Further news expected soon in latest Scots investment battle
Read more:
The name changed again in May of this year when the board of directors led by chair Fiona Wollocombe appointed Glasgow-based Maven Capital Partners as the fund's new manager. Formed in 2009 from a management buyout of the private equity business of Aberdeen Asset Management, Maven has been owned by wealth manager Mattioli Woods since 2021.
Shareholders did not have a chance to vote on the switch to Maven prior to the decision being implemented. Ms Wollocombe said at the time that Maven was selected because it was one of relatively few VCT fund managers with experience of both AIM and private capital investment.
The past few years have been tough for AIM investors as liquidity in smaller companies has dried up, with small-cap stocks viewed as particularly vulnerable to higher inflation and rising interest rates.
To counteract this, the board had proposed that under the new fund manager the VCT should switch to an "AIM Plus" strategy combining investments in the junior market with a pipeline of deals in private companies.
Paul Jourdan said directors of Maven Renovar presented investors with a fait accompli
However, this strategy was rejected by a majority of shareholders voting at the VCT's annual general meeting in June. In addition, Ms Wollocombe and fellow directors Julia Henderson and Brian Scouler failed to be re-elected, as did new board member prospect Neeta Patel.
The remain in place on a caretaker basis until new directors are elected at another general meeting, the date of which could be confirmed next week.
They have claimed that the cost of Amati's fees relative to the company's losses was 'wholly unsustainable' and there was therefore 'no choice' but to change manager. They further say that the defeated resolutions at the AGM would have likely passed but for a "significant portion" of dissenters who were employees, close friends or family of Amati, a claim that Amati has firmly refuted.
A group of investors led by Mr Jourdan has now served a requisition calling for Ms Wollocombe, Mr Scouler, Ms Patel and fellow Maven Renovar VCT director Robert Legget to be replaced by Mr Jourdan, Charles McMicking, Hector Kilpatrick and Kathleen McLeay.
Read more:
'To see a former investment manager with such a dismal recent track record now seek to appoint himself and two of his fellow requisitioners to the board is quite extraordinary,' Mr Leggett said earlier this week.
'Taken together, the proposed resolutions themselves are designed to be board-controlling and represent a nil premium takeover by a very small minority of shareholders and are not in the interests of shareholders as a whole.'
Mr Jourdan, however, maintains that the current board erred significantly in failing to give shareholders a vote on the change of manager and investment strategy.
'The difference here is the change of manager was made in order to make a change to the investment policy," he told reporters earlier this week. "The signatories to [our requisition notice] believe that the board should have given shareholders a vote on the change of investment policy before they made the change of manager, rather than presenting a fait accompli.
'The reason why the board were voted out at the AGM was because shareholders would rather make their own decision about buying a VCT with a different strategy. They wish this VCT to remain focused on AIM.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
5 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Bus firm owned by former Rangers directors doubles profits
We revealed this week that McGill's, the 'largest independent bus firm in the UK', posted that the earnings rise was partly down to acquisitions. James and Sandy Easdale. (Image: Jeff Holmes/JSHPIX) The Greenock-based firm owned by billionaire brothers Sandy and James Easdale put forward results covering a 'wide and diverse portfolio'. The firm said: 'McGill's Bus Group is Britain's largest independently owned bus company and a pioneer in fleet decarbonisation, with over 110 zero emission electric buses.' Read the full exclusive story here ANALYSIS 📈 Why the case for a 'Scottish visa' just got stronger Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is sticking to his red lines on Brexit. (Image: PA) At times like these the dogmatic nature of politics must really frustrate people in business. While Sir Keir Starmer sticks to his Government's red lines on Europe – meaning there will be no return to the single market, no re-joining the customs union and no freedom of movement under his watch – the UK's economic prospects will continue to be constrained. This includes in Scotland, which of course voted resoundingly to remain in the European Union in the referendum of 2016, and has been living with the consequences since. But how long can the current state of affairs continue? Starmer has so far resisted calls from the Scottish Government to introduce a "Scottish visa" to help the country deal with the labour shortages it faces, but the issue is simply not going away. Read Scott Wright's analysis here SERIES: THE BARRAS REBORN 🍽️ How The Barras stealthily became Glasgow's most exciting foodie destination The Barras has slowly but surely evolved into one of the city's most exciting foodie destinations. (Image: Newsquest) Whelks, mussels and white sugar-coated doughnuts might well be what first come to mind when you picture food from The Barras Market in Glasgow. None of the above is wrong, with the Loch Fyne Shellfish Bar on London Road celebrating 65 years in business and Danny's Donuts still firing up their fryers every weekend. But elsewhere, thanks to a team who have invested time and effort into curating a line-up of street food vendors unlike any other, The Barras has slowly but surely evolved into one of the city's most exciting foodie destinations. As part of our Barras Reborn series, The Herald sat down with market manager Chris Butler to discuss the influx of independent culinary talent now based in the East End and how this contributes to the shifting identity of a 104-year-old cultural landmark. Read Sarah Campbell's article here AROUND THE GREENS ⛳ Coming soon to a club near you: Golf vending machines A mock-up of what the proposed vending machines might look like (Image: Newsquest) This article appears as part of Kristy Dorsey's Around the Greens series Officials at discount retailer Affordable Golf are sizing up plans to roll out vending machines at clubs across Scotland selling items such as balls and gloves to players who might otherwise be caught short.
Powys County Times
6 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Powys student's Aries sculpture made from farm machinery
A SCULPTURE of a ram's head – made from steel rods, recycled from old farm machinery by a young Powys arts student – has been unveiled to mark the 180th anniversary of the Royal Agricultural University (RAU). Seventeen-year-old Harlan Beales, who is currently studying for an extended diploma in art, design and creative practice at Hereford College of Arts, designed the sculpture, which has been named 'Aries', in tandem with former RAU student Will Carr, before fabricating it by himself. Aries was recently unveiled by RAU vice chancellor, professor Peter McCaffery, at a special lunch held at the Cirencester-based University which was founded in 1845 as the first agricultural college in the English-speaking world. Harlan, from Hay-on-Wye, said: 'It has been amazing for me to have been involved with this. 'I've made smaller pieces before but this is the first large scale sculpture I've made. 'I'm excited that it will be at the RAU forever. My aunt lives in Cirencester so I can visit the sculpture whenever I come to see her.' He added: 'Will and I worked together on the design; he was able to make 3D projections and I made two paper models to get the scale right. 'I used Will's workshop, getting guidance from Will and his fabricator at key points during the build. 'It is made from 6mm steel rods which Will had on his farm. Our initial plan was to make it using old bits of farm machinery and plough parts, but it looked so beautiful when we'd just welded the rods that we decided to leave it as it was.' Will, who previously studied civil and environmental engineering at Nottingham University, joined the RAU in 2015 to study agriculture, before taking on his family's 200-hectare mixed, arable and beef farm in the village of Weobley, near Hereford. Alongside running the farm, Will has made a successful sculpture business, employing two people, and has sold sculptures across the world, including to the United States and Australia, and public sculptures across the UK. In 2015 he made a barley ears sculpture for the RAU's 170th anniversary which now stands overlooking the university's Bathurst Lawn. He said: 'I felt very honoured to be asked to make another piece for the RAU and it was great to be able to work alongside Harlan; we worked really well as a team. 'The joined metal bars of Aries symbolise the interconnected mesh of human brains coming together, very (much) like at this university, where information is shared making a joint neural network.' RAU vice-chancellor Mr McCaffery said: 'As we celebrate our 180th anniversary we ae immensely proud of the contribution our 17,000+ alumni have made as leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators to agriculture and the land-based sector. 'The Aries sculpture is a fitting tribute to the creativity, ingenuity and commitment to sustainability that characterises our students today.' Originally established in 1845 as the Royal Agricultural College, the first agricultural college in the English-speaking world and with just 25 students, the RAU gained university status in 2013. The university now has around 1,100 students at its Cirencester campus as well as more than 3,000 studying worldwide with its many international partners.
The Guardian
7 hours ago
- The Guardian
EU delegation poised for Trump trade talks in Scotland
A high-power EU delegation has landed in Scotland nervously anticipating a breakthrough in talks with Donald Trump at a crunch meeting on Sunday to avoid an escalating trade war with Washington. The EU trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, and a team of aides arrived at Glasgow Prestwick airport on Sunday morning to join an advance party led by the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, who flew in on Saturday to prepare for one of the most critical meetings in her tenure, due to be held at 4.30pm. With the US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, and the trade representative, Jamieson Greer, also flying in for the meeting at Trump's Turnberry golf resort, hopes are rising for a deal. However, Trump is keeping the EU anxiously waiting, shouting on Sunday morning to Sky News television cameras stationed next to the golf course that the chances of a deal remained '50/50'. Heading into a cool summer's day in south-west Scotland, nobody on either side had been willing to consider that Trump would sign on the dotted line, even if he called von der Leyen 'a highly respected leader'. The president focused on playing golf at his coastal resort on Saturday and Sunday, abandoning a scheduled talk with the press travelling with him on his four-day visit. Trump had torn up the first deal his team had sealed with Šefčovič two weeks ago, instead pushing to threaten 30% tariffs on all imports from the EU from 1 August – his self-imposed deadline for a deal. On Friday Trump gave a 'good 50-50' chance for a framework trade pact to be reached, adding that Brussels wanted to 'make a deal very badly'. Such an agreement would be the biggest reached yet by his administration, surpassing a $550bn (£409bn) accord with Japan last week and the UK trade deal secured in May. The talks in Scotland will be closely scrutinised by jittery global investors before financial markets open on Monday morning, amid hopes for a deal to help limit the damage on the world economy. After going to such extensive lengths – flying in top officials to what was a hastily arranged meeting during the US president's holiday to Scotland – would, however, risk going down as a failure of statecraft. A deal would be the closing chapter on 200 hours of face-to-face negotiations and video calls that started with a meeting in the Roosevelt room in the White House between Šefčovič, Lutnick, the US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and Kevin Hassett, one of Trump's longest-serving economic aides. While Šefčovič has been in almost daily contact with US counterparts since April, it is understood that Trump has taken a deep personal interest in the EU talks, demanding detailed briefings before his Scotland visit because he wants to close the deal himself. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion However, nervousness prevails on the EU side over Trump's unpredictability, especially after he said on Friday there were still about 20 sticking points, without detailing what they were. If sealed, the deal would be seen as a victory for Trump nonetheless and show that his threats to impose tariffs on more than 60 countries has succeeded in extracted more revenue from third countries. On Friday the US president described a deal with the EU as 'the big one', with €1.4tn (£1.22tn) at stake in annual trade ; involving Volkswagen cars, Cognac and Kerrygold butter sold to the US, and Boeing 747s, bourbon whiskey and liquified natural gas to the EU. An outline agreement in principle centres on a baseline tariff of 15% on EU goods sold to the US, which is five percentage points more than the UK's deal and triple the 4.8% average rate applied before Trump was elected. However, EU diplomats concede that the previous world order was blown up on 2 April when Trump announced his 'liberation day' plan, which included threatening the EU with 20% import duties. A deal, even at 15%, would be seen as the painful price to restore stability for investors in the EU and manufacturers in key sectors such as the German, French and Swedish car industries, which, since April, have faced a 25% US tariff.
