Buy backs gone for now....

[flyer61]

Has anybody been looking to buy in the second hand market? Does anybody have any experience of placing limit orders on to buy VCT's? If you have where did you pitch your limit, a percentage below the last published NAV? Or has the VCT second hand market completely stopped for now.

[UncleEbenezer]

Do you have actual evidence that buybacks might be gone?

I haven't tried to buy or sell recently, but published figures (e.g. AIC) show discounts that look entirely compatible with pre-covid policy.

[127tolmers]

The heading seems at odds with the comment. There have been a large number of buybacks in recent weeks including Foresight, Baronsmead, Mobeus & Proven.

If you want to participate in buybacks, look at the VCT's annual report which will often refer you to the Company's stockbroker to call and where you can register an interest for the time the VCT next does one.

Just picking the first report that comes to hand The Income & Growth VCT (2018) run by Mobeus have a section on p74 entitled selling your shares. It references Panmure Gordon (who cover 70% of the market). You will still need your own broker to conduct the deal.

[flyer61]

Fri 20 Mar 2020 16:00
RNS Number : 0670H
British Smaller Companies VCT PLC
20 March 2020

British Smaller Companies VCT plc (the "Company")

Temporary suspension of buy-back policy and DRIS

The Company announces that due to the current market conditions it has suspended its dividend re-investment scheme ("DRIS") and buyback policy for the time being.

The situation will remain under review and a further announcement made when appropriate.

My thinking was I would leave a buy order in the marketplace at a level I was comfortable to pay. It would be lower than the present bid offer spread and at a reasonable discount to the latest NAV. If there are any sellers who really want to deal then I might be able to play a part. BSC caught my eye as HL are showing that 10% of the fund is in Microsoft. Maybe this is an anomaly and I need to ring the Company to confirm.

[dealtn]

BSC caught my eye as HL are showing that 10% of the fund is in Microsoft. Maybe this is an anomaly and I need to ring the Company to confirm.

Cross checking the holdings in the latest Annual Report (which isn't that old) suggests its largest holding, and missing from the HL list, is Matillion. Unless this has been bought by Microsoft recently, in a share only transaction, and BSC hasn't sold those shares (which I haven't checked but seems initially unlikely), I would lean towards this being a mistake.

Happy to be corrected though.