Interim Management Statement
18 February 2008 - 11:44PM
UK Regulatory
NOBLE VCT plc
INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT
FOR THE 3 MONTHS TO 31 DECEMBER 2007
To the members of Noble VCT plc
This interim management statement has been prepared to provide additional
information to the shareholders as a body and to meet the relevant requirements
of the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. As a
consequence it should not be relied on by any other party or for any other
purpose.
To the extent that this statement includes consideration of the future of the
fund and any forward-looking opinions, these have been made by the Directors in
good faith based on the information available to them up to the time of their
approval of the statement. This statement should therefore be treated with due
caution in view of the inherent uncertainties in trying to anticipate the effect
of economic and business risk factors when considering forward-looking
information.
The period covered by this interim management statement is from 1 October 2007
to 31 December 2007, it contains information that covers this period and up to
the date of its signing.
Objectives and operations
The objectives of Noble VCT plc ("Noble" or "the Company") are to provide the
shareholders with (i) the benefits of a venture capital portfolio which
emphasises capital gains whilst seeking to lower risk by maintaining a balanced
and diverse portfolio of investments by both number and sector and (ii) the
personal tax benefits available through investment in a Venture Capital Trust
("VCT"). The Company will continue to make its investments in a way which the
board believes will meet the aims of the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he
introduced the concept of VCTs so as to generate investment in dynamic,
innovative and growing UK businesses.
Progress during the period
In the three months to 31 December 2007, against a background of uncertainty and
turbulence in the financial markets largely occasioned by the pervasive nature
of the U.S. `sub-prime' debt problems, the Company's net asset value per share
decreased by 2.7%. Public equities in general are suffering from the sub-prime
crisis and negative sentiment over the global economic outlook, as a
consequence, the AIM All-Share index fell 6.1% over the same period.
With regard to the unquoted portfolio, we are pleased to announce that the
Company completed a co-investment with Noble Health Fund VCT in Plum Baby, a
business producing organic baby food. The Company invested �750,000 in a �1.5m
funding round, which is being used to provide additional working capital for a
business that has already become one of the leading baby food brands in the UK,
stocked by all the major retail chains and has a highly experienced management
team drawn from Unilever. Also during the period, a further �50,000 was
invested in High Integrity Solutions, an existing portfolio company which
provides an integrated system to improve productivity in large software build
projects.
In the quoted sector our investment manager, Noble Fund Managers (NFM), believes
that the primary market has been slow because companies have been reluctant to
list due to current market conditions and that this will continue as concerns
over market turmoil and liquidity persist. During the three months to the end of
December last, a total of �0.9 million was invested in six quoted companies.
Three of these are non-qualifying investments in Keller, SQS and Murgitroyd, NFM
believes that these companies offer good portfolio diversification and that they
will deliver long-term share price growth. Follow-on investments were made in
Appian Technology, IDOX and Optimisa.
Summary position at 31 December 2007
As at 31 December 2007 As at 30 September 2007
("unaudited") ("unaudited")
Total Net Asset Value �22.5 million �23.5 million
NAV per Share 74.04p 76.09p
Top ten holdings as at 31 December 2007
Percentage of the
fund's net asset value
as at
31 December 2007
The Message Pad Limited 5.6
TXT4 Ltd 4.0
Optimisa plc 3.6
Plum Baby Ltd 3.3
Vicorp Group plc 2.9
Optasia Medical Limited 2.9
Integrated Environmental Solutions Limited 2.8
Lab 901 Limited 2.7
Earthport plc 2.6
Capital Pub Company 2 PLC 2.3
----
32.7
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VCT qualifying status
The Fund continues to receive full Inland Revenue approval and had, as at 31
December 2007, invested 91.5% of the Company's ordinary share capital in
qualifying companies, in addition to meeting the other tests necessary for
maintaining VCT qualifying status.
Recent Developments
Since the end of last year general market conditions have not improved and
inevitably this has impacted upon the Company's quoted portfolio, resulting in a
further reported decline in NAV per share to 71.22p at the end of January 2008.
However, the Directors, together with NFM, continue actively to seek means by
which to enhance the Company's future performance and are confident that the
Company's portfolio of investments provides a robust platform upon which to
develop.
As I have indicated in past statements, I am always interested in and happy to
receive comment or questions from shareholders and others who receive this
statement. I can be contacted at the Company's offices or via email at
j.greg@btconnect.com
By order of the Board
John Gregory
Chairman
18 February 2008
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