The board of Maven Renovar VCT has set a date for a requisitioned general meeting on August 13. This comes after a group of dissenting shareholders, led by Dr. Paul Jourdan, former investment manager at Amati Global Investors, opposed the board’s decision to remove Amati as the VCT manager without a shareholder vote.
The board defended its actions, stating that appointing investment managers without shareholder votes is “entirely normal.” They noted that Amati was initially appointed in 2010 under similar circumstances. However, concerns have been raised over the company’s recent performance under Amati’s management. In a recent stock exchange announcement, the board detailed its intention to consult on proposals for a significant tender offer to be made “at or around the end of this year.”
A general meeting held last month saw some shareholders vote against the re-election of the current directors and reject a proposal to change the VCT’s investment strategy.
Despite this, the turnout was low, with less than 10% of the issued share capital voting against the board and just over 5% supporting the re-election of the board. The board claimed that the dissenting votes were influenced by shareholders tied to Amati and reiterated its decision to remove Amati due to performance concerns.
Maven Renovar VCT board dispute
Chelsea Financial Services research analyst Peter Hicks criticized this move, calling it “myopic” and “a bad outcome for the VCT market.”
Robert Legget, recently appointed to the board, urged shareholders to reject all proposals at the upcoming meeting, emphasizing the importance of an independent board in selecting investment managers. In response to the board’s circular, Dr. Paul Jourdan and proposed director Charlie McMicking stressed the importance of the VCT’s future strategy.
They aim to appoint McMicking, Kathleen McLeay, and Hector Kilpatrick as non-executive directors, with Jourdan as a non-independent director. The group’s strategy emphasizes capital return over new investments. They plan to prioritize maximizing shareholder value by running current investments that have potential while selling weaker holdings.
They believe AIM stock prices are currently depressed, presenting opportunities for significant gains despite recent losses. With 71% of the company shares held for over five years by November, allowing shareholders to sell without losing VCT tax exemptions, the proposed directors argue that it is better to return surplus capital than to tie it up in risky new investments. They also mentioned the possibility of raising funds if the AIM market improves in the coming years.