REG - Baronsmead Venture - Annual Financial Report

Baronsmead Venture TrustAnnouncement

02/12/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 3554I  Baronsmead Venture Trust PLC  02 December 2022

Baronsmead Venture Trust plc

 

Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements

for the year ended 30 September 2022

The Directors of Baronsmead Venture Trust plc are pleased to announce the
Annual Financial Report for the year ended 30 September 2022. The Annual
Report and Financial Statements can be obtained from the following
website: www.baronsmeadvcts.co.uk (http://www.baronsmeadvcts.co.uk)

 

Financial Highlights

·      Net Asset Value ("NAV") per share decreased 18.5 per cent to
64.3p, before the deduction of dividends, for the financial year ended 30
September 2022.

·      NAV total return of 405.2p to shareholders for every 100.0p
invested at launch (April 1998).

·      Annual tax free dividend yield of 7.3 per cent based on 5.75p
dividends paid (including proposed final dividend of 2.75p) and opening NAV of
78.9p.

·      £21.5million of investments made into nine new investments and
eleven follow-on opportunities during the year.

 

Our investment objective

Baronsmead Venture Trust plc (the "Company") is a tax efficient listed company
which aims to achieve long-term investment returns for private investors,
including tax-free dividends.

 

Investment policy

·      To invest primarily in a diverse portfolio of UK growth
businesses, whether unquoted or traded on AIM.

·      Investments are made selectively across a range of sectors in
companies that have the potential to grow and enhance their value.

 

Dividend policy

·      The Board will, wherever possible, seek to pay two dividends to
shareholders in each calendar year, typically an interim in September and a
final dividend following the Annual General Meeting in February/March.

·      The Board will use, as a guide, when setting the dividends for a
financial year, a sum representing 7 per cent of the opening net asset value
of that financial year.

 

Key elements of the business model

 

Access to an attractive, diverse portfolio

The Company gives shareholders access to a diverse portfolio of growth
businesses.

 

The Company will make investments in growth businesses, whether unquoted or
traded on AIM, which are substantially based in the UK in accordance with the
prevailing VCT legislation. Investments are made selectively across a range of
sectors.

 

The Manager's approach to investing

 

The Manager endeavours to select the best opportunities and applies a
distinctive selection criteria based on:

·      Primarily investing in parts of the economy which are
experiencing long term structural growth

·      Businesses that demonstrate, or have the potential for, market
leadership in their niche

·      Management teams that can develop and deliver profitable and
sustainable growth

·      Companies with the potential to become an attractive asset
appealing to a range of buyers at the appropriate time to sell

 

In order to ensure a strong pipeline of opportunities, the Manager invests in
building deep sector knowledge and networks and undertakes significant
proactive marketing to target companies in preferred sectors. This approach
generates a network of potentially suitable businesses with which the Manager
maintains a relationship ahead of possible investment opportunities.

 

The Manager as an influential shareholder

The Manager is an engaged and supportive shareholder (on behalf of the
Company) in both unquoted and significant quoted investments.

 

For unquoted investments, representatives of the Manager often join the
investee board.

 

The role of the Manager with investees is to ensure that strategy is clear,
the business plan can be implemented and the management resources are in place
to deliver profitable growth. The aim is to build on the business model and
grow the company into an attractive target which can be sold or potentially
floated in the medium term.

 

A more detailed explanation of how the investment policy and business model
are applied, along with the full text of the investment policy, can be found
in the Annual Report.

 

 

STRATEGIC REPORT

 

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

 

The economic environment over the past year has become highly volatile.
Concerns around inflationary pressures and interest rates, exacerbated by the
conflict in Ukraine and political instability particularly in the second half
of the financial year weighed on the value of the Company's unquoted and
AIM-traded investments. As a result, the Company's NAV per share decreased
14.6p per share (18.5 per cent) before dividend payments for the year ended 30
September 2022.

 

The Company aims to achieve long-term returns for its shareholders from a
diverse portfolio of investments in UK growth companies. Consequently, despite
the drop in the value of the portfolio over the period, the Board continues to
believe that in aggregate, the fundamentals of the large majority of portfolio
companies remain robust. The Company is also in a position to support those
investee companies where the Manager believes there is a strong prospect of
providing good investment returns for shareholders over the medium to longer
term. This is illustrated by the impressive returns realised during the year,
from the full or partial realisations of investments in Ideagen, Cerillion and
Carousel at 13.5x, 11.4x and 5.0x cost respectively. The Company
first invested in these companies in January 2013, July 2015 and October 2013
respectively.

 

Additionally, the Board believes that the Manager's acquisition of the Mobeus
VCTs in September 2021 has enhanced the Manager's ability to identify and
manage attractive early-stage unquoted investments. Through the combined
investment firepower of the funds available from the Baronsmead and Mobeus
VCTs the Company and its co-investors can be a more influential investor. In
addition, the Baronsmead VCTs benefit from a larger portfolio of investments,
thereby benefiting from greater diversification.

 

Results

 

                                                                             Pence per ordinary share
 NAV as at 1 October 2021 (after final dividend)                             78.90
 Valuation decrease (-18.5 per cent)                                         (14.61)
 NAV as at 30 September 2022 before dividends                                64.29
 Less:                                                                       (3.00)

 Interim dividend paid on 9 September 2022
 Proposed final dividend of 2.75p payable, after shareholder approval, on 3  (2.75)
 March 2023
 Illustrative NAV as at 30 September 2022 after proposed dividend            58.54

 

Portfolio review

At 30 September 2022, the Company's investment portfolio was valued at £105
million and comprised direct investments in a total of 87 companies of which
39 are in unquoted and 48 are in quoted companies. The Company's investments
in the LF Gresham House UK Micro Cap Fund ("Micro Cap"), LF Gresham House UK
Multi Cap Income Fund ("Multi Cap") and LF Gresham House UK Smaller Companies
Fund ("Small Cap"), (together the "Equity Funds") were valued at £49 million
at 30 September 2022. These investments provide investment exposure to an
additional 75 AIM-traded and fully listed companies spreading investment risk
across a highly diversified portfolio of 162 companies.

 

The difficult economic and political environment noted in my opening remarks
were reflected in the conditions experienced within the wider equity markets
during the year. As a result, the unquoted and quoted portfolios decreased in
value by 18 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. This is clearly a
disappointing result. To put this in context, however, the FTSE AIM All Share
Index decreased by 35 per cent over the period.

 

Investments and divestments

The Board is pleased to report that the Company has continued to see
attractive opportunities and make new investments investing a total of
£12 million in nine companies during the year. Further details of the new
investments made are included in the Manager's review. As we have said to
shareholders previously, the requirement to make investments in earlier stage
companies may result in greater volatility of returns over time. The priority
for portfolio companies is to face difficult market conditions in
a controlled way. The Company has the resources to support new and existing
portfolio companies and the Manager will focus on their investment
fundamentals.

 

There have been several realisations in both the quoted and unquoted portfolio
during the year. For example, the Company realised its investment in Ideagen,
in the quoted portfolio, which delivered proceeds of £7.7 million for a total
gross money multiple of 13.5x. The Company's sale of Carousel, in the unquoted
portfolio, delivered total proceeds of £7.6 million for a gross money
multiple of 5.0x cost. The Manager has also continued its approach of
profitable partial realisations of Cerillion plc, resulting in the receipt of
proceeds of £1.2 million at an aggregate of 11.4x original invested cost in
this AIM-listed company during the year.

 

Dividends

The Board is pleased to declare a final dividend of 2.75p per share for the
year to 30 September 2022, payable on 3 March 2023. This is in addition to
the 3.00p interim dividend paid in September and means that the total
dividends for the year are 5.75p. This is a 7.3 per cent yield based on the
opening NAV of 78.9p and meets the target policy of 7 per cent of the NAV at
the start of the year. Including the proposed final dividend of 2.75p per
share, tax free dividends paid to founder shareholders now total 179.65p per
share, 86.25p of which has been paid over the past 10 years.

 

Realised distributable reserves remain at good levels to fund future dividends
and the Manager continues to focus on consistently selling investments and
generating realised profits across the portfolio which help to sustain future
dividends.

 

Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") matters

Environmental, social and governance analysis is embedded into the Company's
investment processes by the Manager in order to build and protect long-term
value for investors. A framework based on ten key ESG themes in each
portfolio is used to structure analysis, monitor and report on ESG risks and
opportunities across their lifecycle. Further information in relation to the
Manager's integration of ESG factors in the management of the Company's
portfolio is set out in the full Strategic Report.

 

Sunset Clause

When EU State Aid approval of the UK's VCT and EIS schemes was given in 2015
legislation was introduced for the schemes, which means if the legislation is
not renewed investors will no longer be able to claim initial tax relief on
investments made after 5 April 2025 "the Sunset Clause".

 

On 23 September 2022 the Government announced as part of a "mini-budget" that
"the government remains supportive of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)
and Venture Capital Trusts (VCT) and sees the value of extending them in the
future". Additionally, on 7 November 2022, as part of its Autumn Statement,
the Government said "the Government remains supportive of the Enterprise
Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trusts and sees the value of extending
them in the future". Given these statements, the general consensus in the VCT
industry is that the Government will extend the provisions of the Sunset
Clause. However, no further details have been provided as yet on the length of
that extension, or any conditions or variations to the current VCT scheme that
may be attached to any such extension.

 

During the year and prior to the Government's recent announcements, the Board
engaged Howard Kennedy to provide a strategic review of its options should the
Sunset Clause become effective. The Board will continue to monitor the
strategic options available to the Company in order to best prepare for and
react to future changes in VCT rules to see how we can best protect
shareholders' interests value in the face of regulatory uncertainty.

 

Fundraising

In August 2022, the Board announced its intention to raise new funds to
increase the Company's resources available for new and follow-on investments
over the next two to three years. The Company expects to launch an offer for
subscription in January 2023. Investing throughout an economic cycle is a key
part of the Company's investment strategy, with the additional funds raised
being deployed in smaller UK companies at what the Board and the Manager
believe will be at an advantageous time.

 

Annual General Meeting ("AGM")

I look forward to meeting as many shareholders as possible at the next AGM, to
be held on 1 February 2023, at Saddlers' Hall, 40 Gutter Lane, London, EC2V
6BR. The Manager will deliver a presentation at 11.30am, followed by some
light refreshments at 12.30pm, after which I will present my own review of the
year at 1.00pm. The Company intends to hold this AGM in person, however, we
will also live stream the event for any shareholders who do not wish, or are
unable, to attend in person. Registration details for the live stream will be
included in the Notice of AGM and on the Baronsmead website.

 

Outlook

The economic outlook continues to exhibit elevated levels of uncertainty. We
are moving from a period of low inflation and interest rates to a sustained
period of increasing rates, combined with the unwinding Government stimulus.

 

We anticipate these forces will continue to drive periods of sentiment driven
volatility in equity markets well into next year. While we view this outlook
with suitable caution, we also expect heightened volatility to create
attractive long-term investment opportunities.

 

The Board believe it is a good time to be investing in earlier stage,
innovative and high growth potential businesses. The Manager will be looking
to take advantage of changes in consumer behaviour and the disruption of
traditional supply chains being driven by technology. We remain confident that
the Manager is suitably positioned to provide the necessary levels of support
to the portfolio companies and remains focused on retaining, recovering and
helping to grow value in existing and future investee companies.

 

Fiona Miller Smith

Chairman

1 December 2022

 

MANAGER'S REVIEW

This year has seen a prolonged period of weakness in the public and private
equity markets brought about by macroeconomic uncertainty and global events.
Against this backdrop, the portfolio, whilst well diversified, with exposure
to over 160 quoted and unquoted companies, has delivered a decrease in net
asset value total return of 18.5 per cent over the year.

 

PORTFOLIO REVIEW

Overview

The net assets of £194 million were invested as follows:

 Asset class                                 NAV     % of   Number of investees**  % return in the year***

                                             (£m)    NAV*
 Unquoted                                    48      25     39                     (18)
 AIM-traded companies                        57      29     48                     (20)
 LF Gresham House UK Micro Cap Fund          27      14     50                     (32)
 LF Gresham House UK Multi Cap Income Fund   8       4      41                     (10)
 LF Gresham House UK Smaller Companies Fund  14      7      38                     (16)
 Liquid assets(♯)                            40      21     N/A                    -
 Totals                                      194     100    216

 

*      By value as at 30 September 2022.

**     Includes investee companies with holdings by more than one fund.
Total number of individual companies held is 162.

***    Return includes interest received on unquoted realisations during
the year.

#     Represents cash, OEICs and net current assets.

 

The tables below show the breakdown of new investments and realisations over
the course of the year and below is a commentary on some of the key highlights
in both the unquoted and quoted portfolios.

 

Investment activity - unquoted and quoted

 

The Company's investment strategy is primarily focused on companies operating
in parts of the economy that we believe are benefiting from long-term
structural growth trends and in sectors where we have deep expertise and
network. The amount of capital invested in each business is matched to the
scale, maturity and underlying risk profile of the company seeking investment.

 

During the year, £21.5 million was invested into 19 companies including nine
new additions to the portfolio and eleven follow on investments in ten
existing portfolio companies.

 

Six new unquoted investments were completed during the year into Popsa
Holdings Ltd, Proximity Insight Holdings Ltd, Bidnamic, Fu3e Ltd, Focal Point
Positioning Ltd and Orri Ltd. Below are descriptions of the new investments
made:

 

·      Popsa is a photobook mobile app which utilises proprietary
machine learning ("ML") algorithms to dramatically shorten the time of
creation

 

·      Proximity Insight provides a cloud-based app for retail sales
associates to engage and transact with customers in-store or online

 

·      Bidnamic is a Google Shopping bid optimisation platform

 

·      Fu3e is a collaborative project management and real time
reporting platform for real estate

professionals

 

·      Focal Point utilises proprietary ML algorithms to significantly
improve satellite-based location sensitivity

 

·      Orri is a clinically-led provider of eating disorder services

Three new AIM quoted investments were made during the year into Skillcast,
Aptamer Group and Oberon Investments:

·      Skillcast is a vendor of financial risk and compliance software

 

·      Aptamer is a developer of a platform technology with applications
in the therapeutic and diagnostic areas of healthcare

 

·      Oberon Investments is a wealth management and financial advisory
firm

 

The Company made additional investments in ten existing portfolio companies,
one quoted and nine unquoted, across the year. This is consistent with the
investment strategy of continuing to back our high potential assets with
further capital to support future growth. We anticipate the level of follow-on
investment will continue to grow as the earlier stage portfolio continues to
mature.

 

Unquoted portfolio

 

Performance

 

The unquoted portfolio decreased in value by 18 per cent during the year.
Our portfolio companies have faced a challenging macroeconomic environment,
including rising levels of inflation and interest rates and continued supply
chain disruption relating to both the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
and the impact of conflict in Ukraine. In particular, this has started to
impact the consumer facing businesses in the portfolio. Whilst the fall in
value was predominantly as a result of declines in comparative benchmarks
rather than any underlying trading performance, we have seen robust
performance from many of our technology, healthcare and services companies
which continue to grow recurring or contracted revenues, albeit, in general,
at a slower pace than has been forecast.

 

As Investment Manager we remain highly engaged with the management teams
within the portfolio, sharing insight and best practice to help them both
manage risk and spot opportunities in a quickly changing environment. We have
continued to invest in our portfolio and in-house talent teams, which
alongside our extensive network of earlier stage, high growth company experts,
ensure we are well positioned to help the companies we invest in to navigate
the challenges they face whilst also continuing to develop and scale.

 

Divestments

The Company successfully realised its investment in Carousel Logistics in
February 2022, delivering £7.6 million in proceeds and an initial investment
return of 5.0x. Carousel is a pan-European logistics specialist, delivering
high-value parts and products for performance and life-critical industries.
The business grew significantly during the investment period, including
expanding their international footprint both organically and through
acquisition. In addition, the Company also successfully realised its
investment in Happy Days in July 2022, delivering £2.6 million in proceeds
and an initial investment return of 0.8x.

 

Also, during the year, the Company fully divested its holding in Rainbird
Technologies for no return on investment.

 

Quoted portfolio (AIM-traded investments)

Performance

 

The quoted portfolio decreased in value by 20 per cent during the year, giving
up some of the strong gains made for shareholders in the prior year. This
performance should be viewed in the context of a challenging equity market
environment globally driven by macroecomic and geopolitical uncertainty and
headwinds which have resulted in de-ratings across most asset classes. For
reference the AIM market in the UK fell 35 per cent over the same period.
Despite the adverse share price performances from many of the portfolio
companies the majority of the AIM portfolio remains in good financial health
and is exposed to structural growth areas providing some insulation from the
deteriorating economic conditions.

 

The best performing investments all sit in the software sector with two
benefitting from the elevated level of takeover activity in the UK public
markets for much of the financial year. Cerillion, a provider of billing and
charging software to the telecoms industry continued to deliver strong revenue
and profit growth and upgraded expectations on the back of strong contract win
momentum. Ideagen, a governance, risk and compliance software provider saw
its share price increase by 10 per cent over the year driven in the main by a
takeover approach from a vehicle backed by private equity firm Hg Capital at
a substantial premium. The takeover resulted in a full exit for Baronsmead
funds at a multiple of 13.5 times original cost. Cloudcall, an internet
telephony software company, also received a takeover approach from US private
equity firm Xplorer Capital Management LLC resulting in a strong recovery in
value following a period of operational underperformance, realising a return
of 0.9 times original cost.

 

The largest detractors from performance were Netcall, a provider of cloud
contact centre and business process automation software which was derated
despite strong growth in revenue and profit during the period; TPXImpact which
again was derated during the period although we note the business has
subsequently downgraded its market estimates resulting in the CEO stepping
down post year end; and Inspired, an energy procurement and optimisation
consultancy which de-rated during the year despite delivering results in line
with expectations and seeing strong increased demand for its services
resulting from elevated energy prices following the conflict in Ukraine.

 

We closely monitor our AIM portfolio with a rolling programme of independent
reviews of top AIM holdings and broadly continue to be positive on the
long-term investment prospects of these companies. Many of the larger quoted
investments have been long-term holdings. These companies are typically
profitable, cash generative businesses with low levels of financial gearing
and continue to have attractive long-term growth prospects.

 

Divestments

 

Proceeds totalled £11.2 million during the year following three full and one
partial realisation. Ideagen was fully realised following a takeover by
private equity firm Hg Capital, returning 13.5x cost in July 2022. The
Company's investment in Cloudcall Group was also fully realised returning 0.9x
cost. The opportunity to crystallise some more profits was taken for Cerillion
plc; over the course of the year proceeds of £1.2 million were realised at
11.4x cost.

 

Collective Investment Vehicles

 

The Manager believes that the Company's investments in the LF Gresham House
UK Micro Cap Fund ("Micro Cap"), LF Gresham House UK Multi Cap Income Fund
("Multi Cap"), and LF Gresham House UK Smaller Companies Fund ("Small Cap")
are a core component of the Company's portfolio construction. These
investments provide shareholders with additional diversification through
exposure to an additional 75 underlying companies, as well as access to the
potential returns available from a larger and more established group of
companies that fall within the Manager's core area of expertise.

 

Over the year Micro Cap delivered a return of -32 per cent, Multi Cap
delivered a return of -10 per cent and the Small Cap fund delivered -16 per
cent.

 

Micro Cap and Multi Cap continue to be both highly rated by independent
ratings agencies. Micro Cap's cumulative performance is currently top quartile
within the IA UK Smaller Companies sector and is the fourth best performing
fund over the past 10 years. Multi Cap's cumulative performance has been the
top performing fund within the IA UK Equity Income sector over three years,
five years and since launch in June 2017. Small Cap has also achieved top
quartile cumulative performance since launch in 2019 and is the fourth best
performing fund over the past three years and second best since launch.

 

Liquid assets (cash and near cash)

 

The Company had cash and liquidity OEICs of approximately £41 million at the
year-end. This asset class is

conservatively managed to take minimal or no capital risk.

 

ESG highlights

During the year we have conducted our second ESG survey of our unquoted
portfolio companies, to identify how these companies think about ESG and which
ESG data is already being reported and monitored. Further details on our ESG
approach and policies can be found in the strategic report.

 

Outlook

 

Despite the current macroeconomic headwinds, the opportunity to invest and
support growth in entrepreneurial earlier-stage businesses remains strong. Our
focus on investing in parts of the economy which are experiencing structural
growth and in sectors where we have extensive talent networks and domain
expertise continues to identify attractive investment opportunities. With our
support and guidance, many of our portfolio management teams continue to
innovate to take advantage of the disruption in the market as a result of the
economic downturn. We anticipate the rate of follow-on investment to increase
across the portfolio as we support our successful companies to trade through
the cycle and to continue to scale.

 

Several parts of the portfolio have faced challenges due to the macroeconomic
environment, most notably our investments in companies that rely on consumer
sentiment. Our investee companies are having to navigate the impact of wage
inflation, rising energy prices and supply chain disruption. However, the
portfolio continues to be highly diversified and overall is defensively
positioned.

 

The Gresham House Ventures team, which consists of 21 investment professionals
is well placed to take advantage of the opportunities that an uncertain
economic environment will present. Our experienced portfolio and in-house
talent teams continue to add value to our portfolio companies post investment.
We remain confident in the ability of more agile, fast moving earlier stage
companies to perform well in the current economic environment and in our
ability to invest capital and deliver attractive long-term returns for the
Company.

 

Gresham House Asset Management Ltd

Investment Manager

1 December 2022

 

Investments in the year

 

 Company                         Location         Sector                        Activity                                                                       Book cost

£'000
 Unquoted investments

 New
 Popsa Holdings Ltd              Surrey           Technology                    Mobile-first photobook app provider                                            3,120
 Fu3e Ltd                        Sussex           Technology                    Real-estate development project management platform                            1,680
 Proximity Insight Holdings Ltd  London           Technology                    Platform for front-line sales associates of omni-channel retailers to engage   1,148
                                                                                with customers
 Bidnamic                        Yorkshire        Technology                    Google shopping bid-optimisation software                                      949
 Focal Point Positioning Ltd     Cambridgeshire   Technology                    Research and development focused technology business focusing on global        905
                                                                                navigation and satellite systems
 Orri Ltd                        London           Healthcare & Education        Provider of intensive day care treatments for eating disorders                 792
 Follow-on
 Panthera Biopartners Ltd        Yorkshire        Healthcare & Education        Recruitment services for clinical trials                                       2,399
 Airfinity Ltd                   London           Healthcare & Education        Provides real time life science intelligence as a subscription service         1,248
 eConsult Health Ltd             Surrey           Healthcare & Education        Online consultation provider used by GP practices and hospitals                1,200
 Yappy Ltd                       Lancashire       Consumer Markets              Supplier of customisable pet products                                          940
 Patchworks Integration Ltd      Nottinghamshire  Technology                    Leading integration platform for fast-growing retail and ecommerce businesses  720
 RevLifter Ltd                   London           Technology                    AI platform using advanced behavioural analytics to deliver tailored           719

                                                                              promotions to users

 Custom Materials Ltd            London           Technology                    Retailer of customisable products                                              536
 Glisser Ltd                     London           Business Services             Audience response software                                                     293
 Tribe Digital Holdings Pty Ltd  London           Technology                    Influencer marketing platform                                                  252
 Total unquoted investments                                                                                                                                    16,901
 AIM-traded investments

 New
 Aptamer Group plc               Yorkshire        Healthcare & Education        Platform providing antibody alternatives to the pharma industry                2,206
 Skillcast Group plc             London           Healthcare & Education        Compliance e-learning and regulatory technology services                       753
 Oberon Investments Group plc    London           Business Services             Corporate advisory business                                                    658
 Follow-on
 Crossword Cybersecurity plc     London           Technology                    Commercialisation of university research-based cyber security software and     960
                                                                                consulting
  Total AIM-traded investments                                                                                                                                 4,577
  Total investments in the year                                                                                                                                21,478

 

Realisations in the year

  Company                                     First Investment date  Original                                            Proceeds‡    Overall multiple return

                                                                     book cost(#)                                        £'000

                                                                     £'000
 Unquoted realisations
 Carousel Logistics Ltd      Full Trade Sale  Oct 13                   1,910                                             7,636        5.0*
 Happy Days Consultancy Ltd  Full Trade Sale  Apr 12                                        3,420                        2,605        0.8
 Rainbird Technologies Ltd   Full Trade Sale  Feb 19                  700                                                0            0.0
  Total unquoted realisations                                        6,030                                               10,241
  AIM-traded realisations
 Ideagen plc                 Takeover         Jan 13                 565                                                 7,656        13.5
 Cloudcall Group plc         Takeover         Apr 14                 2,630                                               2,373        0.9
 Cerillion plc               Market sale      Nov 15                 106                                                 1,206        11.4
 Mi-Pay Group plc            Liquidated       Dec 05                 800                                                 11           0.0
 Total AIM-traded realisations                                       4,101                                               11,246
 Total realisations in the year                                      10,131                                              21,487

 

#     Residual book cost at realisation date.

‡     Proceeds at time of realisation including interest.

*      Includes interest/dividends received, loan note redemptions and
partial realisations accounted for in prior periods

 

 

 

Final Dividend

Subject to shareholder approval at the AGM, a final dividend of 2.75p per
share will be paid on 3 March 2023 to shareholders on the register at
3 February 2023. The ex-dividend date will be 2 February 2023.

 

Annual General Meeting

The AGM will be held on 1 February 2023 at Saddlers' Hall, 40 Gutter Lane,
London, EC2V 6BR. The Manager will deliver a presentation at 11.30am, followed
by some light refreshments at 12.30pm, after which the Chairman will present a
review of the year at 1.00pm. The Company intends to hold this AGM in person,
however, we will also live stream the event for any shareholders who do not
wish, or are unable, to attend in person. A separate Notice convening the AGM
will be posted to shareholders and will be separate to the Annual Report. The
Notice will include an explanation of the items to be considered at the AGM
and will be uploaded to the Company's website in due course.

 

Further Information

The Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 30 September 2022 will be
available today on www.baronsmeadvcts.co.uk (http://www.baronsmeadvcts.co.uk)
.

It will also be submitted shortly in full unedited text to the Financial
Conduct Authority's National Storage Mechanism and will be available for
inspection at data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism
(https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism)  in accordance with
DTR 6.3.5(1A) of the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure Guidance and
Transparency Rules.

 

LEI: 213800VQ1PQHOJXDDQ88

 

END

Neither the contents of the Company's website nor the contents of any website
accessible from hyperlinks on this announcement (or any other website) is
incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

 

 

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