The Lemon Fool

Not sure I am happy with this move, but it looks like Downing are transferring their non Healthcare EIS & VCT funds to Foresight

https://www.downing.co.uk/news/downing-s-ventures-division-to-focus-on-healthcare-in-strategic-move

i only this year opened a small position in the Downing FOUR AIM and Healthcare VCTs, So will now find the AIM part moving across to Foresight, (a company I have always tried hard to avoid). I will be closely watching whether Foresight keep the at NAV Share buyback policy.

Surely a good time for the directors of the downing VCT's to assess which VCT management group(s) would best serve the interests of the shareholders of the VCT's. Is it really Foresight just because Downing have decided to sell them them their contractual rights.

In their statement Downing talk a lot about this being a strategic decision, so you would assume that this review has been going on for a while and they had instigated things. So (if that was the case) it seems strange timing to launch the new Downing 4 AIM share class, before a decision was made/agreed.

With my optimists hat on, I can but hope that full details will be provided in the Annual report being published next month, as to the process that was followed, why the relevant boards felt the Foresight offer was the best one and why (potentially) they don't feel the need to let shareholders actually vote. But currently it all seems very murky.

Oh and it would have been nice (especially as their was a fund raise ongoing), if they had issued a statement to say they were conducting such a strategic review. With normal companies, if you don't like what the board are doing you can just sell. VCTs with their minimum holding periods are not such easy beasts to exit from.

Consolidation at the bottom of the market

I would also have thought the rest of Downing’s business (particularly renewables etc) had more in common with the rest of Foresight’s business

Foresight is now a listed company and vowed at float to try to grow by M&A

Wonder if Downing hoped to sell its whole business to them

CrackAddick wrote:Not sure I am happy with this move, but it looks like Downing are transferring their non Healthcare EIS & VCT funds to Foresight

https://www.downing.co.uk/news/downing-s-ventures-division-to-focus-on-healthcare-in-strategic-move

i only this year opened a small position in the Downing FOUR AIM and Healthcare VCTs, So will now find the AIM part moving across to Foresight, (a company I have always tried hard to avoid). I will be closely watching whether Foresight keep the at NAV Share buyback policy.

Dreadful , Foresight VCTs are the only ones that I have willingly unloaded. I have a few Downing VCTs including Healthcare .

Looks like it has now all gone through

https://data.fca.org.uk/artefacts/NSM/GNW/1000672815-en.html

I still don't understand how ethically this can happen, without the VCT shareholders having a vote on the matter. Changing Investment managers is not a trivial matter.