this power expires make an offer or agreement which would or might require equity securities to be allotted or treasury shares to be sold after the power expires.
Resolution 3 will be proposed as a special resolution.
In substitution for the authority conferred on the Directors at the Company's last annual general meeting, this Resolution supplements the Directors' general authority to allot shares in the Company given to them by Resolution 2 and authorises the Directors to allot Ordinary Shares, or sell treasury shares, for cash (otherwise than pro rata to existing Shareholders) up to an aggregate nominal value of £542,813 or, if lower, such amount as shall represent 10% of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company following the issue of Ordinary Shares pursuant to the Offer.
This authority will be effective until the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company (expected to be held in July 2020) or, if earlier, 31 March 2021, save that the Directors may so allot Ordinary Shares or sell treasury shares in pursuance of an offer or agreement entered into before the authority expires.
Resolution 4 will be proposed as a special resolution.
Under the Act, this Resolution authorises the Company to purchase in the market up to 10,856,267 Ordinary Shares or, if lower, such amount as shall represent 10% of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company following the issue of Ordinary Shares pursuant to the Offer at a minimum price per share of 5p and a maximum price per share of not more than 105% of the average market value of the relevant shares for the five business days prior to the date on which the purchase is made.
Unless previously renewed, varied or revoked, the authority will be effective until the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company (expected to be held in July 2020) or, if earlier, 31 March 2021.
Purchases of Ordinary Shares will be made only within the guidelines established and to be reviewed from time to time by the Directors, and where it is considered that such purchases would be to the advantage of the Company and its Shareholders as a whole. It is the Directors' intention that purchases will be made in the market for cash only at prices below the prevailing net asset value per share, thereby enhancing the net asset value per share for the Company's remaining Shareholders. Purchases will be financed from the Company's own cash resources or, if appropriate, from short term borrowings.
The cap on the price payable contained in the proposed Resolution reflects part of a restriction on the Company contained in the Listing Rules. In addition, under the Listing Rules the Company must not purchase shares at a price greater than the higher of the last independent trade and the highest current independent bid on the market where the purchase is carried out. There are no existing Ordinary Shares covered by options or warrants at the date of publication of this document.
Shares purchased under this authority become treasury shares which the Company can cancel or hold for sale for cash.
Resolution 5 will be proposed as a special resolution.
The Articles presently require that a resolution for the continuation of the Company be put to the annual general meeting of the Company held in 2023 and, unless defeated, at five-yearly intervals thereafter. The proposed amendment to Article 147 requires the continuation resolution to be considered at the annual general meeting of the Company expected to be held in 2025 and every five years thereafter. This amendment will have the effect of postponing the continuation resolution until after a period of five years has elapsed from the allotment of Shares under the Offer, five years being the minimum holding period to ensure that investors retain the initial income tax relief on their subscription. Article 147 of the Articles in its current form is set out below:
147
At the annual general meeting of the Company held in 2023 and, if the Company has not then been liquidated, unitised or reconstructed, at each fifth subsequent annual general meeting of the Company convened by the Directors thereafter, the Directors shall propose a resolution that the Company should continue as a venture capital trust for a further five year period, on which resolution the vote shall be decided on a show of hands unless on declaration of the result of the show of hands a poll is duly demanded. A poll may be demanded only by those persons set out in Article 63. For the purpose of this Article only, the resolution that the Company should continue as a venture capital trust shall not be passed only where the vote is held on a poll and the votes against the resolution:
If such resolution is not passed, the Directors shall draw up proposals for the voluntary liquidation, unitisation or other reorganisation of the Company for submission to the members of the Company at an extraordinary general meeting to be convened by the Directors for a date not more than nine months after the date of the meeting at which such ordinary resolution was not passed. The Directors shall use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that such proposals for the liquidation, unitisation or reorganisation of the Company as are approved by special resolution are implemented as soon as is reasonably practicable after the passing of such resolution.
Resolution 6 will be proposed as a special resolution.
This resolution seeks approval for the cancellation of the share premium account which will arise on the issue of the new Ordinary Shares in connection with the Offer. Subject to the approval of the Court, this will create additional distributable reserves in order to facilitate the buyback of the Company's own shares and/or the payment of dividends.
Resolution 7 will be proposed as a special resolution.
Notice is hereby given that a general meeting of the Company will be held at the offices of NVM Private Equity LLP, Time Central, 32 Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4SN, at 10.00am on Wednesday 8 January 2020 for the following purposes:
1 To consider and, if thought fit, to pass the following resolution as an ordinary resolution:
"That in substitution for and to the exclusion of any power previously conferred upon the Directors in this regard (save to the extent that any power has been relied upon prior to the passing of this resolution), the Directors be generally and unconditionally authorised pursuant to Section 551 of the Companies Act 2006 (the "Act") to allot shares in the Company and to grant rights to subscribe for or to convert any security into shares in the Company up to a maximum nominal amount of £1,000,000 in connection with the Offer (as defined in the circular to shareholders dated 4 December 2019 (the "Circular")) for a period expiring (unless previously renewed, varied or revoked by the Company in general meeting) on the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company after the passing of this resolution or, if earlier, 31 March 2021, save that the Company may before expiry of this authority make an offer or agreement which would or might require shares to be allotted, or rights to subscribe for or to convert any security into shares to be granted, after expiry of this authority and the Directors may allot shares, or grant rights to subscribe for or convert any security into shares, in pursuance of that offer or agreement as if this authority had not expired."
2 To consider and, if thought fit, to pass the following resolution as an ordinary resolution:
"That, subject to the passing of Resolution 1 and in addition to the authority granted by Resolution 1, the Directors be generally and unconditionally authorised pursuant to Section 551 of the Companies Act 2006 ("the Act") to allot shares in the Company and to grant rights to subscribe for or to convert any security into shares in the Company up to a maximum nominal amount of £542,813 or, if lower, such amount as shall represent 10% of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company following the issue of Ordinary Shares pursuant to the Offer for a period expiring (unless previously renewed, varied or revoked by the Company in general meeting) on the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company after the passing of this resolution or, if earlier, 31 March 2021, save that the Company may before expiry of this authority make an offer or agreement which would or might require shares to be allotted, or rights to subscribe for or to convert any security into shares to be granted, after expiry of this authority and the Directors may allot shares, or grant rights to subscribe for or convert any security into shares, in pursuance of that offer or agreement as if this authority had not expired."
3 To consider and, if thought fit, to pass the following resolution as a special resolution:
"That, subject to the passing of Resolution 1 above, the Directors may:
in each case as if Section 561(1) of the Act (existing shareholders' right of pre-emption) did not apply to the allotment or sale, provided that the power conferred by this resolution shall be limited to the allotment or sale of equity securities up to an aggregate nominal value of £1,000,000 in connection with the Offer (as defined in the Circular) and shall expire on the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company after the passing of this resolution or, if earlier, 31 March 2021, save that the Company may before this power expires make an offer or agreement which would or might require equity securities to be allotted or treasury shares to be sold after the power expires."
4 To consider and, if thought fit, to pass the following resolution as a special resolution:
"That, subject to the passing of Resolution 2 above, the Directors may:
in each case as if Section 561(1) of the Act (existing shareholders' right of pre-emption) did not apply to the allotment or sale, provided that the power conferred by this resolution shall be limited to the allotment or sale of equity securities up to an aggregate nominal value of £542,813 or, if lower, such amount as shall represent 10% of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company following the issue of Ordinary Shares pursuant to the Offer and shall expire on the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company after the passing of this resolution or, if earlier, 31 March 2021, save that the Company may before this power expires make an offer or agreement which would or might require equity securities to be allotted or treasury shares to be sold after the power expires."
5 To consider and, if thought fit, to pass the following resolution as a special resolution:
"That the Company be and is hereby generally and unconditionally authorised in accordance with Section 701 of the Act to make one or more market purchases (within the meaning of Section 693(4) of the Act) of its ordinary shares of 5p each provided that:
"That the articles of association of the Company be amended in the first sentence of Article 147 by deleting the date '2023' and substituting the date '2025'."
7 To consider and, if thought fit, to pass the following resolution as a special resolution:
"That, subject to the confirmation of the Court, the amount standing to the credit of the share premium account of the Company following the conclusion of the Offer be cancelled and the amount so cancelled be credited to a special reserve of the Company."
By order of the Board
Secretary Time Central 32 Gallowgate Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4SN 4 December 2019
In order for a proxy appointment or instruction made by means of CREST to be valid, the appropriate CREST message (a "CREST Proxy Instruction") must be properly authenticated in accordance with Euroclear UK & Ireland Limited's (EUI) specifications and must contain the information required for such instructions, as described in the CREST Manual. The message, regardless of whether it constitutes the appointment of a proxy or an amendment to the instruction given to a previously appointed proxy, must, in order to be valid, be transmitted so as to be received by the issuer's agent (ID RA19) by the latest time(s) for receipt of proxy appointments specified in this notice. For this purpose, the time of receipt will be taken to be the time (as determined by the timestamp applied to the message by the CREST Application Host) from which the issuer's agent is able to retrieve the message by enquiry to CREST in the manner prescribed by CREST. After this time any change of instructions to proxies appointed through CREST should be communicated to the appointee through other means.
CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting service providers should note that EUI does not make available special procedures in CREST for any particular message. Normal system timings and limitations will therefore apply in relation to the input of CREST Proxy Instructions. It is the responsibility of the CREST member concerned to take (or, if the CREST member is a CREST personal member or sponsored member or has appointed (a) voting service provider(s), to procure that his or her CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s) take(s)) such action as shall be necessary to ensure that a message is transmitted by means of the CREST system by any particular time. In this connection, CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting service provider(s) are referred, in particular, to those sections of the CREST Manual concerning practical limitations of the CREST system and timings.
The Company may treat as invalid a CREST Proxy Instruction in the circumstances set out in Regulation 35(5)(a) of the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001.

Form of Proxy for the General Meeting on 8 January 2020
I/We ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………
of …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………….
(block capitals please)
or failing him/her the chairman of the meeting to be my/our proxy and exercise all or any of my/our rights to attend, speak and vote for me/us in respect of my/our voting entitlement on my/our behalf at the general meeting of the Company to be held at 10.00am on Wednesday 8 January 2020 notice of which was sent to shareholders on 4 December 2019, and at any adjournment thereof. The proxy will vote as indicated below in respect of the Resolutions set out in the notice of meeting:
| Resolution number |
For | Against | Vote withheld |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | To authorise the Directors to allot shares pursuant to Section 551 of the Companies Act 2006 for the purposes of the Offer |
| | |
| 2 | To generally authorise the Directors to allot shares pursuant to Section 551 of the Companies Act 2006 |
| | |
| 3 | To disapply Section 561 of the Companies Act 2006 in relation to allotments of equity securities for the purposes of the Offer |
| | |
| 4 | To disapply Section 561 of the Companies Act 2006 in relation to certain other allotments of equity securities |
| | |
| 5 | To authorise the Company to make market purchases of ordinary shares in accordance with Section 701 of the Companies Act 2006 |
| | |
| 6 | To amend the articles of association to extend the life of the Company | | | |
| 7 | To approve the cancellation of the share premium account arising on the issue of Ordinary Shares pursuant to the Offer |
| | |
| | Please indicate by placing an X in this box if this proxy appointment is one of multiple appointments being made (see note 2 below). |
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| Please refer to the notes overleaf | ||||
| Signed: ……………………………………………………………………………… Date: ………………………………………………2019/2020 |
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| Attendance indication | ||||
| arrangements. | Shareholders who intend to attend the general meeting are requested to place a tick in the box below in order to assist with administrative | |||
| I/we intend to attend the general meeting of the Company to be held at 10.00am on Wednesday 8 January 2020 at the offices of NVM Private Equity LLP, Time Central, 32 Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4SN |
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| Signed: ……………………………………………………………………………… Date: …………………………………………2019/2020 |
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