Draper Esprit VCT

[mswjr]

With the possibility of a new Offer this tax year, can I ask what opinions are concerning this VCT, especially in light of recent regulatory changes. I invested a reasonable sum a couple of years ago, and have been happy enough so far, but have not seen EDV discussed very much on TMF.

[scotia]

Near the end of tax year 2011/2012 I was looking to purchase a VCT, but most mainstream offers were full, so I purchased Elderstreet - and have been very happy (and possibly lucky) with the result. I also invested last year's special dividend in a DRIS. The excellent return over the past few years has been largely due to the sale of WASP - which was a long time hold. However, in addition to the two WASP Special Dividends, Elderstreet has consistently paid solid dividends, while maintaining NAV. Probably not a Widows and Orphans pick, but otherwise possibly worthy of consideration

[Mainwaring]

I assume all have subsequently seen this thread following the tie up with Draper Esprit announced last week.
viewtopic.php?f=25&t=904#p8450

I think this is good for Elderstreet as Draper appears well connected and well managed. I am happy with my small holding here following their summer IPO and it seems they will provide Elderstreet with opportunities they would not otherwise have access to.
Draper Esprit have results out today and are also championing their new Elderstreet VCT platform.

I have had an Internet look through their portfolio and amongst their Top 10 perhaps AngloINFO is a problem child...£1.6m written down but Elderstreet still investing. Overall their 5 and 10 year total return looks better than mine, though supported by a notable winner, since sold. Discount control buybacks at 7.5% not particularly effective at present.

I had bought a holding in Northern for just the event that they raise this year through shareholders and wasn't planning any more research than 'where is the chequebook'. That is,
until the Draper link to Elderstreet popped up. I've registered for info and will continue to dig.

Elderstreet insight appreciated from long standing shareholders....
MW

[scotia]

Elderstreet opened an Offer to raise £10M on 12/12/16. Club Finance have listed it, but it hasn't yet appeared on the Hargreaves Lansdown Site

[ali1947fish]

i am not invested in this one- what is your assessment of its calbre in regard to the new rules etc...

[sinterklaas]

IMO the reason Elderstreet is more interesting now is that they're now investing alongside Draper Esprit

http://draperesprit.com/uncategorized/a ... s-limited/

Until now Draper Esprit has only been available through advisers. They seem have been doing nicely since their float;

http://www.cityam.com/254538/vc-firm-dr ... id-off-pre

[scotia]

From Elderstreet today:-

On 12 December 2016, the board of Elderstreet VCT plc (the "Company") published a prospectus in connection with an offer for subscription in respect of new ordinary shares (the "Offer"), seeking to raise up to £10 million with an option to extend it to no more than £20 million.

The board of Elderstreet VCT plc (the "Company") now wish to announce that they have exercised the option to extend the Offer to no more than £20 million.

[Snowbadger]

I am curious as to why Elderstreet VCT is still only 50% subscribed as it has the fourth best total return (Generalist) over 5yrs. Any ideas. I have already secured an allocation for this year.



Cheers,

SB

[scotia]

I have a holding in Elderstreet which I purchased near the end of Tax year 11/12 when there was a limited choice of still-open offers. And it has performed very well - largely because of profitable disposals of long-held investments - a 15p special dividend in September 2014 and a 5p special dividend in June 2015. These I think came from the sale of Wessex Advanced Switching Products. Otherwise the standard dividend level has been fairly steady - currently around 5p per annum. I think it is probably the special dividends which have kept it near the top of the table over 5 years, and I suspect it may fall back a bit when these specials run out of the calculations. However it seems to be doing a reasonable job, and I am content to hold it. It is probably seen as a small player compared to the Northerns and Baronsmeads, and consequently may not be on the radar of Financial Advisers. It also operates with a double digit discount - and this may discourage investors.

[oxmatt]

Other than Northern I was most interested in Pembroke and Elderstreet this year so I'm a bit surprised take up on both has been relatively slow. To be fair Elderstreet was originally a £10m offer and only recently increased the capacity with the over-allotment facility. I think the link to Draper Esprit for Elderstreet and Oakley for Pembroke makes them very interesting.

[Snowbadger]

Thanks Scotia. The one year performance of 12% puts it in 11th place, well ahead of most of the fully subscribed VCTs. I take your point on the discount and the lumpiness of the specials but isn"t that the norm for VCTs.

Still learning,


many thanks,

SB.

[scotia]

I decided to have a look at the Elderstreet VCT site to see if there were any details of the shares issued on 4th April. So I typed Elderstreet VCT into a Google search, and top of the list was indeed www.elderstreet.com, but beneath it was the text "this site may be hacked"
Any comments from the Internet savvy as to whether or not I should ignore this message?

[Kidman]

Any comments from the Internet savvy as to whether or not I should ignore this message?

I would heed this warning. I suggest that you go to the Downing site as they are the administrators for the Elderstreet VCT and items like annual reports are there.

http://www.downing.co.uk/shareholder-information/non-downing-vct/elderstreet-vct-plc

[scotia]

Thanks Kidman - I gave the Elderstreet Site a miss. But I picked up an RNS at LSE which was issued last night

The Directors of Elderstreet VCT plc announce an allotment on 5 April 2017 of Ordinary Shares of 5p each ("Shares") pursuant to the Offers for Subscription that opened on 12 December 2016 ("Offers") as follows: 21,677,465 Shares at an average price of 64.99p

Application for the Shares to be admitted to the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's market for listed securities will be made shortly. Dealings are expected to commence on or around 14 April 2017.

Following this allotment, the Company has 58,711,831 Shares in issue, which is also the total voting rights of the Company.

[UncleEbenezer]

I decided to have a look at the Elderstreet VCT site to see if there were any details of the shares issued on 4th April. So I typed Elderstreet VCT into a Google search, and top of the list was indeed http://www.elderstreet.com, but beneath it was the text "this site may be hacked"
Any comments from the Internet savvy as to whether or not I should ignore this message?

I took a quick look. I can see nothing more dodgy than a bit of tracking code from Google Analytics! I think (99%+) it's fine, though I wouldn't want to pronounce definitively without more extensive study, such as masquerading as a user of different browsers.

At a wild guess, the most likely thing to have upset google is the way they've implemented the disclaimer box. Google's bot has (rightly) seen a script operating within a hidden box, but drawn the wrong conclusion. The hidden box just contains the disclaimer until you accept it.

Though as general advice, I wouldn't want to contradict what Tom said.

[scotia]

I took a quick look. I can see nothing more dodgy than a bit of tracking code from Google Analytics! I think (99%+) it's fine, though I wouldn't want to pronounce definitively without more extensive study, such as masquerading as a user of different browsers.

Thanks for looking at this - your input is appreciated. I wonder if Google informs the site owners (Elderstreet) of such a message - because it certainly discouraged me (and probably others) from proceeding.

[outpost83]

Received my share and tax certs through the post this morning. My allocation was 9383 shares @ 63.95p.

[scotia]

My allocation was 9383 shares @ 63.95p.

You got a better deal than I did - I got 9194 @ 65.26 ( a 3% charge). I only applied at the end of March, and received a 2.5% discount on the 5.5% charge - via Hargreaves Lansdown.

[outpost83]

I applied direct shortly after the offer opened and therefore benefited from the early bird discounts. I am prepared to forego the discounts offered by using an intermediary just to try and keep life simple! I find that the more people that get involved, the more complicated it all becomes and the more time I spend dealing with a load of admin nonsense.

[scotia]

On 24th August, Elderstreet issued a Dividend Declaration RNS.
http://www.iii.co.uk/research/LSE:EDV/n ... xt=LSE:EDV

It stated that their intention is to bring forward the payment of a 1.5p dividend from the normal December date to the 29th September. The given reason is that the Company has benefited from a number of investment realisations in recent months.

This was reiterated in a letter to shareholders which I received today - but in addition this letter announced that the Company is planning to launch a new offer for subscription in the coming months.