Puma VCT VII plc – Annual report and accounts 2015

HIGHLIGHTS 

  • Fund fully invested in a diverse range of high quality businesses and projects.
  • Profit of £262,000 before tax for the year, a gain of 1.75p per share
  • 20p per share of dividends paid since inception, 5p during the year, equivalent to a 7.1% per annum tax-free running yield on net investment.

CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT

Introduction

I am pleased to present the Company’s fourth Annual Report which is for the year ended 28 February 2015.

Results

The Company reported a profit for the year of £236,000 (2014: £60,000), equivalent to 1.75p (2014: 0.44p) per ordinary share (calculated on the weighted average number of shares). The Net Asset Value per ordinary share (“NAV”) at the year end (adding back the 20p of dividends paid to date) was 93.66p. 

Dividends

As envisaged in the Company’s prospectus, the Company has for the fourth calendar year in succession paid a dividend of 5p per ordinary share, equivalent to a 7.1% tax-free running yield on shareholder’s net investment. 

Investments

At the end of the year, the Company had invested £9 million, representing 91% of its net asset value, in a mixture of qualifying and non-qualifying investments whilst still maintaining our VCT qualifying status.  These investments are primarily in asset-backed businesses and projects generating a gross annual return of 7.5% on the basis of current deployments and investment performance. Details of the Company’s portfolio of investments can be found in the Investment Manager’s report below. 

VCT qualifying status

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”) provides the board and the investment manager with advice on the ongoing compliance with HMRC rules and regulations concerning VCTs.  PwC also assists the Investment Manager in establishing the status of investments as qualifying holdings.

Outlook

The lack of availability of bank credit has enabled the Company to assemble a portfolio of investments on attractive terms and we are pleased to report that the Company’s net assets are fully deployed in a diverse range of high quality businesses and projects.  There may be some further changes in the composition of the portfolio but the Board expects to predominantly concentrate in the future on the monitoring of our existing investments and over the next year or so realising the portfolio to enable the liquidation of the fund.

David Buchler
Chairman
30 June 2015

 

Downloads 

Puma VCT VII plc – Annual report and accounts 2015