LONDON (Alliance News) - The institutional shareholder that invested GBP750,000 in Verdes Management PLC, the company rescued earlier this week by Coms PLC Chief Executive David Breith, has been revealed in a Friday stock market filing as Helium Rising Stars Fund, a hedge fund registered in the Cayman Islands.
Earlier this week Verdes Management saw the threat of administration lifted after Breith personally took a 22.24% stake in the company, and it raised GBP750,000 from an institutional investor in exchange for a 10.75% stake. Verdes did not at the time identify Helium Rising Stars Fund as the institutional investor.
Helium Rising Stars, which targets AIM companies with a market capitalisation under GBP50 million, was launched in January by ISPartners Investment Solutions AG, a Zurich-based investment manager. It is co-advised by ISPartners and David Newton and is also able to invest up to 30% of its assets under management in pre-IPO situations. It has raised about GBP13 million so far and is targeting the GBP50 million mark.
The fund was launched as a follow-on to its Helium Special Situations Fund, an GBP80 million fund that is closed to new investors and has a stake of almost 10% in Coms PLC.
ISPartners' Christian Benz told Alliance News the investment in Verdes was a result of "very good experience with David Breith".
"We think he is an exceptional individual, with commitment and drive," Benz told Alliance News in a telephone interview. "We will certainly look at Verdes' progress over time before considering adding to our investment," he said.
The investment has helped Verdes Management to put its recent financial troubles behind it, and it is looking to acquire a company in the leisure and retail sectors.
Breith will remain focused on his "core role" at Coms but said Tuesday that he was glad to assist in stablising Verdes.
Verdes shares were Friday quoted at 0.743 pence, up 23.8%.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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