Hygea VCT plc : Update for the quarter ended 31...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                              3 May 2018

HYGEA VCT PLC 

("Hygea" or "the Company")

Update for the quarter ended 31 March 2018

Hygea vct plc presents its quarterly update for the period commencing 1 January 2018. 

The Directors have recently reviewed the valuation of its portfolio as at the quarter ended 31 March 2018.

The unaudited Net Asset Value ("NAV") per ordinary share as at 31 March 2018 was 64.4p.  This is a rise of 0.6p from the previously published NAV for the period ended 31 December 2017, due to changes in the value of the quoted investments, net of running costs. No changes have been made to the unquoted valuations.

The Company's holding in Scancell Holdings Plc ("Scancell"), listed on AIM, represents approximately one third of its portfolio at 31 March 2018.  The bid price of Scancell's shares used for the calculation of the Company's net assets on 31 March 2018 was 13.5p, a 1.0p increase from 31 December 2017. On 18 April 2018, Scancell announced a placing and open offer to raise up to £8.9m at 12p per share; the funds raised will be used to further develop both the Moditope® and  ImmunoBody® platforms, and progress various studies - the latter are planned to include the First-In-Human study (starting in H1 2019) with Modi-1 in patients with triple-negative breast cancer, ovarian cancer and sarcoma. Hygea was unable to subscribe in this funding round due to limitations imposed by HMRC to maintain VCT qualifying status, and, as a result, we have been further diluted and our holding of 13,149,730 shares now represents 3.5% of Scancell's share capital.

During the period under review, 100,000 shares in Scancell were sold at 18p per share for liquidity management purposes.

At 31 March 2018, the Company had used £166,822 of its £200,000 overdraft facility.  After the end of the period under review, the overdraft facility of £200,000 has been converted to a formal loan of £200,000 following changes at RBS due to Ring-Fencing, the loan due to be repaid by 30 September 2018.

At the Company's AGM on 5 April 2018, shareholders approved the subdivision of the ordinary share capital, reducing the nominal value from 50p per ordinary share to 1p per ordinary share, and the creation of 8,115,376 deferred shares of 49p each. These deferred shares were repurchased by the Company on 6 April 2018 for an aggregate price of 1p. The share restructuring as detailed in the notice of AGM of the Company dated 5 February 2018 has now been fully implemented.

The Directors confirm that a prospectus to raise up to £10m via the issue of new B shares to be managed by Seneca Partners Limited (with an over allotment facility of £10m) is expected to be issued shortly.

The Directors are not aware of any other events or transactions which have taken place between 1 April 2018 and the publication of this statement which have had a material effect on the financial position of the Company.

Furthermore, for the purposes of DTR 5.6.1 of the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, the total number of shares in Hygea vct plc in issue as at close of business on 1 May 2018 was 8,115,376 ordinary shares with a nominal value of 1p each. The Company does not hold any ordinary shares in Treasury. Therefore, the total number of voting rights in the Company is 8,115,376 (the 'Figure').

The Figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.

Enquiries:

John Hustler, Hygea vct plc at [e-mail]

Roland Cornish, Beaumont Cornish Limited on 020 7628 3396

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Source: Hygea VCT plc via Globenewswire