Regulatory Filings • Jun 16, 2017
Regulatory Filings
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Offers for Subscription by Octopus AIM VCT plc and Octopus AIM VCT 2 plc for the tax years 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 to raise up to £30 million by way of an issue of New Shares, with an over-allotment facility of a further £10 million.
16 June 2017
If you are in any doubt about the action to be taken, you should immediately consult your bank manager, stockbroker, solicitor, accountant or other independent financial adviser authorised pursuant to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).
This document, which comprises a prospectus relating to Octopus AIM VCT plc and Octopus AIM VCT 2 plc (the "Companies") dated 16 June 2017, 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 16 June 2017.
The Companies and the Directors, whose names appear on pages 32 to 33 of this document, accept responsibility for the information contained herein. To the best of the knowledge of the Companies and the Directors (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 Companies 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.
The ordinary shares of the Companies 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 New Shares to be listed on the premium segment of the Official List and application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the New 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 New Shares within 10 business days of their allotment. The New Shares will be issued in registered form and will be freely transferable in both certificated and uncertificated form and will rank pari passu in all respects from the date of issue, except any issued on an ex-dividend basis, which will therefore not qualify for the next dividend.
The Offers are not being made, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan or the Republic of South Africa or their respective territories or possessions, and documents should not be distributed, forwarded or transmitted in or into such territories. The New 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.
| CONTENTS |
|---|
| SUMMARY | 5 |
|---|---|
| RISK FACTORS | 22 |
| EXPECTED TIMETABLE, OFFER STATISTICS AND COSTS RELATING TO THE OFFERS |
24 |
| LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMEN OF THE COMPANIES | 25 |
| KEY FEATURES | 28 |
| PART ONE Introduction to the Offers Terms of the Offers Use of funds |
28 |
| Intermediary charges Investment Policy Conflicts of Interest Performance History Dividend Policy and Dividend Reinvestment Scheme Buyback Policy The Boards The Investment Team Management Remuneration Example Investments |
|
| PART TWO Tax benefits and considerations for investors |
40 |
| PART THREE Financial information on the Companies |
44 |
| PART FOUR Investment portfolio of the Companies |
47 |
| PART FIVE Additional information on the Companies |
55 |
| DEFINITIONS | 87 |
| TERMS AND CONDITIONS | 90 |
| DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT SCHEME Scheme Terms and Conditions for each of the Companies |
97 |
| LIST OF ADVISERS TO THE COMPANIES | 103 |
Summaries are made up of disclosure requirements known as 'Elements'. The Elements are numbered in Sections A—E (A.1—E.7).
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'.
| Element | Disclosure | Disclosure |
|---|---|---|
| requirement | ||
| 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 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 the securities. |
| A.2 | Use of Prospectus by financial intermediaries |
The Companies and the Directors consent to the use of the Prospectus, and accept responsibility for the content of the Prospectus, with respect to subsequent resale or final placement of securities by financial intermediaries, from the date of the Prospectus until the close of the Offers. The Offers will close on or before 15 June 2018. There are no conditions attaching to this consent. Information on the terms and conditions of the offer by any financial intermediary is to be provided at the time of the offer by the financial intermediary. |
| Element | Disclosure | Disclosure |
|---|---|---|
| requirement |
| B.1 | Legal and commercial name |
Octopus AIM VCT plc and Octopus AIM VCT 2 plc | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B.2 | Domicile and legal form |
Companies Act 1985 with registered number 3477519. | Octopus AIM VCT plc was incorporated and registered in England and Wales on 8 December 1997 as a public company limited by shares under the Octopus AIM VCT 2 plc was incorporated and registered in England and Wales |
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| Act 1985 with registered number 5528235. | on 4 August 2005 as a public company limited by shares under the Companies | |||||
| CA 2006. | The Companies operate under the CA 2006 and regulations made under the | |||||
| B.5 | Group description |
Not applicable. The Companies are not part of a group. | ||||
| B.6 | Major shareholders |
the Companies. There are no different voting rights for any Shareholder. | The Companies are not aware of any person or persons who has, or who following the Offers will or could have, directly or indirectly, voting rights representing 3% or more of the issued share capital of the Companies or who can, or could following the Offers, directly or indirectly, exercise control over |
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| B. 7 | Key financial information |
Octopus AIM the following tables, is set out below. |
Selected historical financial information relating to Octopus AIM has been extracted from the audited and unaudited financial statements referenced in |
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| Audited | Audited | Audited | ||||
| Financial Results for |
Financial Results for |
Financial Results for |
||||
| the Year |
the Year |
the Year |
||||
| Ended 28 |
Ended 29 |
Ended 28 |
||||
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | ||||
| Net assets (£'000) |
72,612 | 77,224 | 99,915 | |||
| Net asset value per Share (p) |
110.2 | 101.6 | 114.4 | |||
| February | February | February |
| Revenue return | (17) | 20 | 78 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| after expenses | |||||
| and taxation | |||||
| (£'000) | |||||
| Dividend per | 5.5 | 9.3 | 5.0 | ||
| Share (p) | |||||
| Expenses | 1,626 | 1,817 | 1,839 | ||
| (£'000) | |||||
| As a percentage | 2.3% | 2.3% | 2.0% | ||
| of average | |||||
| Shareholders' | |||||
| funds | |||||
| Net asset value | (8.8) | 1.0 | 17.8 | ||
| return/ (loss) (p) | |||||
| Net proceeds of £17.5 million, £18.0 million and £4.3 million were raised by | |||||
| Octopus AIM under offers for subscription which opened on 29 August 2014, | |||||
| 21 December 2015 and 6 February 2017 respectively. Save in respect of these | |||||
| matters, there has been no significant change in the financial condition or | |||||
| operating results of Octopus AIM during or subsequent to the period covered | |||||
| by the historical information set out above. | |||||
| Octopus AIM 2 | |||||
| Selected historical financial information relating to Octopus AIM 2 has been | |||||
| extracted from the audited and unaudited financial statements referenced in | |||||
| the following tables, is set out below. | |||||
| Audited | Audited | Audited | |||
| Financial | Financial | Financial | |||
| Results for | Results for |
Results for |
|||
| the Year |
the Year |
the Year |
|||
| Ended 30 |
Ended 30 |
Ended 30 |
|||
| November | November | November | |||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |||
| Net assets |
45,016 | 52,317 | 63,005 | ||
| (£'000) | |||||
| Net asset value per Share (p) |
80.3 | 80.6 | 80.6 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue return after expenses and taxation (£'000) |
(15) | 9 | (3) | |||
| Dividend per Share (p) |
4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | |||
| Expenses (£'000) |
1,102 | 1,227 | 1,276 | |||
| As a percentage of average shareholders' funds |
2.3% | 2.4% | 2.1% | |||
| Net asset value return/ (loss) (p) |
(1.1) | 6.6 | 4.5 | |||
| covered by the historical information set out above. | Net proceeds of £11.3 million, £11.5 million and £4.3 million were raised by Octopus AIM 2 under offers for subscription which opened on 29 August 2014, 21 December 2015 and 6 February 2017 respectively. Save in respect of these matters, there has been no significant change in the financial condition or operating results of Octopus AIM 2 during or subsequent to the period |
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| B.8 | Key pro forma financial |
Not applicable. There is no pro forma financial information in the Prospectus. | ||||
| 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 |
contained within the document are not qualified. | Not applicable. The audit reports on the historical financial information |
| B.11 | Insufficient Working Capital |
Not applicable. Each Company is of the opinion that the working capital available to that Company is sufficient for its present requirements (that is, for at least the next twelve months from the date of this document). |
|---|---|---|
| B.34 | Investment policy |
The investment policy of Octopus AIM is as follows: The Company's investment policy has been designed and updated to ensure continued compliance with the VCT qualifying conditions. The Board intends that the long-term disposition of the Company's assets will be not less than 80% in a portfolio of qualifying AIM, NEX Exchange traded investments or unquoted companies where the management views an initial public offering |
| (IPO) on AIM or NEX Exchange is a short to medium-term objective. The non qualifying balance (approximately 20% of its funds) will be invested in permitted investments held for short term liquidity, generally comprising short-term cash or money market deposits with a minimum Moody's long term debt rating of 'A'. Moody's is an independent rating agency and is not registered in the EU. A proportion of the balance could be invested in funds managed by Octopus or other direct equity investments. This provides a reserve of liquidity which should maximise the Company's flexibility as to the timing of investment acquisitions and disposals, dividend payments and share buybacks. |
||
| Risk is spread by investing in a number of different businesses across a range of industry sectors. In order to qualify as an investment in a qualifying VCT holding, the Company's holdings in any one company (other than another VCT) must not exceed 15% by value of its investments at the time of investment. The value of an individual investment is expected to increase over time as a result of trading progress and a continuous assessment is made of its suitability for sale. |
||
| However, Shareholders should be aware that the Company's qualifying investments are held with a view to long-term capital growth as well as income and will often have limited marketability; as a result, it is possible that individual holdings may grow in value to the point where they represent a significantly higher proportion of total assets prior to a realisation opportunity being available. |
||
| The Company's Articles permit borrowings of amounts up to 10% of the sum equal to the aggregate of the amount paid up on the allotted or issued share capital of the Company and the amount standing to the credit of the capital and revenue reserves of the Company (whether or not distributable) after adding thereto or deducting therefrom any balance to the credit or debit of the profit and loss account. However, investments will normally be made using the Company's equity shareholders' funds and it is not intended that the Company will take on borrowings. |
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| The investment policy of Octopus AIM 2 is as follows: The Company's investment policy has been designed and updated to ensure continuing compliance with the VCT qualifying conditions. The Board intends that the long term disposition of the Company's assets will be not less than |
| 80% in a portfolio of qualifying AIM, NEX Exchange traded or unquoted companies where the management views an initial public offering (IPO) on AIM or NEX Exchange is a short to medium-term objective. The non-qualifying balance (approximately 20% of its funds) will be invested in permitted investments held for short term liquidity, generally comprising short-term cash or money market deposits with a minimum Moody's long-term debt rating of 'A'. Moody is an independent rating agency and is not registered in the EU. A proportion of the balance could be invested in funds managed by Octopus or other direct equity investments. This provides a reserve of liquidity which should maximise the Company's flexibility as to the timing of investment acquisitions and disposals, dividend payments and share buybacks. |
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|---|---|---|
| Risk is spread by investing in a number of different businesses across a range of industry sectors. In order to qualify as an investment in a qualifying VCT holding, the Company's holding in any one company (other than another VCT) must not exceed 15% by value of its investments at the time of investment. The value of an individual investment is expected to increase over time as a result of trading progress and a continuous assessment is made of its suitability for sale. However, Shareholders should be aware that the Company's qualifying investments are held with a view to long-term capital growth as well as income and will often have limited marketability; as a result, it is possible that individual holdings may grow in value to the point where they represent a significantly higher proportion of total assets prior to a realisation opportunity being available. Investments will normally be made using the Company's equity shareholders' funds and it is not intended that the Company will take on any long term borrowings. |
||
| The Company's Articles permit borrowings of amounts up to 10% of the sum equal to the aggregate of the amount paid up on the allotted or issued share capital of the Company and the amount standing to the credit of the capital and revenue reserves of the Company (whether or not distributable) after adding thereto or deducting therefrom any balance to the credit or debit of the profit and loss account. |
||
| B.35 | Borrowing limits |
The Companies' articles permit borrowings of amounts up to 10% of the sum equal to the aggregate of the amount paid up on the allotted or issued share capital of the Companies and the amount standing to the credit of the capital and revenue reserves of the Companies (whether or not distributable) after adding thereto or deducting therefrom any balance to the credit or debit of the profit and loss account. |
| B.36 | Regulatory status |
The Companies are authorised and regulated by the FCA as small registered UK alternative investment fund managers. |
| B.37 | Typical investor |
A typical investor for whom the Offers are designed is a UK income taxpayer over 18 years of age with an investment range of between £5,000 and £200,000 who, having regard to the risk factors set out in the Prospectus, considers the investment policy of each of the Companies to be attractive. This may include retail and sophisticated investors, as well as high net worth individuals who already have a portfolio of investments. |
| B.38 | Investment of 20% or more in a single underlying asset or investment company |
Not applicable. The Companies 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 Companies will not invest more than 40% in a single underlying asset or investment company. |
| B.40 | Applicant's service providers |
Octopus AIM An investment management agreement dated 3 February 1998 between Octopus AIM (1) and Close Investment Limited (2), which was supplemented by a supplemental investment management agreement dated 19 September 2000, which was novated to the Manager pursuant to a novation agreement dated 29 July 2008 and varied by deeds of variation dated 1 July 2010, 1 February 2013, 29 August 2014, 21 December 2015 and 16 June 2017 pursuant to which the Manager provides certain investment management services and administration and secretarial services to Octopus AIM for a fee payable quarterly in arrears of an amount equivalent to 2% per annum (exclusive of VAT, if any) of the NAV of Octopus AIM (the "Octopus AIM Fee") calculated in accordance with Octopus AIM's normal accounting policies. The Octopus AIM Fee shall be reduced by such amount so that the sum of the Octopus AIM Fee, the ongoing financial intermediary charges and the additional ongoing charges payable to Octopus by Octopus AIM under the offer for subscription of Octopus AIM that were launched in February 2013, the 2014 Offers, the 2015 Offers, the 2017 Top Up Offers and under the Offers will not exceed 2% of the NAV of Octopus AIM per annum. The agreement is terminable on 12 months' notice by either party subject to earlier termination by either party in the event of, inter alia, a party having a receiver, administrator or liquidator appointed or committing a material breach of the agreement or by Octopus AIM if it fails to become, or ceases to be, a VCT for tax purposes or where the Manager ceases to be authorised by the FCA, ceases to be resident in the UK or if there is a change of control of the Manager. The agreement contains provisions indemnifying the Manager against any liability not due to its default, gross negligence, fraud or breach of FSMA. Octopus AIM 2 An investment management agreement dated 6 October 2005 between Octopus AIM 2 (1) and Close Investment Limited (2), which was novated to |
| the Manager pursuant to a novation agreement dated 29 July 2008 and varied by deeds of variation dated 8 July 2010, 1 February 2013, 29 August 2014, 21 December 2015 and 16 June 2017, pursuant to which the Manager provides certain investment management services and administration and secretarial services to Octopus AIM 2 for a fee payable quarterly in arrears of an amount equivalent to 2% per annum (exclusive of VAT, if any) of the NAV of Octopus AIM 2 (the "Octopus AIM 2 Fee") calculated in accordance with Octopus AIM 2's normal accounting policies. The Octopus AIM 2 Fee shall be reduced by such amount so that the sum of the Octopus AIM 2 Fee, the ongoing financial intermediary charges payable and the additional ongoing charges payable to Octopus by Octopus AIM 2 under the offer for subscription of Octopus AIM 2 that was launched in February 2013, the 2014 Offers, the 2015 Offers, the 2017 Top Up Offers and under the Offers will not exceed 2% of the NAV of Octopus AIM 2 per annum. The agreement is terminable on 12 months' notice by either party subject to earlier termination by either party in the event of, inter alia, a party having a receiver, administrator or liquidator appointed or committing a material breach of the agreement or by Octopus AIM 2 if it fails to become, or ceases to be, a VCT for tax purposes or where the Manager ceases to be authorised by the FCA. The agreement contains provisions indemnifying the Manager against any liability not due to its default, gross negligence, fraud or breach of FSMA. The Companies |
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|---|---|---|
| Agreements dated 16 June 2017 between each of the Companies (1), their Directors (2), the Manager (3) and Howard Kennedy (4) pursuant to which Howard Kennedy agreed to act as sponsor to the Companies in respect of the Offers and the Manager agreed to use reasonable endeavours to procure subscribers for New Shares. Under the agreements the Manager is paid an initial fee of up to 5.5% of the funds received under the Offers (such a fee to be reduced in relation to applications from investors who are existing, or who were previously, shareholders of any Octopus VCT) and an ongoing fee of 0.5% per annum of the most recently announced NAV multiplied by the number of New Shares allotted to investors who have invested directly into the Companies and not through a financial intermediary, and which ongoing charges shall be deducted from the Octopus AIM Fee and the Octopus AIM 2 Fee, and the Manager has agreed to discharge all the external costs of advice and their own costs in respect of the Offers. Under these agreements certain warranties have been given by the Companies, the Directors and the Manager to Howard Kennedy. The Companies have also agreed to indemnify Howard Kennedy in respect of its role as sponsor to the Offers. The warranties and indemnity are in usual form for a contract of this type. The agreements can be terminated if any statement in the prospectus relating to the Offers is untrue, any material omission from the Prospectus arises or any breach of warranty occurs. |
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| B.41 | Regulatory status of the Manager |
The Manager is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. |
| B.42 | Calculation | The Net Asset Value of a Share is calculated in accordance with each |
| of Net Asset Value |
Company's accounting policy and published weekly through a Regulatory Information Service. The calculation of the Net Asset Value per Share would only be suspended in circumstances where the underlying data necessary to value the investments of either Company could not readily, or without undue expenditure, be obtained. Details of any suspension in making such calculations will be announced through a Regulatory Information Service. |
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|---|---|---|
| B.43 | Cross liability | Not applicable. The Companies are not umbrella collective investment undertakings and as such there is no cross liability between classes of Shares or investment in another collective investment undertaking. |
| B.44 | No financial statements have been made up |
Not applicable. The Companies have commenced operations and historical financial information is included within the document. |
| B.45 | Portfolio | Octopus AIM's investment portfolio is in a variety of sectors and comprises 71 UK AIM-quoted companies, 2 non-AIM companies, 4 fully listed companies on the premium segment of the Official List, none listed on NASDAQ and none traded on the NEX Exchange. As at 31 May 2017, Octopus AIM's portfolio of investments including current liquidity investments comprised, by value, £110.3 million and the net assets of the Company were £112.4 million. Octopus AIM 2's investment portfolio is in a variety of sectors and comprises 70 UK AIM-quoted companies, 2 non-AIM companies, 4 fully listed companies on the premium segment of the Official List, none listed on NASDAQ and none traded on the NEX Exchange. As at 31 May 2017, Octopus AIM 2's portfolio of investments including current liquidity investments comprised, by value, £74.3 million and the net assets of the Company were £75.6 million. |
| B.46 | Net Asset Value |
The unaudited Net Asset Value per Share as at 13 June 2017 was 120.0p and 88.7p for Octopus AIM and Octopus AIM 2 respectively. |
| Element | Disclosure requirement |
Disclosure |
|---|---|---|
| C.1 | Types and class of securities |
The Companies will issue New Shares under the Offers. The ISIN and SEDOL of Octopus AIM New Shares are GB0034202076 and 3420207 respectively. The ISIN and SEDOL of Octopus AIM 2 New Shares are GB00B0JQZZ80 and B0JQZZ8 respectively. |
| C.2 | Currency | Sterling. |
| C.3 | Number of securities to |
The Companies will issue New Shares under the Offers of up to £30 million in aggregate of funds raised, with an over-allotment facility of up to a |
| be issued | further £10 million in aggregate. | |
|---|---|---|
| C.4 | Description of the rights attaching to the securities |
As Regards Income: The holders of the Shares as a class shall be entitled to receive such dividends as the Directors resolve to pay. As Regards Capital: On a return of capital on a winding up or on a return of capital (other than on a purchase by the Companies of their own shares) the surplus capital and assets shall be divided amongst the holders of Shares pro rata according to the nominal capital paid up on their respective holdings of Shares. |
| As Regards Voting and General Meetings: Subject to disenfranchisement in the event of non-compliance with a statutory notice requiring disclosure as to beneficial ownership, each holder of Shares present in person or by proxy shall on a poll have one vote for each Share of which he is the holder. |
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| As Regards Redemption: | ||
| The Shares are not redeemable. | ||
| C.5 | Restrictions on the free transferability of the securities |
Not applicable. There are no restrictions on the free transferability of the Shares. |
| C.6 | Admission | Application has been made to the UK Listing Authority for the New Shares to be admitted to the premium segment of the Official List and an application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the New 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 New Shares will commence, within 10 Business Days of their allotment. |
| C.7 | Dividend policy |
Generally, a VCT must distribute by way of dividends, such amount as to ensure that it retains not more than 15% of its income from shares and securities. |
| Octopus AIM VCT intends to pay dividends to Shareholders and currently has a policy of paying a minimum dividend of 5p per year or a 5% yield based on share price, whichever is greater at the time. |
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| Octopus AIM VCT 2 intends to pay dividends to Shareholders and currently has a policy of paying a minimum dividend of 3.6p per year or a 5% yield based on share price, whichever is greater at the time. |
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| The payment of dividends will result in a reduction in the NAVs of the |
| Companies. | ||
|---|---|---|
| -- | -- | ------------ |
| Element | Disclosure | Disclosure |
|---|---|---|
| requirement | ||
| D.2 | Key information on the key risks specific to the |
Shareholders may be adversely affected by the performance of the investments, which may restrict the ability of the Company to distribute any capital gains and revenue received on the investments. |
| issuer | The Companies' investments may be difficult, and take time, to realise. There may also be constraints imposed on the realisation of investments in order to maintain the tax status of the Companies. These factors may affect the performance of the Companies. |
|
| Investment in AIM-traded, NEX Exchange traded and unquoted companies, by its nature, involves a higher degree of risk than investment in companies listed on the Official List. |
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| Whilst it is the intention of the Boards that the Companies will continue to be managed so as to qualify as VCTs, there can be no guarantee that such status will be maintained. If the Companies cease to qualify as venture capital trusts, venture capital trust tax benefits will not be available to Shareholders. |
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| If a Shareholder disposes of his or her Shares within five years of issue, he or she will be subject to clawback by HMRC of any income tax reliefs originally claimed. Tax relief on subscriptions for Shares is also restricted if, within 6 months of subscription, whether before or after the subscription, the investor also disposes of Shares in the same Company. |
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| The Companies will only pay dividends on their Shares to the extent that they have distributable reserves and cash available for that purpose. The Finance Act 2014 amended the VCT Rules in respect of VCT shares issued on or after 6 April 2014, such that VCT status will be withdrawn if, in respect of shares issued on or after 6 April 2014, a dividend is paid (or other forms of distribution or payments are made to investors) from capital within three years of the end of the accounting period in which shares were issued to investors. This may reduce the amount of distributable reserves available to the Company to fund dividends and share buybacks. |
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| The Finance (No 2) Act 2015 introduced a maximum age limit for investments (generally 7 years from first commercial sale, or 10 years for Knowledge Intensive Companies), and a maximum amount of Risk Finance State Aid which a company can receive over its lifetime (£12 million, or £20 million for Knowledge |
| Intensive Companies). Companies receiving VCT funds are not permitted to use those funds to acquire shares, businesses or certain intangible assets. These changes may mean that there are fewer opportunities for investment and that the Companies may not be able to provide further investment funds for companies already in their portfolios. Violation of any of these conditions could result in the loss of VCT status by the Companies. |
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|---|---|---|
| D.3 | Key information on the key risks specific to the securities |
The value of Shares can fluctuate and investors may not get back the amount they invested. Shareholders could lose part or all of their investment. There is no certainty that the market price of Shares will fully reflect their underlying NAV or that any dividends will be paid, nor should Shareholders rely upon any share buyback policy to offer any certainty of selling their Shares at prices that reflect their underlying NAV. |
| Although the existing Shares have been (and it is anticipated that the New Shares will be) admitted to the premium segment of the Official List and are (or will be) traded on the London Stock Exchange's market for listed securities, the secondary market for VCT shares is generally illiquid and Shareholders may find it difficult to realise their investment. |
| Element | Disclosure | Disclosure |
|---|---|---|
| requirement | ||
| E.1 | Net proceeds and expenses of the Issue |
The expenses (excluding VAT, if any) relating to the Offers (including intermediary commission), and the expenses charged to an investor, directly or indirectly, will be up to 5.5% of the gross funds raised by the Companies. The net proceeds of the Offers, assuming full subscription and the maximum initial adviser charge will, therefore, be £37.8 million. |
| E.2a | Reason for the | The raising of further funds by way of the Offers is intended to produce the |
| Offers and use of proceeds |
following benefits: | |
| to provide existing and new investors with the opportunity to invest into smaller companies in a tax efficient manner, through an experienced investment management team; |
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| to provide existing investments with additional capital in pursuit of their growth objectives; |
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| to provide additional funds for new investments into qualifying companies so that the portfolios can potentially be diversified; and |
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| to provide the Companies with additional funds for their working |
| capital purposes, not least in support of their buyback policies, which sustain the secondary market in the shares, and to provide a larger capital base over which to spread the fixed costs of the Companies. |
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|---|---|---|
| E.3 | Terms and | The Offer Price will be determined by the following formula: |
| conditions of the Offers |
the most recently announced NAV per Share of each Company at the time of allotment, divided by 0.945 |
|
| The Companies announce their NAV on a weekly basis. Where the share prices for the Companies have been declared ex-dividend on the London Stock Exchange, the NAV used for determining the Offer Price will be ex dividend. In respect of the Offers, the NAV per New Share will be rounded up to one decimal place and the number of New Shares to be issued will be rounded down to the nearest whole number (fractions of New Shares will not be allotted). Where there is a surplus of application funds, these will be returned to applicants without interest, except where the amount is less than the Offer Price of one New Share, in which case it will be donated to a charity approved by the Boards. |
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| The Offers in respect of Octopus AIM and Octopus AIM 2 are conditional upon Resolutions 1 and 3 being passed at the Octopus AIM GM and the Octopus AIM 2 GM respectively. Subject to the Offers becoming unconditional and remaining open for both Companies, Applicants may elect that their Applications are allocated 100% to either Company or split 60% to Octopus AIM and 40% to Octopus AIM 2 and, in default of any election, the subscription monies will be split 60% to Octopus AIM and the remaining 40% to Octopus AIM 2. The maximum to be raised by Octopus AIM is £24 million. The maximum to be raised by Octopus AIM 2 is £16 million. As the Companies near capacity one may be fully subscribed earlier than the other. In the event of an Applicant's preferred allocation, or the default allocation, not being possible, that part of an Applicant's subscription that cannot be allocated to either Company will, unless an Applicant directs otherwise, be allocated to the other Company. If the Offers do not become unconditional for either Company, an Applicant's subscription will, unless an Applicant directs otherwise, be allocated to the other Company. |
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| The Offers will close on or before 15 June 2018. The Boards reserve the right to close the offer earlier and to accept applications and issue New Shares at any time prior to the close of the Offers. New Shares issued will rank pari passu with the existing Shares from the date of issue, except any issued on an ex-dividend basis, which will therefore not qualify for the next dividend. |
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| E.4 | Material interests |
Not applicable. No interest is material to the Offers. |
| E.5 | Name of person selling |
Not applicable. No person or entity is offering to sell the security as part of the Offers and there are no lock-up agreements. |
| securities | ||
|---|---|---|
| E.6 | Dilution | The existing issued Octopus AIM Shares will represent 82.7% of the enlarged ordinary share capital immediately following the Offers, assuming the Offers are fully subscribed in both Companies with subscriptions split as to 60%/40% as between Octopus AIM and Octopus AIM 2 respectively at an Offer Price for Octopus AIM of 127.0p, and on that basis Octopus AIM Shareholders who do not subscribe under the Offers will, therefore, be diluted by 17.3%. |
| The existing issued Octopus AIM 2 Shares will represent 82.9% of the enlarged ordinary share capital immediately following the Offers, assuming the Offers are fully subscribed in both Companies with subscriptions split as to 60%/40% as between Octopus AIM and Octopus AIM 2 respectively at an Offer Price for Octopus AIM 2 of 93.9p, and on that basis Octopus AIM 2 Shareholders who do not subscribe under the Offers will, therefore, be diluted by 17.1%. |
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| E.7 | Expenses charged to the investor |
For all investors, the Offer Price per Share will be determined by a formula reflecting the Net Asset Value per Share ("NAV") adjusted for an allowance for the majority of the costs of the Offers. The formula is: |
| | the most recently announced NAV per Share of each Company at the time of allotment, divided by 0.945. |
|
| | In consideration for promoting the Offers, the Companies will pay an initial charge of 3% of the gross sum invested in the Offers to Octopus. This is payable in the same way on all subscriptions to the Offers. From this sum Octopus will discharge all external costs of advice and their own costs in respect of the Offers. In addition, there are then four categories of options, which are determined by the circumstances of each investor and their explicit instructions, in respect of which payments can be made to advisers and other intermediaries. These are as follows: |
|
| 1) A direct investment Investors who have not invested their money through a financial intermediary/adviser and have invested directly into the Companies. |
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| In consideration for promoting the Offers, if an application is made directly (not through an intermediary/adviser) then the Companies will pay Octopus an additional initial charge of 2.5% of the investment amount and an additional ongoing charge of 0.5% per annum of the most recently announced NAV multiplied by the number of New Shares allotted to that investor for up to nine years, provided the investor continues to hold the New Shares. The cost of this ongoing charge will not result in a higher fee to investors since Octopus will reduce its annual management fee accordingly. |
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| 2) An advised investment where advice is received for an upfront fee with an ongoing adviser charge Investors who have invested in the Offers through a financial |
| intermediary/adviser and have received upfront advice and will receive ongoing advice. |
|
|---|---|
| The Companies can facilitate a payment on behalf of an investor to an intermediary/adviser (an 'initial adviser charge') of up to 2.5% of the investment amount. If the investor has agreed with his/her intermediary/adviser to pay a lower initial adviser charge, the balance (up to a maximum of 2.5%) will be used for the issue and allotment of New Shares for the investor, issued at the most recently announced NAV per Share, divided by 0.945 as described above. |
|
| The Companies can also facilitate payments to an intermediary/adviser ('ongoing adviser charges') in respect of ongoing advisory services provided by the intermediary/adviser to the investor of up to 0.5% per annum of the most recently announced NAV multiplied by the number of New Shares allotted to that investor for up to nine years, provided that the investor continues to be the beneficial owner of the New Shares. If the investor chooses to pay their adviser less than 0.5% annually, the remaining amount will be used for the issue and allotment of additional New Shares for the investor, at the then most recently announced NAV per Share rounded down to the nearest whole share. Any residual amount less than the cost of a New Share will be donated to a charity approved by the relevant Board. The cost of ongoing adviser charges will not result in a higher fee to investors since Octopus will reduce its annual management fee accordingly. |
|
| If the investor terminates their relationship with the intermediary/adviser then the Companies will not make any further payments of ongoing adviser charges to that intermediary/adviser. The Companies will facilitate ongoing adviser charges if an investor changes their adviser and consents to the ongoing adviser charge. |
|
| 3) An advised investment where advice is received for an upfront fee with | |
| no ongoing adviser charge Investors who have invested in the Offers through a financial |
|
| intermediary/adviser and have received upfront advice with no ongoing adviser charge, including investors who are investing through intermediaries/advisers using financial platforms. |
|
| Where an investor agreed to an upfront fee only, the Companies can facilitate a payment of an initial adviser charge of up to 4.5% of the investment amount. If the investor chooses to pay their intermediary/adviser less than the maximum initial adviser charge, the remaining amount will be used for the issue and allotment of additional New Shares for the investor, issued at the most recently announced NAV per Share, divided by 0.945 as described above. In these circumstances the Companies will not facilitate ongoing annual payments. To ensure that the Companies are not financially disadvantaged by such payment, a notional ongoing advisor charge equivalent to 0.5% per annum of the most recently announced NAV multiplied by the number of New Shares allotted to that investor will be deemed to have been paid by the Companies for a period of nine years. Octopus will subsequently reduce its annual management |
|
| charge by the amount of this notional ongoing adviser charge to ensure |
| that the Companies are not financially disadvantaged. | |
|---|---|
| In both cases (2) or (3), should the investor choose to pay the adviser more than 2.5% or 4.5% respectively, the excess amount will have to be settled by the investor directly with the adviser. |
|
| 4) A non-advised investment using an intermediary Investors who have invested their money through a financial intermediary and have not received advice. |
|
| An initial charge of 2.5% of the investment will be paid by the Companies to such an intermediary. An ongoing charge of 0.5% per annum of the most recently announced NAV multiplied by the number of New Shares allotted to that investor will be paid by Octopus to the intermediary for up to nine years provided that the investor continues to be the beneficial owner of the New Shares (and in the case of an intermediary the intermediary continues to act for the investor). Since Octopus pays the cost of this ongoing charge, this will not result in a higher fee to investors. |
|
| These charges may, according to the proportion of advised investors where advice is received for an upfront fee only, create some limited reduction of the NAV per Share immediately subsequent to subscriptions in the Offers being made. This effect will be mitigated and is ultimately expected to be more than compensated, for continuing investors, by the expected benefits derived from a larger pool of investable funds and the financial benefit in subsequent periods of the absence of ongoing adviser charges in respect of such investments and the subsequent reduction in the Octopus annual management fee to reflect this. |
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| The reinvestment arrangements relating to ongoing adviser charges which are described in section 2 above will only operate for as long as an investor remains the holder of the New Shares. Any subsequent purchaser of those New Shares will not benefit from the reinvestment arrangements set out above irrespective of the adviser charges which they have agreed with their adviser nor will Octopus facilitate any adviser charges. This, therefore, means that any subsequent purchaser of New Shares will not benefit from the issue or allotment of any additional New Shares under the arrangements set out above. |
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| Any additional New Shares which are issued under the arrangements described above will be issued in full and final satisfaction of any cash sums which would otherwise be due to the investor. The Companies do not hereby accept or assume or undertake any liability or obligation of any nature whatsoever to any adviser as regards the payment of any adviser charges (whether such charges are initial adviser charges or ongoing adviser charges). The role of the Companies is simply to facilitate such payments to the extent permitted by applicable rules and regulations. |
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| | Loyalty Discount Investors who are existing, or who were previously, shareholders of any Octopus VCT will benefit from the costs of the Offers being reduced by 1.0%. Applicants will receive these reductions in the form of additional New |
| Shares, which will be paid for by Octopus and issued at the most recently |
|---|
| announced NAV per Share, divided by 0.945 as described above. |
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 either of the Companies' business, financial condition or results of operations. The risks and uncertainties described below are the only known material risks which the Companies or their Shareholders will face. Further risks, unknown by the Companies, may exist. Any decision to invest under the Offers should be based on consideration of this document as a whole.
The Offers are conditional on the approval by Shareholders of Resolutions 1 and 3 to be proposed at the General Meetings. If these Resolutions are not approved, the Offers will be withdrawn and the expected benefits of the Offers will not be realised and the Companies will be responsible for the costs of the Offers.
The past performance of the Companies and/or Octopus and/or any other Octopus managed funds is no indication of future performance. The return received by Shareholders will be dependent on the performance of the underlying investments of the Companies. The value of such investments, and the interest income and dividends they generate, may fall and there is no certainty as to any level of returns which may be received by Shareholders.
The Companies' investments may be difficult, and take time, to realise. There may also be constraints imposed on the realisation of investments in order to maintain the VCT tax status of the Companies, which may adversely affect the performance of the Companies.
It can take a number of years for the underlying value or quality of the businesses of smaller companies, such as those in which the Companies invest, to be fully reflected in their market values and their market values are often also materially affected by general market sentiment, which can be negative for prolonged periods.
Investment in AIM traded, NEX Exchange traded and unquoted companies, by their nature, involves a higher degree of risk than investment in companies listed on the premium segment of the Official List. In particular, small companies often have limited product lines, markets or financial resources and may be dependent for their management on a small number of key individuals and may be more susceptible to political, exchange rate, taxation and other regulatory changes. In addition, the market for securities in smaller companies is usually less liquid than that for securities in larger companies, bringing with it potential difficulties in acquiring, valuing and disposing of such securities. Investment returns will, therefore, be uncertain and involve a higher degree of risk than investment in a company listed on the Official List.
Whilst it is the intention of the Boards that the Companies will continue to be managed so as to qualify as VCTs, there can be no guarantee that such status will be maintained. Failure to continue to meet the qualifying requirements could result in the Shareholders losing the tax reliefs available for VCT shares, resulting in adverse tax consequences including, if the holding has not been held for the relevant holding period, a requirement to repay the tax reliefs obtained. Furthermore, should the Companies lose their VCT status, dividends and gains arising on the disposal of New Shares in the Companies would become subject to tax and the Companies would also lose their exemption from corporation tax on capital gains.
If a Shareholder disposes of his or her Shares within five years of issue, he or she will be subject to clawback by HMRC of any income tax reliefs originally claimed.
The tax rules, or their interpretation, in relation to an investment in the Companies and/or the rates of tax may change during the life of the Companies and may apply retrospectively, which may adversely affect the performance of the Companies.
Any purchaser of existing Shares in the secondary market will not qualify for the then (if any) available tax reliefs afforded only to subscribers of New Shares on the amount invested.
The Companies will only pay dividends on Shares to the extent that they have distributable reserves and cash available for that purpose. A reduction in income received, or in capital gains realised, from the Companies' investments may adversely affect the dividends payable to Shareholders. Accordingly, there is no certainty as to the level of dividends (if any) that may be paid to investors.
VCT status will be withdrawn if, in respect of VCT shares issued on or after 6 April 2014, a dividend is paid (or other forms of distribution or payments are made to investors) from share capital or reserves arising from the issue of shares within three years of the end of the accounting period in which shares were issued to investors. This may reduce the amount of distributable reserves available to the Company to fund dividends and share buybacks.
The Finance (No 2) Act 2015 introduced a maximum age limit for investments (generally 7 years from first commercial sale, or 10 years for Knowledge Intensive Companies), and a maximum amount of Risk Finance State Aid which a company can receive over its lifetime (£12 million, or £20 million for Knowledge Intensive Companies). Companies receiving VCT funds are not permitted to use those funds to acquire shares, businesses or certain intangible assets. These changes may mean that there are fewer opportunities for investment and that the Companies may not be able to provide further investment funds for companies already in their portfolios. Violation of any of these conditions could result in the loss of VCT status by the Companies.
The value of Shares can go down as well as up. Shareholders' capital is at risk and they may not get back the full amount invested. The value of the Shares could decline due to any of the risk factors described above and Shareholders could lose part or all of their investment.
There is no certainty that the market price of Shares will fully reflect their underlying NAV or that any dividends will be paid, nor should Shareholders rely upon any Share buyback policy to offer any certainty of selling their Shares at prices that reflect the underlying NAV.
Although the existing Shares have been (and it is anticipated that the New Shares will be) admitted to the premium segment of the Official List and are (or will be) traded on the London Stock Exchange's market for listed securities, the secondary market for VCT shares is generally illiquid. Therefore, there may not be a liquid market (which may be partly attributable to the fact that initial tax reliefs are not available for VCT shares generally bought in the secondary market and because VCT shares usually trade at a discount to their NAV) and Shareholders may find it difficult to realise their investment. An investment in the Companies should, therefore, be considered as a long term investment.
Tax relief on subscriptions for shares in a VCT is restricted where an investor has disposed of shares in that VCT (or in a VCT which at any time merges with that VCT) within six months (before or after) that subscription. Existing Shareholders should be aware that the sale of existing Shares within these periods could, therefore, put their income tax relief relating to the Offers at risk.
| Launch date of the Offers | 16 June 2017 |
|---|---|
| First allotments under the Offers | 4 August 2017 |
| Subsequent allotments under the Offers | At regular intervals thereafter |
| Closing date of Offers | 12 noon on 15 June 2018 |
| Costs of Offers* | Up to 5.5% of gross proceeds of Offers |
|---|---|
| Initial adviser charge or intermediary commission** |
Up to 4.5% of gross sum invested in the Offers |
| Ongoing adviser charge or annual ongoing charge*** |
Up to 0.5% per annum of the most recently announced NAV multiplied by the number of New Shares allotted to the investor for up to 9 years |
Octopus AIM VCT plc Octopus AIM VCT 2 plc 33 Holborn London EC1N 2HT
16 June 2017
Dear Investor,
Following the very rapid completion of the top-up offer for subscriptions which the Companies launched in February this year, we are delighted to inform you that the Boards have decided to offer both Shareholders and new investors a chance to invest further by acquiring new shares in the Companies. The combined Offers intend to raise initially up to £30 million in aggregate for both Companies in the tax years 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 with an over-allotment facility, in order to cater for demand, of up to a further £10 million. With the rate of companies seeking finance from investors on AIM rising after a slow start this year, the Manager believes that there will be attractive new investment opportunities in the future.
Octopus AIM and Octopus AIM 2 invest predominantly in AIM companies in order to provide long-term capital growth and income on a tax-free basis and were set up in December 1997 and August 2005 respectively. The Companies have retained their separate identities, although they have both been managed by the Octopus Smaller Companies Team since 1 August 2008 and previously by the same individuals at the predecessor management company. New Qualifying Investments are usually made by the Companies in proportion to the relative sizes of the two Companies, depending on the availability of funding and the application of VCT rules and of other relevant considerations. This has been the case since 2010 and, as a result, the two portfolios have become increasingly similar over time.
Reflecting their different starting dates, the Companies have different year ends. The advantage for an investor who has shares in both Companies should be the receipt of tax-free dividends from the Companies at approximately quarterly intervals.
AIM is one of the world's most successful markets for fast-growing, innovative and aspirational companies that require capital to reach their full potential. When the London Stock Exchange launched AIM in 1995 for the smaller companies market, it contained just 10 companies with a combined market value of £82.2 million. Over 960 companies are now listed on AIM with a combined market value exceeding £95 billion (Source: London Stock Exchange, AIM Statistics, May 2017). As well as being a good place for smaller companies to gain access to funding to help them grow, AIM remains one of the best places for growing businesses to take their first steps to becoming listed public companies. It's also worth noting that over the years, AIM companies have made a significant contribution to the UK economy in terms of job creation, tax revenue and gross domestic product growth. What is often overlooked within AIM, however, is the diversity of companies and sectors that exist on the market, particularly its higher exposure to software, technology and healthcare. This means that having the ability to spot growth potential at an early stage can create the opportunity for significant returns.
For those comfortable with the risks of investing in smaller companies, getting exposure to these companies through a VCT can prove attractive. As well as the long-term potential growth of smaller companies, the tax benefits associated with a VCT can enhance the position for investors further. In addition, a larger and more diversified portfolio of companies can provide a higher level of confidence that if one company fails, the performance of the other holdings will compensate.
Both Companies have a proven track record as investment vehicles in the AIM VCT sector. The portfolios are already established and comfortably meet VCT qualifying requirements. Each currently has a spread of around 75 holdings, ranging from established investments in profitable and dividend-paying companies, many of which have matured during the period of each Company's investment, to more recent, earlier stage investments, which are expected by Octopus to start to contribute to performance in the future. But most importantly, we continue to hold these companies because we believe they have the potential to continue growing.
As at 31 May 2017 each Company had approximately 50% of its assets invested in its top 20 equity holdings, all but one of which are expected, by Octopus, to make a profit in their current financial year. In relation to each Company, of all the total equity holdings, approximately 80% by value is invested in companies which are forecast to be profitable in the current year and approximately 60% by value is invested in companies forecast to pay a dividend. Both Companies have performed well, producing positive growth in their respective unaudited NAV total return over the last three and five year periods. If dividends paid out in the period are added back, Octopus AIM has seen its unaudited NAV rise by 22.3% on a total return basis in the 12 months to 31 May 2017 and Octopus AIM 2 has seen its unaudited NAV rise by 22.0% on a total return basis during the same period. Please remember that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results and the value of shares can fall as well as rise.
Octopus believes that, over the past several decades, UK smaller companies have enjoyed significantly higher earnings growth than their larger counterparts, with commensurately relatively better performance, over the same period, from smaller companies' indices. This relationship did not hold true in 2016 as a result of the EU referendum in the UK causing a fall in the value of sterling which produced a foreign earnings benefit for larger companies. However, with predictions of poor post-referendum UK economic performance continuing to be confounded, despite the further political uncertainty caused by the recent UK election result, the Manager believes that the right conditions exist for the normal relationship, of smaller company relative outperformance, to resume and smaller companies indices have indeed outperformed in the first five months of 2017. Having raised over £4.7 billion of additional new capital for growth companies in 2016, AIM remains firmly open to supporting companies with further capital for growth and development. Octopus believes that the smaller companies market remains an extremely dynamic growth market and one that is relatively under-researched and inefficient, making it possible for active managers, less concerned about short term swings in sentiment, to discover good value for the benefit of longer term investors.
VCTs are Government-led investment vehicles designed to incentivise investors for supporting smaller, higher-risk companies. Qualifying investors are entitled to claim a number of tax incentives on investments up to £200,000 each year (as more fully set out in Part Two of this document). These include:
Income tax relief – investors can claim 30% upfront income tax relief on the amount invested, provided Shares are held for at least five years. For example, with an investment of £10,000, £3,000 can be taken off your income tax bill although the amount of income tax you claim cannot exceed the amount of income tax due.
Tax-free dividends and capital gains - meaning that any growth in the portfolio value is not subject to tax.
Investors should note that tax treatment depends on their individual circumstances and may be subject to change.
The Terms and Conditions of subscription for New Shares are set out on pages 90 to 96 and an application form can be found on the Companies' website: octopusinvestments.com/aimvct.
Finally, we would like to thank all of our existing Shareholders for their continued support of the UK's small businesses, and welcome new investors to the Companies.
Yours sincerely
Roger Smith Keith Mullins Chairman Chairman
Octopus AIM VCT plc Octopus AIM VCT 2 plc
Introduction to the Offers Terms of the Offers Use of funds Intermediary charges Investment policy Conflicts of Interest Performance History Dividend Policy and Dividend Reinvestment Scheme Buyback Policy The Boards The Investment Team Management Remuneration Example Investments
VCTs were introduced by the UK Government in 1995 to encourage individuals to invest in UK smaller companies. According to the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), almost £542 million was invested in VCTs in the 2016/2017 tax year, the largest amount for a decade.
An investment under the Offers will provide individuals with exposure to a diversified portfolio of AIM-listed smaller companies with the aim of generating returns over the medium to long-term. Each of the Companies will invest in accordance with its investment policy, as set out below. The Companies are seeking to raise, in aggregate, up to £30 million under the Offers with an overallotment facility of up to a further £10 million, in aggregate. New investors have the option of buying Shares in one or both of the Companies. They can split their investment 60%/40% between Octopus AIM and Octopus AIM 2, or place 100% of their investment into either Company.
As the Companies pay dividends at different times of the year, investing in both Companies offers the potential for investors to receive four dividend payments per year. The minimum investment is £5,000. There is no maximum investment, however, potential investors should be aware that tax relief is only available on a maximum investment of £200,000 in each tax year. Multiple Applications are permitted.
The Offers are conditional upon Resolutions 1 and 3 being passed at the General Meetings. The Offers will remain open until 15 June 2018, unless fully subscribed at an earlier date or closed earlier at the discretion of the Boards.
The full terms and conditions applicable to the Offers are set out on pages 90 to 96.
The funds raised under the Offers will be used by each of the Companies to make investments in accordance with their published investment policies and for the payment of normal running costs. Some of the funds raised will be used to invest into new portfolio companies and some may be used to support the Companies' existing holdings.
Details are set out in the Terms and Conditions of the Offers on pages 90 to 96.
The investment policy of Octopus AIM is as follows:
The Company's investment policy has been designed and updated to ensure continued compliance with the VCT qualifying conditions. The Board intends that the long-term disposition of the Company's assets will be not less than 80% in a portfolio of qualifying AIM, NEX Exchange traded investments or unquoted companies where the management views an initial public offering (IPO) on AIM or NEX Exchange is a short to medium-term objective. The non-qualifying balance (approximately 20% of its funds) will be invested in permitted investments held for short term liquidity, generally comprising short-term cash or money market deposits with a minimum Moody's long-term debt rating of 'A'. Moody's is an independent rating agency and is not registered in the EU. A proportion of the balance could be invested in funds managed by Octopus or other direct equity investments. This provides a reserve of liquidity which should maximise the Company's flexibility as to the timing of investment acquisitions and disposals, dividend payments and share buybacks.
Risk is spread by investing in a number of different businesses across a range of industry sectors. In order to qualify as an investment in a qualifying VCT holding, the Company's holdings in any one company (other than another VCT) must not exceed 15% by value of its investments at the time of investment. The value of an individual investment is expected to increase over time as a result of trading progress and a continuous assessment is made of its suitability for sale.
However, Shareholders should be aware that the Company's qualifying investments are held with a view to long-term capital growth as well as income and will often have limited marketability; as a result, it is possible that individual holdings may grow in value to the point where they represent a significantly higher proportion of total assets prior to a realisation opportunity being available.
The Company's Articles permit borrowings of amounts up to 10% of the sum equal to the aggregate of the amount paid up on the allotted or issued share capital of the Company and the amount standing to the credit of the capital and revenue reserves of the Company (whether or not distributable) after adding thereto or deducting therefrom any balance to the credit or debit of the profit and loss account. However, investments will normally be made using the Company's equity shareholders' funds and it is not intended that the Company will take on borrowings.
The investment policy of Octopus AIM 2 is as follows:
The Company's investment policy has been designed and updated to ensure continuing compliance with the VCT qualifying conditions. The Board intends that the long term disposition of the Company's assets will be not less than 80% in a portfolio of qualifying AIM, NEX Exchange traded or unquoted companies where the management views an initial public offering (IPO) on AIM or NEX Exchange is a short to medium-term objective. The non-qualifying balance (approximately 20% of its funds) will be invested in permitted investments held for short term liquidity, generally comprising short-term cash or money market deposits with a minimum Moody's long-term debt rating of 'A'. Moody is an independent rating agency and is not registered in the EU. A proportion of the balance could be invested in funds managed by Octopus or other direct equity investments. This provides a reserve of liquidity which should maximise the Company's flexibility as to the timing of investment acquisitions and disposals, dividend payments and share buybacks. XV 1.4 Risk is spread by investing in a number of different businesses across a range of industry sectors. In order to qualify as an investment in a qualifying VCT holding, the Company's holding in any one company (other than another VCT) must not exceed 15% by value of its investments at the time of investment. The value of an individual investment is expected to increase over time as a result of trading progress and a continuous assessment is made of its suitability for sale. However, Shareholders should be aware that the Company's qualifying investments are held with a view to long-term capital growth as well as income and will often have limited marketability; as a result, it is possible that individual holdings may grow in value to the point where they represent a significantly higher proportion of total assets prior to a realisation opportunity being available. Investments will normally be made using the Company's equity shareholders' funds and it is not intended that the Company will take on any long term borrowings.
The Company's Articles permit borrowings of amounts up to 10% of the sum equal to the aggregate of the amount paid up on the allotted or issued share capital of the Company and the amount standing to the credit of the capital and revenue reserves of the Company (whether or not distributable) after adding thereto or deducting therefrom any balance to the credit or debit of the profit and loss account.
Octopus has built strong relationships with many of the companies in which the VCTs it manages invest, and sometimes different sources of funding is used to invest in the same companies. This can present 'conflicts of interest', as explained below.
With these relationships, there's a chance that the interests of one group of investors will be at odds, or present a conflict, with the interests of another group, or with the interests of Octopus. Conflicts of interest are not necessarily a problem in themselves, but they need to be managed carefully to make sure investors are treated fairly at all times. For example:
The Octopus Smaller Companies team will often invest funds from the Companies along with funds from other Octopus-managed products and sometimes even Octopus itself. Through this co-investment, investors in the Companies can have access to deals that may not have been possible without being part of the larger deal with other Octopus investors.
Sometimes the Companies have what they believe to be a good investment opportunity, but are unable to invest as much money as they would like due to restraints such as the size of a company or the number of shares available. In these instances, the amounts being invested from different Octopus vehicles must be managed carefully. Similarly, when investments held by a number of different investors come to be sold, the interests of all parties may not be fully aligned. Octopus has agreed policies and processes in place to make sure this is done fairly, but sometimes, investors may still be limited in the amounts they can invest or restricted in the timing of an exit.
The goal of Octopus is to make sure the interests of its customers are always looked after. So they have a number of controls in place to manage conflicts of interest. Octopus' investment committee makes sure investment decisions are in the best interests of investors, including how potential conflicts of interest are managed. In cases where there are a large number of conflicts of interest or they are particularly significant, proposals are reviewed by the Octopus' conflicts committee, responsible for ensuring conflicts are handled appropriately. As publicly listed companies, the Boards are required to act independently of the Manager and represent Shareholders' best interests at all times.
Both Companies have a strong performance track record and a history of paying a steady stream of tax-free dividends to investors. The table below shows the annual total returns and dividend yields of the Companies over the last five years.
The AIM All-Share and FTSE All-Share total return indices are provided for comparison purposes although it should be remembered that venture capital trusts need to invest in newly issued shares, so comparisons with indices are of limited value, even historically.
| Year to 31 May 2017 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Octopus AIM VCT NAV Total Return 1 | 23.0% | 25.6% | $-2.7%$ | 1.8% | 22.3% |
| Octopus AIM VCT 2 NAV Total Return1 | 22.0% | 25.3% | $-3.6%$ | 3.0% | 22.0% |
| FTSE AIM All-Share Return 2 | 6.4% | 12.7% | $-4.0%$ | $-2.9%$ | 36.3% |
| FTSE All-Share Total Return2 | 30.1% | 8.9% | 7.5% | $-6.3%$ | 24.5% |
| Octopus AIM VCT Dividend Yield 3 | 5.3% | 4.3% | 5.1% | 9.3% | 4.3% |
| Octopus AIM VCT 2 Dividend Yield 3 | 6.9% | 4.5% | 2.6% | $10.8%$ 4 | 4.6% |
Performance shown is net of all ongoing fees and costs. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results and may not be repeated. Please note that the NAV per Share may be higher than the Share price, which is the price you may get for the Shares in the secondary market.
Octopus AIM intends to pay a minimum annual dividend of 5p per share or a 5% yield based on Octopus AIM's share price at the previous financial year end. Dividends will be paid semi-annually. It remains the intention of the Directors of Octopus AIM to continue this policy, subject to available cash and distributable reserves.
Octopus AIM 2 intends to pay a minimum annual dividend of 3.6p per share or a 5% yield based on Octopus AIM 2's share price at the previous financial year end. Dividends will be paid semiannually. It remains the intention of the Directors of Octopus AIM 2 to continue this policy, subject to available cash and distributable reserves.
The Companies have each adopted a dividend reinvestment scheme (the "Dividend Reinvestment Schemes") under which Shareholders are given the opportunity to reinvest future dividend payments by way of subscription for new Shares. Subject to a Shareholder's personal circumstances, Shares subscribed for under the Dividend Reinvestment Schemes should obtain the usual VCT tax advantages as set out above.
Investors under the Offer may elect to participate in the Dividend Reinvestment Schemes by completing the dividend reinvestment section of the Application Form, and should be aware that it will apply to their entire holding of New Shares and any existing Shares. Participation in the Dividend Reinvestment Schemes by a Shareholder can be cancelled at any time with written authority from the Shareholder or by calling Octopus on 0800 316 2295.
The Boards intend to buy back Shares at up to a 5% discount to the prevailing NAV. The Boards believe this makes an investment in the Companies attractive to both current and future Shareholders. All buybacks are subject to the Companies having sufficient funds available and are at the discretion of the Boards.
Each of the Boards comprises four Directors all of whom are independent of the Manager. The Directors operate in a non-executive capacity and are responsible for overseeing the investment strategy of the Companies. The Boards have wide experience of investment in both smaller growing companies and larger quoted companies.
Roger Smith is chairman of a family owned investment company with a wide range of interests and investments. He was deputy chairman of Tricentrol plc and chairman of European Motor Holdings PLC from 1992 to 2007. He was previously the chairman of the Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church. Roger Smith became a director of Octopus AIM in 1998.
Stephen Hazell-Smith was the Managing Director of Close Investment Limited until September 2001, having previously founded Rutherford Asset Management in 1993. Prior to this he gained experience of investment in smaller companies at GT Investment Management where he was responsible for launching its first UK equity fund. He also worked at Mercury Asset Management from 1989 to 1992 and was the chairman of PLUS Markets Group PLC from 2005 to 2010. He is a director of PfP Capital plc and Puma 10 VCT plc and chairman of Business Agent Limited. Prior to the merger in 2010 he was chairman of Octopus Phoenix VCT PLC. Stephen Hazell-Smith became a director of Octopus AIM in 1998.
Joanne Parfrey has a degree in Chemistry from Oxford University and is an accountant by training. She has over ten years' experience in private equity with LGV Capital, where she was a member of the investment committee and held a number of non-executive positions. She is a non-executive director and chair of the Audit Committee for Babraham Bioscience Technologies Ltd and is a mentor on the Accelerate Programme at the Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. Joanne Parfrey became a director of Octopus AIM in 2016.
Neal Ransome is a chartered accountant and was a partner at PwC from 1996 to 2013. He was
Chief Operating Officer of PwC's Advisory business and led its Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Corporate Finance practice. Neal was formerly a director of Quercus (General Partner) Ltd, a unit trust invested in healthcare properties, and Parity Group Plc, an AIM listed professional services company. He is currently a Trustee and Council Member of the RSPB, the UK's largest nature conservation charity. Neal Ransome became a director of Octopus AIM in 2016.
Keith Mullins joined SG Warburg's investment management division in 1978. The division later developed into Mercury Asset Management and subsequently became Merrill Lynch Investment Managers upon its acquisition by Merrill Lynch in 1998. He therefore has many years' experience as a specialist UK equity fund manager. During this time he was responsible for establishing and managing the team specialising in small and medium-sized pension fund portfolios, and from 2000 he was head of pension fund asset allocation. He left as a managing director of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers in 2001. Keith became a Director of Octopus AIM 2 on 14 September 2005.
Elizabeth Kennedy worked for 30 years in corporate finance, principally with Brewin Dolphin Limited, specialising in IPO, secondary issue, takeover code, UKLA sponsor and AIM nominated adviser work. She has been a member of the London Stock Exchange's AIM Advisory Group since 1995. She is currently a Non-Executive director of F&C Private Equity Trust plc, Sofant Technologies Limited and Taragenyx Limited and a consultant with Kergan Stewart, Solicitors. Elizabeth became a Director of Octopus AIM 2 on 12 August 2010 when Octopus AIM 2 merged with Octopus Second AIM VCT plc.
Andy is the Chief Executive of Shakespeare Martineau LLP, an expanding Midlands and London law firm. Previously he has held a number of non-executive positions, predominantly in the professional services sector. He joined RSM Tenon Group PLC ("RSM Tenon") in 2001 after its acquisition of the independent partnership formerly known as BDO Stoy Hayward – East Midlands. Following the acquisition of this business by RSM Tenon, he became finance director and, in a subsequent board reorganisation, chief executive in 2003, leading the company to win National Firm of the Year 2011 in the British Accountancy Awards. Andy then resigned in January 2012. Prior to joining RSM Tenon, he spent almost 20 years with BDO Stoy Hayward – East Midlands, where he established the corporate finance department and held overall responsibility for business development, before becoming managing partner. Andy became a Director of the Company on 14 September 2005. Further details relating to Andy's directorship of RSM Tenon are set out on page 69.
Alastair Ritchie has considerable experience in smaller businesses, both private and public, and has served as chairman of several companies, including John Swan & Sons plc, which was quoted on AIM. Alastair became a Director of Octopus Second AIM VCT plc in February 2001, which became Octopus Third AIM VCT plc on the merger, and was subsequently dissolved in October 2011. Alastair became a Director of Octopus AIM 2 on 12 August 2010 when Octopus AIM 2 merged with Octopus Second AIM VCT plc.
Octopus Investments Limited was launched in 2000 by three founders who wanted to create an investment company that put its customers first. Today it has more than 500 employees and over £6.7 billion in assets under management (Source: Octopus Investments Limited, 31 May 2017). Octopus has tens of thousands of clients and has built market-leading positions in tax-efficient investment, smaller company financing, renewable energy and healthcare. Octopus sees a strong business case for each of these sectors, whether that's providing for an ageing population in need of lifelong care, or the long-term trend towards renewable energy as a viable alternative to fossil fuels, or investing in dynamic, entrepreneurial companies that have a positive effect on the economy, and the people, around them.
Octopus has helped several start-ups grow to become household names, including Zoopla Property Group, graze.com and Secret Escapes. Octopus Healthcare's managed GP surgery investment fund currently invests in facilities which care for more than one million people.
Octopus launched its first VCT in 2002 and is now the UK's largest VCT provider, managing over £750 million of VCT money on behalf of over 26,000 investors (Source: Octopus Investments Limited, 31 May 2017).
The Octopus Smaller Companies team includes some of the most experienced AIM-focused fund managers in the market, totalling over 130 years of investment experience. Together, they look after more than £1 billion on behalf of over 7,000 Octopus investors. (Source: Octopus Investments Limited, 31 May 2017). The team makes investment decisions based on their considerable knowledge of the market and analysis of the companies themselves, including the company management track record, financial position, growth potential and long-term prospects.
Maintaining a portfolio of companies operating in diverse industries is fundamental to the team's approach to managing risk. They work extensively on AIM investments and have a strong track record of uncovering value in smaller companies. Every year, the team conducts on average 500 face-to-face meetings with AIM companies to help identify the best investment opportunities.
The Octopus Smaller Companies team looks to invest in small businesses with significant growth potential. In order to achieve this, the team applies the following investment process:
Research - Compared to larger companies, smaller companies are lesser known and underresearched. Undertaking extensive research helps the team to uncover hidden gems with the opportunity for significant long-term returns.
Eligibility - VCTs must invest at least 70% of their total assets in VCT-qualifying companies. However, the Boards have targeted a minimum of 80% to be held in VCT-qualifying investments. The remainder of any new money raised will be invested in money market funds, listed equities and other funds managed by Octopus.
Due diligence - Not all smaller companies will be successful. So, before making a decision to invest, the team investigates a broad range of factors including the company's business plan, its management, its growth rate, its profitability (and how quickly this is changing), its valuation relative to its peers and its overall financial strength.
Portfolio diversity - Investments are spread across a wide range of industries as diverse as building materials, pharmaceuticals and software development. New investors will be invested in existing portfolios of around 75 AIM-listed companies.
Knowing when to sell - After investment, the team continues to monitor the progress of the companies it chooses to invest in. Selling profitable investments can help the Companies achieve their aim of paying out regular tax-free dividends to investors.
The Smaller Companies investment team at Octopus comprises:
Andrew originally joined Barclays Bank in 1973 to manage investment portfolios. After gaining an MBA from London Business School, he spent time with Mercury Asset Management and Hoare Govett, before joining Rutherford Asset Management in 1993. He established Beacon Investment Trust in 1994, the first fund to specialise in investment in AIM. He joined Close Brothers when it purchased Rutherford and left to join Octopus Investments Limited in 2008. He has been involved in the management of the Companies since their launch as well as other AIM portfolios.
Kate has had an extensive investment career which has included periods as an investment analyst with Sheppards and Chase and Panmure Gordon and then as an Investment Manager specialising in ethical and smaller companies with the Co-operative Bank and Colonial First State Investments. She joined the AIM team at Close Brothers in 2000, since when she has been involved in the management of the Companies as well as other AIM portfolios. She joined Octopus Investments Limited in 2008.
Richard started his career at Duncan Lawrie, where he managed a successful small companies
fund. He subsequently joined Close Brothers to manage a smaller companies investment trust before moving to Octopus Investments Limited to head up the AIM team in 2004. He is involved in the management of AIM portfolios, AIM VCTs and the CFIC Octopus UK MicroCap Growth Fund.
Edward is a portfolio manager at Octopus Investments Limited involved particularly in the management of AIM portfolios for private individuals. He joined Octopus Investments Limited in 2004 having previously worked at Schroder's and State Street.
Chris joined the team in December 2016. He has been a specialist within the quoted UK Smaller Company market for over 16 years. He joined Octopus from Citigroup where he was most recently a UK Small and Mid-Cap Equity research analyst focussing across a variety of sectors. Prior to this he spent almost seven years on the Smaller Companies team at Gartmore as an investment manager and analyst. He joined the team as a fund manager to work across all the AIM portfolios.
Stephen joined Octopus in 2008 as a member of the operations team. Having helped in the Multi Manager team, he joined the Smaller Companies investment team in 2011.
Mark graduated from the University of Cape Town in 2010 with a Bcom in Economics and Finance. He joined Octopus in 2012 after two years at Warwick Wealth in South Africa. Mark is studying towards the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is providing portfolio management and analytical support to the team.
Dominic joined the AIM team as an analyst in 2015. Before joining, he gained experience in management consulting with CLEVIS Research and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. Furthermore he worked in Venture Capital with Rocket Internet as well as several start-up companies. He provides the team with analytical support and analyses prospective investee companies.
Full details of the Manager's remuneration are set out in Part Five.
Octopus AIM was launched in 1997 and Octopus AIM 2 in 2005. Both Companies have been making investments alongside each other, in proportion to the size of each Company, since 2010. Each benefits from holding a broad spectrum of VCT-qualifying UK smaller companies.
Although new investments remain small enough to qualify for VCT funding, the Companies feature a large number of established, maturing AIM-listed businesses. This means investors benefit straight away from owning established portfolios of around 75 AIM-listed companies, many of which the Companies believe will continue to deliver sales growth and generate profits.
Listed below are the ten largest investments of Octopus AIM VCT as at 31 May 2017. The data for Market Capitalisation, Revenue and Profit have been sourced from Factset as at 31 May 2017.
| Percentage of portfolio' |
Date of first investment 1 |
Market cap. 2 (£m) |
Annual revenue 2 (f.m) |
Annual profit before tax 2 (£m) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breedon Group plc | 5.6% | 26/08/2010 | 1,247.8 | 674.9 | 70.3 |
| Quixant plc | 5.3% | 15/05/2013 | 260.4 | 79.1 | 12.2 |
| Staffline Recruitment Group plc | 4.7% | 08/12/2004 | 403.8 | 952.2 | 37.2 |
| GB Group plc | 4.1% | 03/11/2011 | 607.3 | 116.2 | 21.5 |
| Brooks Macdonald Group plc | 3.4% | 03/03/2005 | 346.6 | 91.6 | 18.7 |
| IDOX plc | 3.0% | 08/05/2007 | 297.8 | 97.6 | 22.1 |
| Gear4music Holdings plc | 2.9% | 28/05/2015 | 168.7 | 79.4 | 2.8 |
| Mattioli Woods plc | 2.9% | 15/11/2005 | 211.3 | 48.9 | 9.9 |
| Learning Technologies Group plc | 2.5% | 13/06/2011 | 270.7 | 50.0 | 10.0 1 |
| RWS Holdings plc | 2.1% | 18/12/2009 | 884.4 | 161.1 | 39.7 |
1 Source: Octopus Investments, 31 May 2017. 2 Source: Factset, 31 May 2017.
Listed below are the ten largest investments of Octopus AIM VCT 2 as at 31 May 2017. The data for Market Capitalisation, Revenue and Profit have been sourced from Factset as at 31 May 2017.
| Percentage of portfolio' |
Date of first investment 1 |
Market cap. 2 (£m) |
Annual revenue 2 (f.m) |
Annual profit before tax 2 (£m) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breedon Group plc | 5.6% | 26/08/2010 | 1,247.8 | 674.9 | 70.3 |
| Quixant plc | 5.2% | 15/05/2013 | 260.4 | 79.1 | 12.2 |
| Animalcare Group plc | 4.5% | 18/12/2007 | 84.0 | 15.9 | 3.6 |
| GB Group plc | 4.1% | 03/11/2011 | 607.3 | 116.2 | 21.5 |
| IDOX plc | 3.6% | 08/05/2007 | 297.8 | 97.6 | 22.1 |
| Gear4music Holdings plc | 2.8% | 28/05/2015 | 168.7 | 79.4 | 2.8 |
| Craneware plc | 2.7% | 11/09/2007 | 367.2 | 45.0 | 13.4 |
| Learning Technologies Group plc | 2.5% | 13/06/2011 | 270.7 | 50.0 | 10.0 1 |
| Brooks Macdonald Group plc | 2.4% | 01/03/2015 | 346.6 | 91.6 | 18.7 |
| Staffline Recruitment Group plc | 2.3% | 24/03/2011 | 403.8 | 952.2 | 37.2 |
1 Source: Octopus Investments, 31 May 2017. 2 Source: Factset, 31 May 2017.
The Companies have invested in a diverse range of sectors, from building materials and pharmaceuticals to software development and restaurants. Here are examples of just some of the companies included in their portfolios:
Breedon is the UK's largest independent construction materials group, operating around 60 quarries, 26 asphalt plants and 200 ready-mix concrete and mortar plants. The company benefited from an acquisition in 2016 and now employs 2,300 people nationwide. Breedon's strategy is to continue growing through consolidation of the UK's building materials sector.
Craneware earns most of its revenue in the US, where it is the major software supplier to hospital networks. The company's software tracks the cost of operations for patients and insurance companies, enables payments to doctors and other suppliers, and provides a complete audit trail. Software is usually sold via five-year contracts, which gives Craneware predictable earnings.
DP Poland has exclusive rights to develop, operate and sub-franchise Domino's Pizza stores in Poland. After initially struggling to adapt to Polish tastes, the company is now expanding and selling sub-franchises, often to returning Polish managers with UK experience. DP Poland operates 30 outlets, mostly in Warsaw. By the end of 2018, it expects to be operating 55 outlets nationwide.
Ergomed manages drug trials for pharmaceutical companies. It also monitors and reports on the side effects of medicines already in public use. An important feature of Ergomed's business strategy that the Companies like is that some of its drug trials are conducted in return for a share of the future income earned from those drugs when they are successfully launched into the market.
Recognised as a global leader, GBG helps check the identity of customers and employees for regulatory and commercial reasons. Its services have been increasingly in demand from organisations trying to prevent ID theft and fraud, particularly through the internet. GBG has made acquisitions to gain an international presence and client list, and the Companies expect this strategy to continue.
Gear4music: the largest UK-based online retailer of musical instruments and equipment York-based Gear4music sells own-brand musical instruments and music equipment, alongside well-known premium brands including Fender, Yamaha and Roland, to customers ranging from beginners to professional musicians. Since floating on AIM in 2015, the company has expanded rapidly into Europe and operates 19 websites in 15 languages and eight currencies, with distribution centres in Sweden and Germany.
LoopUp's software aims to make the conference call experience smooth and pain-free. Users can view presentations simultaneously, see who else is on the call and who is speaking in 'real time'. The company counts more than 2,000 businesses among its customers. LoopUp is a recent investment, having listed on AIM in August 2016.
Quixant designs and manufactures high-performance hardware and software systems specifically for the computer games industry. Since listing in 2013, Quixant's customer base has grown to include some of the world's premier gaming companies. The group has operations in Italy and Taiwan. Quixant has expanded its product range to customers following the acquisition of electronic display supplier Densitron.
Company examples are for illustrative purposes only. They should not be considered as an investment recommendation.
The following paragraphs apply to the Companies 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 a 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 New Shares under the Offers and where the New Shares acquired are within the investor's annual £200,000 limit. The reliefs are not available for investments in excess of £200,000 per tax year.
The Companies have obtained approval as VCTs under Chapter 3 of Part 6 ITA 2007.
The Boards consider that the Companies have conducted their affairs and will continue to do so to enable them to qualify as VCTs.
The tax reliefs set out below are those currently available to individuals aged 18 or over who subscribe for New Shares and will be dependent on personal circumstance. Whilst there is no specific limit on the amount of an individual's acquisition of shares in a VCT, tax reliefs will only be given to the extent that the total of an individual's subscriptions or other acquisitions of shares in VCTs in any tax year do not exceed £200,000. Qualifying investors who intend to invest more than £200,000 in VCTs in any one tax year should consult their professional advisers.
An investor can acquire New Shares of up to a maximum of £200,000 under the Offers in each of the 2017/18 and 2018/19 tax years. Each application creates an entitlement to income tax relief of 30% of the amount invested. The relief is subject to an amount which reduces the investor's income tax liability for the tax year to nil. To retain that relief the New Shares would have to be held for 5 years. Tax relief on subscriptions for shares in a VCT is restricted where an investor has disposed of shares in that VCT (or in a VCT which at any time merges with the VCT) within 6 months (before or after) that subscription. Existing Shareholders should be aware that the sale of existing Shares within these periods could, therefore, put their income tax relief relating to the Offer at risk.
The table below has been prepared for illustrative purposes only and does not form part of the summary of the tax reliefs contained in this section. The table shows how the initial income tax relief available can reduce the effective cost of an investment of £10,000 in a VCT to only £7,000, by a qualifying investor subscribing for VCT shares:
| Effective cost | Tax relief | |
|---|---|---|
| Investor unable to claim any tax reliefs | £10,000 | Nil |
| VCT investor able to claim full 30% income tax relief | £7,000 | £3,000 |
Dividends paid by a VCT on its ordinary shares are free of income tax where investors acquired their shares within the annual £200,000 limit. VCT status will be withdrawn if, in respect of shares issued on or after 6 April 2014, a dividend is paid (or other forms of distribution or payments are made to investors) from the capital received by the VCT from that issue within three years of the end of the accounting period in which shares were issued to investors. Dividends paid from realised profits may be made without loss of VCT status.
Relief from income tax on a subscription for VCT shares will be withdrawn if the VCT shares are disposed of (other than between spouses) within five years of issue or if the venture capital trust loses its approval within this period. Dividend relief is not available for dividends paid in an accounting period during which the VCT loses its approval.
Disposing of a VCT share at a profit does not create a chargeable gain for the purposes of UK Capital Gains Tax. Similarly, disposing at a loss does not create an allowable loss for UK Capital Gains Tax.
If a company which has been granted approval as a VCT subsequently fails to comply with the conditions for approval as a VCT, approval may be withdrawn or treated as never having been given. In these circumstances, reliefs from income tax on the initial investment are repayable unless loss of approval occurs more than five years after the issue of the relevant VCT shares.
In addition, relief ceases to be available on any dividend paid in an accounting period ending during or after which VCT status has been lost. Any gains on the VCT shares up to the date from which loss of VCT status is treated as taking effect will be exempt but gains thereafter will be taxable.
The Companies will provide each investor with a tax certificate which the investor may use to claim income tax relief. To do this, an investor must either obtain a tax coding adjustment from HMRC under the PAYE system, or wait until the end of the tax year and use their self-assessment tax return to claim relief.
Shareholders not resident in the UK should seek their own professional advice as to the consequences of making and holding an investment in the Companies, as they may be subject to tax in other jurisdictions as well as in the UK.
A VCT has to satisfy a number of tests to qualify as a venture capital trust. A summary of these tests is set out below.
To qualify as a VCT, a company must be approved as such by HMRC. To maintain approval, the conditions summarised below must continue to be satisfied throughout the life of the VCT:
"Qualifying Investments" comprise shares or securities (including loans with a five year or greater maturity period but excluding guaranteed loans and securities) issued by unquoted trading companies which exist wholly or mainly for the purpose of carrying on one or more qualifying trades. The trade must be carried on by, or be intended to be carried on by, the
investee company or a qualifying subsidiary at the time of the issue of the shares or securities to the VCT (and by such company or by any other subsidiary in which the investee company has not less than a 90% interest at all times thereafter). 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. The definition of a qualifying trade excludes dealing in property, shares, securities, commodities or futures. It also excludes banking, insurance, receiving royalties or licence fees in certain circumstances, leasing, the provision of legal and accounting services, farming and market gardening, forestry and timber production, property development, shipbuilding, coal and steel production and operating or managing hotels, guest houses, nursing and residential care homes and the generation of electricity from renewable sources from which certain subsidies and incentives are derived. The funds raised by the investment must be used for the purposes of the qualifying trade within certain time limits.
A qualifying investment can also be made in a company which is a parent company of a trading group where the activities of the group, taken as a whole, consist of carrying on one or more qualifying trades. Investee companies must have a permanent establishment in the UK. The investee company cannot receive more than £5 million from VCTs or other Risk Finance State Aid investment sources during the 12 month period which ends on the date of the VCT's investment. The investee company's gross assets must not exceed £15 million immediately prior to the investment and £16 million immediately thereafter. The investee company must have fewer than 250 employees or 500 employees in the case of a Knowledge Intensive Company. Neither the VCT nor any other company may control the investee company. At least 10% of the VCT's total investment in the investee company must be in eligible shares, as described above. The company cannot receive more than £12 million (£20 million if the company is deemed to be a Knowledge Intensive Company) of Risk Finance State Aid investment (including from VCTs) over the company's lifetime. The company's first commercial sale must be no more than 7 years before the VCT's investment (10 years for a Knowledge Intensive Company) prior to the date of investment, except where previous Risk Finance State Aid was received by the company within 7 years or where a turnover test is satisfied. Funds received from an investment by a VCT cannot be used to acquire another existing business or trade.
Companies whose shares are traded on AIM are treated as unquoted companies for the purposes of calculating qualifying investments. Shares in an unquoted company which subsequently becomes listed may still be regarded as a qualifying investment for a further five years following listing, provided all other conditions are met.
VCTs are exempt from corporation tax on chargeable gains. There is no restriction on the distribution of realised capital gains by a VCT, subject to the requirements of company law. VCTs will be subject to corporation tax on their income (excluding dividends received from UK companies) after deduction of attributable expenses.
Audited financial information on Octopus AIM is published in the annual reports for the years ended 28 February 2015, 29 February 2016 and 28 February 2017.
Audited financial information on Octopus AIM 2 is published in the annual reports for the years ended 30 November 2014, 30 November 2015 and 30 November 2016.
The annual reports referred to above were audited by BDO LLP of 55 Baker Street, London W1U 7EU. All reports were without qualification and contained no statements under section 498(2) or (3) of the CA 2006.
The annual reports for Octopus AIM for the year ended 28 February 2015 and for Octopus AIM 2 for the year ended 30 November 2014 were prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepting Accounting Practice), the fair value rules of the CA 2006 and the Statement of Recommended Practice 'Financial Statements of Investment Trust Companies' and the remaining annual reports referred to above were prepared in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 102. The annual reports contain a description of the Companies' financial condition, changes in financial condition and results of operation for each relevant financial year and the pages of these, together with the pages of the interim reports, referred to below are being incorporated by reference and can be accessed at the following website: www.octopusinvestments.com.
The Companies and the Directors confirm that the Companies' most recent two years' financial information (which have been prepared under Financial Reporting Standard 102) have been presented and prepared in a form which is consistent with that which will be adopted in the Companies' next published annual financial statements having regard to accounting standards, policies and legislation applicable to such annual financial statements.
Where these documents make reference to other documents, such other documents, together with those pages of the annual reports that are not referred to below, are not relevant to investors and are not incorporated into and do not form part of this document.
Such information includes the following:
| Description | 28 February 2015 Annual Report |
29 February 2016 Annual Report |
28 February 2017 Annual Report |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balance Sheet |
Page 48 | Page 48 | Page 40 |
| Income Statement (or equivalent) |
Page 46 | Page 47 | Page 39 |
| Statement showing all changes in |
Page 47 | Page 49 | Page 41 |
| equity (or equivalent note) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash Flow Statement |
Page 49 | Page 50 | Page 42 |
| Accounting Policies and Notes |
Page 51 | Page 51 | Page 43 |
| Auditor's Report |
Page 42 | Page 43 | Page 36 |
| 30 November 2014 |
30 November 2015 |
30 November 2016 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Description | Annual Report | Annual Report | Annual Report |
| Balance Sheet |
Page 46 | Page 44 | Page 40 |
| Income Statement (or equivalent) |
Page 44 | Page 43 | Page 39 |
| Statement showing all changes in equity (or equivalent note) |
Page 47 | Page 45 | Page 41 |
| Cash Flow Statement |
Page 48 | Page 46 | Page 42 |
| Accounting Policies and Notes |
Page 50 | Page 47 | Page 43 |
| Auditor's Report |
Page 40 | Page 39 | Page 36 |
Such information also includes operating/financial reviews as follows:
| Description | 28 February | 29 February | 28 February |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
| Annual Report | Annual Report | Annual Report | |
| Performance | Page 1 | Page 1 | Page 1 |
| Summary | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Results and Dividends |
Page 20 | Page 20 | Page 16 |
| Investment Policy |
Page 5 | Page 2 | Page 2 |
| Outlook | Page 4 | Page 6 | Page 4 |
| Manager's Review |
Page 7 | Page 7 | Page 5 |
| Portfolio Summary |
Page 11 | Page 11 | Page 8 |
| Business Review |
Page 19 | Page 19 | Page 16 |
| Valuation Policy |
Page 51 | Page 51 | Page 43 |
| 30 November 2014 |
30 November 2015 |
30 November 2016 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Description | Annual Report | Annual Report | Annual Report |
| Performance Summary |
Page 1 | Page 1 | Page 1 |
| Results and Dividends |
Page 18 | Page 18 | Page 17 |
| Investment Policy |
Page 5 | Page 2 | Page 2 |
| Outlook | Page 3 | Page 6 | Page 4 |
| Manager's Review |
Page 7 | Page 7 | Page 5 |
| Portfolio Summary |
Page 11 | Page 11 | Page 8 |
| Business Review |
Page 17 | Page 17 | Page 16 |
| Valuation Policy |
Page 50 | Page 47 | Page 43 |
The unaudited NAV per Share as at 13 June 2017 was 120.0p and 88.7p for Octopus AIM and Octopus AIM 2 respectively.
The investment portfolio of Octopus AIM as at the date of this document is as follows (the valuations being the unaudited valuations, at bid price, as at 31 May 2017 and representing more than 98.2% of the NAV of Octopus AIM). Revenue and Pre Tax Profit figures are consensus forecast annual figures as published by Factset.
| Investee Company |
Sector | Book cost (£000) |
Movement in valuation (£000) |
Fair Value (£000) |
% of net assets |
Unrealised Return over book cost % |
Market cap (£m) |
Revenue (£m) |
Pre Tax Profit (£m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breedon Group | Construction | ||||||||
| plc | & Building | 859 | 5,437 | 6,296 | 5.6% | 633% | 1,247.8 | 674.9 | 70.3 |
| Quixant plc | Technology Hardware |
697 | 5,252 | 5,949 | 5.3% | 754% | 260.4 | 79.1 | 12.2 |
| Staffline | |||||||||
| Recruitment | Support | ||||||||
| Group plc | Services | 334 | 4,915 | 5,249 | 4.7% | 1472% | 403.8 | 952.2 | 37.2 |
| Support | |||||||||
| GB Group plc | Services | 715 | 3,946 | 4,661 | 4.1% | 552% | 607.3 | 116.2 | 21.5 |
| Brooks | |||||||||
| Macdonald | |||||||||
| Group plc | Finance | 746 | 3,111 | 3,857 | 3.4% | 417% | 346.6 | 91.6 | 18.7 |
| IDOX plc | Software | 353 | 3,072 | 3,425 | 3.0% | 870% | 297.8 | 97.6 | 22.1 |
| Gear4music Holdings plc |
Media | 557 | 2,671 | 3,228 | 2.9% | 480% | 168.7 | 79.4 | 2.8 |
| Mattioli Woods | |||||||||
| plc | Finance | 529 | 2,694 | 3,223 | 2.9% | 509% | 211.3 | 48.9 | 9.9 |
| Learning | |||||||||
| Technologies | Support | ||||||||
| Group plc | Services | 1,319 | 1,512 | 2,831 | 2.5% | 115% | 270.7 | 50.0 | 10.0 |
| RWS Holdings | Support | ||||||||
| plc | Services | 367 | 2,047 | 2,414 | 2.1% | 558% | 884.4 | 161.1 | 39.7 |
| Animalcare | Pharmaceutic | ||||||||
| Group plc | als & Biotech | 306 | 1,851 | 2,157 | 1.9% | 605% | 84.0 | 15.9 | 3.6 |
| Telecommuni | |||||||||
| cation | |||||||||
| Netcall plc | Services | 308 | 1,661 | 1,969 | 1.8% | 539% | 94.3 | 17.4 | 3.9 |
| Pharmaceutic | |||||||||
| Ergomed plc | als & Biotech | 1,440 | 342 | 1,782 | 1.6% | 24% | 83.0 | 48.6 | 2.8 |
| Craneware plc | Software | 183 | 1,597 | 1,780 | 1.6% | 873% | 367.2 | 45.0 | 13.4 |
| Leisure & | |||||||||
| DP Poland plc | Hotels | 546 | 1,147 | 1,693 | 1.5% | 210% | 64.1 | 10.9 | -1.9 |
| Gooch & | Electronic & | ||||||||
| Housego plc | Electrical | 489 | 1,177 | 1,666 | 1.5% | 241% | 341.0 | 108.3 | 15.9 |
| Cello Group plc | Media | 895 | 727 | 1,622 | 1.4% | 81% | 139.4 | 173.1 | 11.4 |
| Yu Group plc | Utilities | 705 | 857 | 1,562 | 1.4% | 122% | 58.7 | 34.0 | 2.3 |
| Support | |||||||||
| Restore plc | Services | 467 | 1,054 | 1,521 | 1.4% | 226% | 487.1 | 169.2 | 29.9 |
| Telecommuni | |||||||||
| Adept Telecom | cation | ||||||||
| plc | Services | 601 | 857 | 1,458 | 1.3% | 143% | 83.0 | 34.0 | 6.9 |
| Clinigen Group | Pharmaceutic | ||||||||
| plc | als & Biotech | 935 | 440 | 1,375 | 1.2% | 47% | 1,024.3 | 302.2 | 57.2 |
| Advanced | |||||||||
| Medical | |||||||||
| Solutions | Pharmaceutic | ||||||||
| Group plc | als & Biotech | 757 | 576 | 1,333 | 1.2% | 76% | 604.2 | 89.3 | 22.0 |
| Next Fifteen | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communication | |||||||||
| s Group plc Vertu Motors |
Media General |
687 | 625 | 1,312 | 1.2% | 91% | 299.3 | 193.3 | 28.8 |
| plc | Retailers | 1,265 | (59) | 1,206 | 1.1% | (5%) | 180.8 | 2,880.5 | 32.5 |
| EKF Diagnostics | |||||||||
| Holdings plc | Health | 931 | 204 | 1,135 | 1.0% | 22% | 97.5 | 40.7 | 3.5 |
| Brady plc | Software | 947 | 184 | 1,131 | 1.0% | 19% | 64.2 | 29.5 | 1.9 |
| Escher Group | |||||||||
| Holdings plc | Software | 1,003 | 88 | 1,091 | 1.0% | 9% | 37.0 | 17.7 | 2.2 |
| TLA Worldwide | |||||||||
| plc | Media | 807 | 282 | 1,089 | 1.0% | 35% | 39.8 | 30.1 | 10.9 |
| Telecommuni cation |
|||||||||
| CityFibre plc | Services | 1,025 | 62 | 1,087 | 1.0% | 6% | 179.3 | 23.4 | -4.8 |
| Ideagen plc | Software | 419 | 650 | 1,069 | 1.0% | 155% | 179.4 | 26.7 | 6.9 |
| Omega | |||||||||
| Diagnostics | |||||||||
| Group plc | Health | 465 | 549 | 1,014 | 0.9% | 118% | 29.2 | 14.2 | 1.1 |
| Leisure & | |||||||||
| Escape Hunt plc | Hotels | 988 | 0 | 988 | 0.9% | 0% | 27.7 | n/a | n/a |
| Futura Medical plc |
Pharmaceutic als & Biotech |
968 | (34) | 934 | 0.8% | (4%) | 67.0 | 0.7 | -7.8 |
| Judges | Electronic & | ||||||||
| Scientific plc | Electrical | 314 | 571 | 885 | 0.8% | 182% | 108.1 | 60.2 | 8.6 |
| Pharmaceutic | |||||||||
| Abcam plc | als & Biotech | 537 | 344 | 881 | 0.8% | 64% | 1,998.9 | 217.6 | 63.7 |
| Leisure & | |||||||||
| Tasty plc | Hotels | 622 | 242 | 864 | 0.8% | 39% | 35.3 | 50. 0 |
2.9 |
| Cambridge Cognition |
|||||||||
| Holdings plc | Health | 601 | 257 | 858 | 0.8% | 43% | 21.2 | 8.2 | 0.5 |
| Nasstar plc | Software | 481 | 336 | 817 | 0.7% | 70% | 50.2 | 25.0 | 3.5 |
| Velocity | |||||||||
| Composites plc | Industrial | 799 | 0 | 799 | 0.7% | 0% | 31.7 | n/a | n/a |
| Faron | |||||||||
| Pharmaceutical | Pharmaceutic | ||||||||
| s Oy | als & Biotech | 344 | 403 | 747 | 0.7% | 117% | 216.0 | 0.9 | -12.8 |
| LoopUp Group | |||||||||
| plc Gamma |
Software Telecommuni |
480 | 254 | 734 | 0.7% | 53% | 65.6 | 17.3 | 2.9 |
| Communication | cation | ||||||||
| s plc | Services | 488 | 241 | 729 | 0.6% | 49% | 536.2 | 231.0 | 26.6 |
| Vectura Group | Pharmaceutic | ||||||||
| plc | als & Biotech | 498 | 208 | 706 | 0.6% | 42% | 799.2 | 169.6 | 23.8 |
| Haydale Graphene |
|||||||||
| Industries plc | Chemicals | 598 | 75 | 673 | 0.6% | 13% | 35.8 | 4.1 | -4.4 |
| Mears Group | Support | ||||||||
| plc | Services | 139 | 487 | 626 | 0.6% | 350% | 528.5 | 967.6 | 48.0 |
| SQS Software | |||||||||
| Quality Systems | |||||||||
| AG | Software | 291 | 283 | 574 | 0.5% | 97% | 137.3 | 289.8 | 21.4 |
| Scientific Digital | Electronic & | ||||||||
| Imaging plc Sinclair IS |
Electrical Pharmaceutic |
179 | 368 | 547 | 0.5% | 206% | 22.9 | 10.7 | 1.4 |
| Pharma plc | als & Biotech | 765 | (256) | 509 | 0.5% | (33%) | 159.9 | 48.2 | -4.4 |
| Pharmaceutic | |||||||||
| Maxcyte Inc | als & Biotech | 511 | (28) | 483 | 0.4% | (5%) | 148.7 | 12.5 | -7.8 |
| Plastics Capital | Engineering & | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plc | Machinery | 400 | 60 | 460 | 0.4% | 15% | 45.8 | 65.6 | 4.3 |
| Iomart Group | |||||||||
| plc | Software | 268 | 184 | 452 | 0.4% | 69% | 323.8 | 89.2 | 22.5 |
| MyCelx | |||||||||
| Technologies | |||||||||
| Corporation Osirium |
Oil Equipment | 1,470 | (1,019) | 451 | 0.4% | (69%) | 13.3 | n/a | n/a |
| Technologies | Electronic & | ||||||||
| plc | Electrical | 750 | (312) | 438 | 0.4% | (42%) | 9.7 | n/a | n/a |
| UP Global | Household | ||||||||
| Sourcing | Goods & | ||||||||
| Holdings plc | Textiles | 273 | 158 | 431 | 0.4% | 58% | 167.6 | 107.2 | 10.1 |
| WANdisco plc | Software | 145 | 229 | 374 | 0.3% | 158% | 177.0 | 12.1 | -7.6 |
| FreeAgent Holdings plc |
Media | 27 7 |
69 | 346 | 0.3% | 25% | 44.0 | 10.3 | -0.3 |
| Engineering & | |||||||||
| TP Group plc | Machinery | 648 | (315) | 333 | 0.3% | (49%) | 27.5 | 28.8 | 1.1 |
| Access | |||||||||
| Intelligence plc | Software | 495 | (75) | 420 | 0.4% | (15%) | 11.9 | n/a | n/a |
| Microsaic | Engineering & | ||||||||
| Systems plc | Machinery | 1,084 | (802) | 282 | 0.3% | (74%) | 5.0 | n/a | n/a |
| Sphere Medical | |||||||||
| Holding plc | Health | 600 | (328) | 272 | 0.2% | (55%) | 10.6 | 0.4 | -5.1 |
| Enteq | |||||||||
| Upstream plc | Oil Services | 1,032 | (774) | 258 | 0.2% | (75%) | 15.5 | 2.5 | -0.7 |
| Midatech | Pharmaceutic | ||||||||
| Pharma plc | als & Biotech | 600 | (364) | 236 | 0.2% | (61%) | 51.9 | 11.6 | -14.5 |
| Hasgrove plc* | Media | 88 | 132 | 220 | 0.2% | 150% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Nektan Limited | Software | 1,345 | (630) | 715 | 0.6% | (47%) | 13.3 | n/a | n/a |
| Oxford | |||||||||
| Pharmascience | Pharmaceutic | ||||||||
| Group plc | als & Biotech | 1,350 | (1,148) | 202 | 0.2% | (85%) | 19.0 | 0.8 | -3.1 |
| Tyratech Inc | Chemicals | 600 | (420) | 180 | 0.2% | (70%) | 5.2 | 6.1 | -0.8 |
| Medica Group | |||||||||
| plc | Health | 95 | 61 | 156 | 0.1% | 64% | 247.2 | 35.6 | 9.5 |
| ReNeuron | Pharmaceutic | ||||||||
| Group plc | als & Biotech | 324 | (201) | 123 | 0.1% | (62%) | 61.7 | 0.0 | -19.8 |
| Pharmaceutic | |||||||||
| Genedrive Plc | als & Biotech | 210 | (105) | 105 | 0.1% | (50%) | 7.9 | n/a | n/a |
| Dods Group plc | Media | 203 | (102) | 101 | 0.1% | (50%) | 44.3 | 21.4 | 2.6 |
| Rated People | |||||||||
| Ltd* | Software | 354 | (267) | 87 | 0.1% | (75%) | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Fusionex | |||||||||
| International | |||||||||
| plc | Software | 282 | (199) | 83 | 0.1% | (71%) | 24.7 | 23.4 | 0.3 |
| Proxama plc | Software | 763 | (705) | 58 | 0.1% | (92%) | 4.7 | n/a | n/a |
| 1Spatial plc | Software | 300 | (267) | 33 | 0.0% | (89%) | 27.6 | 23.4 | -1.2 |
| Support | |||||||||
| Work Group plc | Services | 755 | (727) | 28 | 0.0% | (96%) | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Bond | |||||||||
| International | |||||||||
| Software plc | Software | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0.0% | 0% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Current Liquidity Investments
| Investee Company |
Sector | Book cost (£000) |
Movement in valuation (£000) |
Fair Value (£000) |
% of net assets |
Unrealised Return over book cost % |
Market cap (£m) |
Revenue (£m) |
Pre Tax Profit (£m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Octopus Portfolio | |||||||||
| Manager - | |||||||||
| Conservative | |||||||||
| Capital Growth | |||||||||
| n/a | 5,350 | 398 | 5,748 | 5.1% | 7% | n/a | n/a | n/a | |
| Octopus Portfolio | |||||||||
| Manager - | |||||||||
| Defensive Capital | |||||||||
| Growth | |||||||||
| n/a | 5,350 | 279 | 5,629 | 5.0% | 5% | n/a | n/a | n/a | |
| Money Market | |||||||||
| Funds | |||||||||
| n/a | 5,290 | 3 | 5,293 | 4.7% | 0% | n/a | n/a | n/a | |
| Octopus UK | |||||||||
| Micro Cap | |||||||||
| Growth Fund | |||||||||
| n/a | 1,650 | 444 | 2,094 | 1.9% | 27% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Since 31 May 2017 there has been one follow on investment with a cost of £470,000.
Since 31 May 2017 there has been one disposal, the proceeds of which totalled £156,000 (cost £122,000).
Unless otherwise stated , all the investments set out above:
are quoted on AIM or on the London Stock Exchange Full List:
represent equity investments except in the case of Nektan and Access Intelligence which include investment via loan stock: and 3. are in portfolio companies incorporated in the UK with the exception of:
Escher - Ireland Mycelx - USA SQS - Germany Nektan - Gibraltar Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy - Finland Maxcyte Inc - USA
*Denotes private company
The investment portfolio of Octopus AIM 2 as at the date of this document is as follows (the valuations being the unaudited valuations, at bid price, as at 31 May 2017 and representing more than 98.2% of the NAV of Octopus AIM 2). Revenue and Pre Tax Profit figures are consensus forecast annual figures as published by Factset.
| Investee Company |
Sector | Book cost (£000) |
Movement in valuation (£000) |
Fair Value (£000) |
% of net assets |
Unrealised Return over book cost % |
Market cap (£m) |
Revenue (£m) |
Pre Tax Profit (£m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breedon Group plc |
Construction & Building |
573 | 3,627 | 4,200 | 5.6% | 633% | 1,247.8 | 674.9 | 70.3 |
| Quixant plc | Technology Hardware |
465 | 3,501 | 3,966 | 5.2% | 753% | 260.4 | 79.1 | 12.2 |
| Animalcare Group plc |
Pharmaceutic als & Biotech |
824 | 2,606 | 3,430 | 4.5% | 316% | 84.0 | 15.9 | 3.6 |
| GB Group plc | Support Services |
477 | 2,631 | 3,108 | 4.1% | 552% | 607.3 | 116.2 | 21.5 |
| IDOX plc | Software | 356 | 2,379 | 2,735 | 3.6% | 668% | 297.8 | 97.6 | 22.1 |
| Gear4music Holdings plc |
Media | 372 | 1,780 | 2,152 | 2.8% | 478% | 168.7 | 79.4 | 2.8 |
| Craneware plc | Software | 479 | 1,537 | 2,016 | 2.7% | 321% | 367.2 | 45.0 | 13.4 |
| Learning Technologies Group plc |
Support Services |
880 | 1,008 | 1,888 | 2.5% | 115% | 270.7 | 50.0 | 10.0 |
| Brooks Macdonald Group plc |
Finance | 610 | 1,213 | 1,823 | 2.4% | 199% | 346.6 | 91.6 | 18.7 |
| Staffline Recruitment Group plc |
Support Services |
225 | 1,540 | 1,765 | 2.3% | 684% | 403.8 | 952.2 | 37.2 |
| RWS Holdings | Support | ||||||||
| plc | Services Telecommuni cation |
249 | 1,393 | 1,642 | 2.2% | 559% | 884.4 | 161.1 | 39.7 |
| Netcall plc | Services | 356 | 1,081 | 1,437 | 1.9% | 304% | 94.3 | 17.4 | 3.9 |
| Adept Telecom plc |
Telecommuni cation Services |
502 | 716 | 1,218 | 1.6% | 143% | 83.0 | 34.0 | 6.9 |
| Pharmaceutic | |||||||||
| Ergomed plc | als & Biotech Leisure & |
960 | 228 | 1,188 | 1.6% | 24% | 83.0 | 48.6 | 2.8 |
| DP Poland plc | Hotels | 364 | 764 | 1,128 | 1.5% | 210% | 64.1 | 10.9 | -1.9 |
| Gooch & Housego plc |
Electronic & Electrical |
326 | 784 | 1,110 | 1.5% | 240% | 341.0 | 108.3 | 15.9 |
| Yu Group plc | Utilities | 470 | 572 | 1,042 | 1.4% | 122% | 58.7 | 34.0 | 2.3 |
| Restore plc | Support Services |
311 | 703 | 1,014 | 1.3% | 226% | 487.1 | 169.2 | 29.9 |
| Clinigen Group plc |
Pharmaceutic als & Biotech |
625 | 295 | 920 | 1.2% | 47% | 1,024.3 | 302.2 | 57.2 |
| EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc |
Health | 864 | 43 | 907 | 1.2% | 5% | 97.5 | 40.7 | 3.5 |
| Advanced Medical Solutions Group |
Pharmaceutic | ||||||||
| plc Next Fifteen Communication |
als & Biotech | 505 | 384 | 889 | 1.2% | 76% | 604.2 | 89.3 | 22.0 |
| s Group plc | Media | 458 | 417 | 875 | 1.2% | 91% | 299.3 | 193.3 | 28.8 |
| Vertu Motors | General | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plc Plastics Capital |
Retailers Engineering & |
777 | 71 | 848 | 1.1% | 9% | 180.8 | 2,880.5 | 32.5 |
| plc | Machinery | 485 | 346 | 831 | 1.1% | 71% | 45.8 | 65.6 | 4.3 |
| Escher Group | |||||||||
| Holdings plc | Software Telecommuni |
753 | 65 | 818 | 1.1% | 9% | 37.0 | 17.7 | 2.2 |
| cation | |||||||||
| CityFibre plc | Services | 739 | 40 | 779 | 1.0% | 5% | 179.3 | 23.4 | -4.8 |
| Brady plc | Software | 647 | 127 | 774 | 1.0% | 20% | 64.2 | 29.5 | 1.9 |
| Omega | |||||||||
| Diagnostics Group plc |
Health | 318 | 440 | 758 | 1.0% | 138% | 29.2 | 14.2 | 1.1 |
| TLA Worldwide | |||||||||
| plc | Media | 538 | 188 | 726 | 1.0% | 35% | 39.8 | 30.1 | 10.9 |
| Ideagen plc | Software | 280 | 433 | 713 | 0.9% | 155% | 179.4 | 26.7 | 6.9 |
| Leisure & | |||||||||
| Escape Hunt plc | Hotels | 659 | 0 | 659 | 0.9% | 0% | 27.7 | n/a | n/a |
| Tasty plc | Leisure & Hotels |
336 | 311 | 647 | 0.9% | 93% | 35.3 | 50.0 | 2.9 |
| Futura Medical | Pharmaceutic | ||||||||
| plc | als & Biotech | 645 | (23) | 622 | 0.8% | (4%) | 67.0 | 0.7 | -7.8 |
| Cello Group plc | Media | 205 | 391 | 596 | 0.8% | 191% | 139.4 | 173.1 | 11.4 |
| Judges Scientific | Electronic & | ||||||||
| plc | Electrical | 209 | 381 | 590 | 0.8% | 182% | 108.1 | 60.2 | 8.6 |
| Pharmaceutic | |||||||||
| Abcam plc | als & Biotech | 358 | 229 | 587 | 0.8% | 64% | 1,998.9 | 217.6 | 63.7 |
| Cambridge Cognition |
|||||||||
| Holdings plc | Health | 400 | 171 | 571 | 0.8% | 43% | 21.2 | 8.2 | 0.5 |
| Nasstar plc | Software | 320 | 224 | 544 | 0.7% | 70% | 50.2 | 25.0 | 3.5 |
| Velocity | |||||||||
| Composites plc | Industrial | 533 | 0 | 533 | 0.7% | 0% | 31.7 | n/a | n/a |
| Faron | |||||||||
| Pharmaceutical s Oy |
Pharmaceutic als & Biotech |
230 | 269 | 499 | 0.7% | 117% | 216.0 | 0.9 | -12.8 |
| LoopUp Group | |||||||||
| plc | Software | 320 | 170 | 490 | 0.6% | 53% | 65.6 | 17.3 | 2.9 |
| Gamma | Telecommuni | ||||||||
| Communication | cation | ||||||||
| s plc | Services | 326 | 161 | 487 | 0.6% | 49% | 536.2 | 231.0 | 26.6 |
| Vectura Group plc |
Pharmaceutic als & Biotech |
332 | 138 | 470 | 0.6% | 42% | 799.2 | 169.6 | 23.8 |
| Haydale | |||||||||
| Graphene | |||||||||
| Industries plc | Chemicals | 399 | 50 | 449 | 0.6% | 13% | 35.8 | 4.1 | -4.4 |
| SQS Software Quality Systems |
|||||||||
| AG | Software | 207 | 201 | 408 | 0.5% | 97 % |
137.3 | 289.8 | 21.4 |
| Mattioli Woods | |||||||||
| plc | Finance | 101 | 289 | 390 | 0.5% | 286% | 211.3 | 48.9 | 9.9 |
| Scientific Digital | Electronic & | ||||||||
| Imaging plc | Electrical | 119 | 245 | 364 | 0.5% | 206% | 22.9 | 10.7 | 1.4 |
| Sinclair IS | Pharmaceutic | ||||||||
| Pharma plc | als & Biotech | 274 | 74 | 348 | 0.5% | 27% | 159.9 | 48.2 | -4.4 |
| Maxcyte Inc | Pharmaceutic als & Biotech |
340 | (19) | 321 | 0.4% | (6%) | 148.7 | 12.5 | -7.8 |
| Iomart Group | |||||||||
| plc | Software | 178 | 123 | 301 | 0.4% | 69% | 323.8 | 89.2 | 22.5 |
| Access | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence plc Osirium |
Software | 446 | (72) | 374 | 0.5% | (16%) | 11.9 | n/a | n/a |
| Technologies | Electronic & | ||||||||
| plc | Electrical | 500 | (208) | 292 | 0.4% | (42%) | 9.7 | n/a | n/a |
| UP Global | Household | ||||||||
| Sourcing | Goods & | ||||||||
| Holdings plc | Textiles | 182 | 105 | 287 | 0.4% | 58% | 167.6 | 107.2 | 10.1 |
| WANdisco plc | Software | 96 | 152 | 248 | 0.3% | 158% | 177.0 | 12.1 | -7.6 |
| FreeAgent | |||||||||
| Holdings plc | Media | 185 | 46 | 231 | 0.3% | 25% | 44.0 | 10.3 | -0.3 |
| TP Group plc | Engineering & Machinery |
452 | (222) | 230 | 0.3% | (49%) | 27.5 | 28.8 | 1.1 |
| Hasgrove plc* | Media | 153 | 59 | 212 | 0.3% | 39% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| MyCelx | |||||||||
| Technologies | |||||||||
| Corporation | Oil Equipment | 980 | (679) | 301 | 0.4% | (69%) | 13.3 | n/a | n/a |
| Microsaic | Engineering & | ||||||||
| Systems plc | Machinery | 722 | (534) | 188 | 0.2% | (74%) | 5.0 | n/a | n/a |
| Sphere Medical | |||||||||
| Holding plc | Health | 400 | (219) | 181 | 0.2% | (55%) | 10.6 | 0.4 | -5.1 |
| Enteq Upstream | |||||||||
| plc | Oil Services | 687 | (516) | 171 | 0.2% | (75%) | 15.5 | 2.5 | -0.7 |
| Midatech | Pharmaceutic | ||||||||
| Pharma plc | als & Biotech | 400 | (243) | 157 | 0.2% | (61%) | 51.9 | 11.6 | -14.5 |
| Nektan Limited | Software | 893 | (420) | 473 | 0.6% | (47%) | 13.3 | n/a | n/a |
| Oxford | |||||||||
| Pharmascience | Pharmaceutic | ||||||||
| Group plc | als & Biotech | 900 | (765) | 135 | 0.2% | (85%) | 19.0 | 0.8 | -3.1 |
| Tyratech Inc | Chemicals | 400 | (280) | 120 | 0.2% | (70%) | 5.2 | 6.1 | -0.8 |
| Medica Group | |||||||||
| plc | Health | 63 | 41 | 104 | 0.1% | 65% | 247.2 | 35.6 | 9.5 |
| Mears Group | Support | ||||||||
| plc | Services | 51 | 44 | 95 | 0.1% | 86% | 528.5 | 967.6 | 48.0 |
| ReNeuron | Pharmaceutic | ||||||||
| Group plc | als & Biotech | 216 | (134) | 82 | 0.1% | (62%) | 61.7 | 0.0 | -19.8 |
| Pharmaceutic | |||||||||
| Genedrive Plc | als & Biotech | 140 | (70) | 70 | 0.1% | (50%) | 7.9 | n/a | n/a |
| Rated People | |||||||||
| Ltd* | Software | 236 | (178) | 58 | 0.1% | (75%) | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Fusionex International |
|||||||||
| plc | Software | 188 | (132) | 56 | 0.1% | (70%) | 24.7 | 23.4 | 0.3 |
| Proxama plc | Software | 509 | (470) | 39 | 0.1% | (92%) | 4.7 | n/a | n/a |
| 1Spatial plc | Software | 200 | (178) | 22 | 0.0% | (89%) | 27.6 | 23.4 | -1.2 |
| Support | |||||||||
| Work Group plc | Services | 379 | (365) | 14 | 0.0% | (96%) | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Bond | |||||||||
| International | |||||||||
| Software plc | Software | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.0% | 0% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Investee Company |
Sector | Book cost (£000) |
Movement in valuation (£000) |
Fair Value (£000) |
% of net assets |
Unrealised Return over book cost % |
Market cap (£m) |
Revenue (£m) |
Pre Tax Profit (£m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Money Market | |||||||||
| Funds | |||||||||
| n/a | 4,420 | 6 | 4,426 | 5.9% | 0% | n/a | n/a | n/a | |
| Octopus Portfolio | |||||||||
| Manager - | |||||||||
| Conservative | |||||||||
| Capital Growth | |||||||||
| n/a | 3,600 | 267 | 3,867 | 5.1% | 7% | n/a | n/a | n/a | |
| Octopus Portfolio | |||||||||
| Manager - | |||||||||
| Defensive Capital | |||||||||
| Growth | |||||||||
| n/a | 3,600 | 187 | 3,787 | 5.0% | 5% | n/a | n/a | n/a | |
| Octopus UK | |||||||||
| Micro Cap | |||||||||
| Growth Fund | |||||||||
| n/a | 1,100 | 296 | 1,396 | 1.8% | 27% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Since 31 May 2017 there has been one follow on investment with a cost of £313,000.
Since 31 May 2017 there has been one disposal, the proceeds of which totalled £104,000 (cost £81,000).
Unless otherwise stated , all the investments set out above:
are quoted on AIM or on the London Stock Exchange Full List:
represent equity investments except in the case of Nektan and Access Intelligence which include investment via loan stock: and
are in portfolio companies incorporated in the UK with the exception of:
Escher - Ireland Mycelx - USA SQS - Germany Nektan - Gibraltar Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy - Finland Maxcyte Inc - USA
*Denotes private company
this Resolution (unless renewed, varied or revoked by the Company in a general meeting) but so that this authority shall allow the Company to make, before the expiry of this authority, offers or agreements which would or might require shares to be allotted or rights to be granted after such expiry.
| Class of Nominal shares value |
Issued (fully paid) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | No. of Shares | |||
| Ordinary Shares |
1p | 903,503 | 90,350,274 |
3.4 The issued fully paid share capital of Octopus AIM immediately after the Offers have closed (assuming (i) the Offers are fully subscribed, including the over-allotment facility, in both Companies with subscriptions split as to 60%/40% as between Octopus AIM and Octopus AIM 2 respectively and (ii) that the Offer Price is either 127.0p or 101.6p per Octopus AIM New Share) will be as follows:
| Offer Price 127.0p |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Class of shares |
Nominal value |
Issued (fully paid) | |
| £ | No. of Shares | ||
| Ordinary Shares |
1p | 1,092,479 | 109,247,911 |
| Offer Price 101.6p |
|||
| Nominal | Issued (fully paid) | ||
| Class of shares |
value | ||
| £ | No. of Shares | ||
| Ordinary Shares |
1p | 1,139,723 | 113,972,321 |
3.5 The following allotments and repurchases of Shares have taken place since 1 March 2014:
5,050,531 Shares at a weighted average price of 103.05p were bought back; 40,605,262 Shares at a weighted average price of 114.6p were allotted.
3.11 Except for commissions paid to authorised introducers in respect of previous offers for subscription of Shares, no commissions, discounts, brokerages or other special terms have been granted by Octopus AIM in connection with the issue or sale of any share or loan capital of Octopus AIM in the three years immediately preceding the date of this document.
3.12 Other than pursuant to the Offers, none of the New Shares have been sold or is available in whole or in part to the public in conjunction with the application for the New Shares to be admitted to the Official List.
4.1 As at the date of this document the Directors of Octopus AIM and their immediate families have the following interests in the issued share capital of Octopus AIM:
| Director | No. of Shares | % of Issued Share Capital |
|---|---|---|
| Roger Smith | 20,000 | Less than 0.1 |
| Stephen Hazell-Smith | 136,493 | 0.2 |
| Joanne Parfrey | - | - |
| Neal Ransome | 17,423 | Less than 0.1 |
4.2 Assuming that (i) the Offers are fully subscribed, including the over-allotment facility, in both Companies and (ii) an Offer Price of 127.0p per Octopus AIM New Share, the interests of the Directors of Octopus AIM and their immediate families in the issued share capital of Octopus AIM immediately following the Offers will be:
| Director | No. of Shares | % of Issued Share Capital |
|---|---|---|
| Roger Smith | 20,000 | Less than 0.1 |
| Stephen Hazell-Smith | 136,493 | 0.1 |
| Joanne Parfrey | 19,685 | Less than 0.1 |
| Neal Ransome | 17,423 | Less than 0.1 |
issued) which differ from any other Shareholder of Octopus AIM.
| Name | Position | Name of company/partnership |
Position still held (Y/N) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Smith | Director | Epworth Investment Management Limited |
N |
| Director | Cotton Spring Farm Limited |
Y | |
| Director | Herts County Showground Limited |
Y | |
| Director | The Hertfordshire Agricultural Society |
Y | |
| Director | The Lord's Taverners Limited |
N | |
| Director | Methodist International Centre Limited |
N | |
| Director | Central Industrial Holdings Limited (dissolved)* |
N | |
| Director | BB Realisations Limited (dissolved)* |
N | |
| Stephen Hazell | Director | Puma VCT 10 PLC | Y |
| Smith | Director | Peterhouse Capital Asset Management Limited |
N |
| Director | Webb Capital Advisory | N |
| Director | Business Agent Limited | Y | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director | PFP Capital Limited | Y | |
| Director | Puma VCT 13 PLC | Y | |
| Director | Puma VCT V PLC (dissolved)* |
N | |
| Joanne Parfrey | Director | Babraham Bioscience Technologies Limited |
Y |
| Neal Ransome | Director | Quercus (General Partner) Limited |
N |
| Director | Parity Group PLC | N | |
| Partner | PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP |
N |
* in voluntary liquidation prior to being dissolved
The business address of all the Directors is 33 Holborn, London EC1N 2HT.
4.9 There are no arrangements or understandings with major Shareholders, customers, suppliers or others, pursuant to which any Director of Octopus AIM was selected as a member of the administrative, management or supervisory bodies or member of senior management.
4.10 There are no outstanding loans or guarantees provided by Octopus AIM for the benefit of any of its Directors nor are there any loans or any guarantees provided by any of the Directors of Octopus AIM to Octopus AIM.
Roger Smith and Stephen Hazell-Smith were appointed as Directors of Octopus AIM on 2 February 1998 pursuant to appointment letters of the same date. Joanne Parfrey and Neal Ransome were appointed as a Directors of Octopus AIM on 6 October 2016 pursuant to appointment letters of the same date. These Directors' appointments are terminable on three months' notice and no arrangements have been entered into by Octopus AIM entitling the Directors of Octopus AIM to compensation for loss of office nor have amounts been set aside to provide pension, retirement or similar benefits. Roger Smith, as Chairman of Octopus AIM, is entitled to annual remuneration of £25,000, Neal Ransome, as Audit Committee Chairman, is entitled to annual remuneration of £22,500, while the annual remuneration receivable by Stephen Hazell-Smith and Joanne Parfrey is £20,000. None of the Directors of Octopus AIM has a service contract with Octopus AIM and no such contract is proposed. In respect of the year ended 28 February 2017, Roger Smith received £22,517, Stephen Hazell-Smith received £19,008, Joanne Parfrey received £8,051, Neal Ransome received £9,058 and Michael Reeve and Marion Sears, who resigned as directors during that year, received £8,620 and £10,980 respectively.
Octopus AIM does not have any subsidiaries.
An agreement dated 16 June 2017 between Octopus AIM (1), the Directors of Octopus AIM (2), the Manager (3) and Howard Kennedy (4) pursuant to which Howard Kennedy agreed to act as sponsor to Octopus AIM in respect of the Offers and the Manager agreed to use reasonable endeavours to procure subscribers for New Shares under the Offers. Under the agreement the Manager is paid an initial fee of up to 5.5% of the funds received by Octopus AIM under the Offers (such a fee to be reduced in relation to applications from investors who are existing, or who were previously, shareholders of any Octopus VCT) and an ongoing fee of 0.5% per annum of the most recently announced NAV multiplied by the number of New Shares allotted to investors who have invested directly into Octopus AIM and not through a financial intermediary, the cost of this ongoing charge being met through a reduction in the annual management fee of Octopus, and the Manager has agreed to discharge all the external costs of advice and their own costs in respect of the Offers. Under this agreement certain warranties have been given by Octopus AIM, the Directors of Octopus AIM and the Manager to Howard Kennedy. Octopus AIM has also agreed to indemnify Howard Kennedy in respect of its role as sponsor. The warranties and indemnity are in usual form for a contract of this type. The agreement can be terminated if any statement in the prospectus relating to the Offers is untrue, any material omission from the Prospectus arises or any breach of warranty occurs.
The following are the only contracts (not being contracts entered into in the ordinary course of business) which have been entered into by Octopus AIM in the two years immediately preceding the date of this document or which are expected to be entered into prior to Admission and which are, or may be, material or which have been entered into at any time by Octopus AIM and which contain any provision under which Octopus AIM has any obligation or entitlement which is, or may be, material to Octopus AIM as at the date of this document:
Manager ceases to be authorised by the FCA. The agreement contains provisions indemnifying the Manager against any liability not due to its default, gross negligence, fraud or breach of FSMA.
Save for the fees paid to the Directors of Octopus AIM as detailed in paragraph 5 above, the fees paid under the Investment Management and Administration Agreement detailed in paragraph 8.4 above, the promoters fees paid to Octopus of £1,208 (year ended 28 February 2015), £1,361 (year ended 29 February 2016), £1,412 (year ended 28 February 2017), there were no other related party transactions or fees paid by Octopus AIM during the years ended 28 February 2015, 29 February 2016 and 28 February 2017 or since 28 February 2017 to the date of this document.
Octopus AIM is of the opinion that the working capital of Octopus AIM is sufficient for its present requirements, that is, for at least the period of twelve months from the date of this document.
11.1 The capitalisation of Octopus AIM as at 31 May 2017 was as follows:
| Capital and reserves | £'000's |
|---|---|
| Called up Equity Share Capital | 903 |
| Share Premium | 39,543 |
| Special Distributable Reserve | 52,969 |
| Capital Redemption Reserve | 51 |
| Own Shares held in Treasury | - |
| Capital Reserve Realised | (27,994) |
| Capital Reserve Unrealised | 46,562 |
| Revenue Reserve | 346 |
| Total Equity Shareholders' Funds | 112,380 |
11.2 Since inception, Octopus AIM has incurred no indebtedness. Octopus AIM has power to borrow under its Articles, details of which are set out in the paragraph entitled "Borrowing Powers" on page 78.
There have been no governmental, legal or arbitration proceedings (including any such proceedings which are pending or threatened of which Octopus AIM is aware) since Octopus AIM's incorporation which may have, or have had in the recent past, a significant effect on Octopus AIM's financial position or profitability.
meeting) but so that this authority shall allow the Company to make, before the expiry, of this authority offers or agreements which would or might require shares to be allotted or rights to be granted after such expiry.
| Class of shares |
Nominal value |
Issued (fully paid) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | No. of Shares | |||
| Ordinary Shares |
0.01p | 8,243 | 82,429,702 |
3.4 The issued fully paid share capital of Octopus AIM 2 immediately after the Offers have closed (assuming (i) the Offers are fully subscribed, including the over-allotment facility, in both Companies with subscriptions split as to 60%/40% as between Octopus AIM and Octopus AIM 2 respectively and (ii) that the Offer Price is either 93.9p or 75.1p per Octopus AIM 2 New Share) will be as follows:
| Offer | ||
|---|---|---|
| Price | ||
| 93.9p | ||
| Nominal | Issued (fully paid) | |
| Class of shares |
value |
| £ | No. of Shares | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary Shares |
0.01p | 9,947 | 99,469,105 |
| Offer Price 75.1p |
|||
| Class of shares |
Nominal value |
Issued (fully paid) | |
| £ | No. of Shares | ||
| Ordinary Shares |
0.01p | 10,373 | 103,734,628 |
3.5 The following allotments and repurchases of Shares have taken place since 1 December 2013:
5,309,201 Shares at a weighted average price of 78.24p were bought back; 40,675,238 Shares at a weighted average price of 87.1p were allotted.
admitted to the Official List.
4.1 As at the date of this document the Directors of Octopus AIM 2 and their immediate families have the following interests in the issued share capital of Octopus AIM 2:
| Director | No. of Shares | % of Issued Share Capital |
|---|---|---|
| Keith Mullins | 204,195 | 0.2 |
| Andrew Raynor | 21,080 | Less than 0.1 |
| Elizabeth Kennedy | 37,380 | Less than 0.1 |
| Alastair Ritchie | 31,809 | Less than 0.1 |
4.2 Assuming that (i) the Offers are fully subscribed, including the over-allotment facility, in both Companies and (ii) an Offer Price of 93.9p per Octopus AIM 2 New Share, the interests of the Directors of Octopus AIM 2 and their immediate families in the issued share capital of Octopus AIM 2 immediately following the Offers will be:
| Director | No. of Shares | % of Issued Share Capital |
|---|---|---|
| Keith Mullins | 204,195 | 0.2 |
| Andrew Raynor | 21,080 | Less than 0.1 |
| Elizabeth Kennedy | 37,380 | Less than 0.1 |
| Alastair Ritchie | 31,809 | Less than 0.1 |
operation of which may at a subsequent date result in a change of control of Octopus AIM 2.
| Name | Position | Name of company/partnership |
Position still held (Y/N) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Mullins | - | - | - |
| Andrew Raynor | Director | Miller's Court Tenants Limited |
N |
| Director | 21st Century Law Limited | Y | |
| Director | Bande A Part Limited | Y | |
| Director | Star Trust (East Midlands) Limited |
N | |
| Elizabeth Kennedy |
Director | F & C Private Equity Trust PLC |
Y |
| Director | Friends of the Beatson | Y | |
| Director | F & C Private Equity Zeros PLC (dissolved)* |
N | |
| Director | Sofant Technologies Ltd | Y | |
| Director | Taragenyx Limited | Y | |
| Director | Beatson Cancer Charity | Y | |
| Director | Sunergos Innovations Limited |
N | |
| Partner | Kergan Stewart LLP | N |
| Alastair Ritchie | Director | John Swan & Sons Limited |
N |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director | John Swan Trustee Limited |
N | |
| Director | Biobest Laboratories Limited |
N | |
| Director | Beauford PLC (dissolved)* |
N |
* in voluntary liquidation prior to being dissolved
The business address of all the Directors of Octopus AIM 2 is 33 Holborn, London EC1N 2HT.
suppliers or others, pursuant to which any Director of Octopus AIM 2 was selected as a member of the administrative, management or supervisory bodies or member of senior management.
Keith Mullins and Andrew Raynor were appointed as Directors of Octopus AIM 2 on 14 September 2005 pursuant to appointment letters dated 7 September 2010. Elizabeth Kennedy and Alastair Ritchie were appointed as Directors of Octopus AIM 2 on 12 August 2010 pursuant to appointment letters of the same date. These Directors' appointments are terminable on three months' notice and no arrangements have been entered into by Octopus AIM 2 entitling the Directors of Octopus AIM 2 to compensation for loss of office nor have amounts been set aside to provide pension, retirement or similar benefits. Keith Mullins, as Chairman of Octopus AIM 2, is entitled to annual remuneration of £25,000, Andrew Raynor, as Audit Committee Chairman, is entitled to annual remuneration of £22,500, while the annual remuneration receivable by Elizabeth Kennedy and Alastair Ritchie is £20,000. None of the Directors of Octopus AIM 2 has a service contract with Octopus AIM 2 and no such contract is proposed. In respect of the year ended 30 November 2016, Keith Mullins received £23,333, Andrew Raynor received £20,667, Elizabeth Kennedy received £18,333 and Alastair Ritchie received £18,333.
Octopus AIM 2 does not have any subsidiaries.
An agreement dated 16 June 2017 between Octopus AIM 2 (1), the Directors of Octopus AIM 2 (2), the Manager (3) and Howard Kennedy (4) pursuant to which Howard Kennedy agreed to act as sponsor to Octopus AIM 2 in respect of the Offers and the Manager agreed to use reasonable endeavours to procure subscribers for New Shares under the Offers. Under the agreement the Manager is paid an initial fee of up to 5.5% of the funds received by Octopus AIM 2 under the Offers (such a fee to be reduced in relation to applications from investors who are existing, or who were previously, shareholders of any Octopus VCT) and an ongoing fee of 0.5% per annum of the most recently announced NAV multiplied by the number of New Shares allotted to investors who have invested directly into Octopus AIM 2 and not through a financial intermediary, the cost of this ongoing charge being met through a reduction in the annual management fee of Octopus, and the Manager has agreed to discharge all the external costs of advice and their own costs in respect of the Offers. Under this agreement certain warranties have been given by Octopus AIM 2, the Directors of Octopus AIM 2 and the Manager to Howard Kennedy. Octopus AIM 2 has also agreed to indemnify Howard Kennedy in respect of its role as sponsor. The warranties and indemnity are in usual form for a contract of this type. The agreement can be terminated if
any statement in the prospectus relating to the Offers is untrue, any material omission from the Prospectus arises or any breach of warranty occurs.
The following are the only contracts (not being contracts entered into in the ordinary course of business) which have been entered into by Octopus AIM 2 in the two years immediately preceding the date of this document or which are expected to be entered into prior to Admission and which are, or may be, material or which have been entered into at any time by Octopus AIM 2 and which contain any provision under which Octopus AIM 2 has any obligation or entitlement which is, or may be, material to Octopus AIM 2 as at the date of this document:
The agreement is terminable on 12 months' notice by either party subject to earlier termination by either party in the event of, inter alia, a party having a receiver, administrator or liquidator appointed or committing a material breach of the agreement or by Octopus AIM 2 if it fails to become, or ceases to be, a VCT for tax purposes or where the Manager ceases to be authorised by the FCA. The agreement contains provisions indemnifying the Manager against any liability not due to its default, gross negligence, fraud or breach of FSMA.
Save for the fees paid to the Directors of Octopus AIM 2 as detailed in paragraph 5 above, the fees paid under the Investment Management and Administration Agreement detailed in paragraph 8.4 above, the promoters fees paid to Octopus of £812,000 (year ended 30 November 2014), £919,000 (year ended 30 November 2015), £901,000 (year ended 30 November 2016), there were no other related party transactions or fees paid by Octopus AIM 2 during the years ended 30 November 2014, 30 November 2015 and 30 November 2016 or since 30 November 2016 to the date of this document.
Octopus AIM 2 is of the opinion that the working capital of Octopus AIM 2 is sufficient for its present requirements, that is, for at least the period of twelve months from the date of this document.
11.1 The capitalisation of Octopus AIM 2 as at 31 May 2017 was as follows:
| Capital and reserves | £000's |
|---|---|
| Called up Equity Share Capital | 8 |
| Share Premium | 27,945 |
| Special Distributable Reserve | 28,097 |
| Capital Redemption Reserve | - |
| Own Shares held in Treasury | - |
| Capital Reserve Realised | (9,947) |
| Capital Reserve Unrealised | 29,828 |
| Revenue Reserve | (277) |
| Total Equity Shareholders' Funds | 75,654 |
11.2 Since inception, Octopus AIM 2 has incurred no indebtedness. Octopus AIM 2 has power to borrow under its Articles, details of which are set out in the paragraph entitled "Borrowing Powers" on page 78.
There have been no governmental, legal or arbitration proceedings (including any such proceedings which are pending or threatened of which Octopus AIM 2 is aware) since Octopus AIM 2's incorporation which may have, or have had in the recent past, a significant effect on Octopus AIM 2's financial position or profitability.
The Articles of each of the Companies contain, inter alia, the following provisions.
Subject to any disenfranchisement as provided in paragraph 1.4 below the Shares shall carry the right to receive notice of or to attend or vote at any general meeting of the Company and on a show of hands every holder of Shares present in person (or being a corporation, present by authorised representative) shall have one vote and, on a poll, every holder of ordinary shares who is present in person or by proxy shall have one vote for every Share of which he is the holder. The Shares shall rank pari passu as to rights to attend and vote at any general meeting of the Company.
The Shares are in registered form and will be freely transferable free of all liens. All transfers of Shares must be effected by a transfer in writing in any usual form or any other form approved by the Directors. The instrument of transfer of a Share shall be executed by or on behalf of the transferor and, in the case of a partly paid Share by or on behalf of the transferee. The Directors may refuse to register any transfer of a partly paid Share, provided that such refusal does not prevent dealings taking place on an open and proper basis and may also refuse to register any instrument of transfer unless:
The Company may in general meeting by ordinary resolution declare dividends to be paid to members in accordance with the Articles, provided that no dividend shall be payable in excess of the amount recommended by the Directors. The Directors may pay such interim dividends as appear to them to be justified. No dividend or other monies payable in respect of a share shall bear interest as against the Company. There are no fixed dates on which entitlement to a dividend arises. All dividends unclaimed for a period of twelve years after being declared or becoming due for payment shall be forfeited and shall revert to the Company.
The Shares shall entitle their holders to receive such dividends as the Directors may resolve to pay out of the net assets attributable to the Shares and from income received and accrued which is attributable to the Shares.
The Directors may, with the prior sanction of an ordinary resolution of the Company, offer Shareholders the right to elect to receive in respect of all or part of their holding of Shares, additional Shares credited as fully paid instead of cash in respect of all or part of such dividend or dividends and (subject as hereinafter provided) upon such terms and conditions and in such manner as may be specified in such ordinary resolution. The ordinary resolution shall confer the said power on the Directors in respect of all or part of a particular dividend or in respect of all or any dividends (or any part of such dividends) declared or paid within a specified period but such period may not end later than the date of the annual general meeting next following the date of the general meeting at which such ordinary resolution is passed.
If any Shareholder or 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 the CA 2006, the Directors may, for such period as the default shall continue, impose restrictions upon the relevant Shares.
The restrictions available are the suspension of voting or other rights conferred by membership in relation to meetings of the Company in respect of the relevant Shares and additionally in the case of a Shareholder representing at least 0.25% by nominal value of any class of Shares of the Company then in issue, the withholding of payment of any dividends on, and the restriction of transfer of, the relevant Shares.
On a winding-up any surplus assets will be divided amongst the holders of each class of shares in the Company according to the respective numbers of shares held by them and in accordance with the provisions of the Act, subject to the rights of any shares which may be issued with special rights or privileges.
The Articles provide that the liquidator may, with the sanction of a special resolution and any other sanction required by the Act, divide amongst the members in specie the whole or any part of the assets of the Company in such manner as he may determine.
(i) Without prejudice to any rights attaching to any existing shares, any share may be issued with such rights or restrictions as the Company may by ordinary resolution determine or in the absence of such determination, as the Directors may determine. Subject to the Act, the Company may issue shares, which are, or at the option of the Company or the holder are, liable to be redeemed.
(ii) The Company may by ordinary resolution increase its share capital, consolidate and divide all or any of its share capital into shares of larger amount, sub-divide its shares or any of them into shares of smaller amounts, or cancel or reduce the nominal value of any shares which have not been taken or agreed to be taken by any person and diminish the amount of its share capital by the amount so cancelled or the amount of the reduction.
Whenever the capital of the Company is divided into different classes of shares, the rights attached to any class may (unless otherwise provided by the terms of issue of that class) be varied or abrogated either with the consent in writing of the holders of not less than threefourths of the nominal amount of the issued shares of the class or with the sanction of a resolution passed at a separate meeting of such holders.
Unless and until otherwise determined by an ordinary resolution of the Company, the number of Directors shall not be fewer than two nor more than ten. The continuing Directors may act notwithstanding any vacancy in their body, provided that if the number of the Directors be fewer than the prescribed minimum the remaining Director or Directors shall forthwith appoint an additional Director or additional Directors to make up such minimum or shall convene a general meeting of the Company for the purpose of making such appointment.
Any Director may in writing under his hand appoint (a) any other Director, or (b) any other person who is approved by the Board as hereinafter provided, to be his alternate. A Director may at any time revoke the appointment of an alternate appointed by him. Every person acting as an alternate Director of the Company shall be an officer of the Company, and shall alone be responsible to the Company for his own acts and defaults, and he shall not be deemed to be the agent of or for the Director appointing him.
Subject to the provisions of the Statutes (as defined in the Company's articles of association), the Directors may from time to time appoint one or more of their body to be managing director or joint managing directors of the Company or to hold such other executive office in relation to the management of the business of the Company as they may decide.
A Director may continue or become a Director or other officer, servant or member of any company promoted by the Company or in which they may be interested as a vendor, shareholder, or otherwise, and no such Director shall be accountable for any remuneration or other benefits derived as Director or other officer, servant or member of such company. The Directors may from time to time appoint a chairman of the Company (who need not be a Director of the Company) and may determine his duties and remuneration and the period for which he is to hold office.
The Directors may from time to time provide for the management and transaction of the affairs of the Company in any specified locality, whether at home or abroad, in such manner as they think fit.
1.9.3 A Director shall not vote nor be counted in the quorum at a meeting of the Directors in respect of a matter in which he has any material interest otherwise than by virtue of his interest in shares, debentures or other securities of, or otherwise in or through the Company, unless his interest arises only because the case falls within one or more of the following paragraphs:
(d) any proposal concerning any other company in which he is interested, directly or indirectly, whether as an officer or shareholder or otherwise, provided that he and any persons connected with him do not to his knowledge hold an interest in shares representing 1% or more of any class of the equity share capital of such company or of the voting rights available to members of the relevant company;
At the annual general meeting of the Company next following the appointment of a Director he shall retire from office. A Director shall also retire from office at of before the third annual general meeting following the annual general meeting at which he last retired and was re-elected. A retiring Director shall be eligible for re-election. A Director shall be capable of being appointed or re-appointed despite having attained any particular age and shall not be required to retire by reason of his having attained any particular age, subject to the provisions of the Act.
Subject as provided below, the Directors may exercise all the powers of the Company to borrow money and to mortgage or charge its undertaking, property and uncalled capital.
The Company's articles permit borrowings of amounts up to 10% of the sum equal to the aggregate of the amount paid up on the allotted or issued share capital of the Company and the amount standing to the credit of the capital and revenue reserves of the Company (whether or not distributable) after adding thereto or deducting there from any balance to the credit or debit of the profit and loss account.
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") the distribution of the Company's capital profits shall be prohibited. The Board shall establish a reserve to be called the capital reserve. During a Relevant Period, all surpluses arising from the realisation or revaluation of investments and all other monies realised on or derived from the realisation, payment or other dealing with any capital asset in excess of the book value thereof and all other monies which are considered by the Board to be in the nature of accretion to capital shall be credited to the capital reserve. Subject to the Act, the Board may determine whether any amount received by the Company is to be dealt with as income or capital or partly one way and partly the other. During a Relevant Period, any loss realised on the realisation or payment or other dealing with investments, or other capital losses, and, subject to the Act, any expenses, loss or liability (or provision therefor) which the Board considers to relate to a capital item or which the Board otherwise considers appropriate to be debited to the capital reserve shall be carried to the debit of the capital reserve. During a Relevant Period, all sums carried and standing to the credit of the capital reserve may be applied for any of the purposes for which sums standing to any revenue reserve are applicable except and provided that during a Relevant Period no part of the capital reserve or any other money in the nature of accretion to capital shall be transferred to the revenue reserves of the Company or be regarded or treated as profits of the Company available for distribution or applied in paying dividends on any shares in the Company. 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 or applied in paying dividends on any shares in the Company.
At the annual general meeting of the Company in 2020 in the case of Octopus AIM and 2021 in the case of Octopus AIM 2 and, if the Company has not then been wound up, at each fifth annual general meeting thereafter, the Directors shall procure that an ordinary resolution will be proposed to the effect that the Company shall, continue as a venture capital trust. If the resolution is not passed, the Board shall within 4 months of such meeting convene a general meeting of the Company at which a special resolution for the re-organisation or reconstruction of the Company and/or a special resolution requiring the Company to be wound up voluntarily shall be proposed. If neither of the resolutions is passed, the Company shall continue as a venture capital trust.
The Directors may, whenever they think fit, convene a general meeting of the Company. If within fifteen minutes (or such longer time not exceeding one hour as the chairman of the meeting may decide to wait) from the time appointed for the meeting a quorum is not present, the meeting, if convened on the requisition of members, shall be dissolved and, in any other case, shall stand adjourned to such day (being not less than ten clear days) and at such time and place as the Board may determine. If at any such adjourned meeting a quorum is not present within fifteen minutes from the time appointed for the meeting, a member present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote shall be a quorum.
The chairman may, with the consent of the meeting (and shall, if so directed by the meeting) adjourn any meeting from time to time and from place to place. No business shall be transacted at any adjourned meeting other than the business left unfinished at the meeting from which the adjournment took place.
CREST is a paperless settlement procedure enabling securities to be evidenced otherwise than by a certificate and transferred otherwise than by a written instrument. The Companies' Articles of Association are consistent with CREST membership and allow for the holding and transfer of shares in uncertificated form pursuant to the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001. The New Shares have been made eligible for settlement in CREST.
3.2 The Companies are authorised and regulated by the FCA as small registered UK alternative investment fund managers and also need, as VCTs, to meet a number of conditions set out in tax legislation in order for the VCT tax reliefs to apply and comply with the rules and regulations of the UK Listing Authority. The Companies have delegated their portfolio management to the Manager, which carries out the portfolio management within the remit of its MiFID permissions.
3.3 The Companies are governed by the VCT rules in respect of the investments they make as described in Part 2 of this document. The Companies have appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP of 1 Embankment Place, London WC2N 6RH ("PwC") as their VCT status monitor. PwC will report to the Companies as a part of their annual reporting obligations. In respect of any breach of the VCT rules, the Companies, together with PwC, will report directly and immediately to HMRC to rectify the breach and announce the same immediately to the Companies' Shareholders through a Regulatory Information Service.
where the underlying data necessary to value the investments of either Company could not readily, or without undue expenditure, be obtained. Details of any suspension in making such calculations will be announced through a Regulatory Information Service.
4.1 The UK Corporate Governance Code published by the Financial Reporting Council in September 2014 (the "Code") applies to the Companies. The Directors acknowledge the section headed "Comply or Explain" in the preamble to the Code which acknowledges that some provisions may have less relevance for investment companies and, in particular, consider some areas inappropriate due to the size and nature of the business of the Companies. Accordingly, the provisions of the Code are complied with save that (i) the Companies do not have a chief executive officer or a senior independent director (the Boards do not consider this necessary for the size of the Companies), (ii) new directors have not received a full, formal and tailored induction on joining the Board, such matters being addressed on an individual basis as they arise, (iii) the Companies do not have a nomination committee, appointments being dealt with as they arise (iv) the Companies do not have a remuneration committee given the size of the Companies and as they do not have any executive directors, the Boards as a whole dealing with any matters of this nature and (v) as the Companies have no major Shareholders, the Shareholders are not given the opportunity to meet any non-executive directors at a specific meeting other than the annual general meetings.
The Audit Committees of the Companies comprises the Boards, chaired, in the case of Octopus AIM, by Neal Ransome and, in the case of Octopus AIM 2, by Andrew Raynor, and meet twice a year. The committees have direct access to BDO LLP, the Companies' external auditor. The duties of the Audit Committees are, inter alia:
To date no nomination or remuneration committees have been established by the Companies. Recommendations for the re-election of Directors are considered by the Boards. Matters relating to remuneration of Directors are considered by the Boards and any Director is excluded from meetings whose purpose is the setting of their own remuneration.
The City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "City Code") applies to all takeover and merger transactions in relation to the Companies, and operates principally to ensure that shareholders are treated fairly and are not denied an opportunity to decide on the merits of a takeover, and that shareholders of the same class are afforded equivalent treatment. The City Code provides an orderly framework within which takeovers are conducted and the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Panel") has now been placed on a statutory footing. The Takeovers Directive was implemented in the UK in May 2006 and, since 6 April 2007, has effect through the CA 2006. The Directive applies to takeovers of companies registered in an EU member state and admitted to trading on a regulated market in the EU or EEA.
The City Code is based upon a number of General Principles which are essentially statements of standards of commercial behaviour. General Principle One states that all holders of securities of an offeree company of the same class must be afforded equivalent treatment and, if a person acquires control of a company, the other holders of securities must be protected. This is reinforced by Rule 9 of the City Code which requires a person, together with persons acting in concert with him, who acquires shares carrying voting rights which amount to 30% or more of the voting rights to make a general offer. "Voting rights" for these purposes means all the voting rights attributable to the share capital of a company which are currently exercisable at a general meeting. A general offer will also be required where a person who, together with persons acting in concert with him, holds not less than 30% but not more than 50% of the voting rights, acquires additional shares which increase his percentage of the voting rights. Unless the Panel consents, the offer must be made to all other shareholders, be in cash (or have a cash alternative) and cannot be conditional on anything other than the securing of acceptances which will result in the offeror and persons acting in concert with him holding shares carrying more than 50% of the voting rights.
There are no current mandatory takeover bids in relation to the Companies.
Section 979 of the CA 2006 provides that if, within certain time limits, an offer is made for the share capital of either Company, the offeror is entitled to acquire compulsorily any remaining shares if it has, by virtue of acceptances of the offer, acquired or unconditionally contracted to acquire not less than 90% in value of the shares to which the offer relates and, in a case where the shares to which the offer relates are voting shares, not less than 90% of the voting rights carried by those shares. The offeror would effect the compulsory acquisition by sending a notice to outstanding shareholders telling them that it will compulsorily acquire their shares and then, six weeks from the date of the notice, pay the consideration for the shares to the relevant company to hold on trust for the outstanding shareholders. The consideration offered to shareholders whose shares are compulsorily acquired under the CA 2006 must, in general, be the same as the consideration available under the takeover offer.
Section 983 of the CA 2006 permits a minority shareholder to require an offeror to acquire
its shares if the offeror has acquired or contracted to acquire shares in a company which amount to not less than 90% in value of all the voting shares in the company and carry not less than 90% of the voting rights. Certain time limits apply to this entitlement. If a shareholder exercises its rights under these provisions, the offeror is bound to acquire those shares on the terms of the offer or on such other terms as may be agreed.
The provisions of DTR 5 will apply to the Companies and their Shareholders. DTR 5 sets out the notification requirements for Shareholders and the Companies where the voting rights of a Shareholder exceed, reach or fall below the threshold of 3% and each 1% thereafter up to 100%. DTR 5 provides that disclosure by a Shareholder to the Companies must be made within two trading days of the event giving rise to the notification requirement and the Companies must release details through a Regulatory Information Service as soon as possible following receipt of a notification and by no later than the end of the trading day following such receipt.
7.4 Howard Kennedy's office address is at No. 1 London Bridge, London SE1 9BG. Howard Kennedy is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is acting in the capacity as Sponsor to the Companies.
7.5 Octopus was incorporated and registered in England and Wales on 8 March 2000 under the CA 1985 with registered number 3942880 as a private company limited by shares. The address of Octopus' registered office is at 33 Holborn, London EC1N 2HT and its telephone number is 0800 316 2295. The principal legislation under which Octopus operates is the Acts and regulations made thereunder.
There has been no significant change in the financial or trading position of Octopus AIM 2 since 30 November 2016, the date to which the latest audited financial information has been published, to the date of this document.
exercises or could exercise control over the Companies, nor of any arrangements, the operation of which may, at a subsequent date, result in a change of control of the Companies.
The existing issued Shares in Octopus AIM 2 will represent 82.9% of the enlarged ordinary share capital of Octopus AIM 2 immediately following the Offers, assuming the Offers are fully subscribed, including the over-allotment facility, in both Companies with subscriptions split as to 60%/40% as between Octopus AIM and Octopus AIM 2 respectively at an Offer Price for Octopus AIM 2 of 93.9p, and on that basis Octopus AIM 2 Shareholders who do not participate in the Offers will, therefore, be diluted by 17.1%.
7.22 The Companies and the Directors consent to the use of the Prospectus, and accept
responsibility for the content of the Prospectus, with respect to subsequent resale or final placement of securities by financial intermediaries, from the date of the Prospectus until the close of the Offers. The Offers will close on or before 15 June 2018. There are no conditions attaching to this consent. Financial intermediaries may use the Prospectus only in the UK.
7.23 In the event of an offer being made by a financial intermediary, the financial intermediary will provide information to investors on the terms and conditions of the offer at the time that the offer is made. Any financial intermediary using the Prospectus has to state on its website that it uses the Prospectus in accordance with the consent and the conditions attached thereto.
Copies of the following documents will be available for inspection during normal business hours on any weekday (Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays excepted) at the registered offices of the Companies and Howard Kennedy whilst the Offers remain open:
16 June 2017
The following definitions apply throughout this document, unless otherwise expressed or the context otherwise requires:
| "2014 Offers" | the offer for subscription by the Companies for Shares in respect of the tax years 2014/15 and 2015/16 that was launched on 29 August 2014 |
|---|---|
| "2015 Offers" | the offer for subscription by the Companies for Shares in respect of the tax years 2015/16 and 2016/17 that was launched on 21 December 2015 |
| "2017 Top Up Offers" | the offer for subscription by the Companies for Shares as set out in a top up offer document dated 6 February 2017 |
| "Acts" | CA 1985 and CA 2006 |
| "Advised Investors" | Investors under the Offer who receive advice from their financial intermediaries |
| "Applicant" | the person applying for New Shares using the Application Form |
| "Application" | an application for New Shares in either or both Companies under the Offers |
| "Application Form" | the application form relating to the Offers which can be found on the Companies' website |
| "Articles" | the articles of association of the Companies |
| "Boards" | the boards of Directors of the Companies (and each a "Board") |
| "CA 1985" | Companies Act 1985 |
| "CA 2006" | Companies Act 2006 |
| "Circular" | the circular issued by the Companies to Shareholders dated 16 June 2017 |
| "Companies" | Octopus AIM and Octopus AIM 2 (and each a "Company") |
| "Directors" | the directors of the Companies (and each a "Director") |
| "FSMA" | the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended |
| "General Meetings" | the Octopus AIM GM and the Octopus AIM 2 GM |
| "HMRC" | HM Revenue and Customs |
| "Howard Kennedy" | Howard Kennedy Corporate Services LLP |
| "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 |
| "London Stock Exchange" | London Stock Exchange plc |
| "MiFID" | The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2004/39/EC |
| "NAV" | net asset value |
| "NEX Exchange" | Nex Exchange Limited, registered in England and Wales with company number 04309969 whose registered office is at 2 Broadgate, London EC2M 7UR |
|---|---|
| "New Shares" | Shares being offered by the Companies pursuant to the Offers (and each a "New Share") |
| "Octopus", the "Manager" or the "Receiving Agent" |
Octopus Investments Limited |
| "Octopus AIM" | Octopus AIM VCT plc |
| "Octopus AIM GM" | the general meeting of Octopus AIM to be held on 20 July 2017 (or any adjournment thereof) |
| "Octopus AIM 2" | Octopus AIM VCT 2 plc |
| "Octopus AIM 2 GM" | the general meeting of Octopus AIM 2 to be held on 27 July 2017 (or any adjournment thereof) |
| "Octopus VCT" | any venture capital trust (whether it still exists or not) which is, or was at any time, managed by Octopus |
| "Offer Price" | the price per New Share as set out on page 94 |
| "Offers" | the offer for subscription by the Companies for New Shares in respect of the tax years 2017/18 and 2018/19 contained in this document |
| "Official List" | the official list maintained by the UK Listing Authority |
| "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 the Companies which meet 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 |
| "Risk Finance State Aid" | State aid received by a company as defined in Section 280B (4) of ITA 2007 |
| "Shares" | ordinary shares of 1p each in the capital of Octopus AIM and ordinary shares of 0.01p each in the capital of Octopus AIM 2 (and each a "Share") |
| "Shareholders" | a holder of Shares (and each a "Shareholder") |
| "Terms and Conditions" | the terms and conditions of Application, contained in this document on pages 90 to 96 |
| "The Risk Finance Guidelines" | guidelines on State aid to promote risk finance investments 2014/C 19/04 |
| "Total Return" | the sum of (i) the NAV per Share and (ii) all distributions per Share paid since the first admission of the Shares to the Official List |
|---|---|
| "venture capital trust" or "VCT" | 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 venture capital trusts |
The following terms and conditions apply to the Offers. The section headed "Application Procedure" as set out below also forms part of these terms and conditions of Application.
Offers, the NAV per Share will be rounded up to one decimal place and the number of New Shares to be issued will be rounded down to the nearest whole number (fractions of New Shares will not be allotted).
document, the cover correspondence or any part thereof or involved in the preparation thereof shall have any liability for such information or representation (save for fraudulent misrepresentation or wilful deceit);
XX. agree that information provided on the Application Form may be provided to the registrars and Receiving Agents to process shareholdings details and send notifications to you.
6. No person receiving a copy of this document, covering correspondence or an Application Form in any territory other than the UK, may treat the same as constituting an invitation or offer to him, nor should he in any event use such Application Form unless, in the relevant territory, such an invitation or offer could lawfully be made to him or such Application Form could lawfully be used without contravention of any regulations or other legal requirements. It is the responsibility of any person outside the UK wishing to make an Application to satisfy himself as to full observance of the laws of any relevant territory in connection therewith, including obtaining any requisite governmental or other consents, observing any other formalities requiring to be observed in such territory and paying any issue, transfer or other taxes required to be paid by such territory.
Investors should be aware of the following requirements in respect of the above law.
Under the Money Laundering Regulations, Octopus is required to check the identity of clients who invest over £10,000 or who invest using third party cheques. Octopus may therefore undertake an electronic search for the purposes of verifying your identity. To do so Octopus may check the details you supply against your particulars on any database (public or other) to which Octopus has access. Octopus may also use your details in the future to assist other companies for verification purposes. A record of this search will be retained. If Octopus cannot verify your identity it may ask for a recent, original utility bill and an original HMRC Tax Notification or a copy of your passport certified by a bank, solicitor or accountant from you or a Client Verification Certificate from your IFA.
If within a reasonable period of time following a request for verification of identity, and in any case by no later than 3.00 pm. on the relevant date of allotment, Octopus has not received evidence satisfactory to it as aforesaid, Octopus, at its absolute discretion, may reject any such Application in which event the remittance submitted in respect of that Application will be returned to the Applicant (without prejudice to the rights of the Companies to undertake proceedings to recover any loss suffered by it as a result of the failure to produce satisfactory evidence of identity).
Your cheque or bankers' draft must be drawn in sterling on an account at a branch (which must be in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man) of a bank which is either a member of the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company Limited or the CHAPS Clearing Company Limited, a member of the Scottish Clearing Banks Committee or the Belfast Clearing Committee or which has arranged for its cheques or bankers' drafts to be cleared through facilities provided for by members of any of those companies or associations and must bear the appropriate sorting code in the top right hand corner. The right is reserved to reject any Application Form in respect of which the cheque or bankers' draft has not been cleared on first presentation.
For all investors, the Offer Price will be determined by the formula reflecting the net asset value per Share ("NAV") at the time of allotment adjusted for an allowance for the majority of the costs of the Offers. The formula is:
In consideration for promoting the Offers, the Companies will pay an initial charge of 3% of the gross sum invested in the Offers to Octopus. This is payable in the same way on all subscriptions to the Offers. From this sum Octopus will discharge all external costs of advice and their own costs in respect of the Offers. In addition, there are then four categories of options, which are determined by the circumstances of each investor and their explicit instructions, in respect of which payments can be made to advisers and other intermediaries. These are as follows:
Investors who have not invested their money through a financial intermediary/adviser and have invested directly into the Companies.
In consideration for promoting the Offers, if an application is made directly (not through an intermediary/adviser) then the Companies will pay Octopus an additional initial charge of 2.5% of the investment amount and an additional ongoing charge of 0.5% per annum of the most recently announced NAV multiplied by the number of New Shares allotted to that investor for up to nine years, provided the investor continues to hold the New Shares. The cost of this ongoing charge will not result in a higher fee to investors since Octopus will reduce its annual management fee accordingly.
Investors who have invested in the Offers through a financial intermediary/adviser and have received upfront advice and will receive ongoing advice.
The Companies can facilitate a payment on behalf of an investor to an intermediary/adviser (an 'initial adviser charge') of up to 2.5% of the investment amount. If the investor has agreed with his/her intermediary/adviser to pay a lower initial adviser charge, the balance (up to a maximum of 2.5%) will be used for the issue and allotment of New Shares for the investor, issued at the most recently announced NAV per Share, divided by 0.945.
The Companies can also facilitate payments to an intermediary/adviser ('ongoing adviser charges') in respect of ongoing advisory services provided by the intermediary/adviser to the investor of up to 0.5% per annum of the recently announced NAV multiplied by the number of New Shares allotted to that investor for up to nine years, provided that the investor continues to be the beneficial owner of the New Shares. If the investor chooses to pay their adviser less than 0.5% annually, the remaining amount will be used for the issue and allotment of additional New Shares for the investor, at the then most recently announced NAV per Share rounded down to the nearest whole share. Any residual amount less than the cost of a New Share will be donated to a charity approved by the relevant Board. The cost of ongoing adviser charges will not result in a higher fee to investors since Octopus will reduce its annual management fee accordingly.
If the investor terminates their relationship with the intermediary/adviser then the Companies will not make any further payments of ongoing adviser charges to that intermediary/adviser. The Companies will facilitate ongoing adviser charges if an investor changes their adviser and consents to the ongoing adviser charge.
Investors who have invested in the Offers through a financial intermediary/adviser and have received upfront advice with no ongoing adviser charge, including investors who are investing through intermediaries/advisers using financial platforms.
Where an investor agreed to an upfront fee only, the Companies can facilitate a payment of an initial adviser charge of up to 4.5% of the investment amount. If the investor chooses to pay their intermediary/adviser less than the maximum initial adviser charge, the remaining amount will be used for the issue and allotment of additional New Shares for the investor, issued at the most recently announced NAV per Share, divided by 0.945. In these circumstances the Companies will not facilitate ongoing annual payments. To ensure that the Companies are not financially disadvantaged by such payment, a notional ongoing advisor charge equivalent to 0.5% per annum of the most recently announced NAV multiplied by the number of New Shares allotted to that investor will be deemed to have been paid by the Companies for a period of nine years. Octopus will subsequently reduce its annual management charge by the amount of this notional ongoing adviser charge to ensure that the Companies are not financially disadvantaged.
In both cases (2) or (3), should the investor choose to pay the adviser more than 2.5% or 4.5% respectively, the excess amount will have to be settled by the investor directly with the adviser.
Investors who have invested their money through a financial intermediary and have not received advice.
An initial charge of 2.5% of the investment will be paid by the Companies to such an intermediary. An ongoing charge of 0.5% per annum of the most recently announced NAV multiplied by the number of New Shares allotted to that investor will be paid by Octopus to the intermediary for up to nine years provided that the investor continues to be the beneficial owner of the New Shares (and in the case of an intermediary the intermediary continues to act for the investor). Since Octopus pay the cost of this ongoing charge, this will not result in a higher fee to investors.
These charges may, according to the proportion of advised investors where advice is
received for an upfront fee only, create some limited reduction of the NAV per Share immediately subsequent to subscriptions in the Offers being made. This effect will be mitigated and is ultimately expected to be more than compensated, for continuing investors, by the expected benefits derived from a larger pool of investable funds and the financial benefit in subsequent periods of the absence of ongoing adviser charges in respect of such investments and the subsequent reduction in the Octopus annual management fee to reflect this.
The re-investment arrangements relating to ongoing adviser charges which are described above will only operate for so long as an investor remains the holder of the New Shares. Any subsequent purchaser of those New Shares will not benefit from the re-investment arrangements set out above irrespective of the adviser charges which they have agreed with their adviser nor will Octopus facilitate any adviser charges. This, therefore, means that any purchaser of New Shares will not benefit from the issue or allotment of any additional New Shares under the arrangements set out above.
Any additional New Shares which are issued under the arrangements which are described above will be issued in full and final satisfaction of any cash sums which would otherwise be due to the investor. The Companies do not hereby accept or assume or undertake any liability or obligation of any nature whatsoever to any adviser as regards the payment of any adviser charges (whether such charges are initial adviser charges or ongoing adviser charges). The role of the Companies is simply to facilitate such payments to the extent permitted by applicable rules and regulations.
The above payments are subject to any future changes in the applicable rules and regulations.
Shares and (iii) Ordinary Shares will not be allotted at less than their nominal value.
obtaining any governmental or other consents which may be required and observing any other formalities needing to be observed in any such jurisdiction(s).
Such notices shall not be effective in respect of the next forthcoming Payment Date unless it is received by the Scheme Administrator at least 15 days prior to such Payment Date. In respect of notices under (a) above, such notice will be deemed to have been served where (i) the Participant ceases to hold any Ordinary Shares or (ii) the Participant applies for further Ordinary Shares under a prospectus or top-up offer document issued by the Company, and indicates on the relevant application form applying that they do not want the shares to be issued to them to be subject to the Scheme (upon which their existing participation in the Scheme in relation to all their Ordinary Shares shall be deemed to terminate in accordance with (a) above). Upon receipt of notice of termination, all funds held by the Company on the Participant's behalf shall be returned to the Participant as soon as reasonably practical at the address set out in register of members, subject to any deductions which the Company may be entitled or bound to make hereunder.
Participants who wish to participate in the Scheme and who already have Ordinary Shares issued to them held in certificated form, i.e. not in CREST, should complete and sign a Mandate Form and return it no later than 15 days prior to the dividend payment date to Computershare Investor Services plc, The Pavilions, Bridgwater Road, Bristol BS99 6ZZ. Personalised Mandate Forms can be obtained from Computershare Investor Services plc at the address above or by telephoning +44 (0) 370 703 6325 in respect of Octopus AIM and +44 (0) 370 703 6326 in respect of Octopus AIM 2. Calls to these numbers cost the same as a normal local or national landline call and may be included in your service providers tariff. Calls outside the United Kingdom will be charged at the applicable international rate. Computershare Investor Services PLC are open between 8.30 am – 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday excluding public holidays in England and Wales. Please note that Computershare Investor Services PLC cannot provide any financial, legal or tax advice and calls may be monitored for security and training purposes.
Participants who wish to participate in the Scheme and who already have Ordinary Shares issued to them held in uncertificated form in CREST (and was in uncertificated form as at the relevant record date), the Participants can only elect to receive a dividend in the form of new Ordinary Shares by means of the CREST procedure to effect such an election for the Company. No other method of election will be permitted under the Scheme and will be rejected. By doing so, such Shareholders confirm their election to participate in the Scheme and their acceptance of the Scheme terms and conditions. If a Participant is a CREST sponsored member, they should consult their CREST sponsor, who will be able to take appropriate action on their behalf. All elections made via the CREST system should be submitted using the Dividend Election Input Message in accordance with the procedures as stated in the CREST Reference Manual. The Dividend Election Input Message submitted must contain the number of Ordinary Shares on which the election is being made. If the relevant field is left blank or completed with zero, the election will be rejected. If a Participant enters a number of Ordinary Shares greater than the holder in CREST on the relevant record date for dividend the system will automatically amend the number down to the record date holding. When inputting the election, a 'single drip' election should be selected (the Corporation Action Number for this can be found on the CREST GUI). Evergreen elections will not be permitted. Participants who wish to receive new Ordinary Shares instead of cash in respect of future dividends, must complete a Dividend Election Input Message on each occasion otherwise they will receive the dividend in cash. Elections via CREST should be received by CREST no later than 5.00 p.m. on such date that is at least 15 days before the dividend payment date for the relevant dividend in respect of which you wish to make an election. Once an election is made using the CREST Dividend Election Input Message it cannot be amended. Therefore, if a CREST Shareholder wishes to change their election, the previous election would have to be cancelled.
connection with such application and to comply with legislation relating to venture capital trusts or other relevant legislation (as the same may be amended from time to time); and
Administrator has not been notified (whatever jurisdiction may govern the court order); or
Shareholders who are in any doubt about their tax position should consult their independent financial adviser.
| Investment Manager, | Octopus Investments Limited | |
|---|---|---|
| Administrator and | 33 Holborn | |
| Receiving Agent | London EC1N 2HT | |
| Company Secretary | Nicola Board, ACIS | |
| Auditor | BDO LLP | |
| 55 Baker Street | ||
| London | ||
| W1U 7EU | ||
| Solicitor | Howard Kennedy LLP | |
| No. 1 London Bridge | ||
| London SE1 9BG | ||
| Sponsor | Howard Kennedy Corporate Services LLP | |
| No. 1 London Bridge | ||
| London SE1 9BG | ||
| Tax adviser to the Offers | Philip Hare & Associates LLP | |
| Suite C | ||
| First Floor | ||
| 4-6 Staple Inn | ||
| London | ||
| WC1V 7QH | ||
| VCT Tax status adviser | PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP | |
| 1 Embankment Place | ||
| London WC2N 6RH | ||
| Registrars | Computershare Investor Services plc | |
| The Pavilions | ||
| Bridgwater Road | ||
| Bristol BS99 6ZZ |
0800 316 2295 [email protected] octopusinvestments.com
Octopus Investments, 33 Holborn, London EC1N 2HT
Octopus Investments Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered office: 33 Holborn, London EC1N 2HT. Registered in England and Wales No. 03942880.
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