Restructure Proposals -Update

Progressive Euro Alt. Portfolio Ltd 18 March 2005 Proposals for amendment of investment objective, change of management arrangements, change of name to Advance Focus Fund Limited and a placing of up to 70,000,000 new shares Following the announcement on 24 February 2005 the board of Progressive European Alternative Portfolio Limited (the 'Company') is today announcing proposals to effect the conversion of the Company into a focus fund investing in UK listed equities. The proposals consist of an amendment of investment objective, a change of management arrangements, a change of name and a placing to expand the fund. The proposals are as follows: - Amendment of investment objective. The Company will become a focus fund with an investment objective to outperform the FTSE All-Share Index. The fund will comprise a concentrated portfolio of around twenty holdings of undervalued stocks selected from the FTSE All-Share Index which the new manager considers to be on attractive valuations as a consequence of being overlooked or misjudged by other investors; - Change of management arrangements. The Company proposes to appoint Progressive European Markets Limited as the new investment manager. James Carthew, who manages Advance UK Trust plc, will be the lead manager and he will be supported by Simon Toynbee and Chris Norris, two senior fund managers within the Progressive Group; - Change of name to Advance Focus Fund Limited reflecting the new investment objective; and - A placing of up to 70,000,000 new shares to provide new funds for investment and to expand the fund. The Board has received written confirmation from shareholders representing 45.5 per cent. of the issued share capital of the Company of their current intention to vote in favour of the proposals. Further details of the above proposals which will require approval at an extraordinary general meeting will be sent to shareholders later today. Enquiries: Progressive European Markets Limited 020 7566 5530 James Carthew Marshall Securities Limited 020 7490 3788 Rob Luetchford/Gary Pinkerton Proposals for amendment of investment objective, change of management arrangements, change of name and Placing of up to 70,000,000 New Shares The Proposals The proposals consist of an amendment of the investment objective of the Company, a change of management arrangements, a change of the Company's name and a placing of up to 70,000,000 new shares. If successfully implemented, the proposals will convert the Company into a focus fund investing in UK listed equities with an enlarged fund to be managed by a new manager. The Investment Objective It is proposed that the Company's investment objective be changed to that of outperforming the FTSE All-Share Index with income reinvested (the 'New Benchmark Index') over the medium term. The Company will seek to achieve this objective by investing in a concentrated portfolio of stocks which fall within the New Benchmark Index and which the new manager considers to be significantly undervalued. As a focus fund, targeting undervalued companies, the Company will have a significantly less diversified portfolio than a conventional equities fund and its performance may not be closely correlated to the performance of the New Benchmark Index or to market movements more generally. The Investment Approach The new manager intends to construct a concentrated portfolio of around twenty holdings selected on the basis of the new manager's analysis of undervalued FTSE All-Share constituents. The portfolio will comprise stocks that the new manager considers to be on attractive valuations as a consequence of being overlooked or misjudged by other investors. The fund will in normal conditions be fully invested and will not utilise gearing other than for short term liquidity. It is intended that each investment will be significant to the portfolio. However the new manager will seek to ensure that no investment will represent more than ten per cent. of the assets of the Company. All sectors of the New Benchmark Index including investment companies will be considered for inclusion in the portfolio but the portfolio will be constructed without reference to the weightings of the New Benchmark Index. The new manager anticipates that following the realisation of the existing portfolio it will take approximately two to three months before the fund will become fully invested in accordance with the new investment remit. Funds awaiting investment will be invested in short term treasury bills or placed on deposit. The new manager believes that an opportunity exists to exploit valuation anomalies which arise when investors become too pessimistic about the prospects of a company or where investors have, as yet, failed to notice an improvement in a company's fortunes or the presence of valuable assets which are not fully reflected in the company's balance sheet. The new manager has experience of the substantial re-rating which can occur when the market's perception of a stock changes. The new manager may, where it sees an opportunity to do so, exercise its rights and influence as an investor to encourage action by investee companies to effect changes which may bring about such shifts in perception. An investment review committee comprising the fund managers and other fund managers within the Progressive Group will be established to assist the new manager in its selection and management of the portfolio (but will not itself take investment decisions, which will be the sole responsibility of the new manager). Investment Manager The Company proposes to appoint Progressive European Markets Limited ('PEML') as the investment manager. PEML currently manages Advance UK Trust plc, an investment trust which invests at a discount in investment trusts and closed-ended funds which are invested in developed markets (other than Japan). At 11 March 2005 Advance UK Trust plc had net assets of £69.97 million. The lead manager will be James Carthew, the managing director of PEML. He will be supported by Simon Toynbee and Chris Norris, two senior fund managers within the Progressive Group. New Management Arrangements and termination of Existing Management Agreement Under the new management agreement PEML will be entitled to a monthly fee of one-twelfth of one per cent. of the Company's market capitalisation calculated at the month end, together with, if applicable, a performance fee as described below. The new management agreement will be terminable by either the new manager or the Company on 6 months' notice expiring at the end of any calendar month no earlier than the first anniversary of the contract. The performance fee is based on the structure of incentives used by Advance UK Trust plc and Advance Developing Markets Trust plc. It will be payable if, in any financial period for which audited accounts are produced (or if shorter the period up to termination), the Company's NAV per share (before deduction of the performance fee and treating any dividends as if reinvested in the portfolio) outperforms the New Benchmark Index. The performance fee will be 10 per cent. of any such outperformance provided that the NAV per share has increased since the end of the last period in respect of which a performance fee was payable and since the date of commencement of dealings in the new shares issued pursuant to the placing. The maximum performance fee which can be paid in any financial period is capped at 2.5 per cent. of the net asset value before deduction of the performance fee. Currently the Company charges all of the management fees to capital reflecting the nature of the existing investment objective. If the proposals are approved the Company will charge 100 per cent. of basic management fees to revenue. Any performance fees payable will be charged 100 per cent. to capital. The Company has agreed with Progressive Alternative Investments Limited ('PAIL') that it will not be required to pay compensation to PAIL for early termination of the existing management agreement but will pay any performance fee for the period ended 31 March 2005. Following the announcement on 24 February 2005, notice has been given to realise all the current investments of the Company such that by the time dealings in the new shares start the existing portfolio will comprise cash and receivables. Placing of new shares In order to provide new capital for investment and to increase the market capitalisation of the Company, which the board believes will improve interest and liquidity in the shares, the Company has entered into a conditional agreement with Marshall Securities Limited for it to place up to 70,000,000 new shares. The placing is conditional, inter alia, on sufficient number of new shares being placed such that the market capitalisation of the Company at the placing price immediately following the placing is projected to be at least £30,000,000. The price at which new shares will be allotted under the placing will be equivalent to 100/99ths of Formula NAV per share at close of business on 18 April 2005. Formula NAV per share will be equivalent to NAV per share calculated according to the Company's existing policies, save, for the avoidance of doubt, that: (i) where a contract note for the disposal of an investment has been issued the net proceeds on the contract note will be used in the valuation; and (ii) where no contract note has been issued the price will be the latest issued net asset value of the underlying investment adjusted, if considered necessary by the Directors in their absolute discretion, to a fair realisable value. No party shall be under any liability by reason of the fact that a price reasonably believed to be the appropriate price for any investment may not subsequently be realised. As at 28 February 2005 the NAV per share was 110.5253p, the Formula NAV per share based on that price would have been 110.53p and the placing price would have been 111.65p. The estimated NAV per share, after taking account of the Directors' estimate of the costs of the proposals and adjusted as described above, would have been 109.95p (if the minimum number of new shares had been issued pursuant to the placing) and 110.10p (if the maximum number of new shares had been issued pursuant to the placing). Dividends The new investment objective of the Company will be primarily focused on capital growth and the Directors intend to reinvest a substantial proportion of any surplus income (net of expenses). It is likely that such income will vary from year to year which will affect the level of surplus. Having taken these matters into account the Directors intend to establish a sustainable dividend policy. To the extent that any dividends are paid, they will be paid in accordance with any applicable laws and regulations. General The Company is also seeking approval for an amendment to the Company's articles of association and an authority to allot additional shares representing 5 per cent. of the share capital in issue following the placing for cash for a period expiring five years after the date on which the proposals are approved. In connection with this and with the placing the Company is seeking authority to dis-apply shareholders' pre-emption rights. Timetable: 2005 Extraordinary General Meeting 11.00 a.m. on 21 April Dealings commence in new shares 8.00 a.m. on 27 April New shares in uncertificated form credited to the stock accounts 27 April in CREST Definitive certificates dispatched for new shares in by 5 May certificated form This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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