Oxford Technology 2 VCT PLC
Update for the quarter ending 30 November 2017
Oxford Technology 2 VCT PLC presents its quarterly update for the period commencing 1 September 2017.
The Directors have recently reviewed the valuation of its entire portfolio and the unaudited net asset value per ordinary share was 40.8p as at 30 November 2017. This is an increase of 1.9p from the previously published NAV per share for the period ending 31 August 2017. The total return to shareholders who remain on the register is now 53.8p per share, including previous dividends of 13.0p per share.
On 5 December 2017 - post the quarter end - we paid a further dividend of 8p per share, with a corresponding reduction in the above quoted NAV per share.
During the period under review, we concluded the Tender Offer, which was taken up by over 20% of our shareholders, and as a result, the Company cancelled 1,461,034 Ordinary Shares, reducing its total issued share capital from 6,792,923 to 5,331,889 Ordinary Shares. The 15% level of discount was set to ensure a fair balance between those shareholders who chose to participate in the Tender Offer, and those wishing to retain their shareholding in the Company. This resulted in a 1.4p per share increase in net asset value, which is in part to compensate remaining shareholders who are liable to incur a greater proportion of running costs per share going forward, given the fixed nature of these expenses.
At the end of November 2017, we made a £200k follow-on investment into Arecor, making it the largest holding in the Company`s portfolio of eight remaining investees at 30 November 2017. Arecor (www.arecor.com) is a potentially world class pharmaceutical research company based in Cambridge and has a very advanced diabetes drug formulation technology. This is the type of investment that Oxford Technology 2 VCT PLC has supported for the last 17 years and appears to be exactly the sort of VCT investment envisaged and encouraged by the government in the recent autumn budget.
This investment was the maximum permitted by the 15% VCT rule, and was only made possible by deferring the 8p per share dividend payment for as long as possible to enable this investment to proceed. Following the sale of OC Robotics in June 2017, Oxford Technology 2 VCT PLC had six months to return funds to shareholders or make further investments of the money or it would lose VCT qualifying status. We are pleased to confirm that with the return of nearly £900k to shareholders, and the investment in Arecor, we have completed our requirements under the VCT rules and remain VCT compliant.