Final Results

Close Brothers Venture Cap Tst PLC 16 June 2004 16 June 2004 CLOSE BROTHERS VENTURE CAPITAL TRUST PLC ('the Company') Preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2004 Financial Highlights: Year ended Year ended 31 March 31 March 2004 2003 Total return per share 12.70 pence 9.87 pence Net dividends per share 8.50 pence 8.00 pence Net asset value per share 113.11 pence 108.91 pence Shareholder value created for each class of share since launch: Note Ordinary 'C' Shares Shares pence pence per per share share Year Year ended ended 31 March 31 March 2004 2004 Gross dividends for the year ended 31 March 1997 5.00 - Gross dividends for the year ended 31 March 1998 6.00 5.00 Gross first and second interim dividends and net final dividend for the year ended 31 March 1999 (i) 7.75 6.25 Net revenue and capital dividends for the year ended 31 March 2000 (ii) 8.55 4.50 Net revenue and capital dividends for the year ended 31 March 2001 7.50 7.50 Net revenue dividends for the year ended 31 March 2002 7.50 7.50 Net revenue and capital dividends for the year ended 31 March 2003 8.00 8.00 Net revenue and capital dividends for the year ended 31 March 2004 8.50 8.50 ------ ------ Total dividends to 31 March 2004 58.80 47.25 Net asset value at 31 March 2004 113.11 113.11 ------ ------ Total return to 31 March 2004 171.91 160.36 ------ ------ Notes: i) Dividends paid before 5 April 1999 were paid to qualifying shareholders inclusive of the associated tax credit. The dividends for the year to 31 March 1999 were maximised in order to take advantage of this tax credit. ii) The capital dividend of 2.55 pence in the year to 31 March 2000 enabled the Ordinary Shares and the C Shares to merge on an equal basis. iii) Revenue dividends to date amount to 49.55 pence for holders of original ordinary shares and 40.55 pence for holders of original 'C' Shares. iv) Capital dividends to date amount to 9.25 pence for holders of original shares and 6.70 pence for holders of original of original 'C' Shares. For further information, please contact: Patrick Reeve Justin Griffiths / John West Close Venture Management Tavistock Communications Tel: 020 7422 7830 Tel: 020 7920 3150 Notes to Editors: 1) Close Venture Management is a division of Close Brothers Investment Limited, which is a subsidiary of Close Brothers Group plc and is regulated by the FSA. 2) The financial information set out in this announcement does not constitute the company's statutory accounts for the years ended 31 March 2004 or 2003, but is derived from those accounts. The financial information for the year ended 31 March 2003 is derived from the statutory accounts for that year which have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The auditors reported on those accounts; their report was unqualified and did not contain a statements under s237(2) or (3) Companies Act 1985. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 March 2004 will be finalised on the basis of the financial information presented by the directors in this preliminary announcement and will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies shortly. 3) Audited Financial Statements for the year will be sent to shareholders shortly. 4) This announcement is prepared on the basis of the accounting policies as stated in the previous years financial statements. CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT Introduction The progress of the Company's investment portfolio during the year has again been encouraging, resulting in the sale shortly after the year end of the five homes for people with learning disabilities for a profit of £4 million on cost of £9.9 million. This has meant that, by continuing the strategy of a progressive dividend policy and of building on the current level of pay-out by utilising profits generated both from revenue and from profits on disposal of investments, the Company's total dividend has increased from last year's 8.00 pence per share to 8.50 pence per share for the year to 31 March 2004. The reserve for unrealised appreciation increased by £2.9 million over the year, with £4 million of the unrealised capital reserve becoming realised after the year-end. Accordingly the Company's net asset value per share has risen by a further 3.7 per cent. to 113.11 pence per share which, when combined with the revenue return, has resulted in an overall return of 12.7 pence per share for the year. This builds on strong returns over the previous years and the Company has now paid or declared total dividends since launch for the Ordinary Shares and 'C' Shares (now converted) amounting to 58.80 pence and 47.25 pence per share respectively. Review of Investments Our key investment areas continue to be the hotel, care home, leisure and residential property development sectors. In the hotel sector, we have seen a pleasing uplift in the valuation of our Days Inn Hotel in the Mailbox development in Birmingham and have recently facilitated the acquisition of our erstwhile partner's share from the receiver which should lead to a further increase in value at the next valuation date. The new Express by Holiday Inn hotel at Stansted Airport is now under construction with the first phase, of 183 rooms, expected to open early in 2005. There are currently a variety of other potential new investments in the hotel sector under review and the manager considers that, despite the challenging environment for hotels overall, carefully selected and well managed units can be a continuing source of profits for the Company. In the care home sector the sale of our five homes for people with learning disabilities in East Anglia, in Witham, Bury St. Edmunds, Thetford, Ipswich and March, shortly after the year-end enabled a further increase in the year-end valuation to be made. Meanwhile, during the course of the year, we invested £1 million in Applecroft Care Home Limited, to acquire an existing nursing home in Dover, and £1million in Barleycroft Care Home Limited to develop a new nursing home in Romford. We believe that the prospects for the care home sector continue to be positive and we are actively seeking further opportunities. In the leisure sector, the Cambridge Arts Picture House cinema continues to perform well, leading to an increase in its valuation. The Picture House cinema in the FACT Centre in Liverpool however has suffered a small devaluation following restrictions on trading caused by a temporary structural issue. The health club owned by Odyssey Glory Mill near Beaconsfield continues to perform well with a membership of over 4,000. In addition, the Company has invested in The Bold Pub Company, formed to acquire a portfolio of pubs in the Northwest of England, and has committed to invest in City Centres Breweries, which has acquired the Smiles brewery in Bristol and is aiming to build up a pub estate. In the residential development sector, which is restricted to 20 per cent. of the portfolio, we continue to have four companies established with separate developers. These have continued to be a useful source of income for the Company with dividends received from three of these, in addition to the running return provided by the loan stock. New Management Performance Incentive Accompanying these accounts is a circular to shareholders proposing a new management performance incentive. This is designed to replace the existing incentive arrangements which are drawing to a close. The new arrangements are subject to approval by shareholders at the forthcoming annual general meeting. Results and Dividend As at 31 March 2004 the net asset value was £40.6 million or 113.1 pence per share, which compares with a net asset value at 31 March 2003 of £39.07 million or 108.9 pence per ordinary share. Net income before taxation was £2.8 million (2003: £3.3 million), out of which the Company paid a first interim dividend of 3.00 pence per share and a second capital interim capital dividend of 3.75 pence per share. The board now proposes a final revenue dividend of 1.75 pence per share, resulting in total revenue dividends of 4.55 pence and total capital dividends of 3.95 pence, or 8.5 pence per share in total, (2003: total dividends of 8.00 pence per share). The final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2004 will be paid on 27 July 2004 to shareholders registered on 25 June 2004. David Watkins Chairman 16 June 2004 THE PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS Investee Company Investment ----------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Revaluation Total Total Movement Reserved at Cost value at value at in value for 31 March 31 March in the nvestment 2004 2003 year £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Hotels Kew Green VCT (Stansted) Ltd 2,000 - 2,000 1,000 - 3,000 Premier VCT (Mailbox) Ltd 4,600 1,088 5,688 4,665 423 - Care Homes Applecroft Care Home Ltd 1,000 - 1,000 - - 925 Barleycroft Care Home Ltd 1,000 - 1,000 - - 1,275 Broadoaks VCT Ltd 1,865 758 2,623 2,091 532 - Churchcroft VCT Ltd 1,550 630 2,180 2,066 114 - Drummond Court VCT Ltd 2,500 1,015 3,515 2,958 557 - Fryers Walk VCT Ltd 2,575 1,046 3,621 3,042 579 - Lombardy Court VCT Ltd 1,450 589 2,039 1,540 499 - Leisure City Screen (Cambridge) Ltd 1,210 126 1,336 1,160 176 - City Screen (Liverpool) Ltd 200 (20) 180 200 (20) - Odyssey Glory Mill Ltd 4,500 948 5,448 4,858 90 - The Bold Pub Company Ltd 260 - 260 - - 140 Residential Development Chase Midland VCT Ltd 1,600 - 1,600 1,600 - - Country & Metropolitan VCT Ltd 3,000 - 3,000 3,000 - - Prime VCT Ltd 2,200 - 2,200 2,200 - - Youngs VCT Ltd 1,200 - 1,200 1,200 - - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 32,710 6,180 38,890 31,580 2,950 5,340 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Close Brothers Venture Capital Trust PLC Statement of Total Return (incorporating the revenue account) for the year ended 31 March 2004 Year ended 31 March 2004 Year ended 31 March 2003 Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gains on investments - 2,971 2,971 - 1,843 1,843 Investment income 3,438 - 3,438 3,941 - 3,941 Investment management fees (419) (478) (897) (459) (605) (1,064) Other expenses (151) (131) (282) (135) (122) (257) ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ Return on ordinary activities before interest and tax 2,868 2,362 5,230 3,347 1,116 4,463 Finance interest (54) - (54) (36) - (36) ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ Return on ordinary activities before tax 2,814 2,362 5,176 3,311 1,116 4,427 Tax on ordinary activities (802) 183 (619) (975) 191 (784) ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ Return attributable to shareholders 2,012 2,545 4,557 2,336 1,307 3,643 Dividends (1,633) (1,417) (3,050) (2,334) (538) (2,872) ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ Transfer to reserves 379 1,128 1,507 2 769 771 ====== ====== ====== ====== ====== ====== Return per share (pence) 5.6p 7.1p 12.7p 6.3p 3.6p 9.9p All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing operations. No operations were acquired or discontinued in the year. The revenue column represents the profit and loss account of the Company. Close Brothers Venture Capital Trust PLC Balance Sheet at 31 March 2004 31 March 2004 31 March 2003 £'000 £'000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fixed asset investments Qualifying: Scheduled for investment 44,230 36,680 less: uninvested (5,340) (5,100) ------- ------- Net investments to date 38,890 31,580 Non-qualifying investments: - - ------- ------- Total fixed asset investments 38,890 31,580 Current assets Debtors and accrued income 225 655 Cash at banks 5,735 10,651 ------- ------- 5,960 11,306 Creditors: due within one year (3,269) (2,811) ------- ------- Net current assets 2,691 8,495 ------- ------- Creditors: due after more than one year (1,000) (1,000) ------- ------- Total assets less liabilities 40,581 39,075 ======= ======= Capital and reserves Called up share capital 17,939 17,939 Special reserve 14,110 14,111 Capital redemption reserve 1,914 1,914 Realised capital reserve 222 2,165 Unrealised capital reserve 5,811 2,740 Revenue reserve 585 206 ------- ------- Equity shareholders' funds 40,581 39,075 ======= ======= Net asset value per share 113.1p 108.9p The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 16 June 2004. Signed on behalf of the Board of Directors Jonathan Thornton Director Close Brothers Venture Capital Trust PLC Cash Flow Statement for the year ended 31 March 2004 Year ended Year ended 31 March 2004 1 March 2003 £'000 £'000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operating activities Investment income received 3,189 3,413 Dividend income received 208 220 Deposit interest received 287 272 Other income received - 62 Investment management fees paid (923) (1,098) Other cash payments (202) (373) ------- -------- Net cash inflow from operating activities 2,559 2,496 Finance interest paid (53) (27) Taxation VAT paid 1 (13) UK corporation tax paid (150) (822) Investing activities Purchase of qualifying investments (4,428) (5,790) Disposals of qualifying investments 89 7,332 Disposals of non-qualifying investments 100 6,376 ------- -------- Net cash (outflow)/ inflow from investing activities (4,239) 7,918 Equity dividends paid Revenue dividends paid on ordinary shares (2,332) (2,922) Capital dividends paid on ordinary shares (610) - ------- -------- Net cash (outflow)/inflow before financing (4,824) 6,630 Financing Loan drawdown - 1,000 Capital restructuring expenses - (108) Redemption of own shares (92) (3,121) ------- -------- Net cash outflow from financing (92) (2,229) ------- -------- (Decrease)/increase in cash (4,916) 4,401 ======= ======== This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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