Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 1504A

Northern Venture Trust PLC

29 July 2008

 



29 JULY 2008

NORTHERN VENTURE TRUST PLC

INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT

FOR THE QUARTER ENDED 30 JUNE 2008

Northern Venture Trust PLC presents its interim management statement for the quarter ended 30 June 2008.  This constitutes the company's second interim management statement for the financial year ending 30 September 2008, as required by the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rule 4.3. This statement has been prepared solely to provide additional information in order to meet the requirements of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules and should not be relied on by shareholders, or any other party, for any other purpose.

The directors are pleased to report a modest increase in the net asset value of both the ordinary and the C share funds during the quarter, after adjusting for the interim dividends paid in June 2008.  A number of portfolio companies are being affected by the continuing adverse conditions in some sectors of the UK economy and this has been taken into account in arriving at the directors' valuation of the unquoted portfolio as at 30 June 2008.  The economic outlook remains uncertain and we will continue to monitor developments closely.

The unaudited net asset values per ordinary share and C share, and the number of shares in issue, as at 30 June 2008 were as follows:

	Net asset value per share	Number of shares in issue
Ordinary shares of 25p	80.4p	38,961,789
C shares of 75p	91.9p	20,629,048

The net asset value per ordinary share is stated after deducting the interim ordinary share dividend of 3.0p per share for the year ending 30 September 2008, which was declared on 20 May 2008 and paid on 27 June 2008. The net asset value per C share is stated after deducting the interim C share dividend of 1.0p per share for the year ending 30 September 2008, which was declared on 20 May 2008 and paid on 27 June 2008.

On 27 June 2008 215,113 new ordinary shares were allotted at a price of 79.0p per share and 1,962 new ordinary shares were allotted at a price of 81.6p per share in connection with the company's dividend investment scheme.  No ordinary or C shares were purchased for cancellation during the quarter.

Quoted investments are carried at bid price as at 30 June 2008.  Unquoted investments are carried at fair value as determined by the directors as at 30 June 2008.

During the three months ended 30 June 2008 the following significant investment transactions took place (all companies unquoted except where otherwise indicated):

New investments:

Name of company	Business activity	Amount invested £000
Ordinary share pool:
CGI Group Holdings	Manufacturer of fire, safety and security glass	3,449
Tikit Group (AIM-quoted)	Provider of consultancy services and software to legal and accountancy practices	750
C share pool:
IS Pharma (AIM-quoted)	Supplier of specialist hospital medicines	77

Disposals:

Name of company	Sales proceeds £000	Original cost £000	Carrying value at 31 March 2008 £000
Ordinary share pool:
CGI Group	4,453	2,325	4,453
TFB Group	2,090	773	2,090
Product Support (Holdings)	398	200	283
C share pool:
Product Support (Holdings)	1,591	800	1,132

CGI Group was acquired by CGI Group Holdings, a newly-incorporated company, in April 2008 as part of a recapitalisation exercise in which the Northern Venture Trust ordinary share pool received £1.0 million in cash, plus shares and loan stock in CGI Group Holdings valued at £3.4 million.

TFB Group was acquired by Tikit Group plc in April 2008;  the Northern Venture Trust ordinary share pool received £1.3 million in cash, plus shares in Tikit Group valued at £0.8 million.

Product Support (Holdings) was acquired by Wincanton plc in May 2008; the Northern Venture Trust ordinary and C share pools received respectively £0.4 million and £1.6 million in cash.

The Government announced in the 2008 Budget that, with effect from 1 October 2008, investment management fees paid by VCTs would be exempt from VAT. HM Revenue & Customs has subsequently accepted that under European Union VAT law this exemption should have applied from 1 January 1990 onwards, and has indicated that claims may be made for repayment of VAT previously paid by VCTs on management fees, subject to certain restrictive time limits.

Pending clarification of the basis and timing of dealing with repayment claims relating to past periods, no provision has been made in the company's accounts for any potential VAT recovery. An update will be given in the company's annual report for the year ending 30 September 2008, which is expected to be published in November 2008.

The directors are not aware of any events or transactions which have taken place between 30 June 2008 and the date of publication of this statement and which have had a material effect on the financial position of the company.

Enquiries:

Alastair Conn/Christopher Mellor, NVM Private Equity Limited - 0191 244 6000

Website:  www.nvm.co.uk

 

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