Annual Financial Report
Premier Energy and Water Trust PLC
annual report & accounts
for the year ended31 December 2010
In accordance with DTR6.3 the Company releases the full text of its Annual
Report for the year ended 31 December 2010 (audited). The annual report will be
available shortly on the website www.premierassetmanagement.co.uk
Investment objectives
The Company's investment objectives are to achieve a high income from its
portfolio and to realise long-term growth in the capital value of the
portfolio. The Company will seek to achieve these objectives by investing
principally in the equity and equity related securities of companies operating
primarily in the energy and water sectors, as well as other infrastructure
investments.
Contents
Investment objectives
Company highlights 1
Company summary 2
Financial calendar 2
Chairman's statement 3
Investment manager's report 5
Investment portfolio 8
Company details 9
Financial summary 12
Directors 14
Investment manager and secretary 14
Directors' report 15
Directors' remuneration report 33
Statement of directors' responsibilities in respect of the financial 35
statements
Independent auditor's report 36
Income statement 38
Balance sheet 39
Reconciliation of movements in shareholders' funds 40
Cash flow statement 41
Notes to the financial statements 42
Glossary of terms 58
Shareholder information 59
Notice of annual general meeting 60
Notes to the notice of annual general meeting 63
Directors and advisers 65
Registered in England No. 4897881
A member of the Association of Investment Companies
Company highlights
Total return performance
% change
Total assets1 +3.9%
FTSE Global Utilities Total Return Index2 (£) +2.5%
FTSE All World Total Return Index2 (£) +16.7%
FTSE 100 Total Return Index2 +12.6%
Share price and NAV3 returns
31 December 31 December
2010 2009 % change
Zero Dividend Preference share NAV3 161.64p 151.73p +6.5%
Mid price 173.50p 156.25p +11.0%
Ordinary share NAV3 190.81p 192.87p -1.1%
Mid price 155.75p 187.25p -16.8%
Revenue return per Ordinary 9.33p 10.19p
share
Net dividends declared per Base 8.10p 7.70p
Ordinary share
Special - 1.70p
Total 8.10p 9.40p
Zero Dividend Preference shares Ordinary shares
5 Year Performance to 31 December 2010 (rebased to 100) 5 Year Performance to
31 December 2010 (rebased to 100)
[Graphic removed]
1 Total return performance, adjusted for any dividends distributed and declared
and adjusted for the issue of new shares and associated costs in 2010.
2 Source: Bloomberg.
3 Calculated in accordance with the Articles of Association (see note 17 on
page 51).
Company summary
Launch Date 4 November 2003
Domiciled UK
Year-end 31 December
Shareholders' Funds £66.36 million
Market £63.33 million
Capitalisation
Bank Loan Nil
Zero Dividend 21,180,373: aiming to redeem at 221.78p on 31
Preference shares December 2015
Ordinary shares 17,068,480
Dividends Paid on Ordinary shares
Dividend History In respect of year ended 31 December Total
dividends
declared
2010 8.10p
2009 9.40p#
2008 7.35p
2007 7.00p
2006 6.90p
2005 6.75p
2004 7.875p*
Investment Manager Premier Fund Managers Limited
Management Fee 1.0% per annum, charged from 1 January 2010,
40% to revenue and 60% to capital, plus
performance fee, allocated between capital
and revenue based on the out-performance
attributable to capital and revenue
respectively (until 31 December 2009, 100% of
the basic management fee was charged to
revenue).
AIC Member of the Association of Investment
Companies
* This dividend was for the 14 month period from launch, representing an
annualised dividend of 6.75p.
# Includes a special dividend of 1.70p.
Financial Calendar
Company's year-end 31 December
Annual results announced mid March
Annual General Meeting 27 April 2011
Company's half-year end 30 June
Half-year results announced early August
Dividend payments - 2011 at the end of January, April, August and December
(Dividend payments thereafter will be at the end of March, June, September and
December)
Chairman's statement
for year to 31 December 2010
Overview of the year
In December 2010 shareholders of Premier Energy and Water Trust PLC (the
"Company") approved the merger of the Company's portfolio with the portfolio of
Premier Renewable Energy Fund ("PREF"). I would like to extend a warm welcome
to our new shareholders. As a result of this transaction the Company issued
3,965,415 new Ordinary shares and 2,779,377 new Zero Dividend Preference shares
to shareholders of PREF raising £11.6 million (net of expenses). In addition,
in order to maintain broadly the same capital structure 2,064,600 new ZDP
shares were placed for cash raising £3.5 million. This transaction has created
a significantly larger Company that should benefit from a lower overall expense
ratio and greater liquidity for its shares in the market.
The global energy and water sectors generally underperformed the wider
stockmarket during 2010, a result principally of investors focussing on those
areas of the market more directly exposed to economic recovery such as
commodities and banking.
This report deals with the performance of the Company from 1 January 2010 to 31
December 2010 and all returns have been adjusted for the merger of your
Company's portfolio with PREF. Over the period total return on portfolio assets
was 3.9% (adjusted for dividends distributed and declared and for the issue of
new shares and associated costs in December 2010) which compares to a total
return from the FTSE Global Utilities Index of 2.5%. By contrast the FTSE 100
Index in the UK returned 12.6% and the FTSE All World Index 16.7%. Your Company
does not have any formal benchmarks but rather provides investors with a range
of indices against which performance may be assessed. These are shown on page 1
of the Report and Accounts. Shareholders should be aware that the Company
invests in the energy and water sectors which are generally perceived as
defensive and thus may not necessarily be well correlated with overall equity
markets.
The Company's capital structure is comprised of Ordinary and Zero Dividend
Preference shares ("ZDP"). The ZDP shares are entitled to a predetermined
capital sum of 221.78p at the planned wind up date of the Company on 31
December 2015. As a consequence the rise or fall in assets attributable to the
Ordinary shares is geared by this prior capital entitlement. Over the period
the accrued entitlement of the ZDP shares rose from 151.73p to 161.64p.
Although the net assets attributable to the Ordinary shares fell marginally
during the period from 192.87p to 190.81p3 the total return on the Ordinary
shares was 5.4% (source: AIC).
Since the Company commenced its activities on the 4 November 2003 the FTSE 100
Index has produced a total return of 76.0% (source: Bloomberg). Over the same
period the total assets of your Company have produced a total return of 114.3%
whilst total return on your Company's Ordinary shares (measured by increase in
net asset value together with dividends paid) is 151.8%.
Board of Directors
I would like to welcome Charles Wilkinson, the former Chairman of PREF, onto
the Company's Board. Charles has had a very eminent career as a lawyer and
brings significant experience with him.
Dividends
The revenue return per Ordinary share for the year ended 31 December 2010 on a
weighted average basis was 9.33p (2009: 10.19p per Ordinary share on a weighted
average basis). Your Board declared a fourth interim dividend of 3.4p per
Ordinary share which was paid on 31 January 2011 to shareholders on the
register as at the close of business on 10 December 2010. The shares were
marked ex-dividend on 8 December 2010. This means total dividends paid in
respect of the year to 31 December 2010 were 8.1p per share, representing an
increase of 5.2% over the 7.7p per Ordinary share paid in respect of the year
to 31 December 2009 (excluding the special dividend of 1.7p paid in 2009). Your
Board and Investment Manager are committed to continuing a progressive dividend
policy.
Shareholder relations
The Board and our Investment Manager welcome contact with both the Company's
existing shareholders and with potential new shareholders. The Investment
Manager has met with the Company's larger shareholders during the process of
change of capital structure and life extension. However, the Company's AGM is
on Wednesday 27 April 2011 at 2.00pm at the offices of Premier Asset Management
Limited in Guildford and it is hoped that shareholders will be able to attend
on this date.
Outlook
The marked underperformance of the global energy and water sectors over the
last two years has reduced sector valuations to attractive and sustainable
levels. Inflation is likely to remain stubbornly high and within western
utilities this should be captured by the regulated asset base, benefiting long
term earnings and dividend growth. In Asia growing urbanisation should afford
water and energy companies significant long term growth opportunities. The
terrible earthquake in Japan is likely to have a negative impact on sentiment
towards nuclear stocks but the trend towards sustainable carbon free generation
is nonetheless continuing to produce exciting investment opportunities. Your
Company is well placed therefore to exploit the global opportunity within the
energy and water sectors.
Geoffrey Burns Chairman
16 March 2011
3 Calculated in accordance with the Articles of Association (see note 17 on
page 51).
Investment manager's report
for the period 1 January to 31 December 2010
Overview
Weak margins in power generation and a relative lack of exposure to the global
economic upturn lies behind the underperformance of the global utilities sector
(+2.5%) when compared with the wider market in 2010, during which the FTSE100
returned +12.6% and the FTSE All World +16.7% on a total return basis. The
Company outperformed the Global Utilities Index during the twelve month period
by 1.4%. This was due in part to its high weighting in Asia. An overweight
position in highly regulated stocks also contributed, as this sub sector
outperformed when compared to pure generation stocks and the integrated
players.
Portfolio Activity
The Asian portion of the portfolio (including Australia) has continued to
increase, from 27% at the half year to 29% at the end of 2010. Increasing
standards of living and a shortage of existing infrastructure have created a
sustained demand for investment in the region, and as a result produced a large
number of attractive investment opportunities. This regional shift in the
portfolio has been at the expense of the UK and Europe, and reflects the
relative attraction of these markets over many of the European markets in
particular. Exposure to North America has remained stable over the period, but
this hides a shift in emphasis towards Canada once more. The cash position
appears higher than usual at the year end, the result of the inflow of cash
from the successful rollover of the Premier Renewable Energy Fund into the
Company, but this has since been substantially reinvested, the majority into
new or existing North American and Asian stocks.
Investment in Asian water remains a key theme. The holding in China Water
Affairs has been increased, as the new Chinese five year plan guidance on
tariffs for water supply is likely to provide support for the stock over the
coming months. Exposure to Thai Tap Water has also been increased, both
directly, and through Bangkok Expressway (BECL), which has a near 10% holding
in the company. BECL should also be boosted by the anticipated resolution of a
legal dispute with the Thai Expressway Authority. The dual listing of Sound
Global in Hong Kong provided an opportunity to take some profit from a sharp
rise in the ordinary shares. The position had been increased through the
purchase of the 6% convertible which provides a higher yield than the ordinary
shares. The Chinese sanitary ware company, Joyou, brings exposure to the
Chinese residential water market, while another IPO during 2010, Halosource,
gives an opening into the huge Indian residential drinking water market through
its point of use water purification devices. The Indian water market is a new
area of investment for the Company, since the majority of water supply there is
state owned, but as in China demand for clean water is growing rapidly.
We have added to the holding in Consolidated Water (desalination plant operator
in the Caribbean) and the Company now has further exposure to this growing area
of the water sector through the Qatar Electricity and Water Company. This is
rapidly expanding its capacity to produce over 70% of the Emirate's water,
together with nearly 60% of its total electricity output. As technological
developments start to bring down the cost of desalination, we continue to look
for exposure to this theme. The Company's holding in Aqua America has been
reduced on valuation grounds, but its position in York Water retained, as the
opportunities for consolidation in the highly fragmented US water market
remain. Overall the water portion of the enlarged portfolio has remained
relatively stable at around 21%.
Fortum is now the largest stock in the portfolio, and has performed strongly
over the last quarter (+17% in local currency/+16% in sterling). While power
prices across Europe have been pushed up by rising raw material costs, in the
Nordic market - which is more heavily influenced by the weather, and where
hydro reservoir levels are unusually low - power prices have been particularly
strong. With largely fixed input costs, as a nuclear/hydro generator, Fortum
has been well placed to benefit. If the accompanying rally in commodity prices
continues, clean generators such as Fortum and EDF should see further upside.
Elsewhere in Europe, where the majority of generators have a balanced mix of
generation capacity, generation spreads (the margin earned by gas and coal
plants) remain under pressure, in part as a result of the overcapacity that has
built up across the markets. We do not expect this oversupply position to
reverse in 2011, and as a result the Company's exposure to these stocks is
limited.
The emphasis in the European portion of the portfolio remains on the regulated
utilities that are net beneficiaries of higher capital expenditure as their
returns are largely directly remunerated on investment. Our favoured "networks"
play in Europe remains Snam Rete Gas which transports, distributes and stores
gas in Italy and is a largely regulated business. With regulatory certainty
through 2012, its secure and growing profit stream is still undervalued by the
market in our opinion.
Certain regulated utilities in the United States - PG&E (California), Portland
General Electric (Oregon) and Scana Corp (South Carolina) - have superior
earnings growth potential and attractive dividend yields. In terms of
generation, NextEra Energy - which has high exposure to renewable energy,
particularly wind power - is one of the few generation stocks expected to
maintain positive earnings growth through the downturn in the power cycle. It
was brought over from the Premier Renewable Energy Fund for this reason.
Calpine, with its highly efficient gas plants displacing less efficient coal
plants, should also benefit from new emissions regulations to be issued by the
Environmental Protection Agency during 2011.
Williams, the integrated natural gas group, has been a strong performer since
its purchase at the end of the third quarter. The Company also holds Encana
Corp. Based in Alberta but with operations throughout North America, it
develops unconventional gas resources, such as coal bed methane and shale gas.
Enviro Energy (Hong Kong) also adds to this theme in China.
China Resources Power stands out amongst Chinese coal powered generators for
its efficiency and earnings capability, and with a number of its plants located
close to the prosperous coastal regions of China, we expect it to benefit from
strong underlying demand for electricity there. A 5% tariff increase as a
result of high coal prices is also likely during the next 12 months.
The Australian utility market has been a strong performer in 2010, to which the
Company has had exposure through two regulated stocks: SP Ausnet and Spark
Infrastructure, which own transmission and distribution assets in Victoria, and
distribution in South Australia and Victoria respectively. The outlook for both
stocks looks encouraging following the regulatory review in the state of
Victoria at the end of the year.
Two global growth themes continued to prevail in 2010; the Company has retained
its exposure to nuclear power - both generators (Entergy, Exelon, EDF and
Fortum) and uranium mining stocks (Cameco replacing Uranium One). At the same
time environmental drivers in the water and energy sectors continue to produce
interesting growth opportunities around the world - illustrated by a number of
examples here - and the search for further beneficiaries of these drivers
therefore remains a focus.
Outlook
With reference to the recent tragic events in Japan, the Company has no direct
holdings there, and limited indirect exposure throughout the portfolio. Its
global nuclear exposure has inevitably been hit by negative sentiments towards
the industry, and we shall keep those positions under close review. Conversely,
several of the renewable energy holdings have rallied in the short term, and we
expect these partially, if not wholly to redress the balance. A number of other
stocks, in particular those involved in gas distribution may also be net
beneficiaries in the short and medium term.
Overall, prospects in many Asian countries over the next two or three years are
excellent for power, water and other infrastructure and contrast sharply with
those in certain of the developed markets. This therefore remains a key focus
within the portfolio, enabling us to draw on our expertise in investing in
Asia, as our enthusiasm for these markets remains strong. We welcome contact
with existing and potential new investors. Further details of the Company may
be found at www.premierfunds.co.uk
Kevin Scutt
Andrew Whalley
Claire Burgess
Premier Fund Managers Limited
16 March 2011
Geographical allocation at 31 December 2010
[Graphic removed]
Asset allocation at 31 December 2010
[Graphic removed]
Investment portfolio
at 31 December 2010
Thirty largest holdings by value in descending order as at 31 December 2010
2010 Valuation 2009#
Company Activity Country £000 % of total £000
1 Fortum Electricity Finland 1,834 3.0% -
generation &
supply
2 China Power Electricity Hong Kong 1,735 2.9% 1,318
New Energy generation
3 Calpine Gas USA 1,702 2.8% -
production
and
transmission
4 Entergy Electricity USA 1,674 2.8% 1,875
generation &
supply
5 Sound Global Water Singapore 1,613 2.7% -
treatment
6 Gaz De France Gas France 1,610 2.7% 1,876
production
and
transmission
7 Snam Rete Gas Gas Italy 1,594 2.6% 1,533
production
and
transmission
8 Thai Tap Water Water Thailand 1,521 2.5% 825
treatment
9 Exelon Electricity USA 1,436 2.4% 1,089
generation &
supply
10 Severn Trent Water & waste UK 1,433 2.4% -
services
11 EDF Electricity France 1,426 2.4% 1,475
generation &
supply
12 Greenko Group Renewable UK 1,425 2.4% 964
electricity
generation
13 Electricity Electricity Thailand 1,419 2.3% 954
Generating generation &
supply
14 UIL Holdings Electricity USA 1,340 2.2% 1,790
generation &
supply
15 Guangdong Water supply Hong Kong 1,315 2.2% 1,444
Investment
16 Huaneng Power Electricity Hong Kong 1,280 2.1% 1,187
International generation &
supply
17 Portland Electricity USA 1,220 2.0% -
General generation &
Electric supply
18 Suez Water & waste France 1,218 2.0% 1,318
services and
electricity
generation
19 China Water Water & waste Hong Kong 1,206 2.0% -
Affairs services
20 Williams Gas & USA 1,184 2.0% -
electricity
supply
21 China Electricity Hong Kong 1,159 1.9% -
Resources generation &
Power supply
22 Encana Gas & Canada 1,120 1.8% -
electricity
supply
23 York Water Water supply USA 1,099 1.8% 895
24 Enbridge Gas & Canada 1,084 1.8% -
electricity
supply
25 Veolia Water & waste France 1,049 1.7% 1,027
Environnement services
26 Cameco Corp Electricity Canada 1,040 1.7% -
generation &
supply
27 SCANA Corp Electricity USA 1,037 1.7% -
generation &
supply
28 Bangkok Toll roads Thailand 1,033 1.7% 268
Expressway
29 PPL Corp Electricity USA 1,009 1.7% 900
generation &
supply
30 First Energy Electricity USA 946 1.6% -
generation &
supply
39,761 65.8%
Other holdings 20,800 34.2%
Total 60,561 100.0%
portfolio
# Values have been provided for holdings in the portfolio at both 31 December
2010 and 31 December 2009. Valuation movements between the two dates will
reflect market price changes and transactions.
Company details
HISTORY
The Company was incorporated on 12 September 2003 and commenced its activities
on 4 November 2003. The Company was established in connection with the scheme
of reconstruction of LeggMason Investors International Utilities Trust Plc with
18,143,433 Ordinary shares and 19,143,433 Zero Dividend Preference shares being
allotted at launch. On 18 December 2009 shareholders approved special
resolutions to implement tender offers for Ordinary shares and Zero Dividend
Preference ("ZDP") shares, to extend the life of the Company until 31 December
2015 and to amend the final entitlement per ZDP share to 221.78p on 31 December
2015 (a gross redemption yield of 6.53% on the ZDP Net Asset Value ("NAV") of
151.39p at 17 December 2009). On 15 December 2010 shareholders approved
proposals to issue new shares in connection with the reconstruction of Premier
Renewable Energy Fund Limited.
CAPITAL STRUCTURE
Bank Loan The Company's policy is not to employ any long-term gearing
through bank loans.
21,180,373 Zero Dividend Preference shares of 1p each.
The Zero Dividend Preference shares will have a final capital
entitlement of 221.78p on 31 December 2015 subject to there being
sufficient capital in the Company.
The Zero Dividend Preference shares are not entitled to any
dividends.
The Zero Dividend Preference shareholders have the right to
receive notice of, to attend and to vote at all general meetings
of the Company.
17,068,480 Ordinary shares of 1p each.
The Ordinary shares are entitled to all of the Company's net
income available for distribution by way of dividends. On a
winding-up, they will be due any undistributed revenue reserves
and any surplus assets of the Company after the Zero Dividend
Preference shares have been paid in full.
The Ordinary shareholders have the right to receive notice of, to
attend and to vote at all general meetings of the Company.
Wind-up date 31 December 2015.
EXPENSE RECOGNITION POLICY
The basic management fee is charged 40% to revenue and 60% to capital (from 1
January 2010), all other expenses are charged wholly to revenue except when
they directly relate to the acquisition or disposal of an investment, in which
case they are charged to capital as investment transaction costs. The
performance fee is allocated between capital and revenue based on the
out-performance attributable to capital and revenue respectively.
RISK FACTORS
The Company concentrates on investments in the utility sector and may be
regarded as representing a higher risk than that of a generalist fund.
Securities listed on a recognised stock exchange have been valued at bid-market
prices and exchange rates ruling at the close of business. In certain
circumstances, the market prices at which investments may be valued may not
represent the realisable value of those investments taking into account both
the size of the Company's holding and the frequency with which such investments
are traded.
The Company may invest up to 15% of its gross assets in unquoted securities
which may have limited liquidity and be difficult to realise.
The income and capital value of the Company's investments can be affected,
favourably or unfavourably, by currency movements as a proportion of the
Company's assets and income is denominated in currencies other than sterling.
The dividend on the Ordinary shares depends on receipt of interest payments and
dividends from securities in which the Company invests.
If on a wind-up of the Company the gross assets are insufficient to cover the
capital entitlement of the prior ranking Zero Dividend Preference shares, the
terminal asset value of the Ordinary shares could be zero and an investor could
lose all of the capital invested in those shares.
The Zero Dividend Preference shares rank ahead of the Ordinary shares for
repayment on a winding-up of the Company. A decline in the gross assets could
result in the Zero Dividend Preference shares failing to receive their full
redemption value on wind-up and if gross assets were equal to or less than the
amount required to pay liquidation costs, an investor would lose all of the
capital invested in the Zero Dividend Preference shares.
TOTAL NET ASSETS AND MARKET CAPITALISATION
As at 31 December 2010, the Company had a market capitalisation of £63.33
million (2009: £50.06 million) and assets attributable to shareholders amounted
to £66.36 million (2009: £50.06 million).
The figures at 31 December 2010 are after the issue of new shares on 17
December 2010 and the figures at 31 December 2009 are after the tender offers
for shares that were completed on 18 December 2009.
MANAGEMENT FEE
During the year, the management fee was 0.0833% per month of the gross assets
(total assets less current liabilities). From 1 October 2008 no VAT has been
charged on the management fee. Until 31 December 2009, 100% of the management
fee was charged to revenue, from 1 January 2010 it was decided to allocate the
management fees 60% to capital and 40% to revenue (see note 3 on page 44).
In addition, the Manager ("Premier Fund Managers Limited") is entitled to a
performance fee if in each Company year:
(i) the dividends paid are at least 6.75p; and
(ii) the gross assets at the end of the year exceed the highest level of gross
assets at the end of any previous Company year or the initial gross assets (if
higher) by more than 7.5% (on annualised basis). In that event the performance
fee will be equivalent to 15% of the excess.
The management contract is terminable by one year's written notice from either
party to expire at any time.
ISA STATUS
The Company's Ordinary shares and Zero Dividend Preference shares are
qualifying investments for Individual Savings Accounts ("ISAs"). Full details
can be obtained from Premier Fund Managers Limited.
Financial summary
CAPITAL
Premium/
(discount) %
31 December 31 December % 31 December
2010 2009 change 2010
Total Assets (£000)* 66,360 50,059 + 3.9% -
Net Asset Value per Zero 161.64p 151.73p +6.5% -
Dividend Preference share**
Mid-market price per Zero 173.50p 156.25p +11.0% 7.3%
Dividend Preference share
Net Asset Value per Ordinary 190.81p 192.87p -1.1% -
share**
Mid-market price per Ordinary 155.75p 187.25p -16.8% (17.2%)
share
REVENUE
31 December 31 December %
2010 2009 change
Revenue return per Ordinary 9.33p 10.19p -8.4%
share
Net dividend per Ordinary share: Base 8.10p 7.70p
Special - 1.70p
Total 8.10p 9.40p
* Total assets less current liabilities, adjusted for any dividends distributed
and declared and adjusted for the issue of new shares and associated costs in
2010.
** Net asset values calculated in accordance with Articles of Association (see
note 17 on page 51).
HURDLE RATESâ€
31 December
2010
Zero Dividend Preference
shares:
Hurdle rate to redemption share price of -6.3%
221.78p on 31 December 2015
Ordinary shares:
Hurdle rate return to current share price 2.0%
of 155.75p
Source: JP Morgan Cazenove.
†See page 58 for definition of hurdle rate.
TOTAL RETURN
Year to Year to
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
Total return on gross assets1 +3.9% +12.7%
FTSE Global Utilities Total Return Index2 (£) +2.5% -1.8%
FTSE All World Total Return Index2 (£) +16.7% +21.2%
FTSE 100 Total Return Index2 +12.6% +27.3%
Total expense ratio/cost of running the Company3 1.91% 1.96%
At At
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
£/$ exchange rate 1.5656 1.6148
£/€ exchange rate 1.1670 1.1255
1 Total return performance, adjusted for any dividends distributed and declared
and adjusted for the issue of new shares and associated costs in 2010.
2 Source: Bloomberg.
3 The expense ratio, excluding any performance management fee and VAT recovered
from HMRC in 2009, based on average monthly net asset value.
Directors
Geoffrey Burns - Chairman
Geoffrey Burns has worked in the investment fund industry for over twenty
years. From 1997 to 2000 he was a director of and head of investment trusts at
Murray Johnstone Limited. Mr Burns is an adviser to a number of government or
multilateral agencies who make investments in private equity funds in emerging
markets, including CDC Group plc, the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging
Markets and the Asian Development Bank. Mr Burns is Chairman of City Natural
Resources High Yield Trust PLC. Mr Burns was appointed as a non-executive
director of the Company on 12 September 2003.
Adam Cooke
Adam Cooke was a global partner of INVESCO PLC (formerly AMVESCAP PLC), one of
the world's largest independent investment management organisations where he
worked for INVESCO UK. His experience includes the UK institutional business,
investment trusts and collective investments. Mr Cooke is a member of the
Chartered Institute of Bankers and is a non executive director of City Natural
Resources High Yield Trust PLC and Midas Income and Growth Trust PLC. Mr Cooke
was appointed as a non-executive director of the Company on 26 July 2005.
Ian Graham
Ian Graham has over 20 years experience as an investment analyst, more than
half of which were spent covering utilities, having worked at Scrimgeour
Kemp-Gee, Simon & Coates, Nat West Securities and Merrill Lynch until 2001. Mr
Graham was appointed as a non-executive director of the Company on 12 September
2003.
Michael Wigley
Michael Wigley is a director of The Conygar Investment Company plc. He was
formerly a director of Matheson Investment Limited and a non-executive director
of Development Securities PLC. He was deputy chairman of LeggMason Investors
International Utilities Trust Plc, the predecessor company. Mr Wigley was
appointed as a non-executive director of the Company on 12 September 2003.
Charles Wilkinson
Charles Wilkinson is a solicitor and a resident of Guernsey. Until March 2005
he was a partner with Lawrence Graham LLP specialising in investment trusts and
funds. He is a non-executive director of Landore Resources Limited, which is
quoted on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange and a director of a
number of London quoted companies and was chairman of Asset Management
Investment Company PLC (a listed investment trust) until 31 January 2011. He
was chairman of Premier Renewable Energy Fund Limited which was placed in to
voluntary liquidation as part of a scheme of reconstruction on 17 December 2010
(see pages 15 and 16). Mr Wilkinson was appointed as a non-executive director
of the Company on 23 February 2011.
Investment Manager and Secretary
Investment Manager: Premier Fund Managers Limited
Premier Fund Managers Limited is a subsidiary of Premier Asset Management
Limited. Premier Asset Management Limited had just under £2.5 billion of funds
under management at 31 December 2010. Premier Fund Managers Limited is
authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The Company's
portfolio is managed by Andrew Whalley, Kevin Scutt and Claire Burgess.
Secretary: Premier Asset Management Limited
Premier Asset Management Limited provides the company secretarial and
administrative services.
Directors' report
The Directors have pleasure in submitting their Business Review, Report and
Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2010.
BUSINESS REVIEW
UK listed companies are required to include a business review within their
directors' reports or, should they prefer, a more detailed operating financial
review. Having considered the regulations and in view of the nature and the
size of the Company, the Board has chosen to include a business review in its
report to shareholders, rather than an operating financial review. This
business review is intended to enhance shareholders' understanding of the
development, performance and position of the Company through a combination of
narrative and financial performance measures.
Issue of new Premier Energy and Water Trust PLC ("PEWT") shares in connection
with the proposed scheme of reconstruction of Premier Renewable Energy Fund
Limited ("PREF")
On 18 November 2010, your Board announced proposals relating to the issue of
new PEWT Shares to shareholders of PREF as part of the proposed voluntary
winding up of PREF by way of a scheme of reconstruction (the "Scheme").
Under the Proposals, the Company proposed to issue up to 6,500,000 new PEWT
Ordinary shares and 8,100,000 new PEWT Zero Dividend Preference ("ZDP") shares
to PREF Shareholders (depending upon elections made under the Scheme). The
Proposals also included an amendment to the Articles of Association to permit
the issue of new PEWT ZDP shares ranking pari passu with the existing PEWT ZDP
shares notwithstanding that the cover on the existing PEWT ZDP shares would not
be 1.5 times or more, provided that the cover on the existing PEWT ZDP shares
was improved following the issue of such shares. The Board did not intend to
use this power unless the overall effect of the issue would be to broadly
maintain or enhance the net asset value per PEWT Ordinary share.
On 15 December 2010 the Board announced that shareholders had voted in favour
of the special resolutions put at a Class Meeting of the ZDP shareholders and
the General Meeting of the Company and that each resolution had been duly
passed. The proposals were approved by PREF shareholders on 17 December 2010.
The proposals provided for PREF Ordinary shares to be exchanged for new PEWT
Ordinary shares (the "Ordinary Rollover Option") or for PEWT Units comprising
one new PEWT Ordinary share and one new PEWT ZDP share (the "Unit Rollover
Option").
The exchange ratios of PEWT ordinary shares and PEWT Units for every PREF
Ordinary share were determined by reference to the Formula Asset Value ("FAV")
of a PEWT Ordinary share and of a PREF Ordinary share based on the closing
prices of their respective portfolio investments on 14 December 2010. These
FAVs amounted to 181.86p per PEWT Ordinary share and 71.32p per PREF Ordinary
share. After deducting a 2.5% discount to the value of a PEWT Ordinary share
and based on a valuation of 172.25p per PEWT ZDP share in accordance with the
terms of the Proposals, it was determined that:
• 0.4022 new PEWT Ordinary shares would be issued in respect of each PREF
Ordinary share electing, or deemed to have elected, for the Ordinary Rollover
Option; and
• 0.2040 new PEWT Units would be issued in respect of each PREF Ordinary share
electing for the Unit Rollover Option.
The Board of PEWT allotted 3,965,415 new PEWT Ordinary shares and 2,779,377 new
PEWT ZDP shares in respect of the portfolio of assets acquired from PREF. In
order to maintain broadly the same proportion of PEWT Ordinary shares to PEWT
ZDP shares, the Board also allotted 2,064,600 new PEWT ZDP shares, which had
been placed for cash at a price of 168 pence each by Fairfax I.S. PLC.
Following the above issue of new PEWT shares, the issued share capital of PEWT
comprised:
• 17,068,480 Ordinary shares of 1p each with ISIN GB0033537902; and
• 21,180,373 Zero Dividend Preference shares of 1p each with ISIN GB0033538207.
Business and tax status
The Company is an investment company as defined in Section 833 of the Companies
Act 2006. The Company operates as an investment trust and directs its affairs
so as to enable it to seek approval as such by HM Revenue & Customs under
Section 1158 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 for the year ended 31 December
2010. Approval has been obtained for the year ended 31 December 2009, which is
subject to there being no subsequent enquiry under Corporate Self Assessment.
In the opinion of the Directors, the Company has conducted its affairs for the
year ended 31 December 2010 so as to enable it to continue to seek such
approval under Section 1158 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010.
The Company's status as an investment trust allows it to obtain an exemption
from paying taxes on the profits made from the sale of its investments.
Investment trusts offer a number of other advantages for investors, including
access to investment opportunities that might not be open to private investors
and to professional stock selection skills at low cost.
Investment objectives
The Company's investment objectives are to achieve high income from its
portfolio and to realise long-term growth in the capital value of the
portfolio. The Company will seek to achieve these objectives by investing
principally in equity and equity related securities of companies operating
primarily in the energy and water sectors, as well as other infrastructure
investments.
Investment policy
The policy of the Directors is that, in normal market conditions, the portfolio
of the Company should consist primarily of a diversified portfolio of equity
and equity-related securities of companies operating in the energy and water
sectors, as well as other infrastructure investments. There are no restrictions
on the proportion of the portfolio of the Company which may be invested in any
one geographical area or asset class but no more than 15% of the Company's
assets, at the time of acquisition, will be invested in a single security. The
Company may also invest up to 15% of its gross assets in investment companies
provided they themselves invest in utilities and infrastructure. However, not
more than 10% of the Company's gross assets may be invested in other UK listed
closed-ended investment funds unless such funds themselves have published
investment policies to invest not more than 15% of their total assets in other
UK listed closed-ended investment funds (provided they themselves invest in
utilities and infrastructure). The Company may invest up to 15% of its gross
assets in unquoted securities. There are no borrowings under financial
instruments or the equivalent of financial instruments but investors should be
aware of the gearing effect of the ZDP shares within the capital structure. The
Company's policy is not to employ any gearing through long-term bank borrowing.
The Company can, however, employ gearing through the issue of ZDP shares.
The Company will manage and invest its assets in accordance with its published
investment policy. Any material change to this policy will only be made with
the approval of Shareholders by ordinary resolution unless otherwise permitted
by the Listing Rules.
Investment Restrictions
The Company will not:
(i) invest more than 10%, in aggregate, of the value of its gross assets at the
time the investment is made in other listed closed-ended funds, provided that
this restriction does not apply to investments in any such closed-ended funds
which themselves have stated investment policies to invest no more than 15% of
their total assets in other listed closed-ended funds;
(ii) invest more than 15% of its gross assets in listed closed-ended funds;
(iii) invest more than 20% (calculated at the time of any relevant investment)
of its gross assets in other collective investment undertakings (open-ended or
closed-ended);
(iv) expose more than 20% of its gross assets to the creditworthiness or
solvency of any one counterparty (including the counterparty's subsidiaries or
affiliates);
(v) invest in physical commodities;
(vi) cross-finance between the businesses forming part of its investment
portfolio including provision of undertakings or security for borrowings by
such businesses for the benefit of another;
(vii) operate common treasury functions as between the Company and an investee
company; or
(viii) conduct any significant trading activity.
In addition to the above restriction on investment in a single company the
Board seeks to achieve a spread of risk in the portfolio through monitoring the
country and sector weightings of the portfolio.
There will be a minimum of 20 stocks in the portfolio.
The Company is geared through zero dividend preference shares but does not use
other gearing.
Going concern
The Directors believe that having considered the Company's investment
objectives (shown on the inside front cover) risk management policies and
procedures (pages 52 to 57), nature of portfolio and income and expense
projections, that the Company has adequate resources, an appropriate financial
structure and suitable management arrangements in place to continue in
operational existence for the foreseeable future. For these reasons, they
consider that the use of the going concern basis is appropriate.
Performance
An outline of the performance, market background, investment activity and
portfolio strategy during the period under review, as well as the investment
outlook, is provided in the Chairman's Statement and Investment Manager's
report.
Dividends
During the year the following dividends were paid:
Dividend
pence
Payment date (net per share)
Fourth Interim for the year ended 31 31 March 2010 4.90p
December 2009
First Interim for the year ended 31 30 June 2010 1.50p
December 2010
Second Interim for the year ended 31 30 September 2010 1.60p
December 2010
Third Interim for the year ended 31 31 December 2010 1.60p
December 2010
The Directors declared a fourth interim dividend of 3.4p, that was paid on 31
January 2011 to members on the register at the close of business on 10 December
2010. The shares were marked ex-dividend on 8 December 2010.
Principal risks associated with the Company (see note 21)
Structure of the Company and gearing
The Company is a split-capital investment trust with two separate classes of
share, each with different characteristics. Returns generated by the Company's
underlying portfolio are apportioned in accordance with the respective
entitlements of each class of share. As the Ordinary shares and Zero Dividend
Preference shares have different rights both during the life of the Company and
on a winding-up, shareholders and prospective investors are advised to give
careful consideration to their choice of class or classes of share (see pages 9
to 10 for details of these entitlements).
The Company employs no gearing in the form of bank loans. The Ordinary shares
are geared by the payment of the prior ranking Zero Dividend Preference shares.
Dividend levels
Dividends paid on the Company's Ordinary shares rely on receipt of interest
payments and dividends from the securities in which the Company invests. The
Company's revenue levels are monitored on a monthly basis by the Board and the
Investment Manager.
Currency risk
The Company invests in overseas securities and its assets are therefore subject
to currency exchange rate fluctuations.
Liquidity risk
The Company may invest up to 15% of its gross assets in unquoted securities.
These securities may have limited liquidity and be difficult to realise.
Market price risk
Since the Company invests in financial instruments, market price risk is
inherent in these investments. In order to minimise this risk, a detailed
analysis of the risk/reward relationship of each investee company is undertaken
by the Investment Manager prior to making investments.
Discount volatility
Being a closed-end fund, the Company's shares may trade at a discount to their
net asset value. The magnitude of this discount fluctuates daily and can vary
significantly. Thus, for a given period of time, it is possible that the market
price could decrease despite an increase in the Company's shares' net asset
value. The Directors review the discount levels regularly. The Investment
Manager actively communicates with the Company's major shareholders and
potential new investors, with the aim of managing discount levels.
Operational
Like most other investment trust companies, the Company has no employees. The
Company therefore relies upon the services provided by third parties and is
dependent on the control systems of the Investment Manager and the Company's
service providers. The security, for example, of the Company's assets, dealing
procedures, accounting records and maintenance of regulatory and legal
requirements, depend on the effective operation of these systems.
Accounting, legal and regulatory
In order to qualify as an investment trust, the Company must comply with
Section 1158 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010. A breach of Section 1158 could
lead to the Company being subject to capital gains tax on gains within the
Company's portfolio. Section 1158 qualification criteria are continually
monitored by Premier Fund Managers Limited and the results reported to the
Board at its regular meetings. The Company must also comply with the Companies
Act and the UKLA Listing Rules. The Board relies on the services of the
administrator, Premier Asset Management Limited and its professional advisers
to ensure compliance with the Companies Act and the UKLA Listing Rules.
Analysis of the Company's performance
At each Board meeting, the Directors consider a number of performance measures
to assess the Company's success in achieving its objectives.
The key performance indicators used to measure the progress and performance of
the Company over time are as follows:
1) The performance against a set of reference points. The Investment Manager's
performance is not assessed against a formal benchmark but rather against a set
of reference points which are more general in nature and intended to be
representative of the broad spread of assets in which the portfolio invests.
These references include the FTSE Global Utilities Total Return Index, FTSE All
World Total Return Index and FTSE 100 Total Return Index (see financial summary
on pages 12 and 13).
2) The performance against the peer group. The assessment of the Investment
Manager's performance against companies which invest in similar, but not
necessarily the same, securities allows the Board to evaluate the effectiveness
of the Company's investment strategy.
3) The performance of the Company at the net asset level. This shows how the
assets attributable to shareholders as a whole have performed.
4) The performance of the individual share classes, both in terms of share
price total return (i.e. accounting for dividends received) and in terms of net
asset value total return. The share price performance is the measure of the
return that shareholders have actually received and will reflect the impact of
widening or narrowing of discounts to NAV (see graphs on page 1).
5) Total Expense Ratio ("TER"). The TER is an expression of the Company's
management fees and other operating expenses as a percentage of average net
assets over the year. The TER for the year ended 31 December 2010 was 1.91%
(2009: 1.96% excluding VAT recovered from HMRC in 2009).
Future prospects
The Board's main focus is the achievement of a high income from the portfolio
together with the generation of long-term capital growth. The future of the
Company is dependent upon the success of the investment strategy. The
investment outlook is discussed in both the Chairman's statement on page 3 and
the Investment Manager's report on page 5.
DIRECTORS
The Directors, all of whom served throughout the year ended 31 December 2010,
apart from Mr Wilkinson who was appointed on 23 February 2011, were as follows:
Geoffrey Burns
Adam Cooke
Ian Graham
Michael Wigley
Charles Wilkinson
None of the Directors, nor any persons connected with them, had a material
interest in any of the Company's transactions, arrangements or agreements
during the year. None of the Directors has, or has had, any interest in any
transaction which is, or was, unusual in its nature or conditions or
significant to the business of the Company, and which was effected by the
Company during the current financial year.
At the date of this report, there are no outstanding loans or guarantees
between the Company and any Director.
In accordance with the Articles of Association Mr Geoffrey Burns retires by
rotation and, being eligible, offers himself for re-election and Mr Charles
Wilkinson who was appointed since the last Annual General Meeting offers
himself for election.
DIRECTORS' BENEFICIAL AND FAMILY INTERESTS
The interests of the Directors and their families in the Ordinary shares of the
Company were as follows (there were no interests in the Zero Dividend
Preference shares of the Company):
Ordinary Ordinary Ordinary
shares at shares at shares at
15 March 2011†31 December 2010 1 January 2010
Geoffrey Burns 80,411 80,411 80,411
Adam Cooke 37,000 37,000 37,000
Ian Graham 18,309 18,309 18,309
Michael Wigley 124,183 124,183 124,183
Charles Wilkinson* 31,223 - -
* Appointed on 23 February 2011.
†The latest practicable date prior to the publication of this report.
SUBSTANTIAL SHAREHOLDINGS
As at the date of this report the Company had been notified of the following
substantial interests in the Ordinary and Zero Dividend Preference share
capital of the Company.
Ordinary shares Number of shares % of total voting
rights
Premier Fund Managers Limited* 3,663,858 9.6
NCL Smith & Williamson 1,416,180 3.7
Charles Stanley Group PLC 1,414,649 3.7
Philip J Milton & Company Plc 1,269,063 3.3
Rensburg Sheppards Investment 335,598 0.9
Management Ltd.
Zero Dividend Preference shares
Deutsche Bank AG/Tilney Group Limited 3,616,345 9.5
Rensburg Sheppards Investment 3,453,363 9.0
Management Ltd.
Premier Fund Managers Limited* 512,710 1.3
Charles Stanley Group PLC 142,830 0.4
* This includes 3,015,121 Ordinary shares and 96,901 Zero Dividend Preference
shares that are held in the ISA scheme that is administered by Premier Fund
Managers Limited on behalf of individual shareholders.
NET ASSET VALUE
The net asset value per Ordinary share, including revenue reserve, at 31
December 2010 was 190.81p†(31 December 2009: 192.87p). The cumulative net
asset value of a Zero Dividend Preference share at 31 December 2010 was 161.64p
†(31 December 2009: 151.73p).
MANAGEMENT, SECRETARIAL AND ADMINISTRATION AGREEMENTS
The Company's portfolio is managed by Premier Fund Managers Limited under an
Investment Management Agreement dated 26 September 2003.
The management fee is 0.0833% per month of the gross assets (from 1 October
2008 no VAT has been charged).
In addition, the Investment Manager is entitled to a performance fee if in each
Company year:
(i) the dividends paid are at least 6.75p, and
(ii) the gross assets at the end of the year exceed the highest level of gross
assets at the end of any previous Company year or the initial gross assets (if
higher) by more than 7.5% (on annualised basis). In that event the performance
fee will be equivalent to 15% of the excess.
The Management Agreement is currently terminable on 12 months' notice.
Under the Administration Agreement dated 26 September 2003, company secretarial
services and the general administration of the Company are undertaken by
Premier Asset Management Limited. The Administration Agreement is currently
terminable on 12 months' notice.
The Board as a whole regularly reviews the terms of the management and
secretarial contracts.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
The Board is accountable to the Company's shareholders for the governance of
the Company's affairs and this statement describes how the principles of the
Combined Code on Corporate Governance issued in 2008 ("the Code") have been
applied to the affairs of the Company. In applying the principles of the Code,
the Directors have also taken account of the Code of Corporate Governance
published by the Association of Investment Companies ("the AIC Code"), which
has established a framework of best practice specifically for the Boards of
investment trust companies. There is some overlap in the principles laid down
by the two Codes and there are some areas where the AIC Code is more flexible
for investment trust companies.
Board of Directors
The Board currently consists of five non-executive Directors all of whom are
independent of the Investment Manager. Their biographies are set out on page
14. Collectively the Board has the requisite range of business and financial
experience which enables it to provide clear and effective leadership and
proper stewardship of the Company.
The number of meetings of the Board, the Audit Committee and the Nomination
Committee held during the financial year and the attendance of individual
Directors are shown below:
Audit Nomination
Board Committee Committee
Number of meetings in the year 7 2 1
Geoffrey Burns 7 2 1
Adam Cooke 7 2 1
Ian Graham 7 2 1
Michael Wigley 7 2 1
Charles Wilkinson - - -
Apart from Mr Wilkinson, who was appointed on 23 February 2011, all of the
Directors attended the Annual General Meeting held in April 2010.
The Board deals with the Company's affairs, including the setting of gearing
and investment policy parameters, the monitoring of gearing and investment
policy and the review of investment performance. The Investment Manager takes
decisions as to asset allocation and the purchase and sale of individual
investments. The Board papers circulated before each meeting contain full
information on the financial condition of the Company. Key representatives of
the Investment Manager attend most of the Board meetings, enabling Directors to
probe further or seek clarification on matters of concern.
Matters specifically reserved for discussion by the full Board have been
defined and a procedure adopted for the Directors to take independent
professional advice if necessary at the Company's expense.
The Chairman of the Company is a non-executive Director. A senior non-executive
Director has not been identified as the Board is comprised entirely of
non-executive Directors.
In accordance with the Articles of Association, new Directors stand for
election at the first Annual General Meeting following their appointment. The
Articles require that one third of the Directors retire by rotation each year
and seek re-election at the Annual General Meeting. In addition, all Directors
are required to submit themselves for re-election at least every three years
and will seek annual re-election if they have already served for more than nine
years.
Performance evaluation/re-election of Directors
An appraisal process has been established in order to review the effectiveness
of the Board, the Committees and individual Directors. This process involves
the consideration by the Chairman and the Board of responses from individual
Directors to a questionnaire which is completed on an annual basis. In
addition, the other Directors meet collectively once a year to evaluate the
performance of the Chairman. As a result of this appraisal process the
Nomination Committee recommends the re-election of Mr Geoffrey Burns who
retires by rotation. In addition the Nomination Committee recommends Mr Charles
Wilkinson be elected to the Board.
Committees
The Board believes that the interests of shareholders in an investment trust
company are best served by limiting the size of the Board such that all
Directors are able to participate fully in all the activities of the Board. It
is for this reason that the membership of the Audit and Nomination Committees
is the same as that for the Board as a whole.
Audit Committee
Mr Cooke is the Chairman of the Audit Committee which operates within defined
terms of reference. The Audit Committee meets at least twice a year and is
responsible for reviewing the annual and interim reports, the nature and scope
of the external audit and the findings therefrom, and the terms of appointment
of the auditors, including their remuneration and the provision of any
non-audit services by them. The Audit Committee has considered the independence
of the auditors and the objectivity of the audit process and is satisfied that
Ernst & Young LLP is independent and has fulfilled its obligations to
shareholders. The Audit Committee meets representatives of the Investment
Manager and its Compliance Officer who report as to the proper conduct of
business in accordance with the regulatory environment in which both the
Company and the Investment Manager operate and reviews the Investment Manager's
internal controls. The Company's external auditors also attend this Committee
at its request and report on their findings in relation to the Company's
statutory audit.
Nomination Committee
Mr Burns is the Chairman of the Nomination Committee which is responsible for
the Board appraisal process, and reviews the Board's size and structure and is
responsible for succession planning. The Nomination Committee meets at least
annually. The Board appointed one new Director, Charles Wilkinson, on 23
February 2011. Mr Wilkinson was formerly chairman of Premier Renewable Energy
Fund Limited ("PREF") and shares in the Company were offered to PREF
shareholders as part of the reconstruction proposals of PREF in December 2010
(see pages15 and 16). The Committee concluded that Mr Wilkinson's investment
trust experience and his involvement with PREF made him a suitable candidate
for the Board.
Remuneration Committee
The Board as a whole considers Directors' remuneration and therefore has not
appointed a separate remuneration committee. As the Company is an investment
trust and all Directors are non-executive the Company is not required to comply
with the Code in respect of executive Directors' remuneration. Directors' fees
are detailed in the Directors' Remuneration Report on pages 33 and 34.
Internal controls
The Board acknowledges that it is responsible for the Company's system of
internal controls and has established a process for identifying, evaluating and
managing significant risks faced by the Company. The process is subject to
regular review by the Board and accords with "Internal Control: Guidance for
Directors on the Combined Code" ("The Turnbull guidance") which was issued in
September 1999.
These internal control systems are designed to safeguard shareholders'
investment and the Company's assets. It should be recognised that such systems
provide reasonable but not absolute assurance against material misstatement or
loss.
Internal control process
The Turnbull guidance recommends a risk-based approach to the assessment of
internal controls. The Board has completed a risk map for the Company and
established procedures for the monitoring and review of the risks identified.
The Board as a whole is primarily responsible for the monitoring and review of
risks associated with investment matters and the Audit Committee is primarily
responsible for other risks.
As the Board has contractually delegated to other companies the investment
management, the custodial services and the day-to-day accounting and company
secretarial requirements, the Company relies significantly upon the internal
controls operated by those companies. Therefore, the Directors have concluded
that the Company should not establish its own internal audit function.
Investment management is performed by Premier Fund Managers Limited and
administration services by Premier Asset Management Limited. Details of the
agreement with the Investment Manager and the administrator are given on page
22 and in notes 3 and 20 to the financial statements. The custodian is Northern
Trust Company Limited.
The risk map has been considered at all regular meetings of the Board and Audit
Committee. As part of the risk review process, regular reports are received
from the Investment Manager on all investment-related matters including
compliance with the investment mandate, the performance of the portfolio
compared with relevant indices and compliance with investment trust status
requirements. The Board also receives and reviews reports from the custodian on
its internal controls and their operation.
The Board confirms that appropriate procedures to review the effectiveness of
the Company's system of internal control have been in place, throughout the
year and up to the date of this report, which cover all controls including
financial, operational and compliance controls and risk management. An
assessment of internal control, which includes a review of the Company's risk
map, an assessment of the quality of reports on internal control from the
service providers and the effectiveness of the Company's reporting process, is
carried out on an annual basis.
Evaluation of Investment Manager's performance
The investment performance is reviewed at each regular Board meeting at which
representatives of the Investment Manager are required to provide answers to
any questions raised by the Board. The Board has instigated an annual formal
review of the Investment Manager which includes consideration of:
• performance compared with relevant indices;
• investment resources dedicated to the Company;
• investment management fee arrangements and notice period compared with the
peer group; and
• marketing effort and resources provided to the Company.
The Board believes that Premier Fund Managers Limited has served the Company
well in terms of investment performance and has no hesitation in continuing its
appointment.
The Company Secretary
The Board has direct access to the advice and services of the Company
Secretary, Premier Asset Management Limited, which is responsible for ensuring
that Board and Committee procedures are followed and that applicable
regulations are complied with. The Secretary is also responsible to the Board
for ensuring timely delivery of information and reports and that statutory
obligations of the Company are met.
Individual Directors may take independent professional advice on any matter
concerning them in the furtherance of their duties at the Company's expense.
The Company also maintains Directors' and Officers' liability insurance to
cover legal defence costs.
Relations with shareholders
Communication with shareholders is given a high priority by both the Board and
the Investment Manager and all Directors are available to enter into dialogue
with shareholders. Major shareholders of the Company are offered the
opportunity to meet with the Board. The Board regularly reviews any contact
with the Company's shareholders and monitors its shareholder register.
All shareholders are encouraged to attend and vote at the Annual General
Meeting, during which the Board and the Investment Manager are available to
discuss issues affecting the Company and shareholders have the opportunity to
address questions to the Investment Manager, the Board and the Chairmen of the
Board's standing committees.
Any shareholder who would like to lodge questions in advance of the Annual
General Meeting is invited to do so in writing to the Company Secretary at the
address detailed inside the back cover. The Company always responds to letters
from individual shareholders.
The Annual and Interim Reports of the Company present a full and readily
understandable review of the Company's performance. Copies are dispatched to
shareholders by mail and are also available for downloading from the Investment
Manager's website.
A monthly fact sheet is produced by the Investment Manager and is also
available via their website.
If a shareholder would like to contact the Board directly, they should write to
the Chairman at c/o Premier Asset Management Limited, Eastgate Court, High
Street, Guildford, Surrey GU1 3DE, marking their letter "Private and
confidential".
Statement of compliance
The Board believes that it has complied with all the material provisions, in so
far as they apply to the Company's business, of the Code throughout the year
under review. It did not, however, comply with the following provisions, as
explained previously:
• due to the small size of the Board and nature of the business a separate
remuneration committee has not been established; and
• a senior non-executive Director has not been identified.
The Board has adhered to the principles of the AIC Code in all material
respects.
SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT
The Board has delegated the investment management function to Premier Fund
Managers Limited. The Investment Manager's primary objective is to produce
superior financial returns to investors. It believes that over the long-term
sound social, environmental and ethical policies make good business sense and
takes these issues into account, when, in its view, they have a material impact
on either the investment risk or the expected return from an investment.
PROXY VOTING AS AN INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR
Responsibility for actively monitoring the activities of companies in which the
Company is invested has been delegated by the Board to the Investment Manager.
The Investment Manager is responsible for reviewing, on a regular basis, the
annual reports, circulars and other publications produced by the investee
companies. The Investment Manager, in the absence of explicit instructions from
the Board, is empowered to exercise discretion in the use of the Company's
voting rights. Wherever practicable, the Investment Manager's policy is to vote
all shares held by the Company.
PAYMENT OF SUPPLIERS
It is the Company's payment policy to obtain the best possible terms for all
business and therefore there is no consistent policy as to the terms used. The
Company agrees with its suppliers the terms on which business will take place
and it is our policy to abide by these terms. There were no trade creditors at
31 December 2010 (2009: nil).
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
THIS SECTION IS IMPORTANT AND REQUIRES YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. If you are in
any doubt as to what action you should take or about the contents of this
document, you should immediately consult an independent financial adviser
authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (or in the case of
recipients outside the United Kingdom, a stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor,
accountant or other independent financial adviser).
If you have sold or otherwise transferred all of your shares in Premier Energy
and Water Trust PLC, please pass this document, together with the accompanying
Form of Proxy, as soon as possible to the purchaser or transferee or to the
stockbroker or other agent through whom the sale or transfer was effected for
transmission to the purchaser or transferee.
The notice of the Annual General Meeting sets out the ordinary business and
special business to be conducted at the Meeting. The following explains the
resolutions to be considered at the Meeting as special business.
RESOLUTION 6, 7 & 9: Authority to allot shares
Under Resolution 6 of the Annual General Meeting ("AGM"), the Directors seek a
general power from shareholders to allot new shares up to an aggregate par
value of £38,249 representing approximately 10% of the issued Ordinary share
capital of the Company and approximately 10% of the issued Zero Dividend
Preference share capital, in each case as at 15 March 2011.
Resolution 7 of the AGM will, if passed, permit the Directors to allot Ordinary
shares at a discount to the then prevailing net asset value of the Ordinary
shares. The Directors will only utilise this authority to issue new shares
provided that the aggregate value of new Ordinary shares and new Zero Dividend
Preference ("ZDP") shares to be issued is at an overall premium to net asset
value. In any event, any new issue of shares would only be made in accordance
with the provisions of the Company's Articles of Association which require
existing ZDP shares to have a cover of not less than 1.5 times immediately
following the issue of the new shares if any new shares are to rank ahead of,
or pari passu with, the existing ZDP shares, or those ZDP shares in issue
immediately thereafter would have a cover of not less than the cover of the ZDP
shares in issue prior to the issue of new shares.
Resolution 9 of the AGM will, if passed, empower the Directors to make
allotments of Ordinary shares for cash on a non pre-emptive basis up to an
aggregate of £17,068, being approximately 10% of the issued Ordinary share
capital of the Company.
These Resolutions will provide the Directors with flexibility to act in the
best interests of shareholders.
These authorities, if granted, will expire at the conclusion of the next Annual
General Meeting.
RESOLUTION 8: Amending the Company's investment management arrangements with
Premier
Premier Fund Managers Limited ("Investment Manager") is currently appointed
under an investment management agreement which was entered into in 2003 ("the
IMA").
As part of their review of arrangements with the Investment Manager, the
Directors have been considering the performance arrangements in place with
Premier in light of the changes which have occurred to the issued share capital
of the Company in both 2009 and 2010. As a consequence, the Directors are
proposing to make some changes to the terms of the IMA by entering into a new
investment management agreement ("New IMA"). The proposed changes are both to
correct certain inconsistencies in the original drafting but also to ensure
that Premier is appropriately incentivised.
Under the IMA, Premier is entitled to receive from the Company a management
fee, payable monthly in arrears, of 1% per annum of the gross assets of the
Company. In addition, the Investment Manager is entitled to a performance fee
in respect of each accounting year of the Company commencing with the period
ended 31 December 2004 if (i) the dividends paid or proposed to be paid on each
Ordinary share in respect of that accounting year (on an annualised basis in
respect of the first accounting period) equals at least 6.75p and (ii) the
gross assets at the end of the year exceed the highest level of gross assets at
the end of any previous accounting year or (if higher) the initial gross assets
by more than 7.5% (again on an annualised basis). In that event, the
performance fee will be equal to 15% of the excess.
When the IMA was originally drafted, the IMA did not envisage any downwards
changes to the size of PEWT's issued share capital, and in particular, to the
possibility that the Company could repurchase its shares as well as carry out
further equity issues. Under the IMA, Premier's performance related targets are
linked amongst other things to the number of shares in issue without adjustment
for any decreases in the number of shares in issue (any upwards adjustment is
provided for). The Board believes that the Investment Manager would be better
incentivised if any performance targets were adjusted for any downwards
movements in the numbers of shares in issue and has therefore made the
corresponding changes to the IMA subject to a cap. Under the cap, any
performance fee increase under the revised arrangements (being the difference
between what would have been paid under the IMA and what is to be paid under
the New IMA) will only be paid to the extent that it does not exceed 5% of the
lower of (i) gross assets; or (ii) the market capitalisation; of the Company as
at the end of the accounting period in respect of which the performance fee is
to be paid.
The New IMA also includes a number of changes to reflect the requirements of
MiFID (such as dealing with conflicts of interest) and to reflect the changes
in legislation which have occurred since the existing IMA was entered into. In
all other respects, the terms of the IMA will remain unchanged.
Under the Listing Rules, the Investment Manager is regarded as a related party
of the Company, being the Company's Investment Manager. Entering into the New
IMA constitutes a related party transaction and due to the fee cap which is
proposed, is classified as a smaller transaction under those rules. In
accordance with the Listing Rules for smaller transactions, Fairfax I.S. PLC
have confirmed to the Financial Services Authority that, in their opinion, the
terms of the New IMA are fair and reasonable as far as the shareholders of the
Company are concerned. In addition, whilst the Company is not obliged to seek
shareholder approval before entering into the New IMA (due to the fact that
entering into the New IMA falls under the smaller transaction rules), the Board
believes it is best practice to seek such approval and accordingly, an ordinary
resolution is being proposed at the Annual General Meeting upon which
shareholders are being asked to approve the Company entering into the New IMA.
RESOLUTION 10: Purchase by the Company of its own shares
At an Annual General Meeting held on 21 April 2010 a special resolution was
passed, giving the Directors authority until the conclusion of the earlier of
the 2011 Annual General Meeting and 20 October 2011, to make market purchases
of up to a maximum of 1,964,149 Ordinary shares and 2,448,826 Zero Dividend
Preference shares. During the year to 31 December 2010 no shares were purchased
(during the year ended 31 December 2009 5,040,368 Ordinary shares and 2,807,037
Zero Dividend Preference shares were purchased for cancellation, following the
tender offers which were implemented on 18 December 2009).
The Board proposes that the Company should be given renewed general authority
to purchase Ordinary shares and Zero Dividend Preference shares in the market
for cancellation in accordance with the Companies Act 2006 but subject to the
provisos set out below. Resolution 10 of the AGM, which is a special
resolution, is being proposed for this purpose.
It is proposed that the Company be authorised to purchase on the London Stock
Exchange up to 2,558,565 Ordinary shares and 3,174,937 Zero Dividend Preference
shares (representing 14.99% of each class of the Company's issued share capital
as at 15 March 2011) provided that:
(a) Ordinary shares will only be repurchased at a purchase price which is below
the prevailing Net Asset Value per Ordinary share and where the cover on the
Zero Dividend Preference shares is 1.5 times or above and, as a consequence of
the proposed repurchase, the cover on the Zero Dividend Preference shares will
not reduce to below 1.5 times (having taking account of any Zero Dividend
Preference shares to be purchased at or about the same time); and/or
(b) Ordinary shares and Zero Dividend Preference shares are only repurchased in
the ratio of Ordinary shares to Zero Dividend Preference shares of 0.802:1; and
/or
(c) Zero Dividend Preference shares are purchased at a purchase price which is
below their prevailing accrued capital entitlement (as at the business day
immediately preceding the day on which the Zero Dividend Preference share is
purchased).
Repurchases of shares will be made at the discretion of the Board within
guidelines set from time to time by the Board and only when market conditions
are considered by the Board to be appropriate and in accordance with the
Listing Rules. Repurchases will only be made when they result in an increase in
the fully diluted Net Asset Value per Ordinary share. The Board remains
committed to exploring methods by which shareholder value can be enhanced. The
purchase for cancellation by the Company of its shares at a cost below the net
asset value of those shares enhances the net asset value of the remaining
shares. This additional demand for shares may reduce the discount at which the
shares trade. Any shares repurchased by the Company will be cancelled and will
not be held in treasury for resale.
Under London Stock Exchange rules, the maximum price to be paid on any exercise
of the authority in respect of Ordinary shares must not exceed the higher of
(i) 105% of the average of the middle market quotations for a share for the
five business days immediately preceding the date of purchase and (ii) the
higher of the price of the last independent trade and the highest current bid.
Separately we have chosen to restrict our authority to purchase Zero Dividend
Preference shares to a maximum price equivalent to their accrued capital
entitlement at the time of purchase. The minimum price paid for an Ordinary
share or Zero Dividend Preference share may not be below 1p per share.
The authority to purchase shares will last until the Annual General Meeting of
the Company in 2012, or 26 October 2012, whichever is the earlier. The
authority may be renewed by shareholders at a General Meeting.
Purchases will be funded either by using available cash resources, debt or by
selling investments.
RESOLUTION 11: Changes to the Articles of Association
Your Board is also taking the opportunity to make some non-material changes to
the Company's articles of association ("Articles") to ensure that certain
changes in the accounting treatment of the Zero Dividend Preference shares,
introduced since the Company was first established, are properly reflected in
the Articles. These principally relate to the fact that Zero Dividend
Preference shares are now accounted for as a liability whereas previously they
were regarded as equity. Accordingly, the Board is proposing (a) to amend the
Articles so that all defined terms used in the Articles are referenced to
Article 2 of the Company's Articles by deleting the additional definition
wording from Article 5.2.2(i) and (b) to amend the notes on the calculation of
cover in Article 5.2.2(i) to clarify that any discretion the Board may exercise
in connection with the calculation of cover is made by reference to the gross
assets of the Company and not the net asset position (which would exclude the
Zero Dividend Preference shares). These amendments will ensure that the
Articles now reflect what occurs in practice under international financial
reporting standards. No other changes are proposed.
The proposed amendments to the articles of association are set out in
resolution 11 of the notice of Annual General Meeting as set out at the end of
this document. The proposed amendments will also be available for inspection,
together with the existing articles of association, at the registered office of
the Company from the date of this document until the end of the Annual General
Meeting, and at the Annual General Meeting itself for the duration of the
Meeting and for at least fifteen minutes prior to the start of the Meeting.
Recommendation
Your Board considers that resolutions 1 to 11 are in the best interests of the
Company and its members as a whole and are likely to promote the success of the
Company for the benefit of its members as a whole. Accordingly, your Board
unanimously recommends that shareholders should vote in favour of the
resolutions as they intend to do in respect of their own beneficial
shareholdings amounting to 291,126 Ordinary shares.
COMPANIES ACT 2006 DISCLOSURES
In accordance with Section 992 of the Companies Act 2006 the Directors disclose
the following information:
• the Company's capital structure is summarised on page 2, voting rights are
summarised on page 9, and there are no restrictions on voting rights nor any
agreement between holders of securities that result in restrictions on the
transfer of securities or on voting rights;
• there exist no securities carrying special rights with regard to the control
of the Company;
• details of the substantial shareholders in the Company are listed on page 22;
• the Company does not have an employees' share scheme;
• the rules concerning the appointment and replacement of Directors, amendment
of the Articles of Association and powers to issue or buy back the Company's
shares are contained in the Articles of Association of the Company and the
Companies Act 2006;
• there exist no agreements to which the Company is party that may affect its
control following a takeover bid; and
• there exist no agreements between the Company and its Directors providing for
compensation for loss of office that may occur because of a takeover bid.
AUDITORS
Ernst & Young LLP have expressed their willingness to continue in office as
Auditor and a resolution proposing their reappointment and to authorise the
Board to determine their remuneration will be submitted at the Annual General
Meeting.
The Directors who held office at the date of approval of this Directors' Report
confirm that, so far as they are each aware, there is no relevant audit
information of which the Company's Auditors are unaware; and each Director has
taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as Directors to make
themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the
Company's Auditors are aware of that information.
By Order of the Board
Premier Asset Management Limited
Secretary
16 March 2011
†Net asset values calculated in accordance with Articles of Association (see
note 17 on page 51).
Directors' remuneration report
The Board has prepared this report, in accordance with Section 421 of the
Companies Act 2006. An ordinary resolution for the approval of this report will
be put to the members at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.
The law requires your Company's auditors to audit certain of the disclosures
provided. Where disclosures have been audited, they are indicated as such. The
auditors' opinion is included in their report on page 36.
Remuneration Committee
The Board as a whole fulfils the function of a Remuneration Committee. The
Company Secretary, Premier Asset Management Limited, will be asked to provide
advice when the Directors consider the level of Directors' fees. Following a
review of Director's fees it was agreed that from 1 April 2011 to increase the
annual fees to £26,000 for the Chairman, £20,000 for the Chairman of the Audit
Committee and £18,000 for other Directors. This represents the first increase
in Director's fees since the Company's launch in November 2003.
Policy on Directors' fees
The Board's policy is that the remuneration of non-executive Directors should
reflect the experience of the Board as a whole and be fair and comparable to
that of other investment trusts that are similar in size, have a similar
capital structure and have a similar investment objectives. It is intended that
this policy will continue in subsequent years.
The fees for the non-executive Directors are determined within the limits of £
150,000 set out in the Company's Articles of Association. The Directors are not
eligible for bonuses, pension benefits, share options, long-term incentive
schemes or other benefits.
Directors' service contracts
It is the Board's policy that none of the Directors have a service contract.
Letters confirming the terms of their appointment provide that a Director shall
retire and be subject to re-election at the first Annual General Meeting after
his/her appointment, and at least every three years and will seek re-election
if they have already served for more than nine years. The terms also provide
that a Director may be removed without notice and that compensation will not be
due on leaving office.
Your Company's performance
For the purpose of this report the Board is required to select an index against
which the Company's performance can be measured. Although performance is not
measured against a single benchmark the FTSE Global Utilities Total Return
Index (sterling based) has been selected for this purpose. The graph overleaf
shows the 5 year share price total return (assuming all dividends are
reinvested) to Ordinary shareholders against the FTSE Global Utilities Total
Return Index on a total return basis from 31 December 2005 until 31 December
2010.
5 year share price performance
[Graphic removed]
Directors' emoluments for the year (audited)
The Directors who served in the year received the following emoluments in the
form of fees:
Year ended Year ended
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
Geoffrey Burns 22,000 22,000
Adam Cooke 15,000 15,000
Ian Graham 15,000 15,000
Michael Wigley 15,000 15,000
Total 67,000 67,000
Approval
A resolution for the approval of the Directors' Remuneration Report for the
year ended 31 December 2010 will be proposed at the Annual General Meeting.
By Order of the Board
Premier Asset Management Limited
Secretary
16 March 2011
Statement of Directors' responsibilities in respect of the annual report and
the financial statements
The Directors are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial
statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements for each
financial year. Under that law, the Directors have elected to prepare the
financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted
Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law).
Under company law the Directors must not approve the financial statements
unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of
affairs of the Company and of the profit or loss of the Company for that
period. In preparing these financial statements, the Directors are required to:
• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
• state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject
to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements.
The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records which are
sufficient to show and explain the Company's transactions and disclose with
reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and which
enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies
Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company
and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud
and other irregularities.
Under applicable law and regulations, the Directors are also responsible for
preparing a Directors' Report, Directors' Remuneration Report and Corporate
Governance Statement that complies with that law and those regulations.
The financial statements are published on the www.premierassetmanagement.co.uk
website, which is maintained by the Company's Investment Manager. The
maintenance and integrity of the website maintained by Premier Asset Management
Limited is, so far as it relates to the Company, the responsibility of Premier
Asset Management Limited. The work carried out by the auditors does not involve
consideration of the maintenance and integrity of this website and,
accordingly, the auditors accept no responsibility for any changes that have
occurred to the financial statements since they were initially presented on the
website. The financial statements are prepared in accordance with UK
legislation, which may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Statement under the Disclosure & Transparency Rules 4.1.12
The Directors each confirm to the best of their knowledge that:
a) the financial statements, prepared in accordance with applicable accounting
standards, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial
position and profit or loss of the Company; and
b) this Annual Report includes a fair review of the development and performance
of the business and the position of the Company, together with a description of
the principal risks and uncertainties that it faces.
For and on behalf of the Board.
Adam Cooke Director
16 March 2011
Independent auditor's report
to the members of Premier Energy and Water Trust PLC
We have audited the financial statements of Premier Energy and Water Trust PLC
for the year ended 31 December 2010 which comprise the Income Statement, the
Balance Sheet, the Reconciliation of Movements in Shareholders' Funds, the Cash
Flow Statement and the related notes 1 to 21. The financial reporting framework
that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom
Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
This report is made solely to the Company's members, as a body, in accordance
with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been
undertaken so that we might state to the Company's members those matters we are
required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To
the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility
to anyone other than the Company and the Company's members as a body, for our
audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Respective responsibilities of Directors and auditor
As explained more fully in the Statement of Directors' Responsibilities set out
on page 35, the Directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial
statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view. Our
responsibility is to audit and express an opinion on the financial statements
in accordance with applicable law and International Standards on Auditing (UK
and Ireland). Those standards require us to comply with the Auditing Practices
Board's Ethical Standards for Auditors.
Scope of the audit of the financial statements
An audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the
financial statements sufficient to give reasonable assurance that the financial
statements are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or
error. This includes an assessment of: whether the accounting policies are
appropriate to the Company's circumstances and have been consistently applied
and adequately disclosed; the reasonableness of significant accounting
estimates made by the Directors; and the overall presentation of the financial
statements.
Opinion on financial statements
In our opinion the financial statements:
• give a true and fair view of the state of the Company's affairs as at 31
December 2010 and of its net return for the year then ended;
• have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally
Accepted Accounting Practice; and
• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act
2006.
Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion:
• the part of the Directors' Remuneration Report to be audited has been
properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006; and
• the information given in the Directors' Report for the financial year for
which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial
statements.
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
We have nothing to report in respect of the following:
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report to you if, in our
opinion:
• adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our
audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
• the financial statements and the part of the Directors' Remuneration Report
to be audited are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
• certain disclosures of directors' remuneration specified by law are not made;
or
• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our
audit.
Under the Listing Rules we are required to review:
• the Directors' Statement, set out on page 18, in relation to going concern;
• the part of the Corporate Governance Statement relating to the Company's
compliance with the nine provisions of the June 2008 Combined Code specified
for our review; and
• certain elements of the report to the shareholders by the Board on directors'
remuneration.
Caroline Gulliver (Senior Statutory Auditor)
For and on behalf of Ernst & Young LLP, Statutory Auditor
London
16 March 2011
Income statement
for the year ended 31 December 2010
Year Year Year Year Year Year
ended 31 ended 31 ended 31 ended 31 ended 31 ended 31
December December December December December December
2010 2010 2010 2009 2009 2009
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
Notes £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Gains on 8 - 1,984 1,984 - 3,691 3,691
investments -
held at fair
value through
profit or
loss
Revenue 2 1,969 - 1,969 2,679 - 2,679
Investment 3 (201) (303) (504) (561) - (561)
management
fee
VAT recovered 3 - - - 247 284 531
from HMRC on
management
and
performance
fees
Other 4 (323) - (323) (297) - (297)
expenses
Return before 1,445 1,681 3,126 2,068 3,975 6,043
finance costs
and taxation
Finance costs 5 (1) (1,637) (1,638) (1) (2,005) (2,006)
Return on 1,444 44 1,488 2,067 1,970 4,037
ordinary
activities
before
taxation
Taxation on 6 (208) - (208) (238) - (238)
ordinary
activities
Return on 1,236 44 1,280 1,829 1,970 3,799
ordinary
activities
after
taxation
attributable
to equity
shares
Return per 16 9.33 0.33 9.66 10.19 10.97 21.16
Ordinary
share (pence)
- basic
The total column of this statement is the profit and loss account of the
Company.
All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing
operations. No operations were acquired or discontinued during the year.
The notes on pages 42 to 57 form part of these financial statements.
The supplementary revenue and capital columns are both prepared under guidance
published by the Association of Investment Companies.
A Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses is not required as all gains
and losses of the Company have been reflected in the above statement.
Balance sheet
as at 31 December 2010
Company registration number 4897881
2010 2009
Notes £000 £000
Non current assets
Investments at fair value through the profit or 8 60,561 47,159
loss
Current assets
Debtors 9 737 244
Cash at bank 6,427 6,001
7,164 6,245
Current liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 10 (920) (3,345)
Net current assets 6,244 2,900
Total assets less current liabilities 66,805 50,059
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than 11 (34,566) (24,787)
one year
Total net assets 32,239 25,272
Capital and reserves
Share capital 12 171 131
Redemption reserve 88 88
Capital reserve 13 16,151 16,107
Special reserve 7,472 7,454
Share premium 14 6,887 -
Revenue reserve 1,470 1,492
Total equity shareholders' funds 32,239 25,272
Net asset value per Ordinary share (pence) - UK 17 188.88 192.87
Accounting Standards basis
Net asset value per Ordinary share (pence) - 17 190.81 192.87
Articles of Association basis
The financial statements on pages 38 to 57 were approved by the Board and
authorised for issue on 16 March 2011 and were signed on its behalf by:
Adam Cooke
Director
The notes on pages 42 to 57 form part of these financial statements.
Reconciliation of movements in shareholders' funds
for the year ended 31 December 2010
Share
Share Redemption Capital Special premium Revenue
capital reserve reserve reserve reserve reserve Total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
For the
year ended
31 December
2010
Balance at 131 88 16,107 7,454 - 1,492 25,272
31 December
2009
Return on - - 44 - - 1,236 1,280
ordinary
activities
after
taxation
Issue of 40 - - - 6,887 - 6,927
Ordinary
shares
Over - - - 18 - - 18
accrued
Tender
transition
costs
Dividends - - - - - (1,258) (1,258)
paid
Balance at 171 88 16,151 7,472 6,887 1,470 32,239
31 December
2010
Share
Share Redemption Capital Special premium Revenue
capital reserve reserve reserve reserve reserve Total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
For the year
ended 31
December 2009
Balance at 31 181 10 14,137 17,474 - 997 32,799
December 2008
Return on - - 1,970 - - 1,829 3,799
ordinary
activities
after
taxation
Tender for (50) 50 - (9,992) - - (9,992)
Ordinary
shares for
cancellation
Cancellation - 28 - (28) - - -
of Zero
Dividend
Preference
shares
Dividends - - - - - (1,334) (1,334)
paid
Balance at 31 131 88 16,107 7,454 - 1,492 25,272
December 2009
The notes on pages 42 to 57 form part of these financial statements.
Cash flow statement
for the year ended 31 December 2010
Year ended Year ended
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
Notes £000 £000
Net cash inflow from operating activities 18 1,042 2,595
Servicing of finance
Interest paid (1) (1)
Taxation
Overseas tax paid (159) (289)
Financial investments
Purchases of investments (34,486) (40,634)
Sales of investments 29,573 54,150
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from financial (4,913) 13,516
investments
Equity dividends paid 7 (1,258) (1,334)
Net cash (outflow)/inflow before financing (5,289) 14,487
Financing
Issue of Ordinary and Zero Preference shares 5,715 -
Tender for Ordinary shares and associated - (9,992)
costs
Tender for Zero Dividend Preference shares - (4,374)
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from financing 5,715 (14,366)
Increase in cash 19 426 121
Reconciliation of net cash flow to movements in net debt
Year ended Year ended
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
£000 £000
Increase in cash as above 426 121
Net change in debt due in more than one year (9,779) 2,369
Movements in net debt for year (9,353) 2,490
Net debt as at 1 January (18,786) (21,276)
Net debt as at 31 December (28,139) (18,786)
The notes on pages 42 to 57 form part of these financial statements.
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES
A summary of the principal accounting policies, all of which, except for the
change to the treatment of the basic management fee which from 1 January 2010
has been charged 40% to revenue and 60% to capital (prior to this it was
charged 100% to revenue), have been consistently applied throughout the year
and the preceding year is set out below:
(a) BASIS OF ACCOUNTING
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the applicable
UK Accounting Standards and with the Statement of Recommended Practice
"Financial Statements of Investment Trust Companies and Venture Capital Trusts"
(issued in January 2009).
They have also been prepared on the assumption that approval as an investment
trust will continue to be granted. The financial statements have been prepared
on a going concern basis. The Directors believe this is appropriate for the
reasons outlined in the Directors' Report on page 18.
(b) VALUATION OF INVESTMENTS
Upon initial recognition investments are designated by the Company "at fair
value through profit or loss". They are accounted for on the date they are
traded and are included initially at fair value which is taken to be their cost
including expenses incidental to purchase. Subsequently investments are valued
at fair value which is the bid market price for listed investments. Unquoted
investments are valued at fair value by the Board which is established with
regard to the International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation
Guidelines by using where appropriate latest dealing prices, valuations from
reliable sources and other relevant factors. Where no reliable fair value can
be estimated for such unquoted investments, they are carried at cost, subject
to any provision for impairment.
Changes in the fair value of investments held at fair value through profit or
loss and gains or losses on disposal are included in the capital column of the
income statement within "gains/(losses) on investments held at fair value
through profit or loss".
Gains and losses on sales of investments have been taken to capital reserve.
(c) FOREIGN CURRENCY
Transactions denominated in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at
actual exchange rates as at the date of the transaction. Monetary assets and
liabilities denominated in foreign currencies at the year end are reported at
the rates of exchange prevailing at the year end. Any gain or loss arising from
a change in exchange rates subsequent to the date of the transaction is
included as an exchange gain or loss in capital reserve. Foreign exchange
movements on investments are included in the Income Statement within gains on
investments.
(d) INCOME
Investment income, which includes related taxation, has been accounted for on
an ex-dividend basis or when the Company's right to the income is established.
Special dividends are credited to capital or revenue in the Income Statement,
according to the circumstances. UK dividends are accounted for net of any tax
credits. Overseas dividends are included gross of withholding tax.
Interest receivable on deposits is accounted for on an accruals basis.
(e) EXPENSES
All expenses are accounted for on an accruals basis and are charged as follows:
• the basic investment management fee is charged 40% to revenue and 60% to
capital from 1 January 2010 (prior to this it was charged 100% to revenue);
• any performance fee earned is allocated between capital and revenue based on
the out-performance attributable to capital and revenue respectively;
• investment transactions costs are included within the book cost of the
investments; and
• other expenses are charged wholly to revenue.
(f) ZERO DIVIDEND PREFERENCE SHARES
The Company's Zero Dividend Preference shares are classified as a financial
liability and shown as a liability in the balance sheet.
The Directors have allocated 100% of the finance costs relating to the Zero
Dividend Preference shares to capital. The provision for compound growth
entitlement of the Zero Dividend Preference shares is recognised through the
income statement and analysed under the capital column as a finance cost (as
shown in note 5). The premium (net of expenses) arising on the issue of the
Zero Dividend Preference shares will be amortised over the life of the Company
and allocated 100% to capital.
(g) SPECIAL RESERVE
The special reserve is available for the repurchase by the Company of its own
Ordinary shares.
(h) TAXATION
The charge for taxation is based upon the net revenue for the year. The tax
charge is allocated to the revenue and capital accounts according to the
marginal basis whereby revenue expenses are first matched against taxable
income arising in the revenue account; the effect of this for the year ended 31
December 2010 was that all the deductions for tax purposes went to the revenue
account.
Deferred taxation will be recognised as an asset or a liability if transactions
have occurred at the balance sheet date that give rise to an obligation to pay
more taxation in the future, or a right to pay less taxation in the future. An
asset will not be recognised to the extent that the transfer of economic
benefit is uncertain.
Due to the Company's status as an Investment Company, and the intention to
continue meeting the conditions required to obtain approval in the foreseeable
future, the Company has not provided for deferred tax on any capital gains and
losses arising on the revaluation or disposal of Investments.
2. INCOME
Year ended Year ended
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
£000 £000
Income from investments:
UK franked investment income 152 523
Overseas dividends 1,814 2,088
Deposit income 3 17
Interest on VAT recovered from HMRC - 51
1,969 2,679
3. INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT FEE
Year ended Year ended
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
£000 £000
Charged to Revenue:
Investment management fee (40%) 201 561
201 561
Year ended Year ended
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
£000 £000
Charged to Capital:
Investment management fee (60%) 303 -
303 -
The Company's Investment Manager is Premier Fund Managers Limited under an
agreement terminable by either party giving not less than 12 months written
notice. Under the investment management agreement, the Investment Manager is
entitled to receive from the Company a management fee, payable monthly in
arrears, of 1% per annum of the gross assets of the Company. Following a review
of the expected future returns from the portfolio it was decided that from 1
January 2010 to allocate 40% of this fee to revenue and 60% to capital (for
years prior to this 100% was charged to revenue).
In addition, the Investment Manager is entitled to a performance fee in respect
of each accounting year of the Company commencing with the period ended 31
December 2004 if (i) the dividends paid or proposed to be paid on each Ordinary
share in respect of that accounting year (on an annualised basis in respect of
the first accounting period) equals at least 6.75p and (ii) the gross assets at
the end of the year exceed the highest level of gross assets at the end of any
previous accounting year or (if higher) the initial gross assets by more than
7.5% (again on an annualised basis). In that event, the performance fee will be
equal to 15% of the excess. Any performance fee earned is allocated between
capital and revenue based on the out-performance attributable to capital and
revenue respectively. No performance fee is payable in respect of the year
ended 31 December 2010 (2009: nil).
VAT recovered from HMRC on management fees:
Year ended Year ended
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
£000 £000
Recovered in respect of basic management fees - - 247
Revenue
Recovered in respect of performance fees - Capital - 284
- 531
For the year ended 31 December 2009 the Company received £531,000 of VAT on
management fees invoiced since its launch in November 2003 which has been
credited to the Company's revenue and capital accounts in accordance with the
Board's policy for allocation of management fees and finance costs at the time
the fee was paid.
4. OTHER EXPENSES
Year ended Year ended
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
£000 £000
Charged to Revenue:
Secretarial services 75 75
Administration expenses 159 132
Auditor's remuneration - audit services 21 21
- non audit 1 2
Directors' fees 67 67
323 297
For the year ended 31 December 2010 the auditors were also paid £24,675,
including VAT of £3,675, for services in connection with the Prospectus issued
by the Company on 30 November 2010 and the associated issue of new shares (see
pages 15 and 16). These have been charged to the share premium reserve.
For the year ended 31 December 2009 the auditors were also paid £33,350,
including VAT of £4,350, for services in connection with the Prospectus issued
by the Company on 24 November 2009 and the associated tender offer. These have
been charged to special reserve in that year.
5. FINANCE COSTS
Year ended Year ended Year ended Year ended Year ended Year ended
31 31 31 31 31 31
December December December December December December
2010 2010 2010 2009 2009 2009
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Bank interest 1 - 1 1 - 1
Provision for - 1,637 1,637 - 2,005 2,005
compound
growth
entitlement
of the Zero
Dividend
Preference
shares
1 1,637 1,638 1 2,005 2,006
6. TAXATION
(a) ANALYSIS OF CHARGE IN THE YEAR:
Year ended Year ended Year ended Year ended Year ended Year ended
31 31 31 31 31 31
December December December December December December
2010 2010 2010 2009 2009 2009
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Current tax - - - - - -
Overseas 208 - 208 238 - 238
tax
Current tax 208 - 208 238 - 238
charge for
the year
(see note 6 (b))
(b) FACTORS AFFECTING THE CURRENT TAX CHARGE FOR THE YEAR:
The current taxation charge for the year is lower than the standard rate of
corporation tax in the UK.
The differences are explained below:
Year ended Year ended Year ended Year ended Year ended Year ended
31 31 31 31 31 31
December December December December December December
2010 2010 2010 2009 2009 2009
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Return on 1,444 44 1,488 2,067 1,970 4,037
ordinary
activities
before
taxation
Return on 404 12 416 578 552 1,130
ordinary
activities
multiplied by
the standard
rate of
corporation
tax of 28%
(2009: 28%)
Effects of: (43) - (43) (146) - (146)
Non-taxable
UK dividends
Non-taxable (464) - (464) (226) - (226)
overseas
dividends
Capital gains - (555) (555) - (1,033) (1,033)
not subject
to tax
Finance costs - 458 458 - 561 561
of ZDP shares
Investment - 85 85 - - -
management
fee
capitalised
Capital costs - - - - (80) (80)
of
performance
fee and VAT
recovered
from HMRC
Expenses not - - - 1 - 1
deductible
for tax
purposes
Overseas tax 208 - 208 238 - 238
Double tax - - - (207) - (207)
relief
Unrelieved 103 - 103 - - -
expenses and
charges
Revenue 208 - 208 238 - 238
current tax
charge for
the year (see
note 6 (a))
The Company is not liable to tax on capital gains due to its status as an
investment trust.
Due to the Company's status as an investment trust, and the intention to
continue meeting the conditions required to obtain approval in the foreseeable
future, the Company has not provided for deferred tax on any capital gains and
losses arising on the revaluation or disposal of investments.
After claiming relief against accrued income taxable on receipt, the Company
has a deferred tax asset of approximately £461,000 (31 December 2009: £130,000)
relating to excess expenses. It is unlikely that the Company will generate
sufficient taxable profits in the future to utilise these expenses and
therefore no deferred tax asset in respect of these expenses has been
recognised.
7. DIVIDEND
Dividends relating to the year ended 31 December 2010 are detailed below:
Year ended
31 December
Per 2010
Ordinary share £000
First interim dividend - 1.50p 198
paid on 30 June 2010
Second interim dividend - 1.60p 209
paid on 30 September 2010
Third interim dividend - 1.60p 209
paid on 31 December 2010
Fourth interim dividend - 3.40p 445
declared on 2 December
2010and paid on 31 January
2011â€
8.10p 1,061
†Not included as a liability in the year ended 31 December 2010 accounts.
The fourth interim dividend was paid on 31 January 2011 to members on the
register at the close of business on 10 December 2010. The shares were marked
ex-dividend on 8 December 2010.
Dividends relating to the year ended 31 December 2009 are detailed below:
Year ended
31 December
Per 2009
Ordinary share £000
First interim dividend - paid on 30 June 2009 1.50p 272
Second interim dividend - paid on 30 September 1.50p 272
2009
Third interim dividend - paid on 31 December 1.50p 272
2009
Fourth interim dividend - paid on 31 March 2010* 4.90p 642
#
9.40p 1,458
* Not included as a liability in the year ended 31 December 2009 accounts.
# Includes a special dividend of 1.70p.
8. INVESTMENTS
(a) SUMMARY OF VALUATION
Year ended Year ended
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
£000 £000
Investments listed on a recognised investment
exchange:
- UK 2,353 4,349
- Overseas 56,717 41,886
59,070 46,235
Unquoted investment - UK 701 924
Unquoted investment - Overseas 790 -
60,561 47,159
(b) MOVEMENTS
In the year ended 31 December 2010
Quoted Quoted Unquoted Unquoted Total
UK Overseas UK Overseas 2010
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Book cost at beginning of 4,668 38,474 1,354 - 44,496
year
Gains/(losses) on (319) 3,412 (430) - 2,663
investments held at
beginning of year
Valuation at beginning of 4,349 41,886 924 - 47,159
year
Purchases at cost 3,777 36,907 131 684 41,499
Sales:
- proceeds (4,370) (25,711) - - (30,081)
- gains on investments 1 2,954 - - 2,955
sold in the year
Gains/(losses) on 21 (744) (354) 106 (971)
investments held at end
of year
Valuation at end of year 3,778 55,292 701 790 60,561
Comprising:
Total Total
year ended year ended
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
£000 £000
Book cost at end of year 58,872 44,499
Gains on investments held at year end 1,689 2,660
Valuation at end of year 60,561 47,159
Transaction costs on purchases for the year ended 31 December 2010 amounted to
£84,000 (2009: £133,000) and on sales for the year they amounted to £66,000
(2009: £124,000).
(c) GAINS/(LOSSES) ON INVESTMENTS
Total Total
year ended year ended
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
£000 £000
Gains/(losses) on investments sold in year 2,955 (3,001)
(Losses)/gains on investments held at year end (971) 6,692
Total gains on investments 1,984 3,691
A list of the Company's 30 largest investments is shown on page 8, a sector
breakdown and a geographical allocation is shown on page 5.
9. DEBTORS
Year ended Year ended
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
£000 £000
Amounts due from brokers 508 -
Accrued income and prepayments 178 144
Overseas tax recoverable 51 100
737 244
10. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
Year ended Year ended
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
£000 £000
Purchases for future settlement 757 3,116
Other creditors 163 229
920 3,345
11. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE AFTER MORE THAN ONE YEAR
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
£000 £000
21,180,373 Zero Dividend Preference shares of £0.01 34,566 24,787
The allotted, issued and fully paid number of Zero Dividend Preference shares
of £0.01 as at 31 December 2010 is 21,180,373 (31 December 2009: 16,336,396
Zero Dividend Preference shares of £0.01).
On 17 December 2010 the Company issued 2,779,377 Zero Dividend Preference
shares at 172.25p per share and 2,064,600 Zero Dividend Preference shares at
168.00p per share. The accrued capital entitlement at that date was 161.25p per
share. The premium (net of expenses) of £330,000 will be amortised over the
life of the Company and allocated to capital.
12. SHARE CAPITAL
Year ended Year ended Year ended Year ended
31 December 31 December 31 December 31 December
2010 2010 2009 2009
Number of £000 Number of £000
shares shares
Allotted, issued and
fully paid:
Ordinary shares of 17,068,480 171 13,103,065 131
£0.01
17,068,480 171 13,103,065 131
On 17 December 2010, 3,965,415 Ordinary shares were issued at 177.31p; (31
December 2009: 5,040,368 Ordinary shares were bought back for cancellation for
£9,992,000). The shares were issued in connection with the reconstruction of
Premier Renewable Energy Fund Limited (see pages 15 and 16) for gross proceeds
of £7,031,000.
The allotted issued and fully paid Zero Dividend Preference shares of the
Company at 31 December 2010 are disclosed in note 11.
13. CAPITAL RESERVE
Year ended Year ended
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
£000 £000
Opening balance 16,107 14,137
Gains on investments - held at fair value through 1,984 3,691
profit or loss
Provision for premium on redemption of Zero Dividend (1,637) (2,005)
Preference shares
Investment management fee charged to capital (303) -
VAT received from HMRC in respect of performance - 284
fees
Closing balance 16,151 16,107
14. SHARE PREMIUM
Year ended Year ended
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
£000 £000
Opening balance - -
Premium arising on issue of 3,965,415 Ordinary 6,991 -
shares
Cost associated with the issue of Ordinary shares (104) -
Closing balance 6,887 -
15. FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS
At 31 December 2010 there were no commitments in respect of unpaid calls and
underwritings (31 December 2009: nil).
16. RETURN PER SHARE- BASIC
Total return per Ordinary share is based on the net total return on ordinary
activities after taxation of £1,280,000 (31 December 2009: £3,799,000).
These calculations are based on the weighted average number of 13,255,163
Ordinary shares in issue during the year to 31 December 2010 (2009: 17,950,104
weighted average number of Ordinary shares).
The return per Ordinary share can be further analysed between revenue and
capital as below:
Year ended Year ended
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
£000 £000
Net revenue return 1,236 1,829
Net capital return 44 1,970
Net total return 1,280 3,799
The Company does not have any dilutive securities.
17. NET ASSET VALUE PER SHARE
The difference between the figures reported below arises from the treatment of
the premium (net of expenses) from the issue of Zero Dividend Preference
("ZDP") shares in December 2010 of £330,000 (2009: nil). In accordance with UK
Accounting Standards this has been included with the ZDP liability and will be
amortised over the life of the Company. In accordance with the Articles of
Association the premium has been included with shareholders equity and the ZDP
liability reflects their accrued capital entitlement at 31 December 2010.
The net asset value per share and the net assets available to each class of
share calculated in accordance with UK Accounting Standards, are as follows:
Net Net
asset value Net assets asset value Net assets
per share available per share available
31 December 31 December 31 December 31 December
2010 2010 2009 2009
Pence £000 Pence £000
17,068,480 Ordinary shares 188.88 32,239 192.87 25,272
(2009: 13,103,065) in issue
21,180,373 Zero Dividend 163.20 34,566 151.73 24,787
Preference shares* (2009:
16,336,396) in issue
* Classified as a liability.
The net asset value per share and the net assets available to each class of
share calculated in accordance with the Articles of Association, are as
follows:
Net Net
asset value Net assets asset value Net assets
per share available per share available
31 December 31 December 31 December 31 December
2010 2010 2009 2009
Pence £000 Pence £000
17,068,480 Ordinary shares 190.81 32,569 192.87 25,272
(2009: 13,103,065) in issue
21,180,373 Zero Dividend 161.64 34,236 151.73 24,787
Preference shares* (2009:
16,336,396) in issue
* Classified as a liability.
18. RECONCILIATION OF TOTAL RETURN BEFORE FINANCE COSTS AND TAXATION TO NET
CASH INFLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Year ended Year ended
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
£000 £000
Total return on ordinary activities before finance 3,126 6,043
costs and taxation
Capital return before finance costs and taxation (1,681) (3,975)
Increase in other debtors (22) 5
Increase in accrued income and prepayments (12) 130
Increase in other creditors (66) 108
Investment management fee capitalised (303) -
VAT recovered from HMRC in respect of performance - 284
fees capitalised
Net cash inflow from operating activities 1,042 2,595
19. ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET DEBT
Year ended Year ended
31 December Non-cash 31 December
2009 Cashflow movements 2010
£000 £000 £000 £000
Cash at bank 6,001 426 - 6,427
Debt due after more than one (24,787) (8,142) (1,637) (34,566)
year (ZDP's)
(18,786) (7,716) (1,637) (28,139)
20. TRANSACTIONS WITH THE INVESTMENT MANAGER
Details of the investment management fee charged by Premier Fund Managers
Limited is set out in note 3. In addition, Premier Asset Management Limited
acts as Company Secretary and the fee for secretarial services is set out in
note 4. At 31 December 2010 £63,044 (31 December 2009: £48,688) of these fees
remained outstanding.
21. RISK MANAGEMENT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
As an investment trust the Company invests in equities and other investments
for the long-term so as to secure its investment objectives stated on page 16.
In pursuing its investment objectives, the Company is exposed to a variety of
risks that could result in either a reduction in the Company's net assets or a
reduction of the profits available for dividends.
These risks, include market risk (comprising currency risk, interest rate risk,
and other price risk), liquidity risk, and credit risk, and the Directors'
approach to the management of them are set out below.
The objectives, policies and processes for managing the risks, and the methods
used to measure the risks, that are set out below, have not changed from the
previous accounting period.
(a) MARKET RISK
The fair value or future cash flows of a financial instrument held by the
Company may fluctuate because of changes in market prices. This market risk
comprises three elements - currency risk (see (b) below), interest rate risk
(see (c) below) and other price risk (see (d) below). The Board of Directors
reviews and agrees policies for managing these risks, which have remained
substantially unchanged from those applying in the year ended 31 December 2009.
The Company's Investment Manager assesses the exposure to market risk when
making each investment decision, and monitors the overall level of market risk
on the whole of the investment portfolio on an ongoing basis.
(b) CURRENCY RISK
Certain of the Company's assets, liabilities, and income, are denominated in
currencies other than sterling (the Company's functional currency, in which it
reports its results). As a result, movements in exchange rates may affect the
sterling value of those items.
Management of the risk
The Investment Manager monitors the Company's exposure and reports to the Board
on a regular basis.
The Investment Manager does not intend to deploy active hedging against
exchange rate fluctuations.
Income denominated in foreign currencies is converted to sterling on receipt.
The Company does not use financial instruments to mitigate the currency
exposure in the period between the time that income is included in the
financial statements and its receipt.
Foreign currency exposures
An analysis of the Company's equity investments that are priced in a foreign
currency is:
As at As at
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
Investments Investments
£000 £000
Australian dollar 2,116 -
Canadian Dollar 4,708 1,220
Chinese Yuan 791 -
Euro 12,388 14,261
Hong Kong Dollar 9,346 5,107
Indian Rupee 1,044 -
Malaysian Ringgit 1,584 538
Qatari Riyal 1,220 -
Singapore Dollar 823 1,920
Thailand Bahts 3,972 2,687
US Dollar 17,982 15,253
55,974 40,986
There were no non-monetary items that have foreign currency exposure at 31
December 2010 (31 December 2009: nil).
Foreign currency sensitivity
The following table illustrates the sensitivity of the return on ordinary
activities after taxation for the year and the equity in regard to the
Company's monetary financial assets to changes in the exchange rates for the
portfolio's significant currency exposures, these being Sterling/US Dollar and
Sterling/Euro.
It assumes the following changes in exchange rates:
Sterling/US Dollar +/- 4% (2009: 9%)
Sterling/Euro +/- 4% (2009: 9%)
These percentages have been determined based on the average market volatility
in exchange rates, in the previous 12 months.
If sterling had strengthened against the currencies shown, this would have had
the following effect:
2010 2010 2009 2009
US Dollar Euro US Dollar Euro
£000 £000 £000 £000
Projected change 4% 4% 9% 9%
Impact on revenue return 25 26 54 23
Impact on capital return 719 684 1,373 1,283
Total return after taxation for the year 744 710 1,427 1,306
Equity 744 710 1,427 1,306
If sterling had weakened against the currencies shown, this would have had the
following effect:
2010 2010 2009 2009
US Dollar Euro US Dollar Euro
£000 £000 £000 £000
Projected change 4% 4% 9% 9%
Impact on revenue return (25) (26) (54) (23)
Impact on capital return (719) (684) (1,373) (1,283)
Total return after taxation for the (744) (710) (1,427) (1,306)
year
Equity (744) (710) (1,427) (1,306)
In the opinion of the Directors, the above sensitivity analyses are not
representative of the year as a whole, since the level of exposure changes
frequently as part of the currency risk management process used to meet the
Company's objectives.
(c) INTEREST RATE RISK
Interest rate movements may affect the level of income receivable on cash
deposits. The Company has no direct exposure to investments exposed to interest
rate fluctuations.
Cash at bank at 31 December 2010 (and 31 December 2009) was held at floating
interest rates, linked to current short-term market rates.
Due to the insignificant impact of fluctuations in interest rates no
sensitivity analysis is shown.
(d) OTHER PRICE RISK
Other price risks (i.e. changes in market prices other than those arising from
interest rate risk or currency risk) may affect the value of the quoted and
unquoted equity investments.
Management of the risk
The Board of Directors manages the market price risks inherent in the
investment portfolio by ensuring full and timely access to relevant information
from the Investment Manager. The Board meets regularly and at each meeting
reviews investment performance. The Board monitors the Investment Manager's
compliance with the Company's objectives.
When appropriate, the Company manages its exposure to risk by using futures
contracts or by buying put options on indices and on quoted equity investments
in its portfolio.
Concentration of exposure to other price risks
A sector breakdown and geographical allocation of the portfolio is contained in
the Investment Manager's Report on page 5.
Other price risk sensitivity
The following table illustrates the sensitivity of the return after taxation
for the year and the equity to an increase or decrease of 10% in the fair
values of the Company's equities (including equity through options). This level
of change is considered to be reasonably possible based on observation of
current market conditions. The sensitivity analysis is based on the Company's
equities and equity exposure through options at each balance sheet date, with
all other variables held constant.
Increase in Decrease in Increase in Decrease in
fair value fair value fair value fair value
2010 2010 2009 2009
£000 £000 £000 £000
Income statement - return after
taxation:
Revenue return - increase/ 24 (24) 47 (47)
(decrease)
Capital return - increase/ 6,093 (6,093) 4,716 (4,716)
(decrease)
Total return after taxation - 6,117 (6,117) 4,763 (4,763)
increase/(decrease)
Equity 6,117 (6,117) 4,763 (4,763)
(e) LIQUIDITY RISK
This is the risk that the Company will encounter difficulty in meeting
obligations associated with financial liabilities.
Management of the risk
Liquidity risk is not significant as the majority of the Company's assets are
investments in quoted equities that are readily realisable. The Company does
not have any borrowing facilities.
The investments in unquoted securities may have limited liquidity and be
difficult to realise. At 31 December 2010 unquoted securities represented 2.5%
of the total investment portfolio (31 December 2009: 2.0%).
The Board gives guidance to the Investment Manager as to the maximum amount of
the Company's resources that should be invested in any one holding. The policy
is that the Company should remain fully invested in normal market conditions
and that short-term borrowing be used to manage short-term cash requirements.
(f) CREDIT RISK
The failure of the counterparty to a transaction to discharge its obligations
under that transaction could result in the Company suffering a loss.
Management of the risk
This risk is not significant, and is managed as follows:
• investment transactions are carried out with a large number of brokers, whose
credit-standing is reviewed periodically by the Investment Manager, and limits
are set on the amount that may be due from any one broker; and
• cash at bank is held only with reputable banks with high quality external
credit ratings. The Company, generally, does not hold significant cash
balances, but when it does it seeks to limit exposure to any one bank to 10% of
net assets.
None of the Company's financial assets are secured by collateral or other
credit enhancements.
(g) FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS OF FINANCIAL ASSETS AND FINANCIAL LIABILITIES
The fair values of the financial assets and liabilities are either carried in
the balance sheet at their fair value, or the balance sheet amount is a
reasonable approximation of fair value (due from brokers, dividends receivable,
accrued income, due to brokers, accruals and cash balances).
The table below sets out fair value measurements using the FRS29 fair value
hierarchy.
Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss at 31 December 2010
Level 1 Level 3 Total
£000 £000 £000
Equity investments 59,070 1,491 60,561
Total 59,070 1,491 60,561
Categorisation within the hierarchy has been determined on the basis of the
lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement of the
relevant asset as follows:
Level 1 - valued using quoted prices in active markets for identical assets
Level 2 - valued by reference to valuation techniques using observable inputs
other than quoted prices included within Level 1 (there are no Level 2
investments at 31 December 2010)
Level 3 - valued by reference to valuation techniques using inputs that are not
based on observable market data
The valuation techniques used by the Company are explained in the accounting
policies note on page 42.
A reconciliation of fair value measurements in Level 3 is set out below:
Level 3 financial assets at fair value through profit or loss at 31 December
2010
Equity investments Total
£000 £000
Opening balance 924 924
Purchases at cost 815 815
Net losses included in profit or loss for assets (248) (248)
held at the end of year
Closing balance 1,491 1,491
Financial liabilities
The listed bid price has been used to determine the fair value of the Zero
Dividend Preference shares:
As at 31 As at 31 As at 31 As at 31
December 2010 December 2010 December 2009 December 2009
Book value Level 1 Book value Level 1
£m £m £m £m
Zero Dividend 34.6 36.7 24.8 25.5
Preference shares
(h) CAPITAL MANAGEMENT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
The Company's capital management objectives are:
• to ensure that the Company will be able to continue as a going concern; and
• to achieve a high income from its portfolio and to realise long-term growth
in the capital value of the portfolio.
The Company's capital at 31 December on a UK Accounting Standards basis
comprises:
2010 2009
£000 £000
Debt:
Zero Dividend Preference shares (34,566) (24,787)
Equity:
Equity share capital 171 131
Retained earnings and other reserves 32,068 25,141
32,239 25,272
Total Capital 66,805 50,059
Debt as a percentage of total capital 51.74% 49.5%
Contractual maturities of the financial liabilities at the year end, based on
the earliest date on which payment can be required are as follows:
As at 31 As at 31 As at 31 As at 31 As at 31 As at 31
December December December December December December
2010 2010 2010 2009 2009 2009
Three More Three More
months than months than
or less one year Total or less one year Total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Creditors:
amounts
falling due
within one
year
Purchases for 757 - 757 3,116 - 3,116
future
settlement
Other 163 - 163 229 - 229
creditors
Creditors:
amounts
falling due
after more
than one year
Accrued - 34,236 34,236 - 24,787 24,787
capital
entitlement
of the Zero
Dividend
Preference
shares
Premium (net - 330 330 - - -
of expenses
on placing of
Zero Dividend
Preference
shares)
920 34,566 35,486 3,345 24,787 28,132
The Company's objectives, policies and processes for managing capital are
unchanged from the preceding accounting period.
The Company is subject to several externally imposed capital requirements:
• As a public company, the Company has to have a minimum share capital of £
50,000.
• In order to be able to pay dividends out of profits available for
distribution by way of dividends, the Company has to be able to meet one of the
two capital restriction tests imposed on investment companies by company law.
These requirements are unchanged since last year and the Company has complied
with them.
Glossary of terms
DISCOUNT/PREMIUM
If the share price of an investment trust is lower than the NAV per share, the
shares are said to be trading at a discount. The size of the discount is
calculated by subtracting the share price from the NAV per share and is usually
expressed as a percentage of the NAV per share. If the share price is higher
than the NAV per share, the shares are said to be trading at a premium.
GEARING
Also known as leverage, particularly in the USA. Gearing is introduced when a
company borrows money to buy additional investments. The objective is to
enhance returns to shareholders but there is the risk of the opposite effect if
the additional investments fall in value.
GROSS REDEMPTION YIELD
The return on a fixed-interest security, or any investment with a known life,
expressed as an annual percentage and without any deduction for tax. Redemption
yield measures the capital as well as income return on investments with a fixed
life.
HURDLE RATE
The compound rate of growth of the total assets required each year until the
wind-up date for shareholders to receive either a predetermined redemption
price or, in some cases, a return of the amount originally invested. Any class
of share ranking for prior payment should be taken into account in this
calculation.
NET ASSET VALUE ("NAV")
The NAV is the assets attributable to shareholders expressed as an amount per
individual share. The assets attributable to shareholders is the total value of
all a companies assets, at current market value, having deducted all prior
charges at their par value (or at their asset value).
SPLIT CAPITAL INVESTMENT TRUST
An investment trust with two or more classes of share in issue, each class
having specified entitlements to income or capital. Typical classes of share
include ordinary shares, capital shares, zero dividend preference shares and
income and residual capital (or geared ordinary) shares.
TOTAL RETURN
The combined effect of any dividends paid, together with the rise or fall in
the share price or NAV. Total return statistics enable the investor to make
performance comparisons between companies with different dividend policies. Any
dividends (after tax) received by a shareholder are assumed to have been
reinvested in either additional shares of the company at the time the shares go
ex-dividend (the share price total return) or in the assets of the company at
its NAV per share (the NAV total return).
Shareholder information
FINANCIAL CALENDAR
Company's year-end 31 December
Annual results announced mid March
Annual General Meeting 27 April 2011
Company's half-year end 30 June
Half-year results announced early August
Dividend payments - 2011 at the end of January, April, August and December
(Dividend payments thereafter will be at the end of March, June, September and
December)
SHARE PRICE AND PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
The Ordinary shares and Zero Dividend Preference shares are listed on the
London Stock Exchange. The mid-market prices are quoted daily in the Financial
Times and The Daily Telegraph.
Information about the Company can be obtained directly via
www.premierassetmanagement.co.uk. Any enquiries can also be e-mailed to
premier@premierfunds.co.uk.
SHARE DEALING
A share dealing service is available through Premier on 01296 390408, or
alternatively shares can be purchased through your usual stockbroker.
Information on the Premier ISA can be obtained by contacting Premier on 01483
400400.
SHARE REGISTER ENQUIRIES
The register for the Ordinary shares and Zero Dividend Preference shares is
maintained by Capita Registrars. In the event of queries regarding your
holding, please contact the Registrar on 0871 664 0300 (calls cost 10p per
minute plus network extras, lines are open Monday to Friday 8.30 a.m. to 5.30
p.m.); overseas +44 208 639 3399; or e-mail
shareholder.services@capitaregistrars.com. Changes of name and/or address must
be notified in writing to the Registrar.
PREMIER FUND MANAGERS LIMITED
Other investment companies managed by Premier are:
Acorn Income Fund Limited
Global Special Opportunities Trust PLC
Further details of these funds can be obtained from Premier on 01483 400400.
E-mail: premier@premierfunds.co.uk
www.premierassetmanagement.co.uk
A member of the Association of Investment Companies.
Notice of annual general meeting
to the members of Premier Energy and Water Trust PLC
Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Company will be
held at the offices of Premier Asset Management Limited, Eastgate Court, High
Street, Guildford, Surrey GU1 3DE on Wednesday, 27 April 2011, at 2.00 p.m. to
consider and, if thought fit, pass the following resolutions, which will be
proposed as to resolutions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 as ordinary resolutions
and as to resolutions 9, 10 and 11 as special resolutions:
ORDINARY RESOLUTIONS
1. To receive the Directors' Report and Financial Statements for the year ended
31 December 2010.
2. To approve the Directors' Remuneration Report for the year ended 31 December
2010.
3. To re-elect Mr Geoffrey Burns as a Director of the Company.
4. To elect Mr Charles Wilkinson as a Director of the Company.
5. To re-appoint Ernst & Young LLP as Auditors of the Company and to authorise
the Board to determine their remuneration.
6. Authority to allot new shares:
THAT, the Directors be and they are hereby generally and unconditionally
authorised, in accordance with section 551 of the Companies Act 2006, to allot
shares in the Company and to grant rights ("relevant rights") to subscribe for
or to convert any security into shares in the Company up to an aggregate
nominal amount of £38,249, representing 1,706,848 Ordinary shares of 1p each
and 2,118,037 ZDP shares of 1p each, (being approximately 10% of the issued
Ordinary share capital and 10% of the issued ZDP share capital of the Company
as at 15 March 2011 being the latest practicable date prior to the publication
of this Notice of Meeting) PROVIDED THAT this authority shall expire at the
conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting of the Company after the passing
of this resolution, save that the Company may, at any time prior to the expiry
of such authority, make an offer or agreement which would or might require
shares to be allotted or relevant rights to be granted after the expiry of such
authority and the Directors may allot shares or grant relevant rights in
pursuance of such an offer or agreement as if such authority had not expired.
7. Authority to allot Ordinary shares at a discount:
THAT, subject to and conditional upon the passing of resolution 6 above (the
"Resolution"), the Directors be and they are hereby generally and
unconditionally authorised, in accordance with LR 15.4.11 of the United Kingdom
Listing Rules to allot Ordinary shares for cash pursuant to the Resolution at a
price which represents a discount to the net asset value attributable to the
Ordinary shares as at the date of such issuePROVIDED THAT (i) such issue is simultaneous
with an issue of new Zero Dividend Preference shares and (ii) the aggregate issue price
shall represent a premium to the aggregate net asset value attributable to the new Ordinary
shares and new Zero Dividend Preference shares as at the date of issue.
8. Amending the Company's investment management arrangements with Premier:
THAT, the new investment management agreement proposed between the Company and
Premier Fund Managers Limited in the form produced to the meeting and signed
for the purpose of identification by the chairman of the meeting (together with
any non-material amendments thereto that the Directors may consider to be
necessary or desirable), the purpose of which is to effect the amendments to
the Investment Management Agreement dated 26 September 2003 between the Company
(formerly known as Premier Utilities Trust PLC) described under the heading
"Amending the Company's investment management arrangements with Premier" in the
Directors Report included in the Report and Accounts of the Company for the
year ended 31 December 2010 and of which this notice of meeting forms part, be
and is hereby approved.
SPECIAL RESOLUTIONS
9. Authority to disapply pre-emption rights:
THAT, subject to the passing of resolution numbered 6 above ("Section 551
Resolution"), the Directors of the Company be empowered pursuant to section 570
of the Companies Act 2006 (the "Act") to allot equity securities (within the
meaning of section 560 of the Act) for cash pursuant to the Section 551
Resolution as if section 561(1) of the Act did not apply to such allotment,
provided that this power shall be limited to:
(a) the allotment of equity securities (otherwise than pursuant to
sub-paragraph (b) below) up to an aggregate nominal amount of £17,068; and
(b) the allotment of equity securities to (a) all holders of ordinary shares of
1p each in the capital of the Company ("Ordinary shares") in proportion (as
nearly as may be) to the respective numbers of such Ordinary Shares held by
them and (b) to holders of other equity securities as required by the rights of
those securities (but subject to such exclusions, limits or restrictions or
other arrangements as the Directors of the Company may consider necessary or
appropriate to deal with fractional entitlements, record dates or legal,
regulatory or practical problems in or under the laws of, or requirements of,
any regulatory body or any stock exchange in any territory or otherwise
howsoever); and
such power shall expire at the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting of
the Company to be held in 2012, but so that this power shall enable the Company
to make an offer or agreement before such expiry which would or might require
equity securities to be allotted after such expiry and the Directors of the
Company may allot equity securities in pursuance of any such offer or agreement
as if such expiry had not occurred.
10. Authority to repurchase the Company's shares:
THAT, the Company be and is hereby generally and unconditionally authorised in
accordance with Section 701 of the Companies Act 2006 ("the Act") to make
market purchases (within the meaning of Section 693(4) of the Act) of Ordinary
shares of 1p each and of Zero Dividend Preference shares of 1p each in the
capital of the Company (together the "Shares"), provided that:
(a) the maximum number of Shares hereby authorised to be purchased shall be
2,558,565 Ordinary shares and 3,174,937 Zero Dividend Preference shares;
(b) the minimum price which may be paid for a Share is 1 pence;
(c) the maximum price which may be paid for an Ordinary share is an amount
equal to the highest of (i) 105% of the average of the middle market quotation
for an Ordinary share taken from the London Stock Exchange Daily Official List
for the five business days immediately preceding the day on which the Ordinary
share is purchased and (ii) the higher of the price of the last independent
trade and the highest current bid;
(d) the maximum price which may be paid for a Zero Dividend Preference share is
its accrued capital entitlement as at the business day immediately preceding
the day on which the Zero Dividend Preference share is purchased;
(e) the authority hereby conferred shall expire at the earlier of the
conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of the Company in 2012, or 26 October
2012 unless such authority is renewed prior to such time; and
(f) the Company may make a contract to purchase Shares under the authority
hereby conferred prior to expiry of such authority which will be or may be
executed wholly or partly after the expiration of such authority and may make a
purchase of Shares pursuant to any such contract.
Any shares so purchased will be cancelled in accordance with the provisions of
the Act.
11. Changes to the Articles of Association:
THAT the Company's Articles of Association be and are hereby amended as
follows:
11.1 Article 2.1 shall be amended by the deletion of the definition of "Gross
Assets" in its entirety and be replaced by the following in substitution
therefor:
" "Gross Assets" means the aggregate value of all the assets of PEWT including
net distributable but undistributed income, less current liabilities (excluding
from current liabilities (i) any proportion of monies borrowed for investment
whether or not treated under accounting rules as current liabilities and (ii)
in respect of the twelve months prior to the Planned Winding Up Date, the
amount outstanding in respect of the ZDP Shares);"
11.2 Article 5.2.2(i) be amended by:
(a) the deletion of the following words:
"For the purposes of this Article 5.2.2, the cover of the ZDP Shares shall
represent a fraction where the numerator is equal to the Net Assets of the
Company on the NAV Calculation Date and the denominator is equal to the amount
which would be paid on the ZDP Shares in issue on the NAV Calculation Date as a
class (and on all shares ranking as to capital in priority thereto or pari
passu therewith, save to the extent already taken into account in the
calculation of the total of share capital and reserves) in a winding up of the
Company on the Planned Winding Up Date.";
(b) the deletion of the word "Net" appearing between the words "use the" and
"Assets of the Company" in paragraph `A.' and replacement by the word "Gross";
and
(c) the deletion of the word "Net" appearing between the words "adjust the" and
"Assets of the Company" in paragraph `C.' and replacement by the word "Gross".
By order of the Board
Premier Asset Management Limited
Secretary
16 March 2011
Notes to the notice of annual general meeting
1. Members are entitled to appoint a proxy to exercise all or any of their
rights to attend and to speak and vote on their behalf at the meeting. A
shareholder may appoint more than one proxy in relation to the Annual General
Meeting provided that each proxy is appointed to exercise the rights attached
to a different share or shares held by that shareholder. A shareholder may not
appoint more than one proxy to exercise the rights attached to any one share. A
proxy need not be a shareholder of the Company. A proxy form which may be used
to make such appointment and give proxy instructions accompanies this notice.
If you do not have a proxy form and believe that you should have one, or if you
require additional forms, please contact the Company's registrars, Capita
Registrars (contact details can be found on page 65).
2. To be valid any proxy form or other instrument appointing a proxy must be
received by post or (during normal business hours only) by hand at the offices
of the Company's registrars, Capita Registrars, PXS, 34 Beckenham Road,
Beckenham, Kent, BR3 4TU no later than 2.00 p.m. on Monday, 25 April 2011.
3. The return of a completed proxy form, other such instrument or any CREST
Proxy Instruction (as described in paragraph 9 below) will not prevent a
shareholder attending the Annual General Meeting and voting in person if he/she
wishes to do so.
4. Any person to whom this notice is sent who is a person nominated under
section 146 of the Companies Act 2006 to enjoy information rights (a "Nominated
Person") may, under an agreement between him/her and the shareholder by whom he
/she was nominated, have a right to be appointed (or to have someone else
appointed) as a proxy for the Annual General Meeting. If a Nominated Person has
no such proxy appointment right or does not wish to exercise it, he/she may,
under any such agreement, have a right to give instructions to the shareholder
as to the exercise of voting rights.
5. The statement of the rights of shareholders in relation to the appointment
of proxies in paragraphs 1 and 2 above does not apply to Nominated Persons. The
rights described in these paragraphs can only be exercised by shareholders of
the Company.
6. To be entitled to attend and vote at the Annual General Meeting (and for the
purpose of the determination by the Company of the votes they may cast),
Shareholders must be registered in the Register of Members of the Company at
6.00 p.m. on Thursday, 21 April 2011 (or, in the event of any adjournment, on
the date which is two days before the time of the adjourned meeting for the
purposes of which no account is to be taken of any part of a day that is not a
working day). Changes to the Register of Members after the relevant deadline
shall be disregarded in determining the rights of any person to attend and vote
at the meeting.
7. As at 15 March 2011 (being the last business day prior to the publication of
this Notice) the Company's issued share capital consisted of 17,068,480
Ordinary shares and 21,180,373 Zero Dividend Preference shares, carrying one
vote each. Therefore, the total voting rights in the Company as at 15 March
2011 are 38,248,853.
8. CREST members who wish to appoint a proxy or proxies through the CREST
electronic proxy appointment service may do so by using the procedures
described in the CREST Manual. CREST Personal Members or other CREST sponsored
members, and those CREST members who have appointed a service provider(s),
should refer to their CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s), who will be
able to take the appropriate action on their behalf.
9. In order for a proxy appointment or instruction made using the CREST service
to be valid, the appropriate CREST message (a "CREST Proxy Instruction") must
be properly authenticated in accordance with Euroclear UK & Ireland Limited's
specifications, and must contain the information required for such instruction,
as described in the CREST Manual (available via www.euroclear.com/CREST). The
message, regardless of whether it constitutes the appointment of a proxy or is
an amendment to the instruction given to a previously appointed proxy must, in
order to be valid, be transmitted so as to be received by the issuer's agent
(ID RA10) by 2.00 p.m. on Monday, 25 April 2011. For this purpose, the time of
receipt will be taken to be the time (as determined by the time stamp applied
to the message by the CREST Application Host) from which the issuer's agent is
able to retrieve the message by enquiry to CREST in the manner prescribed by
CREST. After this time any change of instructions to proxies appointed through
CREST should be communicated to the appointee through other means.
10. CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors, or voting
service providers should note that Euroclear UK & Ireland Limited does not make
available special procedures in CREST for any particular message. Normal system
timings and limitations will, therefore, apply in relation to the input of
CREST Proxy Instructions. It is the responsibility of the CREST member
concerned to take (or, if the CREST member is a CREST personal member, or
sponsored member, or has appointed a voting service provider, to procure that
his or her CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s) take(s)) such action as
shall be necessary to ensure that a message is transmitted by means of the
CREST system by any particular time. In this connection, CREST members and,
where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting system providers are referred,
in particular, to those sections of the CREST Manual concerning practical
limitations of the CREST system and timings.
11. The Company may treat as invalid a CREST Proxy Instruction in the
circumstances set out in Regulation 35(5)(a) of the Uncertificated Securities
Regulations 2001.
12. Any corporation which is a member can appoint one or more corporate
representatives who may exercise on its behalf all of its powers as a member
provided that they do not do so in relation to the same shares.
13. Under section 527 of the Companies Act 2006 members meeting the threshold
requirements set out in that section have the right to require the company to
publish on a website a statement setting out any matter relating to: (i) the
audit of the Company's accounts (including the auditor's report and the conduct
of the audit) that are to be laid before the Annual General Meeting; or (ii)
any circumstance connected with an auditor of the Company ceasing to hold
office since the previous meeting at which annual accounts and reports were
laid in accordance with section 437 of the Companies Act 2006. The Company may
not require the shareholders requesting any such website publication to pay its
expenses in complying with sections 527 or 528 of the Companies Act 2006. Where
the Company is required to place a statement on a website under section 527 of
the Companies Act 2006, it must forward the statement to the Company's auditor
not later than the time when it makes the statement available on the website.
The business which may be dealt with at the Annual General Meeting includes any
statement that the Company has been required under section 527 of the Companies
Act 2006 to publish on a website.
14. Any member attending the meeting has the right to ask questions. The
Company must cause to be answered any such question relating to the business
being dealt with at the meeting but no such answer need be given if (a) to do
so would interfere unduly with the preparation for the meeting or involve the
disclosure of confidential information, (b) the answer has already been given
on a website in the form of an answer to a question, or (c) it is undesirable
in the interests of the Company or the good order of the meeting that the
question be answered.
15. A copy of this notice, and other information required by s311A of the
Companies Act 2006, is available at the Investment Manager's website
www.premierassetmanagement.co.uk
Directors and advisers
Directors Geoffrey Burns (Chairman)
Adam Cooke
Ian Graham
Michael Wigley
Charles Wilkinson (appointed on 23 February 2011)
Investment Manager Premier Fund Managers Limited
Eastgate Court
High Street
Guildford
Surrey GU1 3DE
Telephone: 01483 306 090
www.premierassetmanagement.co.uk
Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority
Secretary and Premier Asset Management Limited
Registered Office
Eastgate Court
High Street
Guildford
Surrey GU1 3DE
Telephone: Mike Nokes 020 7982 1260
Company Number 4897881
Website www.premierassetmanagement.co.uk
Registrars Capita Registrars
The Registry
34 Beckenham Road
Beckenham
Kent BR3 4TU
Telephone: 0871 664 0300 (calls cost 10p per minute plus
network extras, lines are open Monday to Friday 8.30 a.m. to
5.30 p.m.) Overseas: +44 208 639 3399
E-mail: ssd@capitaregistrars.com
Auditors Ernst & Young LLP
1 More London Place
London SE1 2AF
Joint stockbrokers J.P. Morgan Cazenove
10 Aldermanbury
London EC2V 7RF
Telephone: 020 7325 1000
Fairfax I.S. PLC
46 Berkeley Square
Mayfair
London W1J 5AT
Telephone: 020 7598 5368