Draper Esprit VCT plc (the Company")
LEI: 2138003I9Q1QPDSQ9Z97
3 October 2019
Publication of Prospectus
The Company has today issued a prospectus (the Prospectus) relating to an offer for subscription for ordinary shares of 5p each in the Company ("New Shares") to raise up to £20 million (the "Offer") following the approval of the Prospectus by the Financial Conduct Authority. This is equivalent to approximately 34,558,669 New Shares assuming the Offer is fully subscribed based on the current NAV and maximum offer costs of 5.5%, though up to a maximum of 40,000,000 New Shares may be issued under the Offer.
In addition, the Company has entered into a smaller related party transaction under Listing Rule 11.1.10R with Elderstreet Investments Limited (Elderstreet), the Companys investment adviser.
In respect of the proposed Offer, it is proposed that Elderstreet will be appointed by the Company as promoter pursuant to an agreement as has been the case under previous offers made by the Company.
Under the terms of the Offer, Elderstreet will receive a promoter's fee from the Company of up to 3.5% of the amount applied for; from this they will pay all of the costs and expenses (save for commission and adviser charges payable to intermediaries) of the Offer and will contribute to such costs should they exceed the promoter fee actually received.
In addition, the Company has entered into a smaller related party transaction under Listing Rule 11.1.10R with Downing LLP (Downing), the Companys administration provider to increase the annual fee payable to Downing from £50,000 to £65,000.
The above arrangements in aggregate fall within the smaller related party listing rule 11.1.10R.
The Offer will open on 4 October 2019 and will close at 3.00 pm on 3 April 2020 for the 2019/2020 tax year and 3.00 pm on 31 May 2020 for the 2020/2021 tax year, or earlier if the Offer is fully subscribed. The board of the Company reserves the right to close the Offer earlier or to extend the Offer to no later than 2 October 2020).
The Prospectus will shortly be available to view at the online viewing facility of the National Storage Mechanism at the following website address: http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/NSM
Copies of the Prospectus are available, free of charge from the Company's registered office, 6th Floor, St. Magnus House, 3 Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6HD and on the Downing website at www.downing.co.uk/existing-investor/draper-esprit-vct.