Baronsmead Venture Trust plc
Dividend policy change announcement
The Board is making a change to its dividend policy. The existing policy aims to sustain an annual dividend level at an average of 6.5p per ordinary share. The Board believes this is no longer appropriate for two reasons. Firstly, the number of shares has increased and will increase further through future fundraisings and the absolute level of this dividend may in time become too high to sustain consistently as a percentage of NAV. Secondly, as the proportion of investments in earlier stage companies increases, following the VCT rule changes in 2015, it is expected that the timing of returns will be less predictable. The Board feels it is therefore prudent to adopt a yield based dividend.
The new policy is as follows:
The Board will decide the annual dividends each year and the level of the dividends will depend on investment performance, the level of realised returns and available liquidity. The dividend policy guidelines below are not binding and the Board retains the ability to pay higher or lower dividends relevant to prevailing circumstances. However, the Board confirms the following two guidelines that shape its dividend policy;
· The Board will, wherever possible, seek to pay two dividends to Shareholders in each calendar year, typically an interim in September and a final dividend following the AGM in February/March;
· The Board will use, as a guide, when setting the dividends for a financial year, a sum representing 7% of the opening NAV of that financial year.
Historically the VCT has paid a dividend yield of more than 7% per annum and the intention is to continue to exceed the target if investment performance allows.
For further information please contact:
Baronsmead VCT Investor Relations
020 3875 9862
[email protected]
