Preliminary Results

TriVest VCT PLC 20 December 2001 TriVest VCT plc Preliminary Results Announcement Chairman's Statement I am pleased to present the first Annual Report of the Company for the period from 6th September 2000 to 30th September, 2001. You will recall that the Offer opened on 18th October 2000 and closed on 6th April 2001 having raised a total of £41,801,516. The objective of the Company is to provide its Shareholders with an attractive return, by maximising the stream of dividend distributions from the income and capital gains generated from a diverse portfolio of investments selected by our three specialist managers, GLE, LICA and VCF Partners. At 30th September, 2001 the Company's net asset value per share was 92.04 pence. This compares with a subscription price of 100 pence and an initial net asset value (after expenses of issue) of 94.52 pence per share. In the period under review, the tragic events of 11th September, 2001 and the economic climate and difficult stock market, both prior to and following these terrorist actions, has inevitably dominated the environment in which the Company operates. The venture capital and private equity market has, if anything, been as heavily hit as quoted technology stocks in that the general sentiment for investing has been unfavourable. A 'wait-and-see' mood has prevailed. It is difficult to foresee this sentiment changing very rapidly although clearly in due course exciting opportunities to invest should present themselves and probably on more favourable terms. As can be expected at this stage in its life, the Company's portfolio is still comprised mainly of cash and short-dated Gilt-edged securities. However, in the period under review, each of our three venture capital investment managers, GLE, LICA and VCF Partners, has been active in carefully identifying attractive companies in which TriVest can participate as an investor. Considerable emphasis is being placed by the Company and its Managers on the 'due diligence' process. The Manager's report regularly and in detail to your Board on the progress of their individual portfolios. In addition, your Board has already taken the opportunity to visit the management of a number of the Company's investments in order to assess personally their performance. At 30th September, 2001 the Company had made investments in 13 venture capital companies with a total cost of £8,722,624. A further £4,030,435 has been earmarked for investment in 7 companies. Summary descriptions of each of these investments can be found below and the entire portfolio has been valued in accordance with BVCA guidelines. The Company's revenue earnings were 1.67 pence per share and your Board is recommending a final dividend per ordinary share in respect of the period under review of 1.2 pence to be paid to shareholders on the register on 18 January 2002. Despite the recent events in New York and Washington and the turbulent development capital market over the last year, your Board are pleased with the progress that the Company has made. We remain confident that the Company and its Managers have the capability and experience to take advantage of good investment opportunities which may arise in these difficult markets. We are convinced that the multi-manager approach can only benefit the Company and its Shareholders at this time. David Atterton, Chairman. 20 December 2001. Statement of Total Return (incorporating the Revenue Account of the Company) for the period from 6 September 2000 to 30 September 2001 Period ended 30 September 2001 Notes Revenue Capital Total £ £ £ Unrealised gains and (losses) on - (782,897) (782,897) investments Realised gains and (losses) on - 112,584 112,584 investments Income 1,240,092 - 1,240,092 Investment management fees 3 (168,395) (505,183) (673,578) Other expenses (373,105) - (373,105) ----------- ------------ ------------ Return on ordinary activities 698,592 (1,175,496) (476,904) before taxation Tax on ordinary activities (157,001) 101,037 (55,964) ------------ ----------- ----------- Return on ordinary activities 541,591 (1,074,459) (532,868) after taxation Dividend 6 (501,618) - (501,618) ----------- ----------- ----------- Transfer to reserves 39,973 (1,074,459) (1,034,486) ----------- ----------- ----------- Return per Ordinary Share 1.67p (3.32)p (1.65)p All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing operations. No operations were acquired or discontinued in the period. Balance Sheet As at 30 September 2001 as at 30 September 2001 £ £ £ Fixed Assets Investments 16,034,927 Current Assets Debtors and prepayments 515,195 Other assets 1,730,436 Cash at bank 21,315,917 ------------- 23,561,548 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Corporation tax 48,266 Other creditors 378,418 Accruals 694,688 ------------- (1,121,372) Net current assets 22,440,176 ------------- Net assets 38,475,103 ------------- Capital and reserves Called up share capital 418,015 Share premium account 39,091,574 Capital reserve - realised (291,562) Capital reserve - unrealised (782,897) Revenue reserves 39,973 ------------- 38,475,103 ------------- NAV per share 92.04p Summarised Cash Flow Statement Period ended 30th September 2001 Operating activities £ £ Investment income received 725,400 Dividend income - Investment management fees paid (411,302) Other cash payments (72,094) ------------- Net cash inflow from operating activities 242,004 Taxation UK Corporation tax paid Investing activities Acquisition of investments (25,448,624) Disposal of investments 8,743,384 ------------- (16,705,240) Dividends Payment of dividend - Cash outflow before financing and liquid ------------- resource management (16,463,236) Financing Issue of ordinary shares 39,509,589 Management of liquid resources Increase in monies held pending investment (1,730,436) ------------- Increase in cash for the period 21,315,917 ------------- Notes 1. The revenue column of the statement of total return is the profit and loss account of the Company. 2. All revenue and capital items in the above statement of total return derive from continuing operations. 3. In accordance with the policy statement published under 'Management Administration' in the Company's prospectus dated 13 October 2000, the Directors have charged 75% of the investment management expenses to capital reserve. 4. The basic return per Ordinary Share is based on the net revenue from ordinary activities after tax of £541,591 and is based on 32,332,375 Ordinary Shares, being the weighted average number of Ordinary Shares in issue during the period. 5. The financial information set out in these statements does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the period ended 30 September 2001 but is derived from those accounts. Statutory accounts will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the Company's Annual General Meeting to be held on 13 February 2002. The auditors have reported on these accounts; their reports were unqualified and did not contain statements under Section 237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985. 6. The Company proposes to pay a final dividend of 1.2p per share on 18 February 2002 to all shareholders on the register on 18 January 2002. Investment Portfolio Summary Cost at Valuation at % of portfolio acquisition 30 Sept 2001 By value GLE Development Capital Limited T J Brent Limited £900,000 £900,000 5.61% Specialist contractor to the water utility sector Letraset Limited £500,000 £500,000 3.12% Graphic arts products Total £1,400,000 £1,400,000 ------------- ------------- LICA Development Capital Limited Machinery and Automated Systems Technology Limited (MAST) £1,000,000 £950,000 5.92% Development of Vertical Turning and Machining Centres Le Sac Limited £1,000,000 £1,000,000 6.24% Manufactures plastic packing for powder / granular products and liquids Trident Publishing Limited £705,000 £705,000 4.40% Book publishing in the Maritime sector i-documentsystems group plc £517,624 £666,667 4.16% Document storage systems Zynergy Group Limited £1,300,000 £640,000 3.99% Commercialising new materials for medical devices Watkins Books Limited £500,000 £500,000 3.12% Supplier of books in Alternative Sciences, Heath, Philosophy and related sectors Tikit Group plc £500,000 £478,260 2.98% Consultancy, services and software solutions for law firms Total £5,522,624 £4,939,927 ------------- ------------- VCF Partners ANT Limited £1,000,000 £1,000,000 6.24% Provider of embedded browser/email software For consumer electronics and internet appliances Heritage Image Partnerships Limited £300,000 £300,000 1.87% On-line image library Monactive Limited (formerly Xpert Client Systems Ltd) £250,000 £250,000 1.56% Software management tools that monitor usage of software versus licences held iDesk plc £250,000 £125,000 0.78% Helpdesk services and software, Electronic Billing Services Total £1,800,000 £1,675,000 ------------- ------------- Managers' Totals £8,722,624 £8,014,927 Fixed interest portfolio £8,020,000 50.01% TOTAL £16,034,927 100.00% ------------- Managers' Review GLE Development Capital T J Brent Limited T J Brent is a specialist water utility contractor. Its principal activity involves the laying and refurbishment of pipes, connection of houses to the mains, and the installation and replacement of water meters. TriVest invested £900,000 in T J Brent in December 2000. The business continues to trade in line with business plan at the operating level. Whilst the company has lost a significant contract in the period compensatory gains have been achieved in other areas. The investment remains valued at cost. No audited accounts have been produced since the Company was incorporated on 24 July 2000. £38,492 was received as income from loan stock during the period out of a total of £55,607 receivable. TriVest owns 8.45% (7.6% post-dilution) of the total equity of the Company which comprises 100% ordinary shares. Letraset Limited In June 2001 TriVest invested £500,000 in Letraset Limited, formerly Creative Opportunities Limited. The principal activity of Letraset is the production and worldwide distribution of graphic arts products. The products are sold to end users via a network of specialist distributors in each of the major developed markets. Since investment, activities have been consolidated onto one site. The company has traded in line with business plan despite a downturn in demand from the US. The company has a pipeline of new product launches which serve to underpin the sales growth strategy. No audited accounts have been produced since the Company was incorporated on 9 October 2000 and TriVest's investment continues to be valued at cost. TriVest owns 17.35% of the total equity of the Company which comprises 100% ordinary shares. £11,967 was receivable as income from loan stock during the period. LICA Development Capital Limited Machinery and Automated Systems Technology Limited (MAST) MAST is engaged in developing and manufacturing specialist machine tools, including a Mini-Millennium Vertical Turning & Machining Centre and LeSac's third generation specialist packaging machinery for which it is the exclusive supplier. An investment of £1,000,000 was made by TriVest into MAST in February 2001 to provide funding for product development and manufacturing for these products. Information provided in the latest audited accounts for the period to 31 December 2000 is as follows: Turnover £1,373,032; Profit before Tax £23,466; Net Assets £120,166. The valuation on the loan stock is at cost and a 50% provision has been made against the equity in respect of production delays that resulted in sales not achieved during the period. TriVest owns 24.99% of the total equity of MAST which comprises 100% ordinary shares. £3,000 was received as income from loan stock during the period. LeSac Limited LeSac is commercialising a unique packaging system that offers significant advantages over existing solutions through a combination of lower material content, increased space utilisation and lower environmental tax levies. LeSac's third generation product addresses the higher compliance requirements of the EU Packaging Waste Directive for the recovery and re-cycling of packaging waste as well as creating cost savings and value added opportunities for its customers. In February 2001, TriVest made an investment of £1,000,000 in LeSac Limited to provide additional working capital and production capacity for the Company. Information provided in the latest audited accounts for the year ended 31 December 2000 is as follows: Turnover £226,266; Loss before Tax £764,707; Net Liabilities £173,149. The valuation is at cost. TriVest owns 9.34% of the total equity of LeSac which comprises 100% ordinary shares. £43,534 was receivable as income from loan stock during the period. Trident Publishing Limited Trident publishing is a Newco which has been formed especially for the MBO acquisition of Chatham Publishing, the leading, independent, maritime publisher. The Company is a specialist in the military and historical publishing sector. TriVest made an investment of £705,000 in Trident in May 2001 and the Company is on target with its original projections. The Company's year-end is 30 September and no audited accounts have been finalised since the incorporation of the company. TriVest owns 36.84% of the total equity of the Company which comprises 100% ordinary shares. The valuation is at cost. £14,405 was receivable as income from loan stock during the period. i-documentsystems group plc i-documentsystems group plc ('i-dox') is an established and fast growing software company which specialises in the development of products for document, content and information management. The Group's principal product is Image-Gen, a sophisticated web-based software package which allows a complex paper-based process, such as the local authority planning application process, to be converted into a straightforward and robust electronic process leading to significant savings in cost and time. Image-Gen is a proven product which has been 'live' as a web-based system since 1995. i-dox has recently secured business in Glasgow and Gosport relating to Building Control and Tax/Benefits respectively. i-dox is thus achieving diversification of product deployment as was envisaged at flotation. TriVest made an investment of £517,624 in this fast growing software company in December 2000. Now quoted on AIM, the value of TriVest's investment as at 30 September 2001 was £666,667. Information provided in the latest audited accounts for the year ended 31 October 2001 is as follows: Turnover £ 1,201,192; Loss before Tax £1,181,273; Net Assets £2,667,086. TriVest owns 3.2% of the total equity of i-documentsystems which comprises 100% ordinary shares. No income was received from the investment during the period. Zynergy Group Limited Zynergy is a rapidly expanding global medi-tech organisation exploiting its fully-developed materials, coatings and other similar technologies. These revolutionary technologies enable and enhance Zynergy's existing proprietary products in high-value sectors, namely minimally-invasive cardiology, balloons, stents and orthopaedics as well as other critical areas, with respiratory and urology products to follow. On 20 September 2000 the Company acquired the entire issued share capital of Blastrelease Limited now called Zynergy Orthopaedics Limited. During 2000 the Company set up two new ventures. Zynergy Interventional Cardiology was established to manufacture and market catheters and stents for the interventional cardiology market and Zynergy Precision Extrusion was established as a joint venture with Precision Extrusion Inc. to manufacture and market tubing using the proprietary polymers of Zynergy Core Technology. The Group will continue to invest in the medical sector. TriVest invested £1,000,000 in Zynergy Group Limited in February 2001 and an additional £300,000 in September 2001 to provide working capital and capital for product development. Information provided in the latest audited accounts for the period to 31 December 2000 is as follows: Turnover £2,179,080; Loss before Tax £4,066,393, Net Assets £5,709,570. The valuation of the loan stock is at cost. The valuation of the equity has however been decreased by £660,000 to take account of the effect of a current Rights Issue and Offer. TriVest owns 1.9% of the total equity of the Company which comprises 100% ordinary shares. £31,096 was receivable as income from loan stock during the period. Watkins Books Limited In March 2001, TriVest made an investment of £500,000 in Watkins Books Limited. Watkins is the pre-eminent UK supplier of books and information in the alternative sciences, health, philosophy and related sectors. Its business is organised in four distinct divisions: Watkins Bookshop and Watkins Esoteric Centre; Watkins Readings; Watkins Website and Mail Order; and Watkins Publishing which are all currently under development. The original Watkins bookshop in Cecil Court has been refurbished with an increased sales area and three additional shops are being developed. The Watkins website is due to be launched in the first quarter of 2002 and mail order sales are rising sharply. 40 publishing titles have been commissioned of which 50% have progressed to publication. Information provided in the audited accounts for the period to 31 March 2000 is as follows: Turnover £333,716; Loss before tax £35,137; Net Assets £73,868. The valuation is at cost. TriVest owns 12.5% of the total equity of the Company which comprises 100% ordinary shares. £20,416 was receivable as income from loan stock during the period. Tikit Group plc Tikit provides consultancy services and software solutions primarily to IT departments of the top 200 law firms. Tikit also resells third party software applications where it considers these to be 'best of breed'. Tikit has developed a proficient technical skillbase focussed on the requirements of major legal practices and has established a strong brand reputation in its market sector. Since it was established in 1994, the Company has shown profitable growth in each financial year to date and increased turnover from £6.5m to £9.3m in 2000. Tikit has been innovative in developing the market for specific applications in the legal sector, establishing commercial relationships with a number of software vendors for specific applications relevant to that sector. It combines these with its own software enhancement modules and integration capabilities to provide solutions tailored principally for major law firms. An investment of £500,000 was made by TriVest in June 2001, in Tikit Group plc. Tikit has been listed on the Alternative Investments Market since June 2001 and the value of TriVest's investment as at 30 September 2001 was £ 478,260. Information provided in the latest audited accounts for the period to 31 December 2000 is as follows: Turnover £1,866,351; Loss before Tax £848,332, Net Assets £317,667. TriVest owns 3.0% of the total equity of Tikit which comprises 100% ordinary shares. No income was received from the investment during the period. VCF Partners ANT Limited ANT Ltd is a software company that develops embedded browsers to improve users' interactive communication with digital television sets and other consumer electronic devices. TriVest made an investment of £1,000,000 in ANT Limited in July 2001. Information provided in the latest audited accounts for the period to 31 December 2000 is as follows: Turnover £1,866,351; Loss before Tax £848,332, Net Assets £317,667. TriVest owns 5.3% of the total equity of the Company which comprises 100% ordinary shares. £518 was receivable as income from loan stock during the period. Heritage Image Partnership Limited Heritage Image Partnership Limited is building an online library of high-resolution images from exclusive access to the content of heritage institutions, principally museums and libraries, and sells directly to business customers. The company launched its service in April 2001 and is generating a good level of interest. TriVest invested £300,000 in Heritage Image Partnership Ltd in March 2001. Information provided in the latest audited accounts for the 11 months to 31 December 2000 is as follows: Turnover Nil; Loss before Tax £1,376,794, Net liabilities £1,375,795. TriVest owns 5.9% of the total equity of the Company which comprises 100% ordinary shares. No income was received from the investment during the period. Monactive Limited (formerly Xpert Client Systems Limited) Monactive Limited is a leading provider of Software Asset Management (SAM) tools with over 100 customers. The Company's software monitors software usage on PC networks providing corporates with data for cost reduction and compliance. Its customers are able to reduce their software licensing costs whilst demonstrating legal compliance. TriVest invested £250,000 in Monactive Ltd in March 2001. Information provided in the latest audited accounts for the period to 31 July 2000 is as follows: Turnover £261,753; Loss before Tax £320,800; Net Liabilities £287,249. TriVest owns 5.9% of the total equity of the Company which comprises 100% ordinary shares. £2,521 was receivable as income from loan stock during the period. iDesk plc IDesk provides telcos, ISPs and other blue chip customers with outsourced technical help desks, operated from a call centre in London. iDesk also sells its proprietary and licensed CRM software and provides electronic billing services. The Board believes it is prudent to write down the investment by 50% due to difficult trading conditions in the company's market. TriVest made an investment in iDesk plc of £250,000 in November 2000. Information provided in the latest audited accounts for the 17 month period to 31 December 2000 is as follows: Turnover £8,303,186; Loss before Tax £1,398,464, Net Liabilities £ 989,723. TriVest owns 0.83% of the total equity of the Company which comprises 100% ordinary shares. No income was received from the investment during the period.
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