Octopus Aim 2 Regulatory News (OSEC)

18 Apr 2008 14:09

Close IHT AIM VCT PLC18 April 2008 Close IHT AIM VCT PLC Interim Management Statement Introduction I am pleased to present your Company's first interim management statement forthe period from 1st December 2007 to 18 April 2008 as required by the UK ListingAuthority's Disclosure and Transparency Rule 4.3. Performance Since we last reported, market volatility has continued, against a background ofconcerns over credit markets and a weaker global economy. Smaller company shareshave continued to be hit particularly over the last few months as investorappetite for smaller company stocks and liquidity has markedly reduced. YourCompany has, not surprisingly, seen its Net Asset Value ("NAV") fall over theperiod to 86.18 pence per share (unaudited) as at 16 April 2008. This compareswith 94.15 pence per share (audited) reported in the Report and FinancialStatements for the year ended 30 November 2007, and represents a drop of 8.5 percent (after allowing for the 1 pence per share dividend). By way of comparison,the FTSE AIM Index has fallen by 7.5 per cent over the same period. Portfolio Your Company's Investment Manager has continued to make investments in theperiod to 18 April 2008 and a total of £2.7 m has been invested. Your Fund hasrealised £0.4m from share disposals in the period. As at 31 March 2008 the Fundis 57% invested in qualifying investments. The Fund has until 30 November 2008 to reach the minimum 70% level required byHMRC regulations. The following new qualifying investments were made in the period from 1 December2007 to 18 April 2008: Company £000s Maelor PLC 1,000Research Now PLC 750Animalcare Group PLC 600Lombard Medical Technologies PLC 375 Top Ten Qualifying Holdings (as at 16 April 2008) Company Market Value £'000Maelor PLC 1,000Melorio PLC 673Research Now PLC 650Animalcare Group PLC 600Mount Engineering PLC 600Pressure Technology PLC 574Neuropharm Group PLC 553Hexagon Human Capital PLC 480Claimar Care Group PLC 453Plastics Capital Group PLC 444 All of the top ten qualifying holdings are quoted and valued at bid price as at16 April 2008. Dividends In the Report and Financial Statement for the year ended 30 November 2007, theBoard declared a dividend of 1 pence per share to all shareholders. Thisdividend will be paid on 22 April 2008 to shareholders on the register on 25March 2008. Share buybacks During the period to 18 April 2008, there were no share buybacks. Your Company will continue to make investments in qualifying investments toreach the required minimum HMRC 70% VCT level. Although the number of new issueson AIM has slowed down as a result of more difficult market conditions, thereare still VCT qualifying companies seeking growth capital and valuations aremore attractive. Part of the reasoning for this view is that there are now fewerinvestors seeking to invest in growing AIM companies, but there remains a steadyflow of companies raising capital on AIM. Though the environment for small company share prices may remain difficult inthe short term, it still remains the case that well managed smaller companiescan grow and we are confident that they will continue to do so in the longerterm. 18 April 2008 For further information please contact Andrew Buchanan/Kate Tidbury of CloseInvestments Limited Tel: 0207 426 4139 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange