Shareholders in Northern Venture Trust will be receiving this week details of a tender offer from that company. They may have also received an offer to subscribe for new shares in a top up. This can lead to some confusion, so here I attempt to set out what is happening.
Tender Offer
A tender offer is where a company offers to buy existing shares back off shareholders. In this particular case Northern are doing an offer for 10% of the company’s shares at 78.3p a discount of just 3% to the audited NAV at 30th September 2010. This means that if every shareholder were to attempt to sell all their shares, the company would buy back 10% of each investor’s shares. In reality this is very unlikely. Indeed, historically those who have attempted to sell back their entire stake have been able to do so, as most shareholders ignore the offer. The biggest beneficiaries are usually the Northern directors who sell their old shares and use the proceeds to purchase new shares which attract a new tax break. There is no reason why other existing Northern shareholders should not do the same if they so wish.
Rollover or Exit?
Investors may tender their shares under the offer and are under no obligation to roll into the top-up. Therefore this presents an opportunity to exit (subject to qualifying holding periods being met) at an attractive price.
Check how long you have been invested
Shareholders should take care to ensure that they are not unintentionally selling their share in less than the minimum time frame to retain any tax breaks they may have received. This was 3 years for any shares bought BEFORE 6th April 2006 and 5 years for shares bought after this date.
Offer for subscription
In addition Northern are running a top up of £15 million of new shares to Northern Venture Trust. These new shares qualify for the 30% tax break. Northern are incentivising existing shareholders an additional 2% discount. We are also discounting 2.5% to give a headline discount of 4.5%. It is the combination of combining the tender offer of old shares and the offer for subscription of new shares at improved terms that potentially makes rolling over a position in Northern Venture Trust attractive for some investors.
Bestinvest discounts
Investors who are not currently shareholders in Northern Venture Trust but who would like to subscribe are able to do so. We are discounting 2.5% to give a headline discount of 2.5%.
Investors wishing to speak to someone about the above should speak to their regular contact or phone our VCT line on 020 7189 9970. Or post us their application forms.
What is a VCT?
Venture Capital Trusts offer some attractive tax benefits. The initial investment, up to a maximum of £200,000, attracts 30% tax relief provided it is held for at least five years. Capital gains and dividends are also tax-free, although there is no relief for capital losses. VCTs invest in unquoted business so they are high risk and they can be illiquid, while management costs can also be high, so careful selection is essential. Bestinvest has researched every VCT since the scheme was launched.