Eclipse VCT 4 plc ("Eclipse 4" or "Fund")
Interim Management Statement
For the period from 1 September 2007 to 31 December 2007
In accordance with Rule 4.3 of the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure
and Transparency rules, Eclipse VCT 4 plc presents an Interim
Management Statement for the period 1 September 2007 to 31 December
2007. The statement also includes relevant financial information
between the end of the period and the date of this statement.
Financial highlights
As at 31 December 2007 As at 31 August
2007
Total net assets £29.0m £29.8m
Net asset value per share 98.2p 101.1p
Share price 80.0p 85.0p
Discount to Net Asset Value 18.5% 15.9%
("NAV")
Investment performance
The unaudited NAV per share on 31 December 2007 was 98.2p, slightly
down on the year end NAV of 101.1p. By value, the portfolio was
approximately 45% invested in unquoted companies and 17% invested in
AIM-quoted companies, with the balance invested in money market
securities and cash. Revaluations in the unquoted portfolio have led
to an overall uplift of £92,000, but due to volatility and a downturn
in the AIM market, this reduced the value of the AIM portfolio by
£949,000. As described in more detail below, NPI Media Group Limited
was sold for a loss. The net loss realised for the Fund in the
period was £922,000.
Investment Activity
Eclipse 4 has made four new qualifying investments in unquoted
companies since the year end. £2.0 million was invested in The Grill
Group Limited, £1.6 million in The History Press Limited, £1.3
million in Bruce Dunlop Associates and finally £1.0 million in
Tristar Worldwide Chauffeur Services Limited. There was also a
follow-on investment of £209,300 in Promotion Space Limited.
The investment in The History Press Limited is a new vehicle in which
all the Eclipse funds invested, set up to acquire NPI Media Group
Limited through a restructuring process. In addition, guarantees
totalling £1.9 million (Eclipse 4 - £519,000) were provided to
support working capital facilities. NPI had performed poorly since
the initial investment and had been particularly impacted by its
printing operations. Through the restructuring process, initiated by
Octopus, The History Press only acquired the publishing assets from
NPI and we believe that this will make a more robust and exciting
investment for the future. Through the new investment, Eclipse 4
realised just under half its original investment in NPI, the balance
being written off. A considerable amount of time has been put into
this investment by Octopus, and this has included the recruitment of
a new management team.
The Fund has also invested in three new qualifying AIM investments
since the year end. These were £500,000 in Plastics Capital plc,
£350,000 in Myhome plc and £195,000 in Optimisa plc. The Fund also
fully disposed of the investment in BBI Holdings plc, realising a
profit of £63,000.
On a less positive note a further provision has been made against the
investment Red-M Group which Octopus consider to be prudent.
The total value of the investment portfolio at 31 December 2007 was
£28.7 million.
Ten largest qualifying holdings
Company Investment Carrying Percentage of total
class value £'000 investments*
The Grill Group
Limited Unquoted 1,954 6.9%
The History Press
Limited Unquoted 1,604 5.6%
Bruce Dunlop
Associates Unquoted 1,250 4.4%
Gyro International
Limited Unquoted 1,145 4.0%
Sweet Cred Holdings
Limited Unquoted 1,000 3.5%
T4 Holdings Limited Unquoted 1,000 3.5%
Tristar Worldwide Unquoted 1,000 3.5%
CSL DualCom Limited Unquoted 986 3.4%
Tanfield Group plc AIM-quoted 913 3.2%
Adrenalin Design
Limited Unquoted 905 3.2%
* including cash and money market securities
Dividends
As stated in the annual report to 31 August 2007, a dividend of 1.5p
per share will be paid on 19 February 2008 to shareholders on the
register on 25 January 2008. This takes total dividends paid since
launch to 2.2p.
Investment objective
Eclipse 4 invests in a diversified portfolio of unquoted and
AIM-quoted UK companies with the intention of providing attractive
tax-free dividends and long-term capital growth to its investors.
Material events and transactions
The Fund's board is not aware of any significant event or transaction
which has occurred between the 1 January 2008 and the date of
publication of this statement which would have a material impact on
the financial position on the Fund.
For further information please contact:
Octopus Investments Limited - 020 7710 2800
ENDS
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