VENTUS VCT PLC (VEN)

VENTUS VCT PLC (VEN)

Blog posts

Ventus and Ventus 2 VCT – UPDATE

ShareSoc led a campaign fronted by Nick Curtis at the August 2019 AGM to remove the directors and institute governance changes.  There had been concerns from shareholders around the length of director service, investment management fees, performance fee calculations and high management costs. Whilst the majority of the directors remained, Paul Thomas, the Temporis representative, was removed and given the high level of shareholder dissatisfaction (at nearly 50% of the vote) Nick Curtis was asked to go on the board of Ventus.  ...

Ventus Director Changes following ShareSoc campaign

ShareSoc are pleased with the outcomes at Ventus and Ventus 2 VCTs. It appears that following difficult AGMs, the directors have listened to shareholders' concerns and have come up with a plan to address the many points raised. The campaign was led by Nick Curtis and supported by Sharesoc and seems to have had a good result. Ventus has now appointed Nick Curtis to the Board of Ventus VCT plc with effect from 1st October 2019. Chris Zeal and Lloyd Chamberlain will resign from the ...

Albion Venture Capital Trust PLC and Ventus funds

The Albion Venture Capital AGM is on Wed 21 Aug. Cliff Weight, Mark Lauber, Tim Grattan and others will be attending and asking questions. I finally received the Albion Venture Capital register on 16 August 2019. However, Albion Venture Capital VCT Chair Richard Glover wrote to all 5,300 shareholders on 15 August. Many were sent emails but the copy of the register we were given did not have email addresses, so we were unable to email shareholders. In the time available ...

Ventus VCT AGMs – A Disappointing Result, National Grid and Sports Direct

I have mentioned previously the attempt by a shareholder in the Ventus VCTs (VEN and VEN2) to start a revolution, i.e. replace all the directors and appoint new ones. See https://tinyurl.com/y6e5fafo . Nick Curtis was the leader of the revolt but at the AGMs on the 8th August the required resolutions were narrowly defeated with one exception. This was after the boards of these companies paid a proxy advisory service £38,000 to canvas shareholders, which of course shareholders will be paying ...

Ventus and Ventus 2 VCTs– obstacles to a level playing field in unseating directors

By Cliff Weight, ShareSoc Director I was pleased to see the highly respected and influential Investors Chronicle taking an interest in and writing a balance article on the Ventus funds, see https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/comment/2019/07/18/limits-of-influence/ The IC seems to think ShareSoc is leading and driving the campaign, whereas the campaign leader is Nick Curtis, but other than this point I think it is a very good article. What is becoming apparent is how extremely difficult it is to unseat directors, because the playing field is tilted so ...

VCT Investor Group – Ventus & Ventus 2 VCT Shareholder Resolutions

Examples of egregious fee structures and of passive directors are to be found in many VCTs (Venture Capital Trusts). ShareSoc and its members campaign to try to rein in the worst offenders, see https://www.sharesoc.org/campaigns/vct-investors-group/ Our principal objectives are: To provide best practice guidelines on management fees, performance fees, directors’ tenure and independence. To provide advice for investors on specific VCTs by Identifying existing holders willing to work with others to share knowledge, to identify areas of concern and to make ...

AGM Reports

Ventus and Ventus 2 VCTs (VEN, VEN2) AGM Report 2019

The Ventus (VEN) and Ventus 2 (VEN2) AGMs were held on Thursday 8th August 2019, commencing at 11:30 at the offices of Howard Kennedy (the VCT’s solicitors), No. 1 London Bridge, London SE1 9BG. For investors who are not familiar with VEN and VEN2, they are both Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) which own (or part own) a number of wind farms and hydroelectric power generation stations in the UK. The directors of the VCTs employ Temporis (renewable energy specialists) to manage the ...

ShareSoc News

VCT INVESTORS GROUP Update and report on 23 March 2021 webinar

ShareSoc News Item by Cliff Weight, Director 117 people registered for our 23 March 2021 webinar and at least 94 attended, much higher than the 26 the previous year at the East India Club. The organisers received much positive feedback, for which they are grateful, and indicates that similar future events should be planned. At the webinar: Cliff Weight did a brief introduction of why the VCT Investors Group was formed and why it exists – to lobby on poor performance, poor ...

Ventus and Ventus 2 – Voting Recommendations from ShareSoc – 28 June 2019

ShareSoc, the UK Individual Shareholders Society, has a campaign called the ShareSoc VCT Investors Group who campaign against egregious fees and long tenure NEDs and is supportive of the Ventus shareholder resolutions submitted by the Requisitioners.  Some of the background is in my 18 June blog https://www.sharesoc.org/blog/vcts/vct-investor-group-ventus-ventus-2-vct-shareholder-resolutions/ We welcome the changes recently announced and we are glad that the Boards have responded to shareholder concerns and have engaged with ShareSoc. ShareSoc’s recommendations for the Ventus and Ventus 2 AGMs which are being held ...

Media Mentions

Investors Chronicle, 18 July 2019, Ventus and Ventus 2 VCTs

The highly respected and influential Investors Chronicle is taking an interest in and writing a balance article on the Ventus funds, see https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/comment/2019/07/18/limits-of-influence/ The IC seems to think ShareSoc is leading and driving the campaign, whereas the campaign leader is Nick Curtis, but other than this point I think it is a very good article.