Latest news with #VCT
The Herald Scotland
22-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Date set for showdown in battle for Maven Renovar VCT
Maven Renovar claims that its former asset manager lost almost 10% of the trust's current market capitalisation on three "unquoted/pre-IPO" investments, the latest in a series of allegations against Amati. Read more: Amati maintains that "the real and most important question" is whether shareholders will be allowed to determine the best strategy for the company going forward. A general meeting to vote on the requisitioners' proposals has been set for August 13. The requisitioners are opposing the board's decision earlier this year to remove Amati as the manager of the VCT without a shareholder vote. Directors of investment trusts are not obliged to have a shareholder vote when changing fund management arrangements. The July 1 requisition request from the group led by Mr Jourdan came a week after shareholders of the venture capital trust voted to sack the board of Maven Renovar. They also rejected proposals for a switch to an "AIM Plus" investment strategy under the trust's new fund manager, Glasgow-based Maven Capital Partners. Previously known as the Amati AIM VCT, the fund's mandate is to invest in London's junior Alternative Investment Market (AIM). The new strategy would have seen the introduction of a pipeline of deals in private companies alongside investments in the junior market. Read more: The requisitioners are calling for the existing board of directors led by chair Fiona Wollocombe to be replaced by Mr Jourdan, Charles McMicking, Hector Kilpatrick and Kathleen McLeay. The current directors remain in place on a caretaker basis until new board members are elected. In a statement, Mr Jourdan and Mr McMicking said the events of the past few months have been the result of the board Maven Renovar acting without proper consultation with shareholders. Robert Legget, who was appointed to the board at the June meeting when the existing directors were voted out, said the central matter is the fund's under-performance while under Amati's management. "Shareholders have a very simple choice: to let the former investment manager, whose performance caused significant loss to the company, onto the board and into a conflicted position alongside other proposed directors selected by him/the requisitioners, or to agree with the independent board that a credible plan to halt this decline was in shareholders' best interests," Mr Legget said. "It is a critical function of an independent board that it selects and appoints investment managers in accordance with shareholders' best interests, and I commend the board for taking decisive action to address underperformance prior to my joining."
The Herald Scotland
17-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Further news expected soon in latest Scots investment battle
Mr Jourdan and his team had been in charge of the VCT since its launch in 2005 as the First State AIM VCT. The fund, whose mandate is to invest in London's junior Alternative Investment Market (AIM), followed the team through a series of name changes and mergers prior to the 2010 establishment of Amati in Edinburgh, after which it became the Amati AIM VCT. 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.'
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Issue of Equity
FORESIGHT TECHNOLOGY VCT PLC LEI: 21380013CXOR8N6OD977 11th July 2025 FWT Shares The Board of Foresight Technology VCT plc (the 'Company') is pleased to announce that in accordance with the terms of the Offer for Subscription dated 5 September 2024 (the 'Offer'), 320,631 Foresight Williams Technology Shares ('FWT Shares') of 1p each were allotted on 10 July 2025 at offer prices ranging from 91.4p to 96.2p based on an unaudited net asset value of 91.4p per share. Application has been made for the admission of the 320,631 FWT Shares of 1p each to the Official List of the FCA and to trading on London Stock Exchange plc's market for listed securities on or around 11 July 2025. Total shares allotted to date under the Offer by the Company now total 9,697,135 FWT Shares. Following this allotment there are now 45,068,086 FWT Shares of 1p each in issue. The Board of the Company further announces that the Offer is now closed. All valid applications received before 28 June 2025 were processed and Shares have been allotted. For further information please contact: Steve Thayer, Foresight Group: 020 3667 8181Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Wire
08-07-2025
- Health
- Business Wire
Verified Clinical Trials Launches in Japan in Partnership with Medical Revolutions Japan (MRJ) and JACIC to Prevent Duplicate and Professional Subjects in Clinical Trials
TOKYO & GARDEN CITY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Verified Clinical Trials (VCT), the global leader in clinical trial subject registry solutions, has officially launched operations in Japan through a collaboration with Medical Revolutions Japan (MRJ) and the Japan Association of Contract Institutes for Clinical Pharmacology (JACIC) to address the growing global challenge of duplicate and professional research subjects in clinical trials. 'No clinical trial or geography is immune to the challenge of duplicate subjects—it's a global phenomenon. Our system provides an effective, scalable solution.' For the past thirty years, Japan's only system for preventing duplicate subject registration was developed by JACIC and used across Phase 1 studies. However, a recent review concluded that the system requires substantial modernization to meet international standards and support the growing number of global clinical trials. In addition, duplicate subjects in clinical trials have become a growing concern in Phase II and Phase III trials as well. After extensive evaluation, the VCT platform—widely adopted as the global standard—was selected as the best solution and replacement. With the support of MRJ, which was commissioned by JACIC to assist with domestic implementation, Verified Clinical Trials has begun initiating sites in Japan, with additional sites expected to join in the coming weeks and months. These sites will benefit from the biometric capabilities of the VCT system, offering a higher level of subject authentication and protocol compliance. This rollout will include sites conducting Phase I through Phase IV clinical trials. 'Given the sophisticated functionality and biometric identification capability of the VCT system, as well as its proven match for other Asian countries,' a representative of MRJ commented, 'I believe it is destined to become the new Japan standard for duplicate subject registration prevention.' Verified Clinical Trials brings to Japan a cross-sponsor, cross-therapeutic area subject registry already in use in up to 40 countries. The platform not only detects but also prevents duplicate subjects and other protocol violations at the time of screening—and maintains protections throughout the entire duration of the trial. 'We're honored to bring VCT to Japan as part of a shared mission to raise the standard of subject protection and trial integrity,' said Mitchell Efros, MD, President and CEO of Verified Clinical Trials. 'No clinical trial or geography is immune to the challenge of duplicate subjects—it's a global phenomenon. Our system provides an effective, scalable solution.' ' By introducing VCT in Japan, sponsors gain a real-time tool to proactively manage protocol risk and ensure only qualified participants are enrolled,' added Kerri Weingard, ANP, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Verified Clinical Trials. 'This launch represents our commitment to regulatory excellence and regional partnership across the APAC region,' said Eve Hsu, Global Regulatory Director at Verified Clinical Trials. 'With dedicated team members based throughout APAC, we're well-positioned to support sites and sponsors locally and help elevate clinical trial quality and compliance across the region.' The VCT system was co-founded by Mitchell Efros, MD, and Kerri Weingard, ANP, both experienced clinical researchers who developed the registry to address long-standing challenges in subject eligibility, data quality, and compliance. About Verified Clinical Trials (VCT) Verified Clinical Trials is the world's largest research subject database registry designed to detect and prevent duplicate and professional subjects in clinical trials. VCT fills a critical gap in the clinical research industry by providing insight into a research subject's past trial participation. This enables better subject selection and helps ensure successful clinical trial execution. Active in up to 40 countries, VCT supports sponsors, CROs, and research sites across all trial phases and therapeutic areas, enhancing data quality, subject safety, and protocol compliance. About Medical Revolutions Japan (MRJ) Medical Revolutions Japan is a clinical trial consultancy managed and staffed by industry experts with long and rich experience in all facets of clinical development and research in the Japanese market. Founded in 2024 as an affiliate of Keikokai Medical Corporation, a longstanding clinical research unit operator in Tokyo, MRJ is currently expanding its global client base and working to connect both international and local players to help the domestic Japanese clinical development industry rise to the challenges brought about by technological disruptions as it continues to grow and internationalize.
New Straits Times
23-06-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
'I didn't plan to cry, but the tears just came out'
KUALA LUMPUR: The Kelantan-born Ahmad Khalish Rusyaidee "d4v41" Nordin and his Paper Rex (PRX) teammates emotionally won the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Masters Toronto title on Sunday. There were tears after PRX defeated European giants Fnatic 3-1 in the Grand Finals at the Enercare Centre in Toronto, Canada to claim their maiden international crown. Khalish's team also comprised Indonesian Jason "f0rsakeN" Susanto, Singaporean Wang "Jinggg" Jing Jie, Russian Ilia "something" Petrov and Filipino Patrick "PatMen" Mendoza. The 26-year-old Khalish and his teammates took home US$350,000 (RM1.49 million) in prize money. Khalish ranked as the Singapore-based PRX team's second best performer with a 1.12 KDA. PRX, who had lost two Grand Finals previously — in the Masters Copenhagen in 2022 and Champions Los Angeles in 2023, went into the Toronto finals after a dominant upper bracket run in the playoffs. Fnatic, the Masters Tokyo 2023 champions and top seeds, however, posed a formidable challenge. PRX began with a 13-11 win on the map pick of Sunset, but Fnatic hit back with a narrow 17-15 win on their pick of Icebox. PRX then pulled ahead 2-1 with a 13-10 victory on their pick of Pearl before confirming the title with a 14-12 win in overtime on Fnatic's pick of Lotus. The PRX team became emotional after finally breaking their title drought. "This victory feels unreal, we've been working very hard for this," said Khalish in a post-match interview before breaking into tears. "This means everything. Winning an international trophy has always been the goal. We want to be champions, and this is just the beginning," he added after regaining his composure. "I'm really happy... I didn't plan to cry, but the tears just came out." PRX will next compete in the Esports World Cup (EWC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from July 8-13 which offers US$1.25 million in prize money. Meanwhile, there will be no Malaysian representation in PUBG Mobile at the EWC after Alliance (seventh) and SEM9 (12th) failed to finish in the top three at the Southeast Asia Summer PUBG Mobile Super League in Jakarta on Sunday.
