ProVen VCT plc

 

Annual Financial Report

Year ended 28 February 2018

 

Financial summary

 

Ordinary Shares as at:	28 February 2018 Pence	28 February 2017 Pence
Net asset value per share	99.7	106.3
Dividends paid since launch	36.0	26.5
Total return (net asset value plus dividends paid since launch)	135.7	132.8
Year on year change in:
Net asset value per share (adjusted for dividends paid in the year)	2.7%

 

Chairman's Statement

I am pleased to present the Annual Report for ProVen VCT plc (the "Company") for the year ended 28 February 2018. The Company has continued to identify a number of attractive investment opportunities, investing a total of £8.0 million in the year. It has also been a strong year for realisations, with APM Healthcare, Dianomi, MatsSoft and Third Bridge all being fully realised.

Results for the year

Predominately as a result of the dividends paid in the year, the Company's net asset value ("NAV") per share fell from 106.3p at 28 February 2017 to 99.7p at 28 February 2018. The 6.6p reduction comprised dividend payments of 9.5p, offset by 2.9p of uplift arising largely from positive valuation movements, resulting in an overall increase in Shareholder total return (NAV per share plus dividends) of 2.7%.

The total return on ordinary activities for the year was £2.9 million, or 3.0p per share (2017: £12.2 million, 12.7p per share), comprising a revenue loss of £585,000, or 0.6p per share, (2017: revenue return of £25,000, 0.0p per share) and a capital return of £3.5 million, or 3.6p per share (2017: £12.2 million, 12.7p per share).

Dividends

During the year ended 28 February 2018, the Company paid a final dividend of 2.5p per share in respect of the year ended 28 February 2017 on 14 July 2017. A special interim dividend of 7.0p per share was paid in respect of the year ended 28 February 2018 on 17 November 2017, following the successful realisations of APM Healthcare, MatsSoft and Third Bridge.

Your Board is proposing a final dividend for the year ended 28 February 2018 of 2.5p per share to be paid on 20 July 2018 to Shareholders on the register at 22 June 2018. With total tax-free dividends of 9.5p per share for the year ended 28 February 2018, your Board is pleased to report that the Company has been able to deliver a dividend yield of 8.9% on the opening NAV per share, which is comfortably above the target 5% yield.

Portfolio activity and valuation

The Company invested £4.2 million in four new portfolio companies and £3.5 million in seven existing portfolio companies during the year. In addition, shares in Netcall plc with a value of £0.3 million were received as part of the Company's disposal of MatsSoft.

It was a strong year for disposals with the full disposals of APM Healthcare, MatsSoft and Third Bridge all completed during the year. Aggregate proceeds of £9.3 million were generated from these three sales, which represented a gain against cost of £6.9 million and which contributed to the Company paying a special interim dividend in November 2017. In addition to these three disposals, the Company realised its holding in Dianomi in February 2018 at a multiple of over 3.3x cost and there were also further loan repayments during the year from Monmouth Holdings, Celoxica, Conversity and Skills Matter.

Overall, the investment portfolio increased in value by £2.8 million (2017: £9.4 million), or 2.8p per share (2017: 9.8p per share). Continued strong performance of Watchfinder, Monica Vinader and Chargemaster contributed significantly to this uplift but there were also valuation uplifts for Think, Chess Technologies and My 1st Years. These gains were partially offset by reductions in valuation for Blis Media, Disposable Cubicle Curtains and Perfect Channel. In addition, Maplin was fully written down following the company entering administration in February 2018.

Fundraising activities

In response to the continuing strong demand for VCT share issues, the Company launched a top-up offer on 20 October 2017, which raised gross proceeds of £3.8m, all of which were allotted during the year ended 28 February 2018.

Share buybacks

The Company has a policy of buying back shares that become available in the market at a discount of approximately 5% to the latest published net asset value, subject to the Company having sufficient liquidity. The Company retains Panmure Gordon to act as its corporate broker. Shareholders who are considering selling their shares may wish to contact Panmure Gordon, who will be able to provide details of the price at which the Company is buying shares.

During the year, the Company purchased 1,842,278 shares at an average price of 95.4p per share and for an aggregate consideration (net of costs) of £1,758,290. This represented 1.9% of the Company's issued share capital at the start of the year. All shares were subsequently cancelled.

A special resolution to allow the Board to continue to purchase shares for cancellation will be proposed at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting ("AGM").

Performance Fee

The Company's performance incentive arrangements are an important aid for the Investment Manager in recruiting and retaining talented investment professionals against competition from other investment management companies. The performance fee structure is designed to align the interests of the Investment Manager with those of Shareholders and encourages capital growth as well as significant payments to Shareholders by means of tax-free dividends, as determined by the Directors.

Based on the NAV per share before any performance fee accrual at 28 February 2018 and cumulative dividends paid up to this date, a maximum performance fee of £2.4 million is payable in relation to certain fundraisings for which the performance hurdles have been achieved. However, the performance fee structure contains certain restrictions to ensure that the hurdles continue to be met after the payment of a performance fee and to encourage the payment of tax-free dividends. After applying these restrictions, a performance fee of £1.1 million is payable to Beringea LLP at 28 February 2018. An accrual for this amount has been included within the accounts and is therefore reflected in the NAV per share.

The payment of a performance fee in future years and the amount thereof, if any, will be dependent on both the performance of the Company and the level of dividends paid to Shareholders, as determined by the Directors.

Proposed changes to the investment policy

A number of further changes to the VCT scheme in response to the consultation paper 'Financing growth in innovative firms' (the "Patient Capital Review") were announced as part of the Budget on 22 November 2017. These changes are aimed at ensuring that tax-advantaged schemes, such as VCTs, are focussed on long-term investments in higher risk companies that intend to grow and develop. The changes include increasing the proportion of funds raised that a VCT will need to invest in 'qualifying' companies, reducing the time to invest funds raised and removing the ability to take security for loans provided by the Company. Some of these changes came into effect from 15 March 2018, the date of Royal Assent of the Finance Act 2018, and others will take effect over the coming years.

Importantly, these changes will not affect the Company's overall objective of investing predominately in small and medium sized unquoted companies with excellent growth prospects and so the activities of the Company should be largely unaffected. However, in order to improve clarity for Shareholders, a further revision to the Company's investment policy is being recommended to align the investment policy with the revised rules. An Ordinary Resolution to change the Company's investment policy to remove the ability to make secured loans will therefore be proposed at the forthcoming AGM and your Board is recommending that Shareholders approve this resolution.

Board

On 10 May 2018, the Company announced my retirement from the Board after this year's AGM and the intention to appoint Neal Ransome as Chairman. I am happy to be handing over to Neal at a time when the portfolio is well placed to deliver future returns to Shareholders. It has always been stimulating to serve on the Board of the Company and a privilege to work with my fellow Directors, the Investment Manager and the board of ProVen Growth and Income VCT, as well as meeting Shareholders.

Neal joined the Board in October 2017 and brings with him a great deal of knowledge and experience. Neal is a chartered accountant and was a former Partner at PwC, where he was Chief Operating Officer of PwC's Advisory business and led its Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Corporate Finance practice. Neal is also a director of Octopus AIM VCT plc and Polar Capital Global Healthcare Trust plc.

I, and the Board, believe that Neal's experience makes him the ideal Chairman to oversee the Company over the coming years.

Annual General Meeting

The next AGM of the Company will be held in the Forest Room at The Hospital Club, 24 Endell Street, London, WC2H 9HQ at 9.30 a.m. on Wednesday 11 July 2018. 

Six items of special business will be proposed at the AGM.  There are two resolutions giving the Directors authority to allot shares and enable the Company to raise additional funds, if required, one resolution to amend the Company's investment policy and one resolution to allow the Company to continue to make share buy-backs. In addition, there is also one resolution proposed to cancel the amount standing to the credit of the Company's share premium account and one resolution proposed to cancel the amount standing to the credit of the Company's capital redemption reserve.

Shareholder event

The Company's annual shareholder event continues to be well received, providing Shareholders with an opportunity to meet with the Directors and members of the Investment Manager's team, as well as other Shareholders and portfolio companies. For your Board and Investment Manager it is an important opportunity to understand and discuss the views of the Company's Shareholders directly.

This year's event will take place on Tuesday 30 October 2018 at 10.00 a.m. at The Institution of Engineering and Technology, 2 Savoy Place, London, WC2R 0BL.

A formal invitation will be sent in due course and I would very much encourage Shareholders to attend.

Outlook

The Company has been able to take advantage of the strong level of merger and acquisition activity as well as a period of high prices, with the disposals of APM Healthcare, MatsSoft and Third Bridge all achieving valuations which resulted in significant gains for the Company. There are also a number of other companies in the portfolio that are nearing an exit, which could result in further excellent realised gains for the Company in the coming year.   

The changes to the VCT rules arising from the Patient Capital Review place further restrictions and requirements on the Company, however, as with the previous changes introduced over recent years, I believe the Company is well placed to deal with these effectively.

During the year, the Company's portfolio has started to be impacted by negative trends in certain sectors such as retail and ad-tech and there remains a risk of a wider economic downturn in 2018. In addition, the nature of the UK's withdrawal from the EU is still to be finalised and with less than a year until the official departure date, there remains a risk that the final deal agreed with the EU will adversely impact the Company's portfolio companies.

Nevertheless, I remain confident in the overall strength of the Company's portfolio, which is well diversified across over 40 portfolio companies in a range of sectors. I therefore feel confident that I leave the Company in a good position and wish the Shareholders, Directors and the Company a profitable future.

Andrew Davison

Chairman

 

Investment Manager's Review

Introduction

We have pleasure in presenting our annual review for the year ended 28 February 2018. During the year, a total of £4.2 million was invested in four new portfolio companies and £3.5 million in seven existing portfolio companies. In addition, shares in Netcall plc with an aggregate value of £0.3 million were received as part of the Company's disposal of MatsSoft.

The year also saw a number of disposals resulting in aggregate realisation proceeds of £12.6 million and realised gains against initial cost of £7.1 million.

At 28 February 2018, the Company's venture capital portfolio comprised over 40 investments at a cost of £59.5 million and a valuation of £73.8 million, an overall uplift of 24.0% on cost.

The net cash outflow for the year before fund raising was £8.2 million. The Company's cash balances were, however, partly replenished by net funds raised of £3.6 million. After the significant fundraisings undertaken in recent years, the Company continues to remain well capitalised to take advantage of new investment opportunities.

Investment activity

New investments

We continued to experience a strong level of deal flow, with £4.2 million being invested during the year in four new portfolio companies.

The largest new investment for the Company was the investment in MPB (£1.8 million), which was completed just ahead of the Company's year-end in February 2018. MPB is an online marketplace for second hand cameras and lenses, with a presence in both the UK and US. Shortly after the Company's investment, MPB was named in the Tech City's Future Fifty programme for 2018, which comprises 50 of the fastest growing companies in the technology sector.

The Company's initial investment in Smart Assistant (£1.0 million), a provider of interactive guided selling software that assists the online buying process, was discussed in the Company's half-yearly report. A further investment of £0.3 million, agreed as part of the initial closing, was completed in December 2017.

Other new investments were made in Been There Done That, a provider of a tech-enabled platform that develops brand media strategies (£553,000), and DeepCrawl, a leading web crawler and search marketing analytics company (£488,000).

Follow-on investments

The Company has also been active in supporting the development of existing portfolio companies, making follow-on investments in seven companies during the year.

The largest of the follow-on investments was in Thread (£1.2 million), with the investment being used to enable the company to continue its growth in the UK as well as funding an initial expansion to the US. This brings the Company's total investment in Thread to £2.6 million.

In May 2017, the Company invested £1.1 million in POQ. POQ has grown steadily since the Company's initial investment and the further investment is being used to expand the company's sales and marketing team and further develop the company's technology.

Further follow-on investments were made in HoneyComb.TV (£405,000), InContext (£387,000), Disposable Cubicle Curtains (£170,000), Perfect Channel (£150,000) and ContactEngine (£112,000).

Investment disposals

The Company achieved a number of successful realisations during the year with the full disposals of APM Healthcare, Dianomi, MatsSoft and Third Bridge generating a combined realised gain of £7.1 million on the original investment cost.

In July 2017, APM Healthcare's UK network of 18 pharmacies was acquired by Day Lewis Group, one of the largest independent pharmacy chains in the UK and Europe. The Company first invested in APM Healthcare in 2011 to support the company's expansion of its pharmacy network. Over the investment holding period, APM Healthcare delivered a total return, including loan stock interest, of 3x the initial investment cost.

Third Bridge, initially funded by the Company in 2012, was one of the Company's strongest performing companies over recent years, having been included in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 in both 2016 and 2017. In August 2017, IK Investment Partners, a pan-European private equity company, acquired a minority stake in Third Bridge, allowing the Company to realise its investment in full at multiple of over 5.7x cost and an annual rate of return of 46%.

In August 2017, MatsSoft was acquired by AIM-listed Netcall plc. The Company received cash proceeds of £2.2 million as well as shares in Netcall valued at £0.3 million. This resulted in a realised gain against cost of £1.4 million, or 2.4x cost. There is a potential future earn-out based on Netcall's share price over the next two years.

In February 2018, the Company realised its investment in Dianomi at a multiple of over 3.3x cost, as part of a transaction led by the Business Growth Fund.

During the year, the Company's remaining debt finance investment, Celoxica, was repaid in full. Over the holding period this investment has generated an attractive income stream in a low interest rate environment. Loan repayments were also received from Monmouth Holdings (£2.5 million), Skills Matter (£143,000) and Conversity (£94,000).

Key developments at existing portfolio companies

Watchfinder.co.uk continues to perform well, maintaining its strong growth trajectory which has seen the company grow its revenues by at least 40% per annum each year since the Company's initial investment. The valuation of the Company's investment in Watchfinder increased by a further £1.9 million over the course of the year and at the year-end represents an unrealised uplift of 3.9x the investment cost.

Chargemaster has benefited from the wider growth in the electric vehicle market as the Government announced plans to ban the sale of new diesel and petrol cars by 2040. The company has continued its expansion of the Polar Network, which allows members to charge their electric vehicles at charge points across the UK, and now has over 6,000 public charging points. Over the course of the year, the valuation of the Company's investment increased by £2.5 million.

Chess Technologies also had a strong year, increasing revenues by over 100% in 2017 predominately as a result of an increasing number of international orders. During the year, the valuation of the Company's investment increased by £2.2 million and it is now valued at 4.1x cost.

There have been some downward movements in the valuations in the portfolio, with valuation decreases for Blis Media, which was adversely impacted by the declining trend in advertising spend and Perfect Channel, due to a delay in converting a strong prospect pipeline into orders.

In addition, impacted by a depreciation in Sterling against the Euro as well as challenging market conditions on the high street, Maplin entered administration in February 2018. Over the course of the year, the valuation of the Company's investment decreased by £2.3 million, however, the investment had already been significantly reduced over the course of the year, so the full provision which was made when Maplin entered administration had minimal impact on the most recently announced net asset value of the Company.

Overall, the investment portfolio showed an increase in value of £2.8 million (2017: £9.4 million), or 2.8p per share (2017: 9.8p per share).

Post year-end developments

The Company made one new investment and three follow on investments after the year end totalling £7.5 million.

There were further investments in My 1st Years (£2.6 million), POQ Studio (£902,000) and Perfect Channel (£368,000).

In May 2018, the Company invested £3.6 million in Mycs, a Berlin based online retailer for customisable furniture. The investment will be used to expand the company's presence in Europe.

The Company realised its investments in Charterhouse Leisure and Conversity in May 2018. Both of these investments had been substantially written down at the year-end and the realisations completed at amounts slightly above their respective carrying values at 28 February 2018.

On 1 June 2018, Richemont Holdings UK Limited, a subsidiary of the Swiss luxury group Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA, agreed to acquire 100% of the share capital of Watchfinder. The transaction is subject to legal and regulatory approval and is expected to close in the summer of 2018.

Outlook

We continue to see a strong flow of interesting new investment opportunities, however, increased competition for deals means that we are still seeing inflated valuation expectations. We remain disciplined in our investment approach and have rejected a number of potential investments that we considered were overpriced.

The changes in VCT rules announced in November 2017 place further restrictions and requirements on the Company, however, as with earlier changes announced in 2015 and 2016, we believe that the Company is as well placed to deal with these as any of its competitors. We continue to be an active participant in the VCT Association, which maintains an open dialogue with HM Treasury in demonstrating the ongoing advantages of the VCT scheme. We are now hopeful of a period of regulatory stability to allow us to focus on achieving the Company's core objective of supporting growing UK companies in achieving their potential.

The existing portfolio continues to perform well, with several of the more recent investments such as My 1st Years and POQ making strong progress. There are also a number of new investments in the pipeline that we hope to complete over the coming months. The indications are that the strong exit environment from 2017/18 has continued into 2018/19 and there are several companies that could be realised during the year ending 28 February 2019, providing the opportunity to crystalise the unrealised valuation appreciation recognised on some of these investments.

Overall, therefore, we are optimistic about the prospects of the Company for the coming year.

Beringea LLP

 

Investment activity

Investment activity during the year is summarised as follows:

 

Additions	Cost £'000
MPB Group Limited	1,842
Smart Information Systems GmbH (t/a Smart Assistant)	1,309
Thread, Inc.	1,169
Poq Studio Limited	1,125
Been There Done That Global Limited	553
Written Byte Limted (t/a Deepcrawl)	488
Honeycomb.TV Limited	405
InContext Solutions, Inc.	387
Netcall plc*	287
Disposable Cubicle Curtains Limited	170
Perfect Channel Limited	150
ContactEngine Limited	112
Total	7,997

 

Disposals	Cost	Market value at 01/03/17	Disposal proceeds	Realised gain against cost	Realised gain during the year
	£'000	£000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Third Bridge Group Limited	949	3,767	5,459	4,510	1,692
Monmouth Holdings Limited**, ***	2,500	2,500	2,500	-	-
MatsSoft Limited*	1,010	1,474	2,454	1,444	980
APM Healthcare Limited	500	986	1,401	901	415
Dianomi Limited	105	213	352	247	139
Skills Matter Limited***	143	143	143	-	-
Celoxica Limited**	118	118	118	-	-
Conversity Limited***	86	-	94	8	94
MyOptique Group Limited	-	-	34	34	34
Isango! Limited	-	-	5	5	5
Total	5,411	9,201	12,560	7,149	3,359

* MatsSoft Limited was disposed of during the period. As part of the disposal, the Company received shares in Netcall plc valued at £287,000 on the date of the disposal. The Netcall plc shares are shown as an addition and as a disposal, as part of the MatsSoft Limited disposal proceeds, in the tables above.

** Loan note repayment

*** Partial disposal

Of the investments above, Isango! Limited and MyOptique Group Limited were realised in prior periods but proceeds were received in the current period in excess of the amounts previously accrued.

Investment Portfolio

as at 28 February 2018

The following investments were held at 28 February 2018:

	Cost	Valuation	Valuation movement in year	% of portfolio by value
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Venture capital investments (by value)
Watchfinder.co.uk Limited	2,629	10,228	1,853	10.0%
Chargemaster plc **	2,421	5,604	2,459	5.5%
Think Limited **	2,757	5,367	1,628	5.2%
Monica Vinader Limited **	534	4,689	1,010	4.6%
Poq Studio Limited	2,250	4,500	2,250	4.4%
Chess Technologies Limited	1,045	4,236	2,197	4.1%
Infinity Reliance Limited (t/a My 1st Years) *	2,155	3,974	1,819	3.9%
Rapid Charge Grid Limited	4,200	3,763	(84)	3.7%
Litchfield Media Limited *	3,580	3,479	90	3.4%
Thread, Inc.	2,646	2,804	157	2.7%
Whistle Sports, Inc.	2,090	2,324	234	2.3%
Cogora Group Limited	2,643	2,293	(678)	2.2%
InContext Solutions, Inc. **	2,363	2,171	244	2.2%
MPB Group Limited	1,842	1,842	-	1.8%
Response Tap Limited **	1,060	1,577	517	1.5%
Disposable Cubicle Curtains Limited	2,201	1,576	(1,218)	1.5%
Blis Media Limited **	841	1,471	(2,073)	1.4%
Donatantonio Group Limited	1,078	1,406	(520)	1.4%
Smart Information Systems GmbH (t/a Smart Assistant)	1,309	1,309	-	1.3%
Monmouth Holdings Limited *, ***	1,500	1,309	-	1.3%
ContactEngine Limited	562	1,175	613	1.1%
Honeycomb.TV Limited	900	900	-	0.9%
D30 Holdings Ltd **	956	804	42	0.8%
Firefly Learning Limited	758	758	-	0.7%
Sealskinz Holdings Limited **	834	727	(127)	0.7%
Perfect Channel Limited	3,159	562	(4,248)	0.5%
Been There Done That Global Limited	553	553	-	0.5%
SPC International Limited *	58	530	39	0.5%
Written Byte Ltd (t/a DeepCrawl)	488	488	-	0.5%
Simplestream Limited **	191	358	88	0.3%
TVPlayer Limited	230	292	(7)	0.3%
Netcall plc	287	213	(74)	0.2%
Senselogix Limited	986	186	41	0.2%
Inskin Media Limited	365	183	(183)	0.2%
	51,471	73,651	6,069	71.8%
Other venture capital investments	8,051	189	(3,241)	0.2%
Total venture capital investments	59,522	73,840	2,828	72.0%
Cash at bank and in hand		28,671		28.0%
Total investments		102,511

 

Other venture capital investments at 28 February 2018 comprise:

7Digital Group plc**, Buckingham Gate Financial Services Limited, Charterhouse Leisure Limited**, Conversity Limited, Lantum Limited (formerly Network Locum Limited ), Macklin Holdings Limited***, MEL Topco Limited (t/a Maplin Electronics)*, Skills Matter Limited**, Steribottle Global Limited*, Utility Exchange Online Limited (t/a SwitchmyBusiness.com) and Vigilant Applications Limited*.

*   Non qualifying investment   

** Partially non qualifying investment

*** Investee company 100% owned by the Company but not consolidated as held exclusively for resale as part of an investment portfolio.

With the exception of 7digital Group plc and Netcall plc which are quoted on AIM, all venture capital investments are unquoted.

All of the above investments, with the exception of Macklin Holdings Limited, Monmouth Holdings Limited, SPC International Limited and Think Limited were also held by ProVen Growth & Income VCT plc, of which Beringea LLP is the Investment Manager.

Blis Media Limited is also held by ProVen Planned Exit VCT plc, of which Beringea LLP was the Investment Manager until 31 March 2016 when ProVen Planned Exit VCT plc was placed into Members Voluntary Liquidation. The liquidator has agreed that Beringea LLP will continue to manage the investment in Blis Media Limited on behalf of ProVen Planned Exit VCT plc until it is sold.

All venture capital investments are registered in England and Wales except for InContext Solutions, Inc., Whistle Sports, Inc. and Thread, Inc., which are Delaware registered corporations in the United States of America and Smart Information Systems GmbH, which is registered in Austria.

Strategic Report

The Directors present the Strategic Report for the year ended 28 February 2018. The Board prepared this report in accordance with the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors' Reports) Regulations 2013.

Principal objectives and strategy

The Company's investment objective is to achieve long-term returns greater than those available from investing

in a portfolio of quoted companies, by investing in:

• a portfolio of carefully selected qualifying investments in small and medium sized unquoted companies

with excellent growth prospects; and

• a portfolio of non-qualifying investments permitted for liquidity management purposes

within the conditions imposed on all VCTs and to minimise the risk of each investment and the portfolio as a

whole.

The Company has been approved by HM Revenue and Customs ("HMRC") as a Venture Capital Trust in accordance with Part 6 of the Income Tax Act 2007, and in the opinion of the Directors the Company has conducted its affairs so as to enable it to continue to maintain approval. Approval for the year ended 28 February 2018 is subject to review should there be any subsequent enquiry under corporation tax self-assessment.

The Directors consider that the Company was not, at any time, up to the date of this report, a close company within the meaning of Section 414 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988.

Business model

The business acts as an investment company, investing in a portfolio of carefully selected smaller companies. The Company operates as a Venture Capital Trust to ensure that its shareholders can benefit from tax reliefs available and has outsourced the portfolio management and administration duties.

Business review and developments

The Company began the year with £72.2 million of venture capital investments and ended with £73.8 million spread over a portfolio of 45 companies. 37 of these investments with a value of £64.8 million were VCT qualifying (or part qualifying).

The profit on ordinary activities after taxation for the year was £2.9 million, comprising a revenue loss of £0.6 million and a capital profit of £3.5 million. The Ongoing Charges ratio (excluding performance fees and recoverable VAT) in respect of the year ended 28 February 2018, based on average net assets during the year, was 2.6% (2017: 2.5%).

The Company's business review and developments during the year are reviewed further within the Chairman's Statement and Investment Manager's Review.

Investment policy

The Board is recommending a revised Investment Policy to Shareholders to take account of the new VCT rules introduced by the Finance Act 2018. The text of the proposed wording is shown below. An explanation of the changes is set out in the Chairman's Statement. The Listing Rules of the UK Listing Authority require the changes to be approved by Shareholders and an Ordinary Resolution to approve the changes will be proposed at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Listing Rules

In accordance with the Listing Rules:

1. the Company may not invest more than 10%, in aggregate, of the value of the total assets of the Company at the time an investment is made in other listed closed-ended investment funds except listed closed-ended investment funds which have published investment policies which permit them to invest no more than 15% of their total assets in other listed closed-ended investment funds;
2. the Company must not conduct any trading activity which is significant in the context of the Company; and
3. the Company must, at all times, invest and manage its assets in a way which is consistent with its objective of spreading investment risk and in accordance with its published investment policy set out in this announcement. This investment policy is in line with Chapter 15 of the Listing Rules and Part 6 Income Tax Act 2007.

Venture capital trust regulations

The Company has engaged Philip Hare & Associates LLP to advise it on compliance with VCT requirements, including evaluation of investment opportunities as appropriate and regular review of the portfolio.  Although Philip Hare & Associates LLP works closely with the Investment Manager, they report directly to the Board.

 

Compliance with the main VCT regulations as at 28 February 2018 and for the year then ended is summarised as follows:

 

Borrowings

The Company has the ability to borrow a maximum amount equal to the nominal capital of the Company and its distributable and undistributable reserves, which, at 28 February 2018, was equal to £101.5 million (2017: £104.7 million).  There are no plans to utilise this facility at the current time.

Investment management and administration fees

Beringea LLP ("Beringea" or the "Investment Manager") provides investment management services to the Company for an annual fee of 2.0% of the net assets per annum. Beringea is also entitled to receive performance incentive fees as described below. The investment management agreement is terminable by either party at any time by one year's prior written notice.  The total fees relating to this service amounted to £3,137,000 (2017: £2,420,000), comprising a management fee of £2,013,000 (2017: £1,994,000) and performance incentive fees as described below of £1,124,000 (2017: £426,000). At the year end, an amount of £1,279,000 (2017: £918,000) was outstanding.

The Board is satisfied with Beringea's approach and procedures in providing investment management services to the Company.  The Directors have therefore concluded that the continuing appointment of Beringea as investment manager remains in the best interests of Shareholders. 

Throughout the year ended 28 February 2018 Beringea also provided administration services to the Company. In the year, total administration fees amount to £59,000 (2017: £57,000). An amount of £15,000 (2017: £14,000) remained outstanding at the year end.

The annual running costs (excluding any performance fees payable) of the Company are subject to a cap of 3.25% of the Company's net assets at the end of the year. Any running costs in excess of this are borne by Beringea.

Beringea also received arrangement fees in respect of investments made by the Company and other VCTs managed by Beringea totalling £256,000 (2017: £278,000) and monitoring fees of £675,000 (2017: £700,000). These fees are payable by the investee companies into which the Company invests and are not a direct liability or expense of the Company.

Performance incentive fees

As reported in last year's Annual Report, the Company's performance incentive arrangements were amended such that from the year ended 28 February 2017, the performance targets and restrictions approved by Shareholders in 2012 and originally applied to the Ordinary Shares as a whole are now applied to each major fundraising (a "Respective Offer").

Under the performance fee arrangements, the Investment Manager is entitled to receive a performance incentive fee in relation to each Respective Offer if, at the end of a financial year, the relevant Respective Offer Performance Value exceeds the relevant Respective Offer Hurdle.  In this event the performance incentive fee per Respective Offer Share will be equal to 20 per cent of the amount by which each such Respective Offer Performance Value exceeds the relevant Respective Offer Initial Net Asset Value per Share, less the aggregate amount of any performance incentive fee per Respective Offer Share already paid in respect of that Respective Offer in relation to previous financial years starting after 29 February 2012 (which shall not include Residual PIF).

The Respective Offer Performance Value in respect of the relevant financial year end is the sum of (i) the audited net asset value per Ordinary Share or Equivalent Ordinary Share for a Respective Offer at that date, (ii) Respective Offer Cumulative Dividends, (iii) all performance fees per Ordinary Share or Equivalent Ordinary Share paid by the shareholders of the Respective Offer in relation to financial years starting after 29 February 2012, and (iv) any Residual PIF Adjustment where relating to that Respective Offer (whether relating to that or any previous financial year).

If at the end of a financial year, the relevant Respective Offer Performance Value is less than or equal to the Respective Offer Hurdle, no performance fee will be payable on such Respective Offers in respect of that financial year.

The performance fee per Respective Offer Share payable for a financial year will be reduced, if necessary, to ensure that i) the cumulative performance fee per Respective Offer Share payable to the Investment Manager in respect of a Respective Offer does not exceed 20 per cent. of the relevant Respective Offer Cumulative Dividends; and ii) the audited net asset value per Ordinary Share or Equivalent Ordinary Share at the relevant financial year end plus the relevant Respective Offer Cumulative Dividends plus any Residual PIF Adjustment relating to that Respective Offer is at least equal to the relevant Respective Offer Hurdle.

Performance fees for the year ended 28 February 2018 amounted to £1,124,000 (2017: £426,000), of which £1,124,000 (2017: £426,000) was outstanding at the year-end.

Directors and senior management

The Company had five non-executive Directors at the year end, four of whom are male and one of whom is female. The Company has no employees and the same was true of the previous year.

Key performance indicators

At each Board meeting, the Directors consider a number of performance measures to assess the Company's success in meeting its objectives (as shown above). The Board believes the Company's key performance indicators are Net Asset Value total return (NAV plus cumulative dividends paid to date) and dividends per share.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The principal financial risks faced by the Company, which include market price risk, interest rate risk, credit risk and liquidity risk (being minimal), are summarised in note 4 of this announcement. 

In addition to these risks, the Company, as a fully listed Company on the London Stock Exchange and as a Venture Capital Trust, operates in a complex regulatory environment and, therefore, also faces a number of non-financial principal risks.  A breach of the VCT Regulations could result in the loss of VCT status, the loss of tax reliefs currently available to Shareholders and the Company being subject to capital gains tax.  Serious breaches of other regulations, such as the Listing Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority and the Companies Act 2006, could lead to suspension from the Stock Exchange and damage to the Company's reputation.

The Board reviews and agrees policies for managing each of these risks. The Directors receive reports annually from the Investment Manager on the compliance of systems to manage these risks, and place reliance on the Investment Manager to give updates in the intervening periods. These policies have remained unchanged since the beginning of the financial year.

Viability statement

The Board has assessed the Company's prospects over the three year period to 28 February 2021. It is not considered appropriate or meaningful to look forward for a period of more than three years.

In order to support this statement, the Board has carried out a robust assessment of the principal risks faced by the Company, as detailed above, and considered the availability of mitigating factors.

The Board consider that the primary risk faced by the Company is compliance with the VCT rules and although there are a number of mitigating factors such as a robust deal identification and diligence process, an experienced investment team and consultation with the Company's VCT status adviser to ensure that investments made comply with the VCT rules, these factors cannot mitigate the risk that insufficient qualifying investments are identified to ensure ongoing compliance with the VCT rules.

Accordingly, the amount required to invest in qualifying holdings to maintain compliance with the VCT rules was a major consideration in the Board's analysis. Together with the expected liabilities of the Company for the three years to 28 February 2021, the Board considered the forecast cash requirements against the expected cash position, taking into account a level of assumed investment realisations and investment income during the period.

Based on the above considerations, the Board has determined that the Company will be able to continue in operation, maintain compliance with the VCT rules and meet its liabilities as they fall due for the three years to 28 February 2021.

Directors' remuneration

It is a requirement under Companies Act 2006 for shareholders to approve the Directors' remuneration policy every three years, or sooner if the Company wishes to make changes to the policy. No changes are being proposed to the Directors' remuneration policy, however, as the policy was last approved at the Annual General Meeting of the Company on 22 July 2015, an ordinary resolution will be proposed at the Company's Annual General Meeting to approve the Directors' remuneration policy.

Greenhouse emissions

Whilst as a UK quoted company the VCT is required to report on its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions, as it outsources all of its activities and does not have any physical assets, property, employees or operations, it is not responsible for any direct emissions.

Environmental, social and human rights policy

The Board seeks to conduct the Company's affairs responsibly. Where appropriate, the Board and Investment Manager take environmental, social and human rights factors into consideration.

Future prospects

The Company's future prospects are set out in the Chairman's Statement and Investment Manager's Review.

The Directors do not foresee any major changes in the activity undertaken by the Company in the coming year. The Company continues with its objective to invest in unquoted companies throughout the United Kingdom or with a presence in the United Kingdom, with a view to providing both capital growth and dividend income to Shareholders over the long term whilst maintaining VCT qualifying status.

By order of the Board

Beringea LLP

Company Secretary of ProVen VCT plc

 

Directors' responsibilities

The Board considers that the Annual Report and Accounts, taken as a whole, are fair, balanced and understandable and that they provide the information necessary for Shareholders to assess the Company's performance, business model and strategy.

The Directors are responsible for preparing the Directors' Report, the Directors' Remuneration Report, Strategic Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations. They are also responsible for ensuring that the Annual Report and Accounts includes information required by the Listing Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority.

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 judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
• state whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Company will continue in business

The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Company's transactions, to disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the requirements of 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. 

Directors' responsibilities pursuant to the Disclosure and Transparency Rule 4

Each of the Directors confirms that to the best of each person's knowledge:

• the financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the Company; and
   
• the Directors' Report, Chairman's Statement, Strategic Report, Investment Manager's Review and Review of Investments include 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.

Statement as to disclosure of information to the Auditor

The Directors in office at the date of this announcement have confirmed, as far as they are aware, that there is no relevant audit information of which the Auditor is unaware. Each of the Directors have confirmed that they have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as Directors in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that it has been communicated to the Auditor. This confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of section 418 of the Companies Act 2006.

 

Income Statement

for the year ended 28 February 2018

 

		Year ended 28 February 2018			Year ended 28 February 2017
		Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total
		£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Income		528	-	528	949	-	949
Realised gains on investments		-	3,359	3,359	-	4,715	4,715
Unrealised gains on investments		-	2,828	2,828	-	9,419	9,419
		528	6,187	6,715	949	14,134	15,083
Investment management fees		(503)	(1,510)	(2,013)	(499)	(1,495)	(1,994)
Performance incentive fees		-	(1,124)	(1,124)	-	(426)	(426)
Other expenses		(610)	(28)	(638)	(425)	(11)	(436)
(Loss)/ return on ordinary activities before tax		(585)	3,525	2,940	25	12,202	12,227
Tax on ordinary activities		-	-	-	-	-	-
(Loss)/ return attributable to equity shareholders		(585)	3,525	2,940	25	12,202	12,227
Basic and diluted (loss)/ return per share		(0.6p)	3.6p	3.0p	0.0p	12.7p	12.7p

All revenue and capital movements in the year relate to continuing operations. No operations were acquired or discontinued during the year.  The total column within the Income Statement represents the Income Statement of the Company, prepared in accordance with the accounting policies detailed in note 1 to this announcement. The supplementary revenue and capital columns are presented for information purposes in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice issued by the Association of Investment Companies.

A Statement of Comprehensive Income has not been prepared as all gains and losses are recognised in the Income Statement in the current and prior year as shown.

Other than revaluation movements arising on investments held at fair value through profit or loss, there were no differences between the return as stated above and at historical cost.

 

Statement of Changes in Equity

for the year ended 28 February 2018

 

Year ended 28 February 2018

 

 

Year ended 28 February 2017

 

The special reserve, capital reserve - realised and revenue reserve are all distributable reserves. Reserves available for distribution therefore amount to £15,044,000 (2017: £26,649,000).

During the year the Company repurchased 1,842,278 shares (2017: 664,369) with a nominal value of £184,000 (2017: £66,000). All shares were subsequently cancelled.

The composition of each of these reserves is explained below:

Called up share capital - The nominal value of shares issued, increased for subsequent share issues either via an offer for subscription or the Company's dividend reinvestment scheme, or reduced due to shares bought back by the Company for cancellation.

Capital redemption reserve - The nominal value of shares bought back and cancelled.

Special reserve - A distributable reserve which is used to fund shares bought back by the Company for cancellation and share issue costs on shares issued under an Offer for Subscription. Dividends that are classified as capital may be paid from this reserve.

Share premium reserve - This reserve contains the excess of gross proceeds over the nominal value of shares allotted under offers for subscription and the Company's dividend reinvestment scheme, to the extent that it has not been cancelled.

Share capital to be issued - This reserve contains the amount that has been raised under open offers for subscription, but which at the relevant period end had not been allotted.

Revaluation reserve - Increases and decreases in the valuation of investments held at the year-end are accounted for in this reserve, except to the extent that the diminution is deemed permanent.

In accordance with stating all investments at fair value through profit and loss, all such movements through both revaluation and capital reserve - realised are shown within the Income Statement for the year.

Capital reserve - realised - The following are accounted for in this reserve:

• Gains and losses on realisation of investments;
• Permanent diminution in value of investments;
• Transaction costs incurred in the acquisition of investments;
• 75% of the investment manager's fee expense and 100% of any performance incentive fee payable; and
• Other capital expenses and charges.

Dividends that are classified as capital may be paid from this reserve.

Revenue reserve - Income and expenses that are revenue in nature are accounted for in this reserve together with the related tax effect, as well as dividends paid that are classified as revenue in nature.

Statement of Financial Position

as at 28 February 2018

 

		28 February 2018	28 February 2017
		Total	Total
		£'000	£'000
Fixed assets
Investments		73,840	72,216
Current assets
Debtors		574	592
Cash at bank and in hand		28,671	33,210
		29,245	33,802
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year		(1,554)	(1,279)
Net current assets		27,691	32,523
Total assets less current liabilities		101,531	104,739
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital		10,187	9,856
Capital redemption reserve		3,837	3,653
Special reserve		5,469	16,666
Share premium reserve		52,786	48,252
Share capital to be issued		-	-
Revaluation reserve		19,677	16,329
Capital reserve - realised		10,583	10,406
Revenue reserve		(1,008)	(423)
Total equity shareholders' funds		101,531	104,739
Basic and diluted net asset value per share		99.7p	106.3p

 

Statement of Cash Flows

for the year ended 28 February 2018

 

		Year ended 28 February 2018	Year ended 28 February 2017
		Total	Total
		£'000	£'000
Net cash used in operating activities		(2,944)	(4,140)
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of investments		(7,710)	(10,181)
Sale of investments		12,239	13,874
Net cash from investing activities		4,529	3,693
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from share issues		3,757	33,767
Share issue costs		(129)	(1,063)
Purchase of own shares		(1,742)	(710)
Share capital to be issued		-	(20,576)
Equity dividends paid		(8,010)	(5,516)
Net cash (used in)/ from financing		(6,124)	5,902
(Decrease)/ increase in cash and cash equivalents		(4,539)	5,455

'Net cash used in operating activities' includes interest received of £472,000 (2017: £579,000) and dividends received of £88,000 (2017: £nil). No interest was paid during the period.

 

Notes to the Announcement

for the year ended 28 February 2018

1. Accounting policies

Basis of accounting

The Company has prepared its financial statements under Financial Reporting Standard 102 ("FRS102") and in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice 'Financial Statements of Investment Trust Companies and Venture Capital Trusts' (the "SORP") issued by the Association of Investment Companies ("AIC"), which was revised in January 2017.

The financial statements are prepared under the historical cost convention except for the revaluation of certain financial instruments measured at fair value.

The following accounting policies have been applied consistently throughout the period.

Going concern

The Directors have, at the time of approving the financial statements, a reasonable expectation that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus they continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

Presentation of Income Statement

In order to better reflect the activities of an investment company and, in accordance with guidance issued by the AIC, supplementary information which analyses the Income Statement between items of a revenue and capital nature has been presented alongside the Income Statement. The revenue return attributable to equity shareholders is the measure the Directors believe appropriate in assessing the Company's compliance with certain requirements set out in Part 6 of the Income Tax Act 2007

Investments

Investments, including equity and loan stock, are recognised at their trade date and measured at "fair value through profit or loss" due to investments being managed and performance evaluated on a fair value basis.   A financial asset is designated within this category if it is both acquired and managed, with a view to selling after a period of time, in accordance with the Company's documented investment policy.  The fair value of an investment upon acquisition is deemed to be cost.  Thereafter investments are measured at fair value in accordance with International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines ("IPEV Guidelines") issued in December 2015, together with sections 11 and 12 of FRS102.

Publicly traded investments are measured using bid prices in accordance with the IPEV Guidelines.

Key judgements and estimates

The valuation methodologies used by the Directors for estimating the fair value of unquoted investments are as follows:

·          investments are usually retained at cost for twelve months following investment, except where a company's performance against plan is significantly below the expectations on which the investment was made in which case a provision against cost is made as appropriate;

·          where a company is in the early stage of development it will normally continue to be held at cost as the best estimate of fair value, reviewed for impairment on the basis described above;

·          where a company is well established after an appropriate period, the investment may be valued by applying a suitable earnings or revenue multiple to that company's maintainable earnings or revenue.  The multiple used is based on comparable listed companies or a sector but discounted to reflect factors such as the different sizes of the comparable businesses, different growth rates and the lack of marketability of unquoted shares;

·          where a value is indicated by a material arms-length transaction by a third party in the shares of the company, the valuation will normally be based on this, reviewed for impairment as appropriate;

·          where alternative methods of valuation, such as net assets of the business or the discounted cash flows arising from the business are more appropriate, then such methods may be used; and

·          where repayment of the equity is not probable, redemption premiums will be recognised.

The methodology applied takes account of the nature, facts and circumstances of the individual investment and uses reasonable data, market inputs, assumptions and estimates in order to ascertain fair value.  Methodologies are applied consistently from year to year except where a change results in a better estimate of fair value.

Where an investee company has gone into receivership or liquidation, or the loss in value below cost is considered to be permanent, or there is little likelihood of a recovery from a company in administration, the loss on the investment, although not physically disposed of, is treated as being realised 

All investee companies are held as part of an investment portfolio and measured at fair value. Therefore, it is not the policy for investee companies to be consolidated and any gains or losses arising from changes in fair value are included in the Income Statement for the period as a capital item.

Gains and losses arising from changes in fair value are included in the Income Statement for the year as a capital item and transaction costs on acquisition or disposal of the investment are expensed.

Investments are derecognised when the contractual rights to the cash flows from the asset expire or the Company transfers the asset and substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership of the asset to another entity.

Fair value

Fair value is defined as the amount for which an asset could be exchanged between knowledgeable, willing parties in an arm's length transaction. The Company has categorised its financial instruments that are measured subsequent to initial recognition at fair value, using the fair value hierarchy as follows:

Level 1: The unadjusted quoted price in an active market for identical assets or liabilities that the entity can access at the measurement date.

Level 2: Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable (i.e., developed using market data) for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly.

Level 3: Inputs are unobservable (i.e., for which market data is unavailable) for the asset or liability.

Income

Dividend income from investments is recognised when the shareholders' rights to receive payment has been established, normally the ex-dividend date.

Interest income is accrued on a time basis, by reference to the principal outstanding and at the effective interest rate applicable and only where there is reasonable certainty of collection in the foreseeable future. Income which is not capable of being received within a reasonable period of time is reflected in the capital value of the investments. A provision is made for any fixed income not expected to be received.

Expenses

All expenses are accounted for on an accruals basis. In respect of the analysis between revenue and capital items presented within the Income Statement, all expenses have been presented as revenue items except as follows:

• expenses which are incidental to the acquisition of an investment are deducted from the Capital Account;
• expenses which are incidental to the disposal of an investment are deducted from the disposal proceeds of the investment;
• expenses are split and presented partly as capital items where a connection with the maintenance or enhancement of the value of the investments held can be demonstrated.  Accordingly, the investment management fee has been allocated 25% to revenue and 75% to capital in order to reflect the Directors' expected long-term view of the nature of the investment returns of the Company; and
• performance incentive fees are treated as a capital item.

Taxation

The tax effects of different items in the Income Statement are allocated between capital and revenue on the same basis as the particular item to which they relate using the Company's effective rate of tax for the accounting period.

Due to the Company's status as a venture capital trust and the continued intention to meet the conditions required to comply with Part 6 of the Income Tax Act 2007, no provision for taxation is required in respect of any realised or unrealised appreciation of the Company's investments.

Deferred taxation, which is not discounted, is provided in full on timing differences that result in an obligation at the balance sheet date to pay more tax, or a right to pay less tax, at a future date, at rates expected to apply when they crystallise based on current tax rates and law.

Timing differences arise from the inclusion of items of income and expenditure in taxation computations in periods different from those in which they are included in the financial statements. Deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is regarded as more likely than not that they will be recovered.

Share issue costs

Expenses in relation to share issues are deducted from the Special Reserve.

2. Basic and diluted return per share

	Year ended 28 February 2018	Year ended 28 February 2017
Revenue (loss)/ return per share based on:
Net (loss)/ revenue after taxation (£'000)	(585)	25
Weighted average number of shares in issue	99,268,215	96,579,861
Pence per share	(0.6)	0.0
Capital return per share based on:
Net capital gain for the financial year (£'000)	3,525	12,202
Weighted average number of shares in issue	99,268,215	96,579,861
Pence per share	3.6	12.7
Total return per share based on:
Total return for the financial year (£'000)	2,940	12,227
Weighted average number of shares in issue	99,268,215	96,579,861
Pence per share	3.0	12.7

                                         

As the Company has not issued any convertible securities or share options, there is no dilutive effect on return per share. The return per share disclosed therefore represents both basic and diluted return per share.

3.         Basic and diluted net asset value per share

			2018				2017
	Shares in Issue		Net asset value				Net asset value
	2018	2017		pence per share		£'000		pence per share		£'000
Ordinary Shares	101,874,597	98,562,973		99.7p		101,531		106.3		104,739

As the Company has not issued any convertible securities or share options, there is no dilutive effect on net asset value per share.  The net asset value per share disclosed therefore represents both basic and diluted net asset value per share.

 

4.         Principal risks and management objectives

The Company's investment activities expose the Company to a number of risks associated with financial instruments and the sectors in which the Company invests.  The principal financial risks arising from the Company's operations are:

• Market risks;
• Credit risk; and
• Liquidity risk.

The Board regularly reviews these risks and the policies in place for managing them.  There have been no significant changes to the nature of the risks that the Company is exposed to over the year and there have also been no significant changes to the policies for managing those risks during the year. The risk management policies used by the Company in respect of the principal financial risks and a review of the financial instruments held at the year-end are provided below:

Market risks

As a VCT, the Company is exposed to market risks in the form of potential losses and gains that may arise on the investments it holds. The management of these market risks is a fundamental part of investment activities undertaken by the Investment Manager and overseen by the Board. The Investment Manager monitors investments through regular contact with the management of investee companies, regular review of management accounts and other financial information and attendance at investee company board meetings.  This enables the Investment Manager to manage the investment risk in respect of individual investments. Market risk is also mitigated by holding a portfolio diversified across several business sectors and asset classes.

The key market risks to which the Company is exposed are:

• Market price risk; and
• Interest rate risk.

Market price risk

Market price risk arises from uncertainty about the future prices and valuations of financial instruments held in accordance with the Company's investment objectives.  It represents the potential loss that the Company might suffer through market price movements in respect of quoted investments and also changes in the fair value of unquoted investments that it holds.

At 28 February 2018, the AIM-quoted portfolio was valued at £234,000 (2017: £33,000).

The Company's sensitivity to fluctuations in the share prices of its AIM-quoted investments is summarised below.  A 10% movement in the share price of all of the AIM-quoted investments held by the Company would have an effect as follows:

10% movement in AIM-quoted investments			2018			2017
	Impact on net assets		Impact on NAV per share	Impact on net assets		Impact on NAV per share
	£'000		pence	£'000		Pence
AIM-quoted investments	23		0.0p	3		0.0

At 28 February 2018, the unquoted portfolio was valued at £73,606,000 (2017: £72,183,000).

As many of the Company's unquoted investments are valued using revenue or earnings multiples of comparable companies or sectors, a fall in share prices generally would impact on the valuation of the unquoted portfolio. A 10% movement in the valuations of all of the unquoted investments held by the Company would have an effect as follows:

10% movement in unquoted investment valuations			2018			2017
	Impact on net assets		Impact on NAV per share	Impact on net assets		Impact on NAV per share
	£'000		Pence	£'000		Pence
Unquoted investments	7,361		7.2p	7,218		7.3p

The sensitivity analysis for unquoted valuations above assumes that each of the sub-categories of financial instruments (ordinary shares, preference shares and loan stocks) held by the Company produces an overall movement of 10%. Shareholders should note that equal correlation between these sub-categories is unlikely to be the case in reality, particularly in the case of loan stock instruments. Where share prices are falling, the equity instrument could fall in value before the loan stock instrument. It is not considered practical to assess the sensitivity of the loan stock instruments to market price risk in isolation.

Interest rate risk

The Company is exposed to interest rate risk on floating-rate financial assets through the effect of changes in prevailing interest rates.  The Company receives interest on its cash deposits at a rate agreed with its bankers. Investments in loan stock attract interest predominately at fixed rates.  A summary of the interest rate profile of the Company's financial instruments is shown below.

There are three categories in respect of interest which are attributable to the financial instruments held by the Company as follows: 

• "Fixed rate" assets represent investments with predetermined yield targets and comprise certain loan note investments.
•  "Floating rate" assets predominantly bear interest at rates linked to Bank of England base rate or LIBOR and comprise cash at bank and certain loan note investments.
• "No interest rate" assets do not attract interest and comprise equity investments, certain loan note investments, loans and receivables (excluding cash at bank) and other financial liabilities.

	Average	Average period	2018	2017
	interest rate	until maturity	£'000	£'000
Fixed rate	6.3%	747 days	13,791	20,867
Floating rate	0.5%	12 days	29,620	34,159
No interest rate			58,120	49,713
			101,531	104,739

 

The Company monitors the level of income received from fixed, floating and non-interest bearing assets and, if appropriate, may make adjustments to the allocation between the categories, in particular, should this be required to ensure compliance with the VCT regulations 

Based on the assumption that the yield of all floating rate financial instruments would change by an amount equal to the movement in prevailing interest rates, it is estimated that an increase of 1% in interest rates would have increased total return before taxation for the year by £296,000 (2017: £342,000). Given the low level of interest rates through the year, a further decrease is not considered likely.

Credit risk

Credit risk is the risk that a counterparty to a financial instrument is unable to discharge a commitment to the Company made under that instrument. The Company is exposed to credit risk through its holdings of loan stock in investee companies, investments in cash deposits and debtors.  Credit risk relating to loan stock investee companies is considered to be part of market risk.

The Company's exposure to credit risk is summarised as follows:

	2018	2017
	£'000	£'000
Investments in loan stocks	14,741	21,815
Cash and cash equivalents	28,671	33,210
Interest, dividends and other receivables	480	534
	43,892	55,559

The Investment Manager manages credit risk in respect of loan stock with a similar approach as described under Investment risks above. In addition, the credit risk is partially mitigated by registering floating charges over the assets of certain investee companies. The strength of this security in each case is dependent on the nature of the investee company's business and its identifiable assets. The level of security is a key means of managing credit risk. Similarly, the management of credit risk associated with interest, dividends and other receivables is covered within the investment management procedures.

Cash is mainly held by the Royal Bank of Scotland plc, rated BBB- and BBB+ by both Standard and Poor's and Fitch, respectively, and is also ultimately part-owned by the UK Government.  Consequently, the Directors consider that the risk profile associated with cash deposits is low. 

There have been no changes in fair value during the year that are directly attributable to changes in credit risk.

Liquidity risk

Liquidity risk is the risk that the Company encounters difficulties in meeting obligations associated with its financial liabilities. Liquidity risk may also arise from either the inability to sell financial instruments when required at their fair values or from the inability to generate cash inflows as required. The Company generally maintains a relatively low level of creditors relative to cash balances (£1.6 million relative to cash balances of £28.7 million at 28 February 2018) and has no borrowings. 

The Company always holds sufficient levels of funds as cash in order to meet expenses and other cash outflows as required.  For these reasons, the Board believes that the Company's exposure to liquidity risk is minimal.

The Company's liquidity risk is managed by the Investment Manager in line with guidance agreed with the Board and is reviewed by the Board at regular intervals.

Although the Company's investments are not held to meet the Company's liquidity requirements, the table below shows an analysis of the loan stock, highlighting the length of time that it could take the Company to realise its loan stock assets if it were required to do so.

The carrying value of loan stock investments (as opposed to the contractual cash flows) held at 28 February 2018, which is analysed by expected maturity date, is as follows:

As at 28 February 2018	Not later	Between	Between	Between	More
	than 1	1 and 2	2 and 3	3 and 5	than 5
	Year	Years	Years	years	years	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Fully performing loan stock	3,789	813	9,115	-	-	13,717
Past due loan stock	-	-	-	1,024	-	1,024
	3,789	813	9,115	1,024	-	14,741
As at 28 February 2017
Fully performing loan stock	2,141	2,447	3,835	12,167	-	20,590
Past due loan stock	201	-	1,024	-	-	1,225
	2,342	2,447	4,859	12,167	-	21,815

 

Of the loan stock classified as "past due" above, the full amount relates to the principal of loan notes where the principal has passed its maturity date.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair value measurements recognised in the balance sheet

Investments are valued at fair value as determined using the measurement policies described in note 1. The carrying value of financial assets and financial liabilities recorded at amortised cost, which includes short term debtors and creditors, is considered by the Directors to be equivalent to their fair value.

The Company has categorised its financial instruments that are measured subsequent to initial recognition at  fair value, using the fair value hierarchy as follows:

Level 1                      Reflects financial instruments quoted in an active market.

Level 2                      Reflects financial instruments that have been valued using inputs, other than quoted prices, that are observable.

Level 3                      Reflects financial instruments that have been valued using valuation techniques with unobservable inputs.

				2018					2017
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3	Total		Level 1		Level 2	Level 3	Total
		£'000	£'000		£'000	£'000		£'000		£'000		£'000
AIM quoted		234	-		-	234		33		-	-	33
Loan notes		-	-		14,741	14,741		-		-	21,815	21,815
Unquoted equity		-	-		49,918	49,918		-		-	45,884	45,884
Preference shares		-	-		8,947	8,947		-		-	4,484	4,484
		234	-		73,606	73,840		33		-	72,183	72,216

Reconciliation of fair value for Level 3 financial instruments held at the year-end:

 

	Loan Notes		Unquoted Equity		Total
	£'000		£'000		£'000
Balance at 1 March 2017	21,815		50,368		72,183
Movements in the Income Statement:
(Losses)/ gains in the Income Statement	(3,544)		9,817		6,273
Purchases at cost	130		7,580		7,710
Sales proceeds	(3,660)		(8,900)		(12,560)
Balance at 28 February 2018	14,741		58,865		73,606

 

There is an element of judgment in the choice of assumptions for unquoted investments and it is possible that, if different assumptions were used, different valuations could have been attributed to certain of the VCT's investments.

5.         Post balance sheet events

The Company made one new investment and three follow on investments after the year end totalling £7.5 million.

There were further investments in My 1st Years (£2.6 million), POQ Studio (£902,000) and Perfect Channel (£368,000).

In May 2018, the Company invested £3.6 million in Mycs, a Berlin based online retailer for customisable furniture. The investment will be used to expand the company's presence in Europe.

The Company realised its investments in Charterhouse Leisure and Conversity in May 2018. Both of these investments had been substantially written down at the year-end and the realisations completed at amounts slightly above their respective carrying values at 28 February 2018.

On 1 June 2018, Richemont Holdings UK Limited, a subsidiary of the Swiss luxury group Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA, agreed to acquire 100% of the share capital of Watchfinder. The transaction is subject to legal and regulatory approval and is expected to close in the summer of 2018. Based on the expected completion proceeds, less a discount to reflect the risk of non-completion, the estimated uplift on the net asset value at 28 February 2018 is expected to be 10.3p per share.

Announcement based on audited accounts 

The financial information set out in this announcement does not constitute the Company's statutory financial statements in accordance with section 434 Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 28 February 2018, but has been extracted from the statutory financial statements for the year ended 28 February 2018, which were approved by the Board of Directors on 5 June 2018 and will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the Company's Annual General Meeting.  The Independent Auditor's Report on those financial statements was unqualified and did not contain any emphasis of matter nor statements under s 498(2) and (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

The statutory accounts for the year ended 28 February 2017 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and received an Independent Auditors report which was unqualified and did not contain any emphasis of matter nor statements under S498(2) and (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

A copy of the full annual report and financial statements for the year ended 28 February 2018 will be made available to Shareholders shortly. Copies will also be available to the public at the registered office of the Company at 39 Earlham Street, London, WC2H 9LT and will be available for download from www.provenvcts.co.uk

 - End