Select Technology – Print Management Software
Company Registered Number
3928569
Annual Financial Statements
For the Year Ended 28 February 2021
For the Year Ended 28 February 2021
OXFORD TECHNOLOGY
2
VENTURE CAPITAL TRUST PLC
Consolidated Annual Financial
Statements
For the Year Ended 28 February 2025
2
Table of Contents
About Oxford Technology 2 Venture Capital Trust Plc
3
Investment Strategy
3
Financial Headlines
4
Strategic Report
6
Chairman’s Statement
6
Business Review
17
Investment Manager’s Review
25
Investment Adviser – Oxford Technology Management Ltd
37
Board of Directors
38
Directors’ Report
41
Directors’ Remuneration Report and Policy
48
Corporate Governance Report
52
Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities
58
Report of the Independent Auditor
59
Consolidated Income Statement
65
Consolidated and Company Balance Sheet
68
Consolidated and Company Statement of Changes in Equity
71
Consolidated and Company Statement of Cash Flows
74
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
77
Oxford Technology 2 Venture Capital Trust Plc - Notice of Annual General Meeting
91
Oxford Technology 2 Venture Capital Trust Plc Proxy Form
95
Shareholder Information
97
Company Information – Directors and Advisers
98
3
About Oxford Technology 2 Venture Capital Trust Plc
VCTs were introduced by the UK Government in 1995 to encourage individuals to invest in UK smaller
companies. This was achieved by offering VCT investors a series of tax benefits.
Oxford Technology 2
Venture Capital Trust Plc (the “Company”, “OT2VCT”) was listed on the London Stock Exchange in April
2000.
It raised £6m in 2000-01.
Further top-up offers raised an additional £468k.
On 30 June 2022, the other
three Oxford Technology VCTs (Oxford Technology Venture Capital Trust Plc (“OT1VCT”), Oxford
Technology 3 Venture Capital Trust Plc (“OT3VCT”) and Oxford Technology 4 Venture Capital Trust Plc
(“OT4VCT”) (and collectively the “Target VCTs”) merged with the Company (“the Merger”).
The Company is managed by its subsidiary, OT2 Managers Ltd, with services subcontracted to Oxford
Technology Management Ltd (OTM).
These Financial Statements are for the Group which refers to Oxford
Technology 2 Venture Capital Trust Plc and its subsidiary, and the terms Company and Group are largely
interchangeable throughout the document as appropriate.
Investment Strategy
The Group built a balanced portfolio of technology investments with the following characteristics
at the time
of initial investment
(in the case of the OT2 Share Class, or at the time OT1VCT, OT3VCT and OT4VCT
made their original investments):
Unlisted, UK based, science, technology and engineering businesses; the Group’s investments in
Scancell Holdings Plc, Arecor Therapeutics Plc and Mirriad Advertising Plc have now listed on AIM;
Investments typically in the range of £100k to £500k;
Generally located within approximately 60 miles of Oxford so that the Company can be an active
investor.
The key feature of OT2VCT is that it has focused on investing in early stage and start-up technology
companies.
Early stage companies are those which have made some initial sales.
Start-up companies are those
at an earlier stage; they will usually have already developed their initial product or service and be close to
achieving their first sales.
The returns from such investments, when successful, can be highly attractive but the associated risks are high.
It is intended that most of this risk will relate more to technical success or failure than to fluctuations in the
major financial markets.
As a result, the fund can act as a strong diversifier to a shareholder’s overall portfolio
by providing exposure to a different risk/reward profile from mainstream markets.
The four original VCTs raised about £30m between 1998 and 2004.
Indeed, OT1VCT was one of the first
VCTs launched shortly after legislation was enacted.
In the spirit of the legislation, the manager and original
boards invested in around 30 early-stage unquoted technology companies in each VCT with the expectation
that exits would be substantially complete in a 7-13 year time horizon.
It has become clear that the initial
expectation of a 7-13 year life was overoptimistic.
The nature of the original portfolio was very early stage –
under current legislation an SEIS/EIS structure would have been a more appropriate vehicle – but it did not
exist at that time.
The manager has raised no new VCT money since 2010 and has pivoted focus to their
SEIS/EIS offerings which more closely matches their skill set and investment pipeline.
Hence the VCT ceased
to be an evergreen vehicle and the Share Classes have moved to being in managed run off.
The full investment policy is included in the Business Review.
OT2VCT has been approved as a VCT by HMRC throughout the year and continues to comply with all
statutory requirements.
4
Financial Headlines
OT1 Share Class
OT2 Share Class
12 Months Ended
28 February 2025
12 Months Ended
29 February 2024
Net Assets At Period End
£1.99m
£2.15m
Net Asset Value (NAV) Per Share
36.6p
39.7p
Cumulative Dividend Per Share
(including 55.0p pre the Merger
with OT2 VCT)
55.0p
55.0p
Total NAV Return Per Share
(including pre Merger dividends)
91.6p
94.7p
Share Price At Period End
(Mid-Market LSE)
15.2p
23.5p
Earnings Per Share
(Basic and Diluted)
(3.1)p
(5.6)p
12 Months Ended
28 February 2025
12 Months Ended
29 February 2024
Net Assets At Period End
£0.81m
£1.09m
Net Asset Value (NAV) Per Share
15.2p
20.4p
Cumulative Dividend Per Share
22.5p
22.5p
Total NAV Return Per Share
37.7p
42.9p
Share Price At Period End
(Mid-Market LSE)
6.3p
17.0p
Earnings Per Share
(Basic and Diluted)
(5.2)p
(4.7)p
5
OT3 Share Class
OT4 Share Class
12 Months Ended
28 February 2025
12 Months Ended
29 February 2024
Net Assets At Period End
£0.94m
£1.40m
Net Asset Value (NAV) Per Share
15.1p
22.4p
Cumulative Dividend Per Share
(including 42.0p pre the Merger with
OT2 VCT)
42.0p
42.0p
Total NAV Return Per Share
(including pre Merger dividends)
57.1p
64.4p
Share Price At Period End
(Mid-Market LSE)
7.0p
17.0p
Earnings Per Share
(Basic and Diluted)
(7.3)p
(11.3)p
12 Months Ended
28 February 2025
12 Months Ended
29 February 2024
Net Assets At Period End
£2.15m
£2.74m
Net Asset Value (NAV) Per Share
19.8p
25.3p
Cumulative Dividend Per Share
(including 48.0p pre the Merger with
OT2 VCT)
48.0p
48.0p
Total NAV Return Per Share
(including pre Merger dividends)
67.8p
73.3p
Share Price At Period End
(Mid-Market LSE)
6.5p
14.0p
Earnings Per Share
(Basic and Diluted)
(5.5)p
(4.4)p
6
Strategic Report
The Strategic Report has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Section 414C of the Companies
Act 2006 and the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors’ Report) Regulations 2014.
Its purpose
is to inform shareholders of the progress of the Company, and to look at the current business model, future
objectives, strategy and principal risks of the Venture Capital Trust.
The Strategic Report consists of the Chairman’s Statement (starting on page 6), which looks at future prospects
for the Company, a Business Review (starting on page 17), which includes analysis of the principal risks, and
the Investment Manager’s Review (starting on page 25), which looks at the performance of the Company’s
investments over the past year.
The Company’s objective is to maximise shareholder value and so we continue to work with our investee
companies to help them succeed and seek exits as and when appropriate.
As the VCT is in managed run-down,
the Investment Adviser and Board continue to lobby for realistically priced exit options as investees reach
points of value inflection.
The aim is to build shareholder value and distribute one-off payments to
shareholders as and when exits are achieved whilst retaining sufficient resources to continue to operate as a
VCT and support other existing investees where possible and appropriate.
These distributions will be made
primarily via dividend payments or, if considered to be in shareholders’ interests, using other mechanisms such
as buybacks (e.g.
a tender offer).
Chairman’s Statement
This is my third annual report since the merger of your Company with the three former Oxford Technology
VCTs.
You will see the results of your former companies shown as separate ring-fenced and quoted classes.
It is timely to take stock of where the four VCT Share Classes currently sit.
Shareholders will recall that the
four original VCTs raised about £30m between 1998 and 2004.
Indeed, Oxford Technology VCT was one of
the first VCTs launched shortly after legislation was enacted.
In the spirit of the legislation, the manager and
original boards invested in around 30 early-stage unquoted technology companies in each VCT with the
expectation that exits would be substantially complete in a 7-13 year time horizon.
VCT shareholders were encouraged by government to invest in such companies by the offer of upfront income
tax relief (in some years capital gains could also be deferred on investment), and the promise that future
dividends and capital gains were to be tax free.
Successive governments have essentially maintained this
structure.
The current Labour government has just approved the continuation of VCT legislation for another
10 years and in the latest budget these tax reliefs continued unaltered.
The current Board was appointed in 2015.
It has become clear that the initial expectation of a 7-13 year life
was over-optimistic.
The nature of the original portfolio was very early stage – under current legislation an
SEIS/EIS structure would have been a more appropriate vehicle – but it did not exist at that time.
The
Investment Adviser has raised no new VCT money since 2010 and has itself pivoted focus to their SEIS/EIS
offerings which more closely matches their skill set and investment pipeline.
Hence the VCT ceased to be an evergreen vehicle and the Share Classes have moved to being in managed run
off.
To date, shareholders have received around half their money back in dividends (just under a quarter in the
case of OT2), with a very significant additional boost from the initial tax reliefs.
The remaining portfolios are
currently prudently valued at less than a fifth of the original funds raised (just over a third in the case of OT1)
for a total value of just under £6m.
The Board and Investment Adviser continue to see considerable upside in
this remaining portfolio with some exciting current opportunities which are discussed below.
However, with two exceptions (STL Management Limited (“Select Technology”) and Diamond Hard Surfaces
Limited (“DHS”)), the VCT has insufficient voting control to drive a value for money exit from the unquoted
companies on their own, while a unilateral early fire sale would leave money on the table.
7
The Investment Manager and Board continue to lobby for realistically priced exit options as investees reach
points of value inflection.
Funds received are then substantially and promptly returned to shareholders.
The
two significant AIM companies, Scancell Holdings Plc (“Scancell”) and Arecor Therapeutics plc ("Arecor"),
are somewhat more liquid but the Board believes it would be imprudent to exit these companies ahead of the
results of their ongoing promising clinical trials.
Given this scenario, the Board is convinced that it is in shareholders’ best interest to continue as a VCT.
Each
year shareholders have endorsed this view by voting overwhelmingly in favour at the AGM.
Thus the Board’s
additional focus has been to keep the tax efficient structure of the VCT going at as low a cost as possible.
Over
the last 10 years every element of cost has been addressed and the 2022 merger of the four Oxford VCTs
reduced the remaining large fixed cost elements of overheads including audit and LSE/FCA fees.
Your VCT
now has the second lowest cost structure of any VCT and, despite its small size, is still competitive on a unit
cost basis with larger VCTs.
Further attempts to reduce unit costs and to extend the VCT’s life by bringing in a new manager to raise money
in a new class of share fell – twice – at the final hurdle when otherwise successful fund managers were unable
to raise an initial £3m for their new VCT offering.
Had this been successful, there would have been Board
changes to reflect the new business.
The VCT Board is no longer seeking a new manager to raise funds as the
timing of the economic incentive has passed.
The Board is conscious that their length of service is beyond the
normal recommended period, but the AIC guidelines allow a comply or explain policy.
We believe the special
circumstances of a managed run-off are best served by the continuation of the existing Board with long and
close knowledge of the investee companies and the VCT, and suspect that this is also the lowest cost option
that benefits shareholders.
David Livesley is standing down after 20 years of distinguished service to the
current and former Oxford VCTs.
As set out below, he will not be replaced as a further cost saving measure
but we are delighted that, if needed, he will provide consultancy services.
The current economic environment has seen a continuation of the challenging post Covid conditions for smaller
company investments that we outlined in our last annual report.
Interest rates have so far remained high
through 2024/25.
The market turbulence resulting from this has been particularly harsh on smaller companies
in the key sectors in which we invest, affecting not only fundraisings but also valuations.
However commercial
progress in our investee companies has been remarkably positive.
The political change in the UK and US continues to have impacts.
The full impact of the change in approach
by the US government to new vaccine approvals and tariffs has yet to be seen.
While in the UK VCT reliefs
have been unaffected by the new Labour government, Business Property Relief changes have impacted
negatively on both EIS and AIM inheritance reliefs, reducing their attraction.
These medium-term adverse market conditions have led to both our significant AIM listed companies, Arecor
and Scancell, being priced well below their recent peaks despite them both continuing to report very
encouraging technical, clinical and commercial progress.
Scancell experienced a significant price rise ahead
of clinical data announcements and OT3 took the opportunity to sell a small portion of its holding at a profit.
However, Arecor experienced a big price decline when faced with an emergency fundraising, concluded at a
deep discount.
Of our unquoted companies, Select Technology continues to make progress and completed a sizeable
acquisition of its Nordic distributor.
Most positively ImmunoBiology Limited (“ImmBio”) has exchanged half
its IP for a grant (worth about £4m) to conduct a 240 patient trial in Malawi.
The financial results for the year can only be described as disappointing.
In a year when the FTSE All Share
Index increased by 14.2%, your Company made a loss of £1.5m with net assets down by 20%.
This was driven
by unrealised losses of £1.6m in the quoted portfolio (partially offset encouragingly by unrealised gains of
£0.25m in the unquoted portfolio).
As noted above OT3 sold 580,000 Scancell shares in the year.
The Share
Class losses per share varied considerably reflecting the relevant % of the companies in the portfolio.
8
It is against this background that I am pleased to present the audited results for both your Company and for
each Share Class as at 28 February 2025.
Results and Dividend
The relative proportion of our major investments across the whole portfolio has changed quite significantly
again during the period, with the quoted investments representing a decreasing proportion of the Company’s
net assets.
At 28 February 2025, four investments (Select Technology, ImmBio, Scancell and Arecor)
represented over 90% of the overall portfolio value, with Select Technology nearly half of this concentration
(43% of the overall portfolio value).
The two quoted biotech companies, Scancell and in particular Arecor
both had disappointing years in terms of share price, with the sector out of favour with investors with recent
market antipathy to small healthcare firms.
At the same time, Select Technology has expanded, and ImmBio’s
partner (Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, “LSTM”) has made good progress in preparing for the clinical
Phase 2 trial in Malawi to test ImmBio’s PnuBioVax vaccine.
The unquoted portfolio is now worth over
2.5 times the value of the quoted stocks, with Select Technology and ImmBio accounting for the lion’s share.
Further information on these four investments, and the other companies in the portfolio are discussed below
and in the Investment Manager’s Review, starting on page 25.
Scancell and Arecor have quite volatile share prices.
Given this volatility and their significance in the
respective portfolios, the impact of changes in their share prices is illustrated below.
It is not our policy to
update the market following each of these fluctuations unless there are considered to be abnormal events (e.g.
the sale of a significant holding).
Your Board therefore recommends that shareholders or prospective
shareholders keep both the Scancell and Arecor share prices under review and consider their impact on the
Share Class NAV per share before taking any action in relation to an existing or prospective holding in that
Share Class.
The net asset value (NAV) per
OT1
share has decreased from 39.7p at 29 February 2024 to 36.6p as at 28
February 2025.
The portfolio is dominated by Select Technology (nearly two thirds of overall NAV) and
Scancell, a further 22%, with three other holdings.
For every 1.0p change in Scancell’s bid price, the NAV
moves by about 1.0p per OT1 share.
The NAV per
OT2
share has decreased from 20.4p at 29 February 2024 to 15.2p as at 28 February 2025.
There are only four companies with any value left in the OT2 portfolio with Select Technology and ImmBio
being the largest, followed by Arecor and then Scancell.
For every 10p change in Arecor’s bid price, the NAV
moves by about 0.5p per OT2 share, and for every 1.0p change in Scancell’s bid price, the NAV moves by
about 0.2p per OT2 share.
The NAV per
OT3
share has decreased from 22.4p at 29 February 2024 to 15.1p as at 28 February 2025.
There are only four companies with any value left in the OT3 portfolio: the continued decline in the share
prices of the two quoted investments (Scancell and Arecor) mean that these now represent only 57% of the
NAV (down from nearly 90% two years ago); ImmBio (nearly a third of the NAV) and Select Technology are
the other two investments.
For every 10p change in Arecor’s bid price, the NAV moves by about 0.73p per
OT3 share, and for every 1.0p change in Scancell’s bid price, the NAV also moves by about 0.63p per OT3
share.
The NAV per
OT4
share has decreased from 25.3p at 29 February 2024 to 19.8p as at 28 February 2025.
There are only four
companies with any material value left in the OT4 portfolio but now Select Technology
and ImmBio are the most significant investments: Arecor and Diamond Hard Surfaces Limited (“DHS”) are
the other two investments.
For every 10p change in Arecor’s bid price, the NAV moves by about 0.75p per
OT4 share.
No dividends were paid during the period on any of the share classes, nor were any shares bought back by the
Company.
First Quarter Net Asset Values
The unaudited NAV per share at 31 May 2025 are 37.1p (OT1), 15.8p (OT2), 15.0p (OT3) and 18.3p (OT4).
The NAVs per share for the OT1 and OT2 Share Classes are showing slight increases compared to the audited
values at 28 February 2025; the NAV per share for the OT3 Share Class is essentially unchanged from the year
9
end, whilst the OT4 Share Class NAV has seen a further decline.
The NAVs incorporate bid prices of Arecor of 42p (a reduction of 6p since 28 February 2025) and Scancell of
9.5p (an increase of 1.4p).
The Directors have also reviewed the carrying costs of the unquoted investments
and these remain unchanged from their values at 28 February 2025, apart from the impact of the recent
investment in ImmBio.
The next scheduled update will be for the half year to 31 August 2025, which we
anticipate releasing in October.
Portfolio Review
The portfolios across all 4 share classes continue to develop.
No investments have been made in any of the
share classes this year.
580,000 Scancell shares were sold by the OT3 Share Class for liquidity purposes during
the period at a small profit, as detailed below on page 10.
The final instalment of deferred consideration (£12k)
following the sale of Ixaris was also received by the OT3 Share Class during the period.
Select Technology
is the Company’s largest holding, and for the OT1 Share Class.
Founded in 1981 selling
specialist hardware such as archiving photocopying technology, it has gone through various reinventions.
Select Technology’s business model has been resilient: it distributes high quality document management
software via a carefully nurtured network of global channel partners.
The company continues to sell its core
trio of third-party products (PaperCut, Foldr and Square9) and look for appropriate additions to this portfolio.
Sales in the most recently completed full year of trading (to 31 July 2024) were roughly flat on the previous
period at £7.3m.
As reported in our half year report, the company has been pursuing various strategic opportunities that should
have a longer-term positive impact on both organic growth and profit margins.
In September 2024 Select
Technology completed the acquisition of NordicDoc Solutions AB, increasing the pro forma turnover of the
newly enlarged entity by about a quarter and, more importantly, opening up several opportunities in Select
Technology’s European markets.
Select Technology funded the acquisition using a portion of its strategic cash
reserves plus an earn-out for the vendors over the course of the next few years to incentivise ongoing
performance during an extended handover period.
The acquisition strengthens Select Technology’s presence in the Nordics, allowing it to provide better support
in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland, as well as providing better European coverage.
The integration is
progressing smoothly, and the newly branded ‘Selectec Nordic’ continues to grow and is profitable, already
making a positive contribution post acquisition.
In line with the outcome of our valuation methodology review, we have moved away from rigidly applying a
single pseudoscientific valuation metric and – in line with valuation best practice – we have broadened our
approach by considering a basket of different metrics and considering their relevance in the context of a
company’s trading history, current performance and prospects.
In valuing Select Technology, we have
considered a range of peer valuation multiples, including turnover, profitability and dividend yield.
Although
this has resulted in a small reduction to our valuation, this is not related to underlying business performance.
OT2VCT received a further dividend (of £57k) from Select Technology in January 2025.
ImmBio
was founded to develop vaccines that engage dendritic cells based on the discovery of the role that
Heat Shock Proteins play in activating the immune system, in particular T cells, an idea which at the time was
extremely novel but which has become mainstream with the discovery of the role of T Cells in Covid
infections.
The core ImmBio technology was moved to LSTM to reduce costs whilst the technology transfer
to ImmBio’s licensee China National Biotech Group continues.
LSTM has now won a grant from the Medical
Research Council to undertake a Phase 2 clinical trial to test whether the vaccine leads to a reduction of SPN3
carriage in the nose in a human pneumococcal model in Malawi.
SPN3 is the most prevalent pneumococcal
serotype in Malawi, particularly in children and adults living with HIV, and an important cause of disease
across Africa.
The trial will also show whether it will produce an immune response against multiple strains
including ones for which the current vaccines provide very poor protection.
These two aspects are critical to
determine the value of the vaccine.
Doses have been manufactured and the trial is due to start imminently.
As
a result of the progress being made, we have increased our valuation by just over 20%.
Subsequent to the
period end, ImmBio has raised £210k to support the ongoing works, of which the Company contributed
£40,000 (OT2 Share Class £30,000 and OT3 Share Class £10,000).
10
The share price of
Scancell
has declined by 19% during the year to 8.1p per share.
However, this decline is
partially reflective of valuations of all UK early stage technology companies on AIM, rather than the actual
underlying technical and commercial progress of the business which have been excellent.
Scancell is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that is leveraging its proprietary research, built up over
many years of studying the human adaptive immune system, to generate novel medicines to treat significant
unmet needs in cancer.
The lead ImmunoBody programme, SCIB1, has demonstrated impressive data in its
ongoing Phase 2 study in metastatic melanoma, exceeding the target 70% overall response rate (ORR).
This
is a meaningful improvement for patients beyond the current 48% ORR achievable with standard doublet
therapy.
Results from the improved next-generation iSCIB1+ are expected in 2H25.
This will determine the
nature of the next phase 2/3 randomised, adapted trial with progression free survival data as the primary
endpoint leading to product registration.
Modi-1, the first Moditope programme, is progressing in a Phase 2a
trial targeting hard-to-treat solid tumours and further efficacy data, notably in combination regimens, are due
during 2H25.
Early indications in HPV negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma show patients
achieving an overall response rate of 43%, beyond the current 19% achievable with checkpoint inhibitors
alone.
Both platforms have the potential to treat many solid cancers, either as monotherapy or in combination with
other agents.
Scancell also has two antibody technologies (GlyMab and AvidiMab).
The broad acting GlyMab
antibodies platform continues to progress with the conclusion of a second licencing deal with Genmab A/S
and with the potential for further such deals.
Scancell has significantly strengthened its management team with the appointments of a new CEO, with Lindy
Durrant continuing as CSO, and a new CMO.
It has improved its balance sheet with the extension of its
convertible loan notes from 2025 to 2027 and achieved an oversubscribed £11.3m fundraise at 10.5p per share,
bringing in some new US biotech VC investors and extending its cash runway to 2H26 (beyond multiple
clinical milestones).
VCT rules prevented OT2VCT from participation.
A representative from Redmile Group
LLC, the largest shareholder, has now joined the board along with the existing Scancell CFO.
The OT3 Share Class holding was top sliced during the year to provide a small amount of working capital.
We believe that the results from the ongoing trials, if continuing to be successful, will open attractive
commercial deals in the next 18 months leading to a potentially improved share price.
The share price of
Arecor
has declined by 64% during the year to 48p per share.
While some of this decline
is reflective of valuations of all UK early stage technology companies on AIM, the excellent actual underlying
technical progress of the business has been offset by some specific commercial and financing problems.
Arecor is a globally focused biopharmaceutical company, transforming patient care by bringing innovative
medicines to market through its proprietary Arestat formulation: enhancing existing therapeutic products
means correspondingly lower development risks and less onerous regulatory approvals.
As a clinical stage
drug developer, it has a well-balanced portfolio of in-house and partnered programmes, and an internal focus
on diabetes.
Arecor is seeking to maximise the high value opportunities within its next-generation insulin portfolio.
Its
primary value centres on its diabetes franchise, notably AT278, a novel ultra-rapid and ultra-concentrated
insulin which it continues to develop.
Headline data from a Phase I study in overweight and obese Type II
diabetes patients demonstrated superiority to benchmark rapid or concentrated insulins and supports the view
that AT278 has a unique profile ideally suited to the changing diabetes landscape.
This includes
miniaturisation and longer wear times for insulin pumps, which can only be achieved with an insulin like
AT278.
The Company is in advanced negotiations for a co-development deal to further develop AT278 in a
next-generation insulin pump.
This represents a unique opportunity to improve the future management of
diabetes and thus generate significant value for Arecor.
We also await the results of the collaboration study
between Arecor and Medtronic Plc (“Medtronic”) on a next generation implantable pump.
11
Arecor is also leveraging its Arestat formulation expertise to create an attractive and well-balanced pipeline of
in-house and partnered products.
These are novel formulations of existing drugs that offer clinically significant
benefits, carry lower development risk, and have faster regulatory pathways to market.
The immediate focus
is on an oral peptide delivery platform (including GLP-1) and enhanced injectables, with these potentially
generating meaningful future income streams through deals and partnerships.
The initial emphasis is on
developing an oral GLP-1 with superior bioavailability to the only marketed oral GLP-1 available today.
With
positive
in vitro
data, Arecor is rapidly advancing the next stages of development with non-clinical
pharmacokinetic (PK) data on track to be delivered in 2025.
If successful, an oral GLP-1 with enhanced
bioavailability has the potential to generate significant value and, more importantly, validate the broader
application of Arecor's technology in the growing and highly valuable field of oral peptide therapeutics.
Arecor eventually strengthened its management team with the appointment of an interim CFO (made
permanent after the period end) after a delayed recruitment process.
During this delay it shored up its balance
sheet with a disappointingly deeply discounted emergency £6.4m fundraise at 90p per share and extended its
cash runway to 2H26, beyond clinical milestones.
VCT rules prevented OT2VCT from participation, but it
did bring in some new institutional VC investors.
At the end of the year, Arecor decided to close its recently
acquired but loss-making subsidiary, Tetris Pharma, whose lead product, Ogluo, was a glucagon auto-injector
pen for severe hypoglycaemia.
As with Scancell, we believe that the above activities, if continuing to be successful, will open up attractive
commercial deals in the next 18 months, leading to a potentially improved share price.
Diamond Hard Surfaces
Limited (“DHS”) was founded to exploit an ultra-hard diamond-like coating with
very high wear resistance and very low friction.
The initial application was for coating mechanical seal faces.
If lubrication fails, an uncoated seal will fail catastrophically within seconds whereas a DHS coated seal will
continue to run for more than an hour.
Whilst a significant number of customers use the coating, none has
moved to volume requirements.
The coating is a very good conductor of heat (3 times the thermal conductivity of copper) and is being used
for electronics heat management.
This application now accounts for about 50% of sales and the DHS coating
is now specified in several applications.
To grow the market opportunity, and generate enhanced margins, the
company is looking to develop its own products in this sector, moving from a service company to a product
company.
DHS has had an excellent year, with sales having increased to a record £569k.
At the year end, it held a
significant cash balance, and the company is considering returning some of this to its shareholders.
As a result,
we have materially increased our valuation at year end. DHS is only held by the OT4 Share Class.
Oxford Technology VCT Plc was one of the original investors in
BioCote
Limited (“BioCote”) when it was
founded in 1997 and it has since grown from a supplier of patented antimicrobial powder coatings to a market
leading antimicrobial technology partner.
BioCote’s technology is proven to significantly reduce bacteria,
mould and fungi that can cause material degradation, odours and staining.
BioCote’s premium additives can
be integrated into a wide range of materials, including polymers, silicones, powder coatings, liquid paints,
ceramics and textiles.
Covid was very good for BioCote, with everyone worldwide becoming focused on how
to reduce the spread of germs.
Sales and profits increased to an all-time high and the dividend increased.
However, post Covid, sales have declined to approximately their pre-Covid level and while the business
remains profitable, the most recent dividend of £13k was less than the £20k from the prior year.
Getmapping
Ltd (previously a public limited company and re-registered as a limited company in early 2023)
(“Getmapping”) has had a positive period of profitable trading, winning major contracts with large customers
and securing a long-term contract with the Geospatial Commission relating to the Aerial Photography Great
Britian (APGB) programme.
Getmapping’s product offerings are being well received in the market, and the
company is working on various strategic opportunities that should continue to bear fruit.
In September we reported on Getmapping's progress in retiring legacy debt by making repayments from profits
and by refinancing shorter-term financing into longer-term loan notes.
This process has continued with the
support of key stakeholders and – having cut costs appropriately while also winning several major exceptional
12
contracts over and above normal 'business as usual' – Getmapping is now moving into a new stable phase of
cash generative operations.
Getmapping is only held by the OT1 Share Class.
Regarding valuation, we have considered a range of
valuation multiples and comparable companies.
Previously, we applied a discount due to the difficulties the
company was facing in managing its legacy debt.
Good commercial progress and appropriate ongoing
successful refinancing of legacy borrowings mean that we have removed this discount and applied the
appropriate multiples to Getmapping's enterprise value: this has had the effect of nearly doubling our valuation.
A full provision was made against our investment in
Novacta
Limited.
Novacta had a license agreement with
Ascension Healthcare plc (“Ascension”) who in turn had licensed the technology to Spero
Therapeutics.
Novacta was due to receive royalty payments from Ascension when Spero Therapeutics started
commercialising the technology.
Ascension went into liquidation meaning that they could no longer pay the
moderate annual administrative costs of Novacta, but more importantly Novacta no longer had a prospect of
an income.
It was decided to shut down Novacta.
Novacta was only held by the OT4 Share Class, and this
has resulted in a write off the £59k residual value of our investment.
The Directors, along with the Investment Adviser, Oxford Technology Management (OTM), continue to take
an active interest in those companies with any value within the portfolios, both to support their management
teams to achieve company development, but also to prepare companies for realisation at the appropriate time.
Further details are contained within the Investment Manager’s Review, and on our website at
http://www.oxfordtechnologyvct.com
.
Risk Factors
The Company continues to face weak financial markets in its early-stage technology stocks and this is
particularly noticeable in those quoted on the AIM market.
SMEs have been hit hard by higher interest rates
and reduced or more expensive access to finance.
Interest rates continue to remain close to recent high levels.
Western countries incurred substantial levels of debt related to their response to Covid-19 and are now paying
the price of debt servicing and repayment.
The UK economy, particularly in the public sector, has not returned
to pre-Covid productivity levels.
The change in the political landscape both domestically and worldwide has undergone a major reset in the last
year.
The incoming inexperienced Labour government has significantly raised corporate costs by its narrow
focus on tax raising from the business community.
Early indications are that the economy is sinking back
towards recession as a result.
Despite the government's "growth" mantra there have been few indications of
policy changes to support short term improvement.
The new Trump administration has surprised many by the sheer scale and radicalism of its early executive
orders creating fast and wholesale changes in both domestic and international policies.
The full consequences
have yet to be determined.
Western European countries are having to identify political and economic responses
on the hoof to this new world order.
Of particular concern to us is how the drug and vaccine approval and
pricing process plays out in the US under new Health Secretary, Robert F Kennedy, given the significance of
ImmBio, Scancell and Arecor in our portfolios.
The overall global geopolitical situation is very volatile and there is much uncertainty around outcomes of the
Ukraine and Gaza conflicts and the impact of reciprocal tariff wars between the US and Europe and China.
Some of the risks the Group faces are on pages 19-20.
OT2VCT’s combined portfolio is now very concentrated and remains vulnerable to interest rates and
technology stock sentiment as we continue to seek profitable exits.
VCT Qualifying Status and Market Changes
As previously outlined, the Merger on 30 June 2022 has relieved some of the challenges of managing a very
small company as regards meeting all the conditions laid down by HMRC for maintaining approval as a VCT,
as all VCT tests are measured on a company wide basis.
However, we are still restricted from making follow
13
on investments in most of the existing portfolio, should the opportunity and/or need occur.
There have been
no recent changes to VCT legislation which could have potential impact on either the VCT or its investee.
The
government’s extension of the sunset clause for VCT income tax relief (meaning this relief is now available
until at least 2035 rather than ending in 2025) - which had received Royal Assent on 22 February 2024 – was
finally confirmed via a Treasury Order on 2 September 2024.
The Board continues to monitor all the VCT requirements very carefully and has procedures in place to ensure
that the Company continues to comply with these conditions, in particular the minimum 80% qualifying
holding limit.
As at 28 February 2025, the HMRC value of qualifying investments of our portfolio was 91.8%.
Cost Control
Your Board continues to do everything possible to keep costs to a minimum.
Our investment management
and Directors’ fees and Auditor’s remuneration are amongst the lowest in the VCT industry.
Furthermore, we
have previously set out how the Merger allowed the elimination of certain fees (mainly regulatory) that were
charged to each VCT historically.
We continue to encourage all our investors to switch to receiving updates from the Company via e-mail and
documents in soft copy, which also ensures you receive documents more quickly.
This both saves the
Company money and is more environmentally friendly.
If you currently receive paperwork from us but are
willing to be notified by email that documents are available for viewing online, please emailing us:
vcts@oxfordtechnology.com.
Liquidity
Liquidity has been an issue for the Company (and previously the other OTVCTs as well) for many years.
The
Directors continue to maintain the cost base at the lowest possible level, and the Company expects to continue
to receive some dividend income, but at a level insufficient to reach cash break-even.
In recent years, cash
balances from historic realisations, and the sale of a limited element of AIM listed stocks have covered any
annual shortfall.
The cash balance is now largely depleted (at 28 February 2025, we had a cash balance of
£97,000, but £40,000 of this has subsequently been invested in ImmBio).
OTM have already deferred the
payment of their fee for the second half of last year and have agreed to continue deferring their fee for the
current year until funds allow payment.
The Directors will also once again delay taking their annual fee.
Selling unquoted investments is best done when there is a willing buyer, and only a few of our investments
have historically been recipients of such offers.
The Directors and Investment Adviser regularly discuss how
any opportunities can be created, and two of our portfolio companies have recently received approaches: to
date, these have not led to anything but it is positive that there has been some unsolicited third party interest.
It is possible to sell shares in Scancell, but we believe the market is currently severely underestimating the
value of this investment.
The current position is worse for Arecor: as well as the company being valued at a
comparatively pitiful level, there is minimal liquidity and where any sales do take place, the share price
invariably drops even further.
As set out on pages 10 and 11, both Scancell and Arecor are at crucial points in clinical trials: initial data
suggests these trials are likely to be successful, and logically, should lead to significant value inflection points
within the next 18 months.
Hence the Directors are not keen to realise any further AIM stocks at the current levels and have considered
how best to cover any immediate shortfalls over the coming period.
Raising additional equity is not viable,
given the discount the shares trade at and crucially, under VCT rules much of any cash raised would need to
be reinvested, defeating the purpose of raising cash to cover operating expenses.
The Company’s Articles of
Association allow the company to borrow, but banks are unwilling to lend to an entity such as OT2VCT.
Conversely, Select Technology (a Related Party) is cash rich, unable to earn a material level of interest on its
surplus cash and yet keen to maintain access to its cash reserve rather than distribute further amounts in
dividends.
The directors of Select Technology have agreed to provide liquidity to OT2VCT on reasonable
commercial terms, and it is hoped that this will tide the Company over until Scancell’s and/or Arecor’s share
prices have reached more acceptable levels (or some cash has been realised from one of the unquoted
14
investments).
The net cost to the VCT is less than any headline interest rate, given the ownership structure,
and only very small increases in the AIM shares’ stock prices would be needed to more than offset any
incremental financing costs.
A first instalment is expected to be drawn down soon after these Accounts are
released.
Change of Auditor
We are disappointed to report that our Auditor, Johnsons Financial Management Limited (trading as Johnsons,
Chartered Accountants) (“Johnsons”), decided to resign as Auditor of OT2VCT.
Shareholders have already
received notification of this.
This is the fourth time in six years that we have had to source a new audit firm.
In the first three cases, the
firms made the strategic decision to withdraw from auditing PIE (Public Interest Entities) companies which
include all companies quoted on the main market, and hence OT2VCT.
The demands placed on audit firms
by their regulator, the Financial Reporting Council (“FRC”), have become too burdensome to make this work
viable for many of the smaller players.
Johnsons were new to the VCT market last year and recently had their
audit file reviewed by the FRC: the FRC have determined Johnsons as Auditor did not sufficiently challenge
management’s judgement, and that going forward, Johnsons would require third party valuation experts to act
for them to review their clients’ unquoted investments.
Johnsons sought a significant increase to their pre-
agreed fees to cover this cost, which the Audit Committee was unable to agree to, and hence Johnsons resigned
with immediate effect.
The Audit Committee is very close to the audit landscape following previous rigorous competitive tenders.
It
is also alert to changes within the VCT market.
We are pleased to have appointed Royce Peeling Green Limited
(“RPG”), a firm new to the VCT sector since Johnsons were appointed in Summer 2023.
RPG already audit
two other VCTs and are looking to grow this sector further.
They have in house valuation expertise, which we
believe will cover off the shortcomings (in the eye of the regulator) of our previous Auditor.
We have been
pleased with the support provided by RPG since their appointment earlier this year.
By appointing RPG, and not one of the larger audit firms, we have managed to maintain the audit fee at broadly
the same level as in 2024, despite that fee being substantially higher than it had been before in the previous
year.
It is still highly competitive when compared to the cost other VCTs incur.
Board Composition
Having originally joined the board of OT4VCT at that company’s launch in 2004 and serving nearly 10 years
on the Board of OT2VCT David Livesley has decided not to seek re-election and will retire as a Director at
the conclusion of the AGM in October 2025.
The Board thanks him for all his efforts over this time and wishes
him well in his retirement.
David’s knowledge and understanding of the portfolio has been invaluable, and
the remaining Directors are grateful that he has agreed to continue to be available in an advisory capacity if
required.
The Directors have considered carefully whether to replace David and have decided to operate with just three
Directors.
The Company is in managed wind down, with the number of investments reducing.
David’s
retirement provides a further way to keep costs to a minimum – especially as it is unlikely we would find a
suitably qualified individual who would be willing to take on the workload and responsibility at the existing
fee levels.
As set out in the Corporate Governance Report on page 52, the remaining three directors have all been on the
Board for nearly 10 years, a point at which some element of refresh may be considered sensible.
However,
for the same reasons as it is proposed not to replace David Livesley, the Board is not seeking new members at
this time.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
Whilst many of the requirements under company law to detail ESG matters are not directly applicable to the
Group, the Board is conscious of its potential impact on the environment as well as its social and corporate
governance responsibilities.
Furthermore, the Investment Adviser takes ESG considerations into account when
investing.
15
The future FCA reporting requirements consistent with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial
Disclosures that commenced last year do not currently apply to the Group.
However, it will be kept under
review considering any recommended changes.
Shareholder Interaction and AGM
As last year, we plan to hold a face-to-face meeting at 2pm on Tuesday 7 October 2025, including the formal
business of the AGM.
There will also be a chance for shareholders to ask questions, and an opportunity for
informal discussion with the Board and OTM.
Light refreshments will also be offered at the end of the formal
session.
If you are unable to attend, please return your proxy forms by 2pm on 3 October 2025 (and/or register
your votes with your broker if your shares are held with nominees) to ensure your vote is included.
If you are
unable to attend the AGM but have any questions for the Board or Manager, please feel free to contact us via
vcts@oxfordtechnology.com
.
If you intend to attend this session, please notify us in advance using the same email address to
help us with numbers and in case there are changes to arrangements that need to be
communicated at short notice
.
Regarding the various proposed resolutions:
Resolution 1 - 2
: These resolutions seek approval of the Company’s Annual Report and Accounts for
the period ended 28 February 2025 and the Directors’ Remuneration Report contained therein.
The
Directors are obliged to lay the Directors’ Annual Report and Financial Statements and the Auditor’s
report therein for the year ended 28 February 2025 before shareholders at a general meeting.
The
Remuneration Report also needs to be voted on annually.
Resolutions 3 - 5
(inclusive): These resolutions seek the re-election of Richard Roth, Alex Starling
and Robin Goodfellow as non-executive Directors of the Company.
In accordance with AIC
guidelines, all Directors who wish to stay in office are standing for annual re-election.
All have played
a very full part in the VCT’s activities throughout the year.
As indicated above, David Livesley has
decided not to seek re-election this year.
Resolution 6
: Seeks the approval of the re-appointment of RPG as Auditor of the Company and to
authorise the Directors to determine their remuneration.
We have been pleased with the support
provided by RPG since their appointment earlier this year.
Resolution 7
: We are putting forward a resolution to vote for the continuation of the VCT, as in
previous years.
The Directors do not consider this to be an appropriate time to wind up the VCT.
As
we have set out, we believe the VCT is an effective and tax efficient structure to hold your assets and
following the Merger, the unit holding costs have also been reduced.
Resolutions 8 and 10
: These seek approval for the Company to generally be authorised to allot up to
2,784,486 shares in the capital of the Company on a non-rights issue basis.
Despite its small size, your
VCT remains in reasonable structural shape, but events of the last few years have shown that it is
prudent to take some precautionary measures.
Every year we have a resolution for shareholders to
enable the Directors to issue a small number of shares without pre-emption rights and this has always
been approved.
This year, we would like – with our shareholders’ approval – to set the current
maximum level to 10% of each Share Class to provide flexibility, if ever required, to raise money
more cheaply and at short notice.
This would enable to us to support investee companies (within the
VCT rules).
Although at the moment we have no plans to raise additional capital or to conduct a
possible placing for the ordinary shares, it seems prudent to retain this capability for a further year in
case the Board considers it opportune to act quickly.
Resolution 9
: We are putting this standard resolution forward to give Directors the permission to buy
back shares in any Class of the Company should this be in Shareholders’ best interests: there is no
current intention or plan in place to use the powers granted by this resolution.
There is more detail
about this resolution on page 46.
The Notice convening the 2025 AGM of the Company is set out at the end of this document together with a
Proxy Form.
The Board believes that the passing of the resolutions above is in the best interests of the
Company and its shareholders as a whole and unanimously recommends that you vote in favour of these
16
resolutions as the Directors intend to do in respect of their beneficial shareholdings.
We encourage you to vote
on the AGM resolutions via your proxy forms and thank you all for your ongoing support.
Fraud Warnings
Boiler Room Fraud
We are aware of a number of cases where shareholders are being fraudulently contacted or are being subjected
to attempts of identity fraud.
Shareholders should remain vigilant of all potential financial scams or attempts
for them to disclose personal data for fraudulent gains.
The Board strongly recommends shareholders take
time to read the Company's fraud warning section, including details of who to contact, contained within the
Shareholder Information section of the Annual Report (on page 97).
Outlook
The Board is very frustrated by the low valuations attributed by the AIM market to two of the Company’s
leading assets but remains convinced that the excellent technical progress both are making should eventually
be recognised with materially increased share prices.
Similarly, there are exciting developments within most
of the remaining unquoted investments.
Therefore, the Directors continue to believe that the portfolio has
valuable upside, but that time is still needed for the investments to reach those significant value inflection
points.
To that end, despite the ongoing operating costs which need to be funded, the Board believe it is more
important than ever to retain the tax efficiency of the VCT wrapper.
The current intention remains to liquidate the portfolio when suitable opportunities arise, and eventually to
wind up the Company.
The Board is actively working to determine the optimal time for this latter process
from a cost perspective, whilst ensuring that all tax benefits are retained.
At the current time, it seems that
shareholders’ best option is for the Company to continue in its current form for the next 2-4 years, but this is
being kept under constant review and will be largely impacted by when its leading assets reach points when
they can be disposed of at acceptable valuations.
Until then, the Directors will continue to keep the cost base
as lean as possible.
The Board reminds those shareholders who deferred capital gains when they originally
invested, that these will crystallise if the Company was wound up and distributions were subsequently made.
This will only impact shareholders who subscribed in the initial share offers issued by OT1VCT, OT2VCT
and OT3VCT.
Your Board and Investment Adviser continue to work to best position the existing portfolio such that, when
valuations and liquidity allow, holdings can be exited and proceeds distributed to shareholders.
It would be good to see many of you at the AGM, where I hope you will endorse the Board’s unanimous
recommendation to approve all the resolutions.
If you have any immediate questions, please feel free to contact
me via
vcts@oxfordtechnology.com
.
I look forward to updating shareholders further with our half-year results in October 2025.
My Chairman’s Statement forms part of the Strategic Report, which has been approved by the Board.
Richard Roth
Chairman
17 June 2025
17
Business Review
Company Performance
The Board is responsible for the Company’s investment strategy and performance.
The services regarding the
creation, management and monitoring of the investment portfolio are subcontracted to OTM by the Company’s
Investment Manager, OT2 Managers Ltd.
OTM is the Company’s Alternative Investment Fund Manager
(AIFM).
There was a net loss for the period after taxation amounting to £1,492k (2024: loss of £1,751k).
The income
statement comprises income of £70k (2024: £77k) received from investee companies, realised gains on fair
value of investment were £19k (2024: losses of £62k), unrealised losses on fair value of investments of £1,339k
(2024: unrealised losses of £1,515k) and management and other expenses of £242k (2024: £251k).
The review of the investment portfolio (page 25) includes a summary of the Company’s activities and the
Chairman’s Statement comments on future prospects.
The graphs below compare the NAV return of the OT2 Share Class from launch in 2000, and for the
OT1/OT3/OT4 Share Classes since the take on of the assets by the Company on 30 June 2022, with the total
return from the FTSE All-Share Index (which excludes dividends) over the same period.
This index is
considered to be the most appropriate broad equity market index for comparative purposes.
However, the Directors wish to point out that VCTs are not able to make qualifying investments in companies
quoted on the Main Market in their observance of VCT rules and are very limited in the types of investment
that can be made.
All measures are rebased to 100 at the start date of the Share Class.
18
Key Performance Indicators
The Board uses a number of performance measures to assess the Company’s success in meeting its strategic
objectives.
The KPIs it monitors include:
KPI
Objective
Total Return (Net Asset Value
plus cumulative dividends
paid) per share (per Share
Class)
To provide shareholders with tax free capital gains via profitable exits
by investing its funds in a portfolio of primarily unquoted UK companies
which meet the relevant criteria under the VCT rules.
The total expenses of the
Company as a proportion of
shareholders’ funds
To maintain efficient operation of the VCT whilst minimising running
costs.
Compliance with VCT
regulations
To ensure the Company meets all VCT qualifying requirements at all
times.
The first two of these are classified as alternative performance measures (“APMs”) in line with Financial
Reporting Council (“FRC”) guidance.
VCT compliance is not a numerical measure of performance and thus
cannot be defined as an APM.
The total return for each Share Class, as well as the earnings in the period, is included in the Financial Headlines
on pages 4 and 5, and the change in the total return is explained in the Chairman’s Statement.
No dividend
was paid or declared during the year by any of the Share Classes (2024: no dividends by any of the Share
Classes).
The Company was able to maintain an efficient operation of the VCT whilst minimising running costs as a
proportion of shareholder’s funds.
Expenses of the Company are capped by OTM at 3% of the opening net
asset value (but excluding Directors’ fees and any performance fee, and the cap also excludes corporate
expenses).
The total actual expenses for the 2025 year were 2.2% of opening net assets (3.3% including
Directors’ fees) (2024: 2.0% and 2.8%).
Confirmation that the Company has met the VCT qualifying criteria is shown on page 25.
Viability Statement
In accordance with provision 30 and 31 of The UK Corporate Governance Code 2018 (“the UK Code”) the
Directors have assessed the prospects of the Company over a longer period than the 12 months required by the
“Going Concern” provision.
The Company (and the Target VCTs) last raised funds in 2010, and so the
minimum five year holding period required to enable subscribing investors to benefit from the associated tax
reliefs has now passed.
The Board regularly considers the Company’s strategy, including investor demand for
the Company’s shares, and a three year period is therefore considered to be an appropriate and reasonable time
horizon for going concern assessment.
The Board has carried out a robust assessment of the principal risks facing the Company and its current
position, including those which may adversely impact its business model, future performance, solvency or
liquidity.
The principal risks faced by the Company and the procedures in place to monitor and mitigate them
are set out below.
The Board has also considered the Company’s cash flow projections and found these to be realistic and
reasonable.
The assets of the Company consist mainly of securities, two of which are AIM quoted: Scancell
is relatively liquid and readily accessible.
The shares in Arecor can be traded, but the market in these shares
19
is not very liquid, and there is likely to be a significant spread should the Company wish to realise a sizeable
portion of its holding.
As set out on page 13, the Board is not keen to realise either of these investments at
their current valuations, and has arranged a loan facility with Select Technology to provide bridge financing
until other investments reach value infection points, when it is expected that their valuations will increase.
Based on the above assessment the Board confirms that it has a reasonable expectation that the Company will
be able to continue in operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due over the three year period to 29 February
2028.
Principal Risks, Risk Management Objectives and Regulatory Environment
The Board carries out a regular review of the risk environment in which the Company operates, including
principal and emerging risks.
The main areas of risk identified by the Board are as follows:
Investment risk
– The majority of the Company's investments are in smaller unquoted companies which are
VCT qualifying holdings, which by their nature entail a higher level of risk and lower liquidity than
investments in large quoted companies.
The Directors and the Investment Adviser aimed to limit the risk
initially attached to the portfolio as a whole by careful selection, by carrying out due diligence procedures and
by maintaining a spread of holdings.
The Directors also consider timely realisation of investments.
The Board reviews the investment portfolio on
a regular basis.
As holdings are realised, and investments are no longer being made into new companies, the
portfolio will become more concentrated over time.
VCT qualifying status risk
– The Company is required at all times to observe the conditions laid down in the
Income Tax Act 2007 for the maintenance of approved VCT status; these rules have subsequently been updated
on several occasions.
The loss of such approved status could lead to the Company losing its exemption from corporation tax on
capital gains, to investors being liable to pay income tax on dividends received from the Company and, in
certain circumstances, to investors being required to repay the initial income tax relief on their investment as
well as any previously deferred capital gains coming back into charge.
The Board keeps the Company’s VCT
qualifying status under regular review.
Qualifying investments can only be made in trading companies which fall within the following limits:
Have fewer than 250 full time equivalent employees (500 if a knowledge intensive company);
Have no more than £15 million of gross assets at the time of investment and no more than £16 million
immediately post investment;
Its first commercial sale must be less than seven years old (or ten years if a knowledge intensive
company) if raising State Aided funds for the first time subject to certain exceptions;
Have raised no more than £5 million of State Aided funds in the previous 12 months (or £10 million
if a knowledge intensive company) and less than the lifetime limit of £12 million (or £20 million if a
knowledge intensive company);
Produce a business plan to show that its funds are being raised for growth and development;
Not be in financial difficulty;
Be an unquoted company or quoted on AIM;
Have a permanent establishment in the United Kingdom;
Not be under the control of any other company, nor control any company which is not a qualifying
subsidiary of the company; and
Are operating a trade which is not an “excluded activity”.
The Finance Act 2018 introduced a new “risk-to-capital” condition for qualifying investments, designed to
focus investments towards earlier stage, growing businesses, and away from investments which could be
regarded as lower risk.
The Board is satisfied that the Company’s investment policy is in line with this “risk-
to-capital” condition.
20
VCTs may not make investments that do not meet the new “risk to capital” condition (which requires a
company, at the time of investment, to be an entrepreneurial company with the objective to grow and develop,
and where there is a genuine risk of a loss of capital).
Non-Qualifying investments: Initially, an active approach was taken to managing the cash prior to investing
in qualifying companies.
Now the Company has reached its qualifying investment target to meet HMRC
requirements and the Company is fully invested, any remaining funds will be invested in accordance with
HMRC rules for Non-Qualifying investments, which may include money market funds and other instruments
where the Board believes that the overall downside risk is low.
Financial risk
– by its nature, as a VCT, the Company is exposed to market price risk, credit risk, liquidity
risk, fair value and cash flow risks.
All of the Company’s income and expenditure is denominated in sterling
and hence the Company has no direct foreign currency risk.
The indirect risk results from investees doing
business overseas.
The Company was financed through equity during the reporting period.
The Company
does not use derivative financial instruments.
Regulatory risk
the Company is required to comply with the Companies Act, the rules of the UK Listing
Authority and United Kingdom Accounting Standards.
Breach of any of these might lead to suspension of the
Company’s Stock Exchange listing, financial penalties, a qualified audit report or even loss of VCT status.
Cash flow risk
the risk that the Company’s available cash will not be sufficient to meet its financial
obligations is managed by frequent budgeting and close monitoring of available cash resources.
Liquidity risk
– the Company’s investments may be difficult to realise.
The spread between the buying and
selling price of shares may be wide and thus the price used for the valuation may not be achievable.
Reputational risk
– inadequate or failed controls might result in breaches of regulation or loss of shareholder
trust.
Internal control risk
– the Board reviews annually the system of internal controls, financial and non-financial,
operated by the Company.
These include controls designed to ensure that the Company's assets are
safeguarded and that proper accounting records are maintained.
Geo-political and economic risks
– the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, inflation and the political change in UK
and US governments and consequential economic turmoil continue to impact our investees.
The effect of the
change in approach by the US government to new vaccine approvals has yet to be seen.
VCT reliefs have so
far been unaffected by the new Labour government but Business Property Relief changes have impacted
negatively on both EIS and AIM inheritance reliefs.
Any further change of governmental, economic, fiscal,
monetary or political policy, and in particular any spending cuts or material increases in interest rates could
affect, directly or indirectly, the performance of the Company (as a result of the performance of its underlying
investments) and hence the value of, and returns from, the Company’s shares.
The Board seeks to mitigate the internal risks by setting policies, regular review of performance, enforcement
of contractual obligations and monitoring progress and compliance.
In the mitigation and management of these risks the Board applies rigorously the principles detailed in the
Financial Reporting Council’s Guidance on Risk Management, Internal Controls and Related Financial and
Business Reporting.
Details of the Company’s internal controls are contained in the Corporate Governance
section starting on page 52.
Further details of the Company’s financial risk management policies are provided in Note 15 of the Financial
Statements (page 89).
Investment Policy
Shareholders approved a change to the Company’s investment policy at the general meeting on 20 June 2022.
The change provides for a more generic policy of investing in unquoted companies and also better encompasses
21
the investments which were acquired from the Target VCTs as part of the Merger.
It also covers the various
different share class funds that exist (and in the case of the Leisure Share class, what was once envisaged to
be created), which will be managed in accordance with the revised investment policy.
This is the agreed
Investment Policy in full:
The Company will target unquoted companies which meet the relevant criteria under the VCT Rules and which
it believes will achieve the objective of producing attractive income and capital return for Shareholders.
Qualifying Investments
At least the minimum required percentage of the Company’s assets will be invested in Qualifying Investments
as required by the VCT Rules.
Compliance with required rules and regulations is to be considered with all
investment decisions made.
The Company is further monitored on a continual basis to ensure such compliance.
Permitted Non-Qualifying Investments
The funds not employed in VCT Qualifying Investments will be invested in Permitted Non-Qualifying
Investments as allowed by the VCT Rules.
These will typically be cash deposits and investments in quoted
securities, investment trusts or OEICs.
Asset Mix
Specific share pools of the Company may have a focus on certain sectors according to the strategy of that
specific share pool.
The share pool for the Ordinary (or OT2) Shares and the new share pools for the OT1, OT3 and OT4 Ordinary
Shares will be significantly invested in established technology sector companies.
These share pools are in a
period of investment realisation but with no specified timing, therefore there may be the opportunity to make
additional investments.
In addition, the Company will establish a further new share pool that intends to invest in early stage, UK
leisure companies seeking an injection of growth capital to support their continued development.
The funds
raised for this new share pool will be invested as required by the VCT Rules.
Any uninvested funds in any of the share pools will be held in cash and a range of permitted liquidity
investments.
Risk Diversification
Risk in the share pools for the Ordinary (or OT2) Shares and the OT1, OT3 and OT4 Ordinary Shares will be
spread by their investment in a number of different established companies.
Concentration risk fluctuates and
at times can be fairly high given investment realisations and the change to the value of individual companies
within each such share pool.
Risk in the new share pool for the Leisure Shares will be spread by investing in a number of different companies
focused on the leisure sector.
These companies will be at different stages of development and have different
target markets.
The Directors seek to control the overall risk of the share pools by ensuring that the Company has exposure
to a range of unquoted companies.
In order to limit concentration risk in the share pools that is derived from any particular investment, at the
point of investment no more than 15% of the Company by VCT value will be in any one company, as limited
by the VCT Rules.
The merger with Oxford Technology VCT Plc, Oxford Technology 3 VCT Plc and Oxford
Technology 4 VCT Plc will not be restricted by this requirement.
Borrowing
Whilst the Board does not intend that the Company will borrow funds (other than to manage short term cash
requirements), the Company is entitled to do so subject to the aggregate principal amount at the time of
borrowing not exceeding 25% of the asset value of the Company.
Changes to the Investment Policy
The Company will not make any material changes to its Investment Policy without Shareholder approval.
22
Key Information Document
The EU PRIIPs regulations came into effect in January 2018.
The intent of the regulations is to increase
customer protection by improving the functioning of financial markets and in this instance through the Key
Information Document (“KID”) which provides shareholders with more information about the risks, potential
returns and charges within VCTs.
Although well intended, there were widespread concerns about the
application of some aspects of the prescribed methodologies to VCTs.
In what is one of the first examples of
the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) confirming UK divergence from EU rules following Brexit, revised
requirements for what information should be included in a KID were published in March 2022 and these came
into full effect on 31 December 2022.
For a period the KID was not required, but the requirement has been
reinstated.
The Board has produced a revised KID in line with the new Regulations and retail investors must
be directed to this before buying shares in the Company.
The KID is published on the Company’s website
www.oxfordtechnologyvct.com
.
The Board recommends that shareholders continue to classify VCTs as a
high-risk investment.
The necessity of KIDs is still under review by the FCA.
Section 172(1) Statement
The Directors discharge their duties under section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 to act in good faith and to
promote the success of the Company for the benefit of shareholders as a whole as set out in the Business
Review from page 17.
As an investment company, OT2VCT has no employees; however, the Directors also
assessed the impact of the Company’s activities on other stakeholders, in particular shareholders and our third-
party advisers, as well as the portfolio of companies.
The Board’s decision-making process incorporates, as part of the Company’s investment policy and investment
objectives as set out on page 6, considerations for supporting the Company’s business relationships with the
Investment Adviser, shareholders, advisers and registrar, independent financial advisers and the impact of the
Company’s operations on the community and the environment, which by nature of the business, only extends
to the holdings in portfolio companies.
Key Stakeholders
Investors
The best opportunity for shareholders to engage directly with the Board and Manager is at the AGM.
This
year we once again look forward to welcoming shareholders to Oxford in October, where in addition to the
formal business of the AGM, there will be a presentation.
We welcome any feedback from shareholders on
how they would like to see communication improved.
Any views which may arise are discussed by the Board
and factored into any decision-making and disclosed in annual and interim reports as appropriate.
In addition,
shareholders can contact the Board and Investment Manager at any time via
vcts@oxfordtechnology.com
.
The
Board uses a number of measures to assess the Company’s success in meeting its strategic objectives with
regard to shareholder interests as detailed in the Key Performance Indicators on page 18.
Outside of general meetings, the Company engages with shareholders through regulatory news service
announcements, interim and annual reports as well as regular correspondence with shareholders and their
advisers to address any queries that arise.
Investment Adviser
The Company’s most important business relationship is with the Investment Adviser, OTM.
The two directors
of OTM attend the Company’s Board meetings, and there is regular contact with the Investment Adviser
throughout the periods in between meetings.
All key strategic and operational topics are discussed in detail
and a close dialogue is maintained.
There is also an annual timetable agreed with the Investment Adviser
which is discussed at each Board Meeting.
The Company and Investment Adviser also work together to
maintain efficient operation of the VCT as detailed in the Key Performance Indicators on page 18.
Portfolio Companies
The Company holds minority investments in all but one of its portfolio companies (the Company holds a
majority stake in Select Technology, but as described on page 77 the holding remains VCT Qualifying) and it
has appointed the Investment Adviser to manage the relationships with most of its investees.
Alex Starling
23
sits on the boards of two investee companies (STL Management Ltd and Getmapping Ltd).
While the Board
has little direct contact with the running of rest of the companies, the Investment Adviser provides updates on
the portfolio at least quarterly.
The Board takes an active interest in the challenges faced by the portfolio
companies.
The Company made no purchases during the year and sold a small proportion of its holding in
Scancell for liquidity purposes.
Neither the Board nor the Investment Adviser believed it was in the best
interests of all key stakeholders to do otherwise.
Environment and Community
The Company seeks to ensure that its business is conducted in a responsible manner with regards to the
environment as far as is practicable given the nature of the business as an investment company.
The
management and administration of the Company is undertaken by the Investment Adviser, who recognises the
importance of its environmental responsibilities, monitors its impact on the environment and implements
policies to reduce any damage that might be caused by its activities.
Initiatives of the Investment Adviser designed to minimise its and the Company’s impact on the environment
include recycling and reducing energy consumption.
More details of the work that the Investment Adviser has
done in this area are set out on page 44.
The Company utilises video conferencing facilities for the majority of Board meetings.
The Board met
virtually for all but one Board meeting during the period.
The Company also encourages shareholders to
receive communications from the Company electronically to reduce the impact of production and delivery of
additional paper products.
Internal Control
The Directors are responsible for the Company’s system of internal control.
The Board has adopted an internal
operating and strategy document for the Company.
This includes procedures for the selection and approval of
investments, the functions of the Investment Adviser and exit and dividend strategies.
Day to day operations are delegated under agreements with the Investment Adviser who has established clearly
defined policies and standards.
These include procedures for the monitoring and safeguarding of the
Company’s investments and regular reconciliation of investment holdings.
This system of internal control, which includes procedures such as physical controls, segregation of duties,
authorisation limits and comprehensive financial reporting to the Board, is designed to provide reasonable, but
not absolute, assurance against material misstatement or loss.
The Board has reviewed, with its Investment
Adviser, the operation and effectiveness of the Company’s system of internal control for the financial period
and the period up to the date of approval of the Financial Statements.
The Board has continued to prepare the Financial Statements in accordance with UK Financial Reporting
Standards rather than International Financial Reporting Standards adopted by UK (“UK adopted IFRS”).
Independence, Gender and Diversity
Throughout the year under review, the Board has consisted of four male UK born non-executive Directors of
widely ranging ages, backgrounds and experience.
The gender and diversity of the constitution of the Board
will be reviewed on an annual basis.
New regulations require the company to report on a comply or explain
basis against three key indicators: 40% of the board should be comprised of women; one senior board position
is held by a woman; and one director should be from an ethnic minority background.
Whilst not currently
complying, the Board notes these proposals and the focus and emphasis on diversity.
The Board considers
diversity when reviewing Board composition and has a commitment to consider diversity when making future
appointments.
However, as set out in the Chairman’s Statement, there is no current intention to replace David
Livesley when he retires at the AGM, and the Board does not consider it is in Shareholders’ best interests for
further knowledge to be lost at this time of portfolio realisation.
Hence there will not be an opportunity to
appoint a new member to the Board.
Were this to change, the Board will always appoint the best person for
the job.
It will not discriminate on the grounds of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age or
physical ability.
The Board also supports the aims of the Hampton Alexander Report and the renewed focus
and emphasis on diversity in the AIC Code of Corporate Governance (the “2019 AIC Code”) and were any
new appointment made in the future, will strive to comply with these recommendations.
24
Environmental Policy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Human Rights Issues
The Board recognises the requirement under Section 414c of the Companies Act 2006 to detail information
about environmental matters (including the impact of the Company’s business on the environment), employee,
human rights, social and community issues, including information about any policies it has in relation to these
matters and effectiveness of these policies.
Given the size and nature of the Company’s activities and the fact that it has no full-time employees and only
four non-executive Directors, the Board considers there is limited scope to develop and implement social and
community policies.
However, the Company recognises the need to conduct its business in a responsible
manner with regards to the environment where possible.
The Company has considered the Companies (Directors’ Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy
and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018, in relation to energy consumption disclosure, discussed in this Business
Review and also in the Directors’ Report.
Consumer Duty
The Directors have reviewed requirements in respect of Consumer Duty which came into effect on 31 July
2023 with the Investment Adviser, and believe the Company is currently compliant.
The Consumer Duty sets
higher and clearer standards of consumer protection across financial services for products and services open
to retail customers and requires firms to put their customers’ needs first.
Whilst VCTs are not directly subject
to the new Consumer Duty, the Investment Adviser as an FCA-regulated firm is subject to the Consumer Duty
and has completed a Consumer Duty review.
The Consumer Duty highlights the FCA’s drive to protect the
interests of retail customers and the board will be monitoring the actions put in place by the Investment Adviser
to ensure our Shareholders continue to be put at the heart of our business.
The Board will continue to keep the
new regulation under review.
Richard Roth
Chairman
17 June 2025
25
Investment Manager’s Review
OT2VCT was formed in 2000 and invested in start-up or early stage technology companies.
In 2022, the
Company merged with the 3 other Oxford Technology VCTs and now has four Share Classes.
The remaining
investments in the portfolio are shown in the tables in this report.
Select Technology, Scancell, Arecor and ImmBio still have the potential to deliver significant returns.
These
four investments make up more than 95% of the value of the combined investment portfolio.
Select has
acquired one of its distributors increasing its regional presence.
It has been another disappointing year for the
valuations of our listed shares Scancell and Arecor.
It is a real pity as both companies have made further
commercial and clinical progress.
Arecor has announced further partnerships and the first product using
Arestat has started to provide royalties, although it did close down its Ogluo acquisition.
Scancell has had
further positive results in phase 2 clinical trials for its lead assets and has had progress on its GlyMab assets.
ImmBio has made a big step forward in partnering with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and starting
the process of a phase 2 trial.
The investments with any residual value are reported on in further detail here,
and also in the Portfolio Review section in the Chairman’s Statement, starting on page 9.
On page 8, the Chairman’s Statement set out the performance of each Share Class and the respective
concentration of investments.
New Investments in the year
There were no new investments during the year.
Disposals during the year
The OT3 Share Class sold 13% of its Scancell holding for liquidity purposes.
Valuation Methodology
Quoted and unquoted investments are valued in accordance with current industry guidelines that are compliant
with International Private Equity and Venture Capital (IPEVC) Valuation Guidelines and current financial
reporting standards.
VCT Compliance
The section on page 19 sets out a number of the key requirements for the Company to be a VCT and the types
of companies a VCT can invest in.
Compliance with the main VCT regulations that apply to OT2VCT as at
28 February 2025 and for the year then ended is summarised as follows:
At least 80% of investments must be VCT Qualifying – Complied.
The value used in the qualifying tests is
not necessarily the original investment cost due to the complex rules required by HMRC, therefore the
allocation of Qualifying investments as defined by the legislation can be different to the portfolio weighting
as measured by market value relative to the net assets of the VCT.
No more than 15% of the income from shares and securities is retained – Complied.
No investment constitutes more than 15% of the Company’s portfolio (by value at time of investment or when
the holding is added to) – Complied.
The Company’s income in the period has been derived wholly or mainly (70% plus) from shares or securities
– Complied.
No investment made by the VCT has caused that company to receive more than £5m of State Aid
investment (£10 million for Knowledge Intensive Companies) in any rolling 12 month period and £12 million
of state aid investment (£20 million for Knowledge Intensive Companies) during its lifetime – Complied as no
new investments were made.
Only invest in Qualifying holdings, or certain non-qualifying holdings, nor invest in a company which uses
the funds to acquire another company/business – Complied as no new investments were made.
26
Tables of Investments held by Company at 28 February 2025
Investment Portfolio – OT1 Share Class
* This is the original cost of investments extracted from the unaudited Interim Report issued by Oxford Technology VCT Plc dated
21 April 2022, as adjusted for any subsequent sales.
This is to help shareholders understand how an investment has performed since
it was originally acquired.
** This is the cost of investment at the time of the merger, as adjusted for any subsequent sales, and against which all future financial
reporting by OT2 VCT is required to be assessed.
*** Whilst the VCT holds a total of 58.6% of Select Technology, certain rights are restricted to 50% as set out in Note 1 on page 77.
Company
Business
description
Original Net
Cost of
investment
in OT1VCT
£’000 *
Cost of
investment
to OT2
VCT
£’000 **
Carrying
value at
28/02/25
£’000
Change in
value for
the 12
month
period
£’000
%
Equity
held
OT1
%
Equity
held All
Share
Classes
%
Net assets
of OT1
Share
Class
Select
STL
Management
Specialist
Photocopier
interfaces
488
1,160
1,318
(61)
30.0
58.6***
66.3
Scancell
(bid price 8.1p)
Antibody
based cancer
therapeutics
275
785
446
(105)
0.5
1.0
22.4
BioCote
Bactericidal
additives
85
242
128
6
6.6
6.6
6.4
Getmapping
Aerial
photography
518
86
86
42
3.7
3.7
4.3
Arecor
(bid price 48p)
Protein
stabilisation
90
139
19
(35)
0.1
4.2
1.0
Total
Investments
1,456
2,412
1,997
(153)
100.4
Other Net
Assets
(8)
(0.4)
Net Assets
1,989
100.0
27
Investment Portfolio – OT2 Share Class
Company
Business
description
Net cost of
investment
£’000
Carrying
value at
28/02/25
£’000
Change in
value for the
12 month
period
£’000
%
Equity
held by
OT2
%
Equity held
All Share
Classes
%
Net assets of
OT2 Share
Class
Select
Technology –
STL Mgt.
Specialist
photocopier
interfaces
132
326
(15)
7.4
58.6 *
40.3
ImmBio
Novel
vaccines
295
223
42
3.1
22.6
27.6
Arecor
(bid price 48p)
Protein
stabilisation
252
129
(233)
0.7
4.2
15.9
Scancell
(bid price 8.1p)
Antibody
based cancer
therapeutics
150
101
(24)
0.1
1.0
12.5
Inaplex
Data
integration
software
138
-
-
21.5
34.8
-
Oxis Energy
Battery
technology
540
-
-
0.1
0.3
-
Total
Investments
1,508
779
(230)
96.3
Other Net
Assets
30
3.7
Net Assets
809
100.0
* Whilst the VCT holds a total of 58.6% of Select Technology, certain rights are restricted to 50% as set out in Note 1 on page 77.
28
Investment Portfolio – OT3 Share Class
Company
Business
description
Original Net
Cost of
investment
in OT3VCT
£’000 *
Cost of
investment
to OT2 VCT
£’000 **
Carrying
value at
28/02/25
£’000
Change in
value for
the 12
month
period
£’000
%
Equity
held OT3
%
Equity
held All
Share
Classes
%
Net
assets of
OT3
Share
Class
Scancell
(bid price 8.1p)
Antibody
based cancer
therapeutics
316
564
320
(134) ****
0.4
1.0
34.0
ImmBio
Novel
vaccines
483
80
297
57
6.5
22.6
31.5
Arecor
(bid price 48p)
Protein
stabilisation
443
1,593
218
(396)
1.2
4.2
23.1
Select – STL
Management
Specialist
Photocopier
interfaces
47
109
124
(6)
2.8
58.6 ***
13.1
Invro
Low power
electronics
40
10
-
-
33.1
33.1
-
Inaplex
Data
integration
software
58
1
-
-
13.3
34.8
-
Total
Investments
1,387
2,357
959
(479)
101.7
Other Net
Assets
(16)
(1.7)
Net Assets
943
100.0
* This is the original cost of investments extracted from the unaudited Interim Report issued by Oxford Technology 3 VCT Plc dated
21 April 2022, as adjusted for any subsequent sales.
This is to help shareholders understand how an investment has performed since
it was originally acquired.
** This is the cost of investment at the time of the merger, as adjusted for any subsequent sales, and against which all future financial
reporting by OT2 VCT is required to be assessed.
*** Whilst the VCT holds a total of 58.6% of Select Technology, certain rights are restricted to 50% as set out in Note 1 on page 77.
**** £58k decrease in value for the period relates to share disposals and £76k to the decrease in the AIM share price on the shares
still held at 28 February 2025.
29
Investment Portfolio – OT4 Share Class
Company
Business
description
Original Net
Cost of
investment in
OT4VCT
£’000 *
Cost of
investment
to OT2
VCT
£’000 **
Carrying
value at
28/02/25
£’000
Change in
value for
the 12
month
period
£’000
%
Equity
held
OT4
%
Equity
held All
Share
Classes
%
Net assets
of OT4
Share
Class
Select
STL
Management
Specialist
photocopier
interfaces
237
710
808
(37)
18.4
58.6 ***
37.6
ImmBio
Novel vaccines
857
178
664
125
13.0
22.6
31.0
Arecor
(bid price 48p)
Protein
stabilisation
590
2,885
396
(717)
2.2
4.2
18.4
Diamond Hard
Surfaces
Diamond
coatings
640
176
327
154
49.9
49.9
15.2
Novacta
Antibiotics
Development
347
59
-
(59)
2.3
2.3
-
Mirriad
Advertising
(bid price
0.29p)
Virtual product
placement
-
9
-
-
-
-
-
Dynamic
Discovery
E-mail
archiving
-
-
-
-
5.6
5.6
-
Oxis Energy
Battery
technology
305
-
-
-
0.2
0.3
-
Total
Investments
2,976
4,017
2,195
(534)
102.2
Other Net
Assets
(48)
(2.2)
Net Assets
2,147
100.0
* This is the original cost of investments extracted from the unaudited Interim Report issued by Oxford Technology 4 VCT Plc dated
21 April 2022.
This is to help shareholders understand how an investment has performed since it was originally acquired.
** This is the cost of investment at the time of the merger, and against which all future financial reporting by OT2 VCT is required to
be assessed.
*** Whilst the VCT holds a total of 58.6% of Select Technology, certain rights are restricted to 50% as set out in Note 1 on page 77.
30
Select Technology – STL Management Ltd
www.selectec.co.uk
Share
Class
Date of First
Investment
Original Net
Cost of
Investment
£’000
Cost of
Investment to
OT2VCT
£’000
Carrying
Value
28/02/2025
£’000
Change in
Value for the
Year to
OT2VCT £’000
%
Equity
Held
OT1
OT2
OT3
OT4
Total
Sep 1999
Nov 2001
Nov 2004
Aug 2006
488
132
47
237
904
1,160
132
109
710
2,111
1,318
326
124
808
2,576
(61)
(15)
(6)
(37)
(119)
30.0%
7.4%
2.8%
18.4%
58.6%
Select Technology (100% owned by STL Management Ltd) distributes high quality 3
rd
-party document
management software via its global channel partners.
It adds further value by providing a highly regarded
‘one-stop-shop’ support service as well as script-driven tools (based on its own intellectual property) to
increase efficiency and customer useability of its distributed software products.
Select Technology was established in 1981 as a design engineering company and developed a reputation for
technical excellence and innovation.
One of its first projects was a book copier design project for the British
Library.
Many things have changed since the early 1980s, and Select Technology has moved with the times,
on occasions implementing a fairly hard pivot – so far, each of these has been successful.
Select Technology grew significantly between 2010 and 2018 by focusing on print management software, in
particular software produced by an Australian company called PaperCut.
Realising that this type of software
was becoming increasingly commoditised, the company expanded its focus to document capture and sharing,
acquiring distribution rights to additional software solutions and introducing them to the market in an
innovative way.
These new products include Foldr and Square9.
Foldr was originally developed for teachers in schools.
It enabled teachers to store and retrieve materials for
their lessons, to write reports for their students and email these securely to the parents, with controls to ensure
that the right report went to the right parent, but which also enabled all the reports to be sent to the school’s
central administration.
Documents could be protected with various levels of security with different people
being given different levels of access.
Foldr has turned out to be very useful for businesses to manage their
documents in a secure manner.
Square9 is an Enterprise Content Management System.
It is appropriate for
the largest companies with thousands of employees and enables companies to store, find, access and manage
documents and other information easily and securely and in compliance with GDPR and other security
protocols.
Despite challenging trading conditions, the most recently completed full year of trading (to 31 July 2024) saw
revenues almost unchanged compared to the previous 12 month period (£7.3m).
The company is profitable
and dividend payments have continued (a total of £115k in the year of which OT2VCT’s share was £57k).
In
early September 2024, Select Technology completed the acquisition of NordicDoc Solutions AB, increasing
the pro forma turnover of the newly enlarged entity by about a quarter and, more importantly, opening up
several opportunities in Select Technology’s European markets.
Integration is proceeding well, and the newly
renamed division (“Selectec Nordic”) continues to trade well following the acquisition.
Select Technology is valued by careful consideration of a basket of peer valuation multiples, including
turnover, profitability and dividend yield.
31
ImmBio
www.immbio.net
Share
Class
Date of First
Investment
Original Net
Cost of
Investment
£’000
Cost of
Investment to
OT2VCT
£’000
Carrying
Value
28/02/2025
£’000
Change in
Value for the
Year to
OT2VCT £’000
%
Equity
Held
OT2
OT3
OT4
Total
Dec 2000
May 2003
Oct 2005
295
483
857
1,635
295
80
178
553
223
297
664
1,184
42
57
125
224
3.1%
6.5%
13.0%
22.6%
ImmBio was founded in 1999 by Camilo Colaco to develop vaccines that engage dendritic cells.
Dr.
Colaco
identified the role that Heat Shock Proteins play in activating the immune system.
The company has
programmes developing vaccines against Tuberculosis (“TB”), Meningitis and Pneumonia.
The TB and
Meningitis vaccines have been partnered for development in China and India.
ImmBio has partnered with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (“LSTM”) to progress the asset.
In
order to progress, the company needs to complete a study to show two things: that the vaccine can reduce
carriage of the bacteria in healthy people and that the vaccine will protect against many, if not all, strains of
the bacteria.
In the last year, a £3.7m grant awarded by The Medical Research Council to LSTM has started.
Manufacture of the drug product has successfully been completed and dosing of the first patient is imminent.
The trial is in two phases of increasing dose strength and will establish the broad nature of immune protection
and also whether the vaccine reduces carriage of the bacteria in healthy people.
At the year end, the OT2 and OT3 Share Classes had committed to invest £40,000 in aggregate to provide
ImmBio the funds it needs to support the ongoing works.
The investment was made in May 2025.
Lucius
Cary, Richard Roth and Robin Goodfellow also supported the overall £210k funding round.
The investment has been valued to reflect its stage of technical and commercial development and then the
values for each of the Company’s Share Classes take into account the preference cascade (the E and F class
have a priority return of any initial proceeds).
The start of the grant work and agreement on ongoing funding
has reduced risks and led to an increase in valuation, somewhat offset by the global risks highlighted elsewhere.
Following this investment in E class shares, the Company’s shareholdings are as follows:
Class
Number of Shares
%age of total class
Ordinary
1,021,188
6.3%
D class
4,075,913
6.7%
E class
15,315,957
28.4%
F class
4,868,000
32.7%
G class
26,700,000
31.0%
32
Scancell
www.scancell.co.uk
Share
Class
Date of First
Investment
Original Net
Cost of
Investment
£’000
Cost of
Investment to
OT2VCT
£’000
Carrying
Value
28/02/2025
£’000
Change in
Value for the
Year to
OT2VCT £’000
%
Equity
Held
OT1
OT2
OT3
Total
Aug 1999
Apr 2018
Dec 2003
275
150
316
741
785
150
564
1,499
446
101
320
867
(105)
(24)
(134)
(263)
0.5%
0.1%
0.4%
1.0%
Scancell is an AIM listed biotechnology company in which OT2VCT first invested in April 2018, although
the OTVCTs were the earliest investors in the company in 1999.
Scancell is developing novel
immunotherapies for cancer based on four platform technologies known as ImmunoBody, Moditope,
AvidiMab and GlyMab.
They have also used their TCell stimulating vaccine platform to make a Covid-19
vaccine aimed at the N capsid.
Dr Phil L'Huillier commenced as Chief Executive Officer in mid-November 2024 with Prof Lindy Durrant
continuing as Chief Scientific Officer.
SCIB 1 reported compelling interim data showing 72% ORR while the reported outcomes of double checkpoint
inhibitors
- the standard of care - is closer
to 48%.
84% of patients saw a stabilisation or regression of tumour.
Further results are expected throughout 2025.
The Moditope clinical trial also presented results with 43% of patients who received Moditope together with
a checkpoint inhibitor showing a response versus a historical 19% for checkpoint inhibitors alone.
Moditope
is being tested on renal, breast and, head and neck cancer patients.
A second GlyMab antibody was licensed to Genmab A/S with a $6m upfront payment.
In December 2024, Scancell raised £11.3m of gross proceeds, financing the company until 2H26, beyond
multiple clinical milestones.
The Scancell share price fell from 10p at 28 February 2024 to 8.1p at 28 February 2025 during the year.
33
Arecor Therapeutics
www.arecor.com
Share
Class
Date of First
Investment
Original Net
Cost of
Investment
£’000
Cost of
Investment to
OT2VCT
£’000
Carrying
Value
28/02/2025
£’000
Change in
Value for the
Year to
OT2VCT £’000
%
Equity
Held
OT1
OT2
OT3
OT4
Total
May 2021
July 2007
July 2007
July 2007
90
252
443
590
1,375
139
252
1,593
2,885
4,869
19
129
218
396
762
(35)
(233)
(396)
(717)
(1,381)
0.1%
0.7%
1.2%
2.2%
4.2%
Arecor is a leader in the development of innovative formulation technology that enables differentiated
biopharmaceutical products.
It has developed a proprietary, patent backed formulation technology platform
that has been proven to stabilize a broad range of molecules as aqueous compositions.
Many proteins, peptides
and vaccines are too unstable in liquid form and/or at high concentrations to develop stable ready-to-use drugs
and Arecor has overcome these challenges to significantly enhance the delivery of therapeutic medicines to
patients.
Arecor has continued the development of a portfolio of differentiated peptides through to clinical proof of
concept, with an initial focus on diabetes as a therapeutic area.
The Company’s original investment was in Arecor Ltd which became Arecor Therapeutics Plc when it floated
on AIM on 3 June 2021, raising £20m at a share price of 226p.
It subsequently raised gross proceeds of £6m
at 300p in August 2022 and a further £6.4m at 90p in July 2024.
Since inception in 2007, Arecor has built a successful revenue generating business employing this technology
to enable and differentiate biopharmaceuticals for a large cross section of the major pharmaceutical companies
on a fee for service plus licensing model.
In November 2023, the first commercial sale of a product containing
Arecor’s Arestat technology took place.
The product has not been disclosed officially, but it has resulted in
the triggering of a milestone payment and has now led to royalty payments.
During the year Arecor signed a license agreement for a ready to dilute liquid drug products and two
partnerships, one of which was reported in last year’s Accounts and was to develop an oral GLP-1 agonist.
The other was a partnership with Medtronic to work on a concentrated insulin for use with pumps.
After the
year end, three further partnerships were announced, one to develop a new peptide drug, the second with a
global pharmaceutical partner, the third to work with Skye Bioscience Inc. on an anti-obesity drug.
Together
these three deals have pre-license deal value of over £1m and very significant licensing potential.
All of these add to the existing pipeline which over time should provide an ongoing income stream.
Arecor’s lead products are AT278 and AT247, which both had successful phase 1 studies.
In September,
Arecor’s diabetes pipeline made further progress, announcing results of AT 278’s ultraconcentrated insulin in
Type 2 diabetics with a high BMI.
In August 2022, Arecor acquired Tetris Pharma adding a glucagon autoinjector pen, enhancing Arecor’s range
of diabetes products.
However, in January 2025, Arecor announced the orderly cessation of Tetris Pharma to
focus on its main program.
The bid price as at 28 February 2025 used for this Arecor valuation was 48p per share, down from 135p at the
previous year end (and 240p a year earlier).
34
Diamond Hard Surfaces
www.diamondhardsurfaces.com
Share
Class
Date of First
Investment
Original Net
Cost of
Investment
£’000
Cost of
Investment to
OT2VCT
£’000
Carrying
Value
28/02/2025
£’000
Change in
Value for the
Year to
OT2VCT £’000
%
Equity
Held
OT4
Jan 2005
640
176
327
154
49.9%
Diamond Hard Surfaces Limited was founded to exploit an ultra-hard diamond-like coating which provides
unusual properties to coated objects, including very high wear resistance and very low friction.
The initial
application was for coating mechanical seal faces (used in gas pumping applications where two discs spin at
high speed with a tiny lubricated gap between them).
If the lubrication fails, an uncoated seal will fail
catastrophically within seconds whereas a DHS coated seal will continue to run for more than an hour.
Many
of the world’s manufacturers of mechanical seals now use the DHS coating, but so far, only for the highest
end of their product ranges.
But sales for this application have been growing slowly.
Sales in the year to December 2024 were a record £569k.
Whilst a significant number of customers use the coating, there has not been major market growth.
The coating is also very good conductor of heat (3 times the thermal conductivity of copper) and
is
used as a
heat spreader on chips, particularly in defence applications.
To grow the market opportunity, and generate
enhanced margins, the company is looking to develop its own products in this sector, moving from a service
company to a product company.
DHS is valued using a sales multiple.
35
BioCote
www.biocote.com
Share
Class
Date of First
Investment
Original Net
Cost of
Investment
£’000
Cost of
Investment to
OT2VCT
£’000
Carrying
Value
28/02/2025
£’000
Change in
Value for the
Year to
OT2VCT £’000
%
Equity
Held
OT1
Dec 1997
85
242
128
6
6.6%
Established in 1997 with Oxford Technology VCT Plc as one of the original investors, BioCote has grown
from a supplier of patented antimicrobial powder coatings to a market leading antimicrobial technology
partner.
BioCote’s premium additives can be integrated into a wide range of materials, including polymers,
silicones, powder coatings, liquid paints, ceramics and textiles.
Covid turned out to be very good for BioCote,
with everyone worldwide suddenly becoming focused on how to reduce the spread of germs.
Sales and profits
increased to an all-time high and the dividend was increased.
However, post Covid, sales have declined to
approximately their pre-Covid level and while the business remains profitable, the most recent dividend was
less than the prior years (£200k in total, of which OT2VCT’s share was £13k, rather than our share of £300k
in the prior year).
The sector is currently showing strong merger activity, and in 2023 the company changed
its articles to make a corporate transaction easier.
Another factor which distinguishes BioCote from many of its competitors is that is has its own laboratory on
site and is able to test the actual performance of its antimicrobial coatings.
It also offers this testing to service
to others around the world, so that the laboratory is a separate profit centre
BioCote is only held by the OT1 Share Class and is valued using a sales multiple.
36
Getmapping
www.getmapping.co.uk
Share
Class
Date of First
Investment
Original Net
Cost of
Investment
£’000
Cost of
Investment to
OT2VCT
£’000
Carrying
Value
28/02/2025
£’000
Change in
Value for the
Year to
OT2VCT £’000
%
Equity
Held
OT1
March 1999
518
86
86
42
3.7%
Getmapping was incorporated in 1998 and OT1VCT was one of its first investors.
The company (initially
called the Millennium Mapping Company) was formed to make the first complete aerial photograph of the
UK, known as the Millennium Map; the company was listed on AIM in 2000.
Getmapping went on to develop
a range of survey capabilities in the UK, North-West Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Commercial progress was, however, hampered by a dispute with Ordnance Survey which was not resolved
satisfactorily at the time.
Getmapping delisted from AIM in October 2003 and for many years its shares were
quoted on the Britdaq matched bargains market.
Getmapping changed its constitution in early 2023, becoming
a private company after previously being a public limited company, also changing its name from Getmapping
Plc to Getmapping Limited to reflect this transition.
Over the last few years, the geospatial sector as a whole has grown in value due to the important role that
locational data plays as a key enabler of new technology solutions such as Smart Cities, Autonomous Vehicles
and Experiential Tourism.
There have been some notable acquisitions of geospatial and mapping companies
as the sector has grown.
Following a difficult trading period in 2019, the disruption of 2020 onwards put the company into a perilous
position.
However, Getmapping survived this, albeit with a relatively high level of indebtedness.
The last two years have seen a steady improvement, and the company has been able to reduce levels of net
debt to more appropriate levels of leverage for a company of its size.
Getmapping has steadily increased its
annual recurring revenues and has seen strong demand for its surveying services.
In addition, Getmapping’s
rich data sets – with historical reference data now going back 25 years – have resulted in a differentiated and
competitive offering, resulting in some high profile customer wins, in particular where Getmapping has been
able to provide mapping data to add value to its customers’ activities.
Getmapping concluded a small equity fundraising in 2023 (just over £100,000 was raised) and – as we reported
in two years ago – considered raising further equity at that time.
However, this could have had quite a dilutive
effect on shareholders.
Instead, the deleveraging process has been assisted by a consortium of new investors
(including some shareholders) who have helped Getmapping refinance some of its historical debt without
resorting to a dilutive equity round.
We are cautiously optimistic about developments at Getmapping and look
forward to reporting on further progress in due course.
Getmapping is valued using a revenue multiple, adjusted for net debt.
Lucius Cary
Director – OT2 Managers Ltd
Investment Manager
17 June 2025
37
Investment Adviser – Oxford Technology Management Ltd
Since 2012, the primary focus of
OTM has been on their SEIS and EIS portfolio companies.
OTM also
acts as the Investment Adviser to the Company.
There are two investment managers within OTM, Lucius Cary
and Andrea Mica.
Lucius Cary
Lucius Cary is the founder and managing director of OTM.
He has a degree in engineering and economics
from Oxford University, an MBA from Harvard Business School and was an engineering apprentice at the
Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell.
After forming and raising finance for his first business in 1972, he founded
"Venture Capital Report" in 1978 and was its managing director for 17 years.
In March 1996, he became chairman and reduced his day-to-day involvement
in order to concentrate more fully on OTM’s investment activities.
OTM raised its first fund to invest in start-up and early-stage technology
companies in 1983.
OTM has managed or advised twelve funds which,
between them, have made more than 200 such investments,
including more
than 50 SEIS investments since 2012
.
In 2003, he was awarded an OBE for
services to business.
Lucius owns shares in the OT1, OT2 and OT4 Share Classes, as well as in Scancell, Select Technology and
ImmBio.
He is also a director of OT2 Managers Ltd.
Andrea Mica
Andrea Mica graduated from the Delft University of Technology with an MSc in Industrial Design
Engineering, and went on for a further graduate study in Innovation and Creativity at the State University
College of New York at Buffalo.
He has a strong and varied background in technology prior to joining OTM
– both promoting technologies for sale, and identifying new technologies to
invest in.
He also has an entrepreneurial streak – he co-founded CleanSteel Ltd, a
company that developed a new technique for recycling waste products from
the tyre industry.
Within the VCTs he has concentrated on the life science portfolio companies.
Andrea is a shareholder in Scancell.
38
Board of Directors
The Company has a Board of four non-executive Directors.
All are independent of the Investment Adviser.
They meet on a regular basis to review the investment performance and monitor compliance with the
investment policy laid down by the Board as set out in the Strategic Report starting on page 20.
The Board has a formal schedule of matters specifically reserved for its decision which include:
the consideration and approval of future developments or changes to the investment policy, including
risk and asset allocation;
the consideration and review of the Company’s compliance with HMRC conditions for maintenance
of approved VCT status;
consideration of corporate strategy;
approval of the appropriate dividend to be paid to shareholders;
the appointment, evaluation, removal and remuneration of the Investment Manager;
the performance of the Company, including monitoring the discount of the share price to net asset
value; and
monitoring shareholder profiles and considering shareholder communications.
The Chairman leads the Board in the determination of its strategy and in the achievement of its objectives.
The Chairman is responsible for organising the business of the Board, ensuring its effectiveness and setting its
agenda.
He facilitates the effective contribution of the Directors and ensures that they receive accurate, timely
and clear information and that the Company communicates effectively with shareholders in accordance with
the Board’s duty to promote the success of the Company.
The Company Secretary is responsible for advising the Board through the Chairman on all governance matters.
All of the Directors have access to the advice and services of the Company Secretary.
Directors may also take
independent professional advice at the Company's expense where necessary in the performance of their duties.
The Company’s articles of association and the schedule of matters reserved to the Board for decision provide
that the appointment and removal of the Company Secretary is a matter for the full Board.
39
Richard Roth
Richard Roth (aged 61) is the Chairman of the Company and Chairman of
the Audit Committee.
He was appointed in July 2015.
He is a Chartered
Management Accountant.
After 14 years at two blue chip companies he
joined easyJet, where he was one of the key executives that transformed the
business from private company to household name.
He has subsequently worked for a number of airlines, including as CFO of
RoyalJet.
Richard has also had a number of consulting assignments, in
particular helping companies determine their strategy, and implementing
business improvements.
He has been deeply involved in growing and/or
turning businesses around.
Richard is a well-informed VCT investor having followed the industry closely since inception and has
extensive understanding of the sector having observed good and bad practice for nearly 25 years.
He has
invested in a number of small (mainly unquoted) companies and has also advised several potential start-up
businesses – mainly travel-related.
Richard is a shareholder in Arecor, Scancell and ImmBio, and has also participated in the loan to Getmapping
referred to on page 36.
He is also a Director of OT2 Managers Ltd.
This combination of experience, including his previous directorship on another VCT outside the Oxford
Technology stable, provides the Company with valuable and detailed knowledge regarding the successful
ongoing operation of a VCT.
Alex Starling
Alex Starling (aged 47) is a Director of the Company and was appointed in
July 2015.
Alex runs his own corporate advisory firm, ACS Technical
Limited.
He has helped a number of technology companies raise venture
capital and, conversely, shareholders realise their investments in such
technology companies.
He is a Chartered Engineer and Member of the Institution of Mechanical
Engineers, has a PhD in Engineering from Cambridge University and holds
the ICAEW Diploma in Corporate Finance.
Alex brings current corporate
finance and early stage fundraising experience to the Board.
Alex is a shareholder in Scancell and Getmapping, and, via ACS Technical, has also participated in the loan
to Getmapping referred to on page 36.
He is also a Director of OT2 Managers Ltd, and portfolio companies
STL Management Limited and Getmapping Ltd.
40
Robin Goodfellow
Robin Goodfellow (aged 78) is a Director of the Company and also a member
of the Audit Committee.
He was appointed in July 2015.
Robin had 30 years
of experience in senior Accounting Manager and Internal Audit Manager roles
with ExxonMobil International, Esso Europe, Esso Petroleum and Esso
Norway.
He has particular expertise in advising on and implementing cost
effective controls across total company business activities and their
accounting systems.
Robin has an MA in Engineering from Cambridge University and an MBA
from the London Business School.
More recently he has been an active investor and shareholder in VCTs, EISs and other small companies.
He
was previously a regular commentator on VCT industry performance and current VCT company issues.
Robin’s combination of experience provides the Company with valuable and detailed knowledge of the VCT
industry which contributes to the successful ongoing operation of a VCT.
He also undertakes significant
research about other companies within similar fields of activity as our investments.
Robin is a shareholder in Arecor, Scancell and ImmBio.
David Livesley
David Livesley (aged 64) is a Director of the Company and was appointed in
July 2015.
He worked in the life science and pharmaceutical industries before
joining Cambridge Consultants Ltd in 1987, where he was involved in product
and process development across a range of industrial sectors.
Between 1999 and 2012 he worked for the YFM Group, where he invested
VCT money into early stage technology companies.
Currently he is an
independent Non-Executive director for a number of early stage technology
businesses.
David brings a wealth of fund management and venture capital investment
experience to the Board, as well as direct experience of VCT fund management.
He has been involved with
the portfolio for over 20 years and hence has extensive historic knowledge of the Company’s investments,
which remains highly relevant to the ongoing success of the Company.
David has decided not to seek re-election at this year’s AGM and will stand down as a Director at the
conclusion of that meeting but has offered to remain as an adviser on portfolio companies as required.
41
Directors’ Report
The Directors present their report together with the Financial Statements for the year ended 28 February 2025.
The Directors consider that the Annual Report and Financial Statements, taken as a whole, are fair, balanced
and understandable and provide the information necessary for shareholders to assess the Company’s
performance, business model and strategy.
This report has been prepared by the Directors in accordance with the requirements of s415 of the Companies
Act 2006.
The Company’s independent auditor is required by law to report on whether the information given
in the Directors’ Report is consistent with the Financial Statements.
Principal Activity
The Company commenced business in 2000.
The Company invests in start-up and early stage technology
companies in general located within 60 miles of Oxford.
The Company has maintained its approved status as
a Venture Capital Trust by HMRC.
Review of Business Activities
The Directors are required by section 417 of the Companies Act 2006 to include a Business Review to
shareholders.
This is set out on page 17 and forms part of the Strategic Report.
The purpose of the Business
Review is to inform members of the Company and help them assess how the Directors have performed their
duty under section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 (duty to promote the success of the Company).
The
Company’s section 172 Statement on page 22, the Chairman's Statement on pages 6 to 16 and the Investment
Manager’s Review on pages 25 to 36 also form part of the Strategic Report.
Corporate Governance Statement
In January 2024, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) revised the UK Code, which will include a best
practice requirement for the Board to report on the company’s risk management and internal control
framework, and further emphasises the comply or explain framework.
The new 2024 UK Code applies to
accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2025 (with some provisions being effective a year later).
The AIC has also updated
its own
Code of Corporate Governance, with the same effective dates.
The Board
will review any changes and will ensure that the Company reports against any new requirements in due time.
In the meantime, the Board has considered the principles and recommendations of the 2019 AIC Code as
applied to companies reporting as at 28 February 2025.
The Company’s Corporate Governance policy is set
out on pages 52 to 57.
The 2019 AIC Code is available on the AIC website (
www.theaic.co.uk
).
It includes an explanation of how
the 2019 AIC Code adapts the Principles and Provisions set out in the UK Code to make them relevant for
investment companies.
The Company has complied with the recommendations of the 2019 AIC Code and the relevant provisions of
the UK Code, except as set out below:
The Company does not have a Chief Executive Officer or a Senior Independent Director.
The Board
does not consider this necessary as it does not have any executive directors.
New Directors do not receive a formal induction on joining the Board, though they did receive one
tailored to them on an individual basis, when they were first appointed.
(There have been no new
Directors appointed during the financial year).
The Company conducts a formal review as to whether there is a need for an internal audit function.
However, the Directors do not consider that an internal audit would be an appropriate control for this
VCT at this time.
The Company does not have a Remuneration Committee as these matters are dealt with by the Board.
The Company does not have a Nomination Committee as these matters are dealt with by the Board.
42
For the reasons set out in the AIC Guide, and as explained in the UK Code, the Board considers the above
provisions are not relevant to the position of the Company, being an investment company run by the Board
and managed by the Investment Adviser.
In particular, all of the Company’s day-to-day administrative
functions are outsourced to third parties.
As a result, the Company has no executive directors, employees or
internal operations.
Furthermore, the Board acknowledges that it is not recommended practice that the Chairman of the Company
to be chairman of the Audit Committee; however Richard Roth is chairman of the Audit Committee as he has
fulfilled this role for all the OT VCTs for a number of years, and the Board consider he remains the best placed
to carry on this role.
Directors
The Directors of the Company are required to notify their interests under Disclosure and Transparency Rule
3.1.2R.
The membership of the Board and their beneficial interests in the ordinary shares of the company by
Share Class at 28 February 2025 are set out below:
Name
OT1
OT2
OT3
OT4
Total shares
in the
Company
% Total
Holding in
Company
R Roth
20,000
54,933
38,149
64,310
177,392
0.63
A Starling
12,249
Nil
Nil
Nil
12,249
0.04
R Goodfellow
90,932
14,000
35,000
20,000
159,932
0.57
D Livesley
Nil
Nil
Nil
3,499
3,499
0.01
There have been no subsequent changes in the Directors’ interests since 28 February 2025.
The Directors’
interests at 29 February 2024 were:
Name
OT1
OT2
OT3
OT4
Total shares
in the
Company
% Total
Holding in
Company
R Roth
10,000
44,033
38,149
64,310
156,492
0.56
A Starling
12,249
Nil
Nil
Nil
12,249
0.04
R Goodfellow
90,932
14,000
35,000
20,000
159,932
0.57
D Livesley
Nil
Nil
Nil
3,499
3,499
0.01
No options over the share capital of the Company have been granted to the Directors.
There is no minimum holding requirement that the Directors need to adhere to.
Under the Company’s Articles of Association, Directors are required to retire by rotation every third year.
However, best practice under the latest corporate governance guidelines is for all directors to stand for election
each year and as a result, Richard Roth, Alex Starling and Robin Goodfellow will all be nominated for re-
election at the forthcoming AGM.
The Board believes that all the non-executive Directors continue to provide
a valuable contribution to the Company and remain committed to their roles.
The Board recommends that
shareholders support the resolutions to re-elect the three Directors at the forthcoming AGM.
As set out in the
Chairman’s Statement on page 14, David Livesley has decided not to seek re-election and will stand down
from the Board at the conclusion of this year’s meeting.
The Board is satisfied that, following individual performance appraisals, the Directors who are re-standing
continue to be effective and demonstrate commitment to their roles and therefore offer themselves for re-
election with the support of the Board.
The Board did not identify any conflicts of interest between the Chairman’s interest and those of the
shareholders, especially with regard to the relationship between the Chairman and the Investment Adviser.
43
Investment Management Fees
OT2 Managers Ltd, the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, has had an agreement to provide investment
management services to the Company since 1 July 2015.
An amended agreement came into effect,
immediately following the Merger so that it covered all four Share Classes.
The fee is 1% of net assets per
annum for the OT2, OT3 and OT4 Share Classes and 0.5% of net assets per annum for the OT1 Share Class:
these are the same levels that applied prior to the Merger for each pool of assets.
OT2 Managers Ltd
subcontracts these services to OTM on a pass through basis.
Alex Starling and Richard Roth together with
Lucius Cary are Directors of OT2 Managers Ltd.
Directors’ and Officers’ Insurance
As permitted by legislation and the Company’s Articles of Association, the Company has taken out insurance
cover on behalf of the Directors, indemnifying them against certain liabilities which may be incurred by them
in relation to their duties as Directors of the Company.
Ongoing Review
The Board has reviewed and continues to review all aspects of internal governance to mitigate the risk of
breaches of VCT rules or company law.
Whistleblowing
The Board has been informed that the Investment Adviser has arrangements in place in accordance with the
UK Code’s recommendations by which staff of Oxford Technology Management or the Secretary of the
Company may, in confidence, raise concerns within their respective organisations about possible improprieties
in matters of financial reporting or other matters.
Bribery Act
The Company is committed to carrying out business fairly, honestly and openly and makes certain that the
highest standards of professional and ethical conduct are maintained.
The Investment Adviser has established
policies and procedures to prevent bribery within its organisation and seeks to ensure adequate safeguards are
in place at its main third party suppliers.
The Company has adopted a zero tolerance approach to bribery and
corruption and will not tolerate bribery under any circumstance in any transaction the Company is involved in.
The Company has instructed the Investment Adviser to adopt the same approach with investee companies.
Relations with Shareholders
The Company values the views of its shareholders and recognises their interest in the Company.
The
Company’s website provides information on all of the Company’s investments, as well as other information
of relevance to shareholders (
www.oxfordtechnologyvct.com
).
Shareholders have the opportunity to meet the Board at an annual meeting.
In addition to the formal business
of the meeting the Board is available to answer any questions a shareholder may have.
Outside of general
meetings, the Company engages with shareholders through regulatory news service announcements, interim
and annual reports as well as regular correspondence with shareholders and their advisers to address any
queries that arise.
The Board is also happy to respond to any written queries made by shareholders during the
course of the year and can be contacted at the Company’s registered office: Magdalen Centre, Oxford Science
Park, Oxford OX4 4GA.
Alternatively, your question can be emailed to:
vcts@oxfordtechnology.com
.
Relations with Investment Adviser
The Company’s most important business relationship is with the Investment Adviser, OTM.
There is regular
contact with the Investment Adviser, and the two directors of OTM attend the Company’s Board meetings.
There is also an annual timetable agreed with the Investment Adviser which is discussed at each Board meeting.
The Company and Investment Adviser also work together to maintain efficient operation of the VCT as
detailed in the Key Performance Indicators on page 18.
Exit plans for investments are discussed at every Board
meeting, and the Board works closely with OTM to move these forward where practicable.
44
Relations with Portfolio Companies
The Company holds minority investments in all but two of its portfolio companies (it holds a majority stake in
Select Technology although voting rights (and various other criteria) have been restricted to no more than 50%
and also holds 49.9% of the shares in DHS) and it has appointed the Investment Adviser to manage the
relationships with most of its investees.
While the Board has little direct contact with the smaller unquoted
investments, the Investment Adviser provides updates on these quarterly, as well as on ad hoc basis when
applicable.
In addition, Alex Starling sits on the board of STL Management Limited, the Company’s largest
unquoted investment, as well as the board of Getmapping.
The Investment Adviser and Board continue to
lobby for realistically priced exit options as investees reach points of value inflection.
Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) Practices
The Board recognises the requirement under section 414c of the Companies Act 2006 to detail information
about environmental matters (including the impact of the Company’s business on the environment), employee
and human rights, social and community issues, including information about any policies it has in relation to
these matters and effectiveness of these policies.
Given the size and nature of the Company’s activities and the fact that it has no employees and only four non-
executive Directors, the Board considers there is limited scope to develop and implement environmental, social
and community policies, but recognises the importance of including consideration for such matters in
investment decisions.
The Board has taken into account the requirement of section 172(1) of the Companies
Act 2006 and the importance of ESG matters when making decisions which could impact shareholders,
stakeholders and the wider community.
The Company’s section 172(1) statement has been provided in the Strategic Report on page 22, where the
Directors consider the information to be of strategic importance to the Company.
The Company seeks to ensure that its business is conducted in a manner that is responsible to the environment.
The management and administration of the Company is undertaken by the Investment Adviser who recognises
the importance of its environmental responsibilities, monitors its impact on the environment and implements
policies to reduce any negative environmental impact and which promote environmental sustainability,
choosing energy efficient equipment, appliances and light bulbs, reducing printing to a minimum and recycling
where possible.
The Investment Adviser recognises that managing investments on behalf of clients involves taking into account
a wide set of responsibilities in addition to seeking to maximise financial returns for investors.
Industry
practice in this area has been evolving rapidly and the Company seeks to be an active participant by working
to define and strengthen its principles accordingly.
This involves integrating ESG considerations into the
Investment Adviser’s investment decision-making process as a matter of course.
The following is an outline
of the kinds of ESG considerations that the Investment Adviser is taking into account as part of its investment
process.
Environmental
The Investment Adviser as part of its commercial due diligence practices and ongoing monitoring, examines
potential issues which could arise from supply chains and environmental policy compliance.
The Investment
Adviser looks to support management teams who are aiming to reduce environmental impact..
Social
The Investment Adviser seeks to avoid unequivocal social negatives, such as profiting from forced labour
within its investment portfolio and to support positive impacts which will more likely find support from
customers and see rising demand.
The Investment Adviser does not tolerate modern slavery or human
trafficking within its business operations and takes a risk-based approach in respect of its portfolio companies.
The Investment Adviser actively engages with portfolio companies and their boards to discuss material risks,
ranging from business and operational risks to environmental and social risks.
45
Governance
OTM examines and, where appropriate, engages with companies on board membership, remuneration,
conflicts of interest such as related party transactions, and business leadership and culture.
In addition, the
Company, as a matter of course, exercises its voting rights when possible.
Greenhouse Gas (“GHG”) Emissions, Streamlined Energy & Carbon Reporting (“SECR”) and
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”)
Under the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors’ Report) Regulations 2013 (‘the 2013
Regulations’) and the Companies (Directors’ Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon
Report) Regulations 2018 (“the 2018 Regulations”), quoted companies of any size are required under Part 15
of the Companies Act 2006 to disclose information relating to their energy use and GHG emissions.
All of the Company’s activities are outsourced to third parties.
The Company therefore has no greenhouse gas
emissions to report from its operations, nor does it have direct responsibility for any other emissions producing
sources under the 2013 Regulations and the 2018 Regulations.
For the same reasons as set out above, the
Company considers itself to be a low energy user under the SECR regulations and therefore is not required to
disclose energy and carbon information.
A low energy user is defined as an organisation that uses 40 MWh
or less during the reporting period.
The FCA reporting requirements consistent with TCFD, which commenced on 1 January 2021 do not currently
apply to the Company but are kept under review, the Board being mindful of any recommended changes.
Going Concern
The assets of the Company and Group consist mainly of securities as is required by the VCT regulations, two
of which are AIM quoted, as well as cash.
After making enquiries, the Directors have a reasonable expectation
that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the next three years.
The Group had a cash balance of £97,000 at 28 February 2025, and expects the usual dividends from its
investments in the next twelve months.
However this will not be enough to cover operating costs.
Cash could
be raised by selling shares in Scancell, although this is not the preferred route at this time as explained in the
Chairman’s Statement.
As set out further therein on page 13, the Board has agreed with the directors of Select
Technology to borrow up to £200,000 to cover liquidity requirements over the next 12 months, by which time
it is hoped that the value of Scancell and/or Arecor will be better appreciated by the market, allowing some
realisations at higher share prices.
For this reason, the Directors have adopted the going concern basis in preparing the Financial Statements.
The
Company continues to face material market volatility as a result of the response to macroeconomic pressures
and Covid debt servicing and repayment.
In addition, the disruption in global supply chains and increased
costs from inflationary pressures have been exacerbated by military action in Ukraine and Gaza.
Such
increased costs of living and the availability (and increased cost) of raw materials may also have an indirect
impact on businesses in which the Group has invested in, hindering growth, financing or operations.
Similarly,
the threat of further inflation may impact on the performance and profitability of our investees.
The political
change in the UK and US continues to have impacts.
The change of approach by the US government to new
vaccine approvals has yet to be seen.
In the UK VCT reliefs have been unaffected by the new Labour
government
but Business Property Relief changes have impacted negatively on both EIS and AIM inheritance
reliefs.
Any further change of governmental, economic, fiscal, monetary or political policy, and in particular
any spending cuts or material increases in interest rates could affect, directly or indirectly, the performance of
the Group (as a result of the performance of its underlying investments) and hence the value of, and returns
from, the Group’s shares.
The Board will keep these risks under regular review but does not consider the current macro-economic
pressures to have a material impact on the Group’s own ability to continue as a going concern.
46
Share Capital
The Company has 27,844,888 ordinary shares of 1p each in issue at 28 February 2025 (5,431,655 OT1 shares,
5,331,889 OT2 shares, 6,254,596 OT3 shares and 10,826,748 OT4 shares) (same as at 29 February 2024), with
each share having one vote.
No shares were allotted during the year (2024: none).
The Board’s authority to allot up to a further 543,165 OT1 shares, 533,188 OT2 shares, 625,459 OT3 shares
and 1,082,674 OT4 shares (representing approximately 10% of the ordinary share capital of each share class
in issue as at 12 April 2024) without pre-emption rights expires at the forthcoming AGM.
As discussed in the
Chairman’s Statement, whilst the VCT remains in good structural shape, it seems prudent to take some
precautionary measures and the Board is proposing a resolution for shareholders to renew the authority for a
further period, again based on 10% of the Company’s share capital for each Share Class.
This will provide
additional flexibility, if ever required, to raise money more cheaply and at shorter notice.
This would enable
the Company to support existing investee companies.
At the moment we have no plans to raise additional
capital or to conduct a possible placing, but it seems prudent in these uncertain times to have the capability in
case the Board wishes to act quickly.
No shares were bought back by the Company during the year.
As disclosed on page 97, the Board does have
the authority to make market purchases of the Company’s own shares.
To date, the Company has only bought
its shares back once, as part of a tender offer available to all shareholders.
OT3VCT and OT4VCT each also
bought back shares once, and in each case, the transaction was widely communicated to ensure all shareholders
who wished to, could participate.
The Board are proposing a resolution at the forthcoming AGM to buy back
up to 10% of its own share capital in each share class.
The Board have no current plans to use this authority
in the course of the next year, but it is good practice for the Company to retain the flexibility to be able to buy
back shares, should the Directors think it is in shareholders’ best interests.
In accordance with Schedule 7 of the Large and Medium Size Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports)
Regulations 2008, as amended, the Directors disclose the following information:
The Company’s capital structure and voting rights are summarised above, and there are no
restrictions on voting rights nor any agreement between holders of securities that result in restrictions
on the transfer of securities or on voting rights;
There exist no securities carrying special rights with regard to the control of the Company;
The rules concerning the appointment and replacement of Directors, amendment of the Articles of
Association and powers to issue or buy back the Company’s shares are contained in the Articles of
Association of the Company and the Companies Act 2006;
The Company does not have any employee share scheme;
There exist no agreements to which the Company is party that may affect its control following a
takeover bid; and
There exist no agreements between the Company and its Directors providing for compensation for
loss of office that may occur following a takeover bid or for any other reason.
Disclosure in the Strategic Report
The Group has chosen in accordance with the Companies Act 2006, s414c(11) to set out in the Strategic Report
information required by the Large and Medium sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports)
Regulations 2008, sch. 7 to be contained in the Directors Report. It has done so in respect of Risks and Future
Developments.
Substantial Shareholders
At 28 February 2025, the Company had been notified of the following investors whose interest exceeds three
percent of the Company’s issued share capital: Ms Shivani Palakpari Shree Parikh 10.35% (shares held via
47
Hargreaves Lansdown Nominees Limited), and State Street Nominees Limited, 5.8% (representing the
beneficial interest of Oxfordshire County Council Pension Fund).
Auditor
As set out in the Chairman’s Statement on page 14, Johnsons resigned as the Company’s Auditor during the
year, and RPG were appointed by the Board to fill the casual vacancy.
RPG have audited the financial
statements for the year to 28 February 2025 and offer themselves for re-appointment as the independent
Auditor for the year to 28 February 2026 in accordance with Section 489 of the Companies Act 2006.
On behalf of the Board
Richard Roth - Chairman
17 June 2025
48
Directors’ Remuneration Report and Policy
Introduction
This report is submitted in accordance with the requirements of s420-422 of the Companies Act 2006, in
respect of the year ended 28 February 2025.
The Company’s independent Auditor, RPG, is required to give
its opinion on certain information included in this report.
Their report on these and other matters is set out on
pages 59 to 64.
This report sets out the Company’s Directors’ Remuneration Policy and the Annual
Remuneration Report, which describes how this policy has been applied during the year.
The Directors' Remuneration Policy was unanimously approved by shareholders at the AGM on 9 July 2024
on a show of hands vote whilst 70% of proxies voted in favour.
One major shareholder voted against the
Resolution to approve the Remuneration Policy (and also the Directors’ Remuneration Report).
The Board
has followed up with this shareholder, and notes they felt that there had been insufficient explanation regarding
the length of Directors’ tenure, and the Company’s realisation strategy in last year’s Annual Report.
Additional
explanations regarding both these were included in the Company’s Half Year Report to 31 August 2024, and
are also included in this Annual Report.
The shareholder has confirmed they are happy with our additional
explanations and appreciate the rationale we are taking.
The Directors' Remuneration Policy needs to be put
to a shareholder vote every three years, and shareholders will be asked to approve it again at the AGM in 2027.
Shareholders also need to approve the Directors' Remuneration Report every year.
It was last approved at the
AGM on 9 July 2024 on a unanimous show of hands; 71.6% of proxies had also voted favour.
The rationale
for the one major shareholder voting against this resolution was set out above.
A Resolution to approve the
Directors’ Remuneration Report for the year ended 28 February 2025 will be proposed at the AGM on 7
October 2025.
Statement from the Chairman of the Board in relation to Directors’ Remuneration Matters
The Board is mindful of its obligation to set remuneration at levels which will attract and maintain an
appropriate calibre of individuals whilst simultaneously protecting the interests of shareholders.
During the year to 28 February 2025, the Board reviewed its existing remuneration levels, having considered
the remuneration payable to non-executive directors of comparable VCTs, the demand for non-executive
directors within the financial sector and the increasing regulatory requirements with which the sector is
required to comply.
The Directors have also taken account of the increased workload that will fall upon the
remaining Directors following the retirement of one of their number following the AGM.
A key criteria
remains the amount the VCT can afford to pay.
The Directors have decided that an increase in the annual
Director Base Fee of £1,000 is appropriate following the departure of David Livesley.
The aggregate annual
cost of director fees in the year to 28 February 2026 will still be 6% less than the costs incurred in the year to
28 February 2025.
Furthermore, as they did for the year to 28 February 2025, the Directors have also agreed
to defer the actual payment of the fees for the current year until the second half of the year, to assist short term
cashflow.
David Livesley will receive his pro-rata fee on leaving office.
The OT2VCT Director Fees remain
amongst the lowest of any VCT, particularly given the workload the Directors undertake.
As with any Board comprising solely of non-executive directors, it is unlikely that a Director can fully abstain
from any discussion or decision concerning their own fees.
Director's remuneration consists of a base fee for
all Directors and each Director participated in the process of setting the level of this fee.
Additional fees have
been set for the role of Chairman of the Company, Chairman of the Audit Committee and Member of the Audit
Committee and the individual Director did not participate in setting the additional fee for their own specific
roles.
The Board considers that this process is consistent with the spirit of the AIC Code on the setting of
Directors’ fees.
The Company’s Articles of Association limit the aggregate amount that can be paid to the Directors in fees to
£125,000 per annum (in 2025/26, the fees are expected to be £76,070), unless otherwise approved by Ordinary
Resolution of the Company.
49
Details of the voting from the last time each of the Remuneration Report and the Remuneration Policy were
approved, are set out in the Introduction above.
The Directors have considered the Revised Shareholder Rights Directive.
The Remuneration Report appears
on the Company website along with the full annual report and accounts for at least 10 years.
Any change in
Directors’ pay would be viewed against comparatives and fully documented.
Details of the Directors’ remuneration are disclosed below and in Note 4.
Directors’ Interests
The Directors’ interests, including those of connected persons in the issued share capital of the Company are
shown on page 42.
There is no minimum holding requirement that the Directors need to adhere to.
Directors’ Terms of Appointment
The Board manages the Company and consists entirely of non-executive Directors, who meet formally as a
Board at least four times a year and on other occasions as necessary, to deal with important aspects of the
Company’s affairs.
Directors are appointed with the expectation that they will serve for at least three years
and are expected to devote the time necessary to perform their duties.
All Directors retire at the first general
meeting after election and thereafter every third year.
In line with best practice
as
recommended in the 2019
AIC Code, the three Directors re-standing will offer themselves for re-election this year.
Re-election is recommended by the Board, but is dependent upon shareholder vote.
There are no service
contracts in place, but Directors have a letter of appointment.
Each of the Director’s appointments may be
terminated by either party by giving not less than six months’ notice in writing and in certain other
circumstances.
Statement of the Company’s policy on Directors’ Remuneration
The Board as a whole considers Directors’ remuneration and has not appointed a separate committee in this
respect.
On an annual basis, the Board meets to review Directors’ pay to ensure it remains appropriate given
the need to attract and retain candidates of sufficient calibre, and ensure they are able to devote the time
necessary to lead the Company in achieving its strategy.
Annual Directors’ fees are as follows:
Year to 28 February 2026
*
Year to 28 February 2025
Director Base Fee
£16,500
£15,500
Chairman’s Supplement
£6,000
£6,000
Audit Committee Chairman
£8,500
£8,500
Audit Committee Member
£4,500
£4,500
* The fees quoted for the Year to 28 February 2026 will only become effective following the AGM on 7
October 2025, when the number of Directors has reduced to three.
Until that date, the fees payable for the
Year to 28 February 2025 will prevail.
Richard Roth chairs the Company and also chairs the Audit Committee, with Robin Goodfellow as a member
of the committee.
As the VCT is effectively self-managed, the Audit Committee carries out a particularly
important role for the VCT and plays a significant part in the sign off of quarterly management accounts, and
the production of the half year and annual statutory accounts.
Fees are currently paid annually.
The fees are not specifically related to the Directors’ performance, either
individually or collectively.
No expenses are paid to the Directors.
There are no share option schemes or
pension schemes in place (as below), but Directors are entitled to a share of the carried interest – also as
detailed below.
There were no additional payments made in the two years to 28 February 2025.
Alex Starling and Richard Roth receive no remuneration in respect of their directorships of OT2 Managers
Ltd, the Company’s Investment Manager.
50
Alex Starling also receives fees from the two portfolio companies where he now sits on the board.
He is
contractually entitled to remuneration of £9,000 per annum from Getmapping Ltd.
He receives no personal
remuneration from STL Management Limited but ACS Technical Limited, a company wholly owned and
controlled by Alex Starling, provides advisory services and charges Select Technology Limited, the trading
subsidiary of STL Management Limited, £15,000 per annum.
The performance fee is detailed in Note 3.
Current Directors are entitled to benefit from any payment made,
subject to a formula driven by relative lengths of service.
The performance fee becomes payable if a certain
cash return threshold to shareholders is exceeded – the excess is then subject to a 20% carry that is distributed
to Oxford Technology Management, past Directors and current Directors; the remaining 80% is retained by
shareholders.
At 28 February 2025 no performance fee was due.
Should any performance fee be payable at the end of the year to 28 February 2026 on the OT1 Share Class,
Alex Starling, Robin Goodfellow, and Richard Roth would each receive 0.49% of any amount over the
threshold and David Livesley 0.90%.
No performance fee will be payable for the year ending 28 February
2026 unless original shareholders have received back at least 271.3p in cash for each 100p (gross) invested.
Should any performance fee be payable at the end of the year to 28 February 2026 on the OT2 Share Class,
Alex Starling, Robin Goodfellow, and Richard Roth would each receive 0.53% of any amount over the
threshold and David Livesley 0.95%.
No performance fee will be payable for the year ending 28 February
2026 unless original shareholders have received back at least 213.5p in cash for each 100p (gross) invested.
Should any performance fee be payable at the end of the year to 28 February 2026 on the OT3 Share Class,
Alex Starling, Robin Goodfellow, and Richard Roth would each receive 0.43% of any amount over the
threshold and David Livesley 0.79%.
No performance fee will be payable for the year ending 28 February
2026 unless original shareholders have received back at least 179.7p in cash for each 100p (gross) invested.
Should any performance fee be payable at the end of the year to 28 February 2026 on the OT4 Share Class,
Alex Starling, Robin Goodfellow, and Richard Roth would each receive 0.45% of any amount over the
threshold and David Livesley 1.18%.
No performance fee will be payable for the year ending 28 February
2026 unless original shareholders have received back at least 152.8p in cash for each 100p (gross) invested.
Employers’ contributions for National Insurance were £1,155 in the year to 28 February 2025 (2024: £51).
Following the changes announced in the Budget on 30 October 2024, no charge is expected in the year to 28
February 2026 as the amount will be below the employment allowance.
Pensions (Information Subject to Audit)
None of the Directors receives, or is entitled to receive, pension benefits from the Company.
Share options and long-term incentive schemes (Information Subject to Audit)
The Company does not grant any options over the share capital of the Company nor operate long-term incentive
schemes.
Relative Spend on Directors’ Fees
The Company has no employees, so no consultation with employees or comparison measurements with
employee remuneration are appropriate.
The table below sets out:
a)
the remuneration paid to the Directors; and
b)
the distributions made to shareholders by way of dividends paid in the financial year ended 28 February
2025 and the preceding financial year.
51
There were no share buy-backs by OT2VCT in either year.
Year ended 28
February 2025
Year ended 29
February 2024
Change %
Total Remuneration
81,000
73,000
10.9%
Dividends Paid
-
-
n/a
Loss of Office
In the event of anyone ceasing to be a Director, for any reason, no loss of office payments will be made.
There
are no contractual arrangements entitling any Director to any such payment.
Directors’ Emoluments (Information partly Subject to Audit)
The total emoluments in respect of qualifying services of each person who served as a Director during the year
are as set out in the table below.
All amounts are fixed fees: there are no elements of variable pay.
Directors’ Fees
Year End 28/02/26
(forecast and
unaudited)
Year End 28/02/25
(audited)
Year End 29/02/24
(audited)
Richard Roth
£30,395
£30,000
£27,000
Alex Starling
£15,895
£15,500
£14,000
Robin Goodfellow
£20,395
£20,000
£18,000
David Livesley
£9,385
£15,500
£14,000
Total
£76,070
£81,000
£73,000
Total Shareholder Return Performance Graph
The graphs on page 17 compare the NAV return of the OT2 Share Class from launch in 2000, and for the
OT1/OT3/OT4 Share Classes since the take on of the assets by the Company on 30 June 2022, with the total
return from the FTSE All-Share Index (which excludes dividends) over the same period.
This index is
considered to be the most appropriate broad equity market index for comparative purposes.
However, the
Directors wish to point out that VCTs are not able to make qualifying investments in companies quoted on the
Main Market in their observance of VCT rules and are very limited in the types of investment that can be
made.
All measures are rebased to 100 at the start date of the Share Class.
By Order of the Board
James Gordon - Company Secretary
17 June 2025
52
Corporate Governance Report
The Board has considered the principles and recommendations of the 2019 AIC Code which addresses the
Principles and Provisions set out in the UK Code as well as setting out additional Provisions on issues that are
of specific relevance to OT2VCT.
The Board considers that reporting against the Principles and Provisions of the 2019 AIC Code, which has
been endorsed by the Financial Reporting Council (and associated disclosure requirements under paragraph
9.8.6 of the Listing Rules) provides more relevant information to shareholders.
The 2019 AIC Code is available on the AIC website (
www.theaic.co.uk
).
It includes an explanation of how
the 2019 AIC Code adapts the Principles and Provisions set out in the UK Code to make them relevant for
investment companies.
The Company is committed to maintaining a high standard in corporate governance and has complied with the
Principles and Provisions of the 2019 AIC Code, except as set out below.
For the reasons set out in the AIC
Code and as envisaged in the Code, the Board considers certain provisions as not being relevant to the position
of the Company as it is an investment company.
The Company has no executive directors or employees.
The
Company has therefore not reported further in respect of these matters.
The Directors strongly believe that
achieving the Company’s corporate governance objectives contributes to its long-term sustainable success.
Independence of Directors
The Board consists of four independent non-executive Directors.
The Board has put in place corporate
governance arrangements which it believes are appropriate for a Venture Capital Trust and that will enable the
Company to operate within the spirit of the Code.
The Board regularly reviews the independence of its members and is satisfied that the Company’s Directors
are independent in character and judgment and that there are no relationships or circumstances which could
affect their objectivity.
It is the Company’s policy of tenure to review individual appointments every year, with increased scrutiny
after nine years of service to consider whether the Director is still independent and still fulfils the role.
However, in accordance with the principles of the 2019 AIC Code, we do not consider it necessary to
mandatorily replace a Director, including the Chairman, after a predetermined period of tenure.
The Board, who members were all appointed in 2015, is conscious that their length of service is beyond the
normal recommended period, but the AIC guidelines allow a comply or explain policy.
We believe the special
circumstances of a managed run-off are best served by the continuation of the existing Board with long and
close knowledge of the investee companies and the VCT, and have concluded that this is also the lowest cost
option that benefits shareholders.
The Board have also considered carefully whether a new member would
add further challenge to the status quo, but is comfortable that the strategy of managed run-off is clear with a
need for portfolio companies to reach their value inflection points.
The Board has also determined a policy of tenure for the Chairman and believe that this – together with the
annual re-election of all directors – is an essential ingredient to balancing the requirements of effective business
continuity where required, whilst also providing the opportunity for regular refreshment and increasing
diversity of the Board.
The Company’s report on Independence, Gender and Diversity is on page 23.
In line with best practice recommended in the 2019 AIC Code, the three Directors who wish to remain in office
will offer themselves for re-election this year.
As set in the Directors’ Remuneration Report on page 48, Directors are entitled to a proportion of any
performance fee that may become payable.
Having regard for the historic nature and circumstances under
which the performance incentive fees were agreed, the Board does not believe that the performance incentive
53
fees in any way impact or hinder the Directors’ independence or present a conflict of interest which could
compromise or override independent judgment of the Directors.
Board Committees
The Board does not have a separate Remuneration Committee, as the Company has no employees or executive
directors.
Detailed information relating to the remuneration of Directors is given in the Directors’
Remuneration Report on page 48.
The Board as a whole considers the selection and appointment of Directors and reviews Directors’
remuneration on an annual basis.
The Board considers the Company’s size to be such that it is unnecessary to
form a separate committee for the purposes of nomination.
When making an appointment, the Board draws
on its members’ extensive business experience and range of contacts to identify suitable candidates.
To date
formal advertisements and external search consultants have not been used.
However, the Board would consider
their use as and when appropriate.
New Directors are selected as part of a rigorous selection process involving interviews with the existing board,
the manager and shareholder representatives.
The Board regularly discusses Board composition and
succession planning in order to identify and address any issues that may arise.
The Board’s policy is to promote
diversity (including, but not limited to, gender diversity).
However, as set out above, there is no current
intention to appoint any new Director.
The Board has appointed an Audit Committee to make recommendations to the Board in line with its terms of
reference.
The committee is chaired by Richard Roth and Robin Goodfellow is a fellow member of the Audit
Committee.
The Audit Committee believes Richard Roth possesses appropriate and relevant financial
experience as per the requirements of the 2019 AIC Code.
The Board considers that the members of the Audit
Committee have collectively the skills and experience required to discharge their duties effectively.
Given the
size of the Company the Board considers that an Audit Committee of two is sufficient.
Attendance at Board and Committee meetings
The Board meets regularly – at least four times a year – and between these meetings maintains very regular
contact with the Investment Adviser, and each other.
The following table sets out the Directors’ attendance at
the formal Board and Audit Committee meetings held during the year.
Director Name
Board Meetings
Attended
(6 Held in year)
Audit Committee Meetings
Attended
(3 Held in year)
Richard Roth
6
3
Robin Goodfellow
6
3
Alex Starling
David Livesley
6
6
N/A
N/A
In addition to formal Board meetings, the Board communicates on a very regular basis in carrying out its
responsibilities in managing the Company.
The Investment Adviser prepares written periodic updates on each
investment, and other reports are circulated to all members of the Board in advance of Board meetings.
In
addition, the Directors are free to seek any further information they consider necessary.
All Directors have
access to the Company Secretary and independent professionals at the Company’s expense.
The Code states
that the Board should have a formal schedule of matters specifically reserved to it for decision to ensure that
the direction and control of the Company is firmly in its hands.
This is achieved by a management agreement between the Company and its Investment Manager which sets
out the matters over which the Investment Manager has authority and the limits above which Board approval
must be sought.
All other matters are reserved for the approval of the Board.
The Audit Committee ensures the independence and objectivity of the external Auditor.
This includes
reviewing the nature and extent of non-audit services supplied by the external Auditor to the Company, seeking
to balance objectivity and value for money.
None of the Directors has a service contract with the Company,
54
but they do have letters of appointment (copies of which may be obtained by shareholders on request).
Conflicts of Interest
The Board has always considered carefully all cases of possible conflicts of interest as and when they arise.
For example, historically every time one of the original OT VCTs made an investment in which another OT
VCT was an investor, there was a potential conflict of interest.
The general policy is that there is complete
transparency and all interests in every situation are declared and known to all, so that practical and sensible
decisions can be taken.
The same principle applies now within OT2VCT, with the separate Share Classes.
Internal Control
The Directors have overall responsibility for keeping under review the effectiveness of the Company’s systems
of internal controls.
The purpose of these controls is to ensure that proper accounting records are maintained,
the Company’s assets are safeguarded and the financial information used within the business and for
publication is accurate and reliable; such a system can only provide reasonable and not absolute assurance
against material misstatement or loss.
The system of internal controls is designed to manage rather than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve the
business objectives.
The Board continually reviews financial results and investment performance.
The Board also monitors and
evaluates external service providers and maintains regular discussions with the Investment Adviser about the
services provided.
The Investment Adviser reviews the service contracts on an annual basis and discusses any
recommendations with the Board as relevant.
The Directors confirm that they have established a continuing process throughout the year and up to the date
of this report for identifying, evaluating and managing the significant potential risks faced by the Company
and have reviewed the effectiveness of the internal control systems.
As part of this process an annual review
of the internal control systems is carried out in accordance with the FRC’s Guidance on Risk Management,
Internal Control and Related Financial and Business Reporting.
The risk management and internal control systems include the production and review of monthly bank
statements and quarterly management accounts.
All outflows made from the Company’s accounts require the
authority of signatories from the Board.
The Company is subject to a full annual audit.
Further to this, the
external audit partner (the Senior Statutory Auditor) has open access to the Directors of the Company.
Audit Committee
The role of the Audit Committee is discharged by Richard Roth (chairman) and Robin Goodfellow.
The Audit
Committee is responsible for:
monitoring the Company’s financial reporting;
reviewing internal controls and risk management systems; and
matters regarding audit and external auditor.
Financial Reporting
The Audit Committee is responsible for reviewing, and agreeing, the half-yearly and annual accounts
(including those figures presented within) before they are presented to the Board for final approval.
In
particular, the Audit Committee reviews, challenges (where appropriate) and agrees the basis for the carrying
value of the unquoted investments, as prepared by the Investment Manager, for presentation within the half-
yearly interim and full year annual accounts.
The Audit Committee also takes into careful consideration comments on matters regarding valuation, revenue
recognition and disclosures arising from the external Auditor’s report to the Audit Committee as part of the
finalisation process for the Annual Accounts.
Specifically, the Audit Committee advises the Board on whether
the Annual Report and Financial Statements, taken as a whole, are fair, balanced and understandable, and
55
whether they provide the necessary information to shareholders to assess performance, business model and
strategy.
Audit and Control
The Audit Committee reviews and agrees the audit strategy and plan in advance of the audit, and has assessed
the effectiveness of the audit after its conclusion.
As explained in the Chairman’s Statement, during the year, Johnsons tendered their resignation as Auditor and
RPG were appointed by the Board to fill the casual vacancy.
The Audit Committee and Board has been happy
with the quality of service provided by RPG this year and recommends them for reappointment at the AGM.
In line with requirements, the Audit Committee have ensured RPG do not provide any non-audit services, and
hence the Audit Committee does not believe there is any risk that any non-audit services can influence RPG’s’
independence or objectivity due to any associated fee.
The Company does not have an internal audit function as it is not deemed appropriate given the size of the
Company and the nature of the Company’s business.
However, the Audit Committee considers annually
whether there is a need for such a function and if so, would recommend this to the Board.
The Audit Committee
seeks to satisfy itself that there is a proper system and allocation of responsibilities for the day-to-day
monitoring of financial controls by receiving representations and information either upon request or voluntarily
from the Investment Adviser.
The Audit Committee reviews and agrees the audit strategy and plan in advance of the audit, and has assessed
the effectiveness of the audit after its conclusion.
As reported in the Chairman’s Statement on pages 6 to 16, our previous Auditor was subject to an Audit Quality
Review (AQR) by their regulator, the FRC, in an annual process which covers all audit firms.
The FRC
identified a number of areas for improvement, including that Johnsons as Auditor did not sufficiently challenge
management’s judgement, and that going forward, Johnsons would require incremental (and outsourced)
valuation experts to act for them to review their clients’ unquoted investments.
In response to these findings,
Johnsons proposed an action plan, but this included a significant increase to their pre-agreed fees.
The Audit
Committee was unable to agree to this cost which would have been disproportionate to the size of the
Company, and hence Johnsons resigned with immediate effect.
In selecting RPG as replacement Auditor, the
Audit Committee has ensured that the new Auditor has the capabilities in house to value the Company’s
unquoted investment, and therefore has covered off the primary shortcomings (in the eye of the regulator)
identified with our previous Auditor.
Significant Risks
The Audit Committee is responsible for considering and reporting on any significant risks that arise in relation
to the audit of the Financial Statements.
The Audit Committee and the Auditor have identified the most
significant risks as:
Valuation and verification of the investment portfolio: the Auditor gives special audit consideration to
the valuation of investments and the supporting data provided by the Investment Manager.
The impact
of this risk could be a large movement in the Company’s net asset value.
Guidelines, discussions,
reviewing and challenging the basis and reasonableness of assumptions made in conjunction with
available supporting information goes into the valuation process.
The valuations are supported by
investee company audited accounts and/or third party evidence where possible.
Otherwise, valuations
are supported by the share price of the most recent fundraising and/or management information.
The
holdings are also cross checked to records held at Companies House for unquoted stocks and to our
broking platform records for quoted stocks.
These give comfort to the Audit Committee.
Management override of financial controls: the Auditor specifically reviews all significant accounting
estimates that form part of the Financial Statements and consider any material judgements applied by
management during the preparation of the Financial Statements.
56
Compliance with HMRC conditions and EU State Aid rules for maintenance of approved VCT status:
the Auditor reviews this as part of their work.
Recognition of revenue from investments: investment income is the Company’s main source of
revenue.
Revenue is recognised when the Company’s right to the return is established in accordance
with the Statement of Recommended Practice.
The Company has few revenue paying companies and
the Audit Committee pays close attention to these.
These issues were discussed between the Investment Manager, Investment Adviser, the Auditor and the Audit
Committee at the conclusion of the audit of the Financial Statements.
The Audit Committee is also responsible for considering and reporting on any significant issues that arise in
relation to the audit of the Financial Statements.
The Audit Committee can confirm that there were no significant issues to report to shareholders in respect of
the audit of the Financial Statements for the year ended 28 February 2025.
The Company is exposed to risks arising from its operational and investment activities.
Further details can be
found in Note 15 to the Financial Statements (see page 89).
Performance Evaluation
In accordance with the AIC Code and guidance each year a formal performance evaluation is undertaken of
the Board as a whole, the Committees and the Directors in the form of one-to-one meetings between the
Chairman and each Director.
The performance of the Chairman was evaluated by the other Directors.
The Board considers the size of the Company, the number of independent non-executive Directors on the
Board and the robustness of the reviews to be such that an external Board evaluation is unnecessary.
Annual
evaluations of the Board consider its composition, diversity, succession planning and how effectively members
work together to achieve objectives as well as individual contributions.
The Chairman provides a summary of
the findings to the Board, which are discussed at the next meeting and an action plan agreed.
The Board has not appointed a Senior Independent Director, as it does not believe that such an appointment is
necessary when the Board is comprised solely of non-executive Directors.
The duties of this role are fulfilled
by Robin Goodfellow, the other member of the Audit Committee.
The Board is satisfied with the performance of the Chairman and Directors and recommends their
reappointment.
The Board is also satisfied with the performance and constitution of the Audit Committee.
The Board sets out the assessment of its members and explains why its members are and continue to be of
importance to the long-term sustainable success of the business on pages 38 to 40.
The Board reviews the performance of the Investment Manager and Investment Adviser on an ongoing basis,
both formally and outside of Board meetings with regard to its appointment, evaluation, removal and
remuneration.
The Board considers the Company’s size to be such that it would be unnecessarily burdensome
to establish a separate management engagement committee to perform this role.
The Board is satisfied that it is in shareholders’ best interests that the Investment Manager and Investment
Adviser continue to be retained on the current remuneration terms.
International Financial Reporting Standards
The Board has continued to prepare the Financial Statements in accordance with UK Financial Reporting
Standards rather than UK adopted IFRS.
The Company does not anticipate that it will voluntarily adopt UK
adopted IFRS.
The Company has adopted Financial Reporting Standard 102 – The Financial Reporting
Standard Applicable in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
57
The Board has considered the principles and recommendations of the 2019 AIC Code as applied to companies
reporting as at 28 February 2025.
The 2019 AIC Code addresses the Principles and Provisions set out in the UK Code, as well as setting out
additional Provisions on issues that are of specific relevance to OT2VCT.
The Board considers that reporting against the Principles and Provisions of the 2019 AIC Code, which has
been endorsed by the Financial Reporting Council (and associated disclosure requirements under paragraph
9.8.6 of the Listing Rules) provides more relevant information to shareholders.
The Company is committed to maintaining high standards in corporate governance and has complied with the
Principles and Provisions of the 2019 AIC Code, except as set out below.
The Company strongly believes that achieving our corporate governance objectives contributes to the long-
term sustainable success of the Company.
Relations with Shareholders
There were two resolutions proposed at the last AGM which received 20% or more of votes cast against it for
the purposes of disclosure under Provision 4 of the UK Code.
As set out on page 48, the Board followed up
with the major shareholder who had voted against both resolutions, who is now comfortable with the
explanations provided and additional reporting included to cover off its concerns.
The Board is happy to be contacted at any time by email:
vcts@oxfordtechnology.com
.
Compliance Statement
As previously indicated, the Board considers that reporting against the principles and recommendations of the
2019 AIC Code will provide better information to shareholders.
The Company has complied with the recommendations of the 2019 AIC Code and the relevant provisions of
the UK Code except as set out below:
The Company does not have a Chief Executive Officer or a Senior Independent Director.
The Board
does not consider this necessary as it does not have any executive directors.
New Directors do not receive a formal induction on joining the Board, though they did receive one
tailored to them on an individual basis, when they were first appointed.
(There have been no new
Directors appointed during the financial year).
The Company conducts a formal review as to whether there is a need for an internal audit function.
However, the Directors do not consider that an internal audit would be an appropriate control for this
VCT at this time.
The Company does not have a Remuneration Committee as these matters are dealt with by the Board.
The Company does not have a Nomination Committee as these matters are dealt with by the Board.
For the reasons set out in the AIC Guide, and as explained in the UK Code, the Board considers the above
provisions are not relevant to the position of the Company, being an investment company run by the Board
and managed by the Investment Adviser.
In particular, all of the Company’s day-to-day administrative
functions are outsourced to third parties.
As a result, the Company has no executive directors, employees or
internal operations.
Furthermore, the Board acknowledges that it is not recommended practice that the
Chairman of the Company to be chairman of the Audit Committee; however, for administrative convenience,
Richard Roth is chairman of the Audit Committee.
By Order of the Board
James Gordon - Company Secretary
17 June 2025
58
Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities
The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the Financial Statements in accordance with
applicable laws and regulations.
Company law requires the Directors to prepare Financial Statements for each financial year.
Under that law
the Directors have elected to prepare the Financial Statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally
Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable laws).
Under company law the Directors must not approve the Financial Statements unless they are satisfied that they
give a true and fair view of the state of affairs and profit or loss of the Company for that period.
In preparing these Financial Statements, the Directors are required to:
select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material
departures disclosed and explained in the Financial Statements; and
prepare the Financial Statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that
the Company will continue in business.
The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain
the Company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the
Company and enable them to ensure that the Financial Statements comply with the Companies Act 2006.
They
are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the
prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information
included on the Company’s website.
Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and
dissemination of Financial Statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Each of the Directors confirms that, to the best of their knowledge:
there is no relevant audit information of which the Company’s Auditor is unaware;
the Directors have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any
relevant audit information and to establish that the Auditor is aware of that information;
the Financial Statements, prepared in accordance with the applicable set of accounting standards, give
a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the Company; and
the Strategic Report and Directors’ Report include a fair review of the development and performance
of the business and the position of the Company, together with a description of the principal risks and
uncertainties that it faces.
On behalf of the Board
Richard Roth
Chairman
17 June 2025
59
Report of the Independent Auditor
Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of Oxford Technology 2 Venture Capital Trust Plc
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Oxford Technology 2 Venture Capital Trust Plc (the ‘Parent
Company’) and its subsidiary (the ‘Group’) for the year ended 28 February 2025 which comprise the
Consolidated Income Statement, the Consolidated and Company Balance Sheet, the Consolidated and
Company Statement of Changes in Equity, the Consolidated and Company Statement of Cash Flows and notes
to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies.
The financial reporting framework that
has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including
Financial Reporting Standard 102
The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic or
Ireland
(United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion:
the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the Group and of the Parent Company’s
affairs as at 28 February 2025 and of the Group’s loss for the year then ended;
the Group financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally
Accepted Accounting Practice; and
the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act
2006.
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and
applicable law.
Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the
Auditor’s
responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
section of our report.
We are independent of the
Company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements
in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard as applied to listed public interest entities, and we have
fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.
We believe that the audit
evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Our approach to the audit
The scope of our audit was the audit of the Group and Parent company for the year ended 28 February 2025.
The audit was scoped by obtaining an understanding of the Group and Parent Company and their environment,
including the Parent Company's system of internal control and assessing the risks of material misstatement.
Audit work to respond to the assessed risks was planned and performed directly by the engagement team which
performed full scope audit procedures.
Key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most significance in our audit
of the financial statements of the current period and include the most significant assessed risks of material
misstatement (whether or not due to fraud) we identified, including those which had the greatest effect on: the
overall audit strategy, the allocation of resources in the audit; and directing the efforts of the engagement team.
These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the financial statements as a whole, and in forming
our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.
As set out below we have determined the valuation of unquoted investments to be the key audit matter to be
communicated in our report.
60
Key audit matter
How our scope addressed this matter
Valuation of unquoted investments
Due to the material value of unquoted
investments which involves a significant amount
of judgement and estimation, the valuation of
such financial instruments is considered to be a
significant risk.
For unquoted investments we have:
Obtained an understanding of how the
valuations were performed, considered
whether the method chosen was in
accordance with IPEV guidance and FRS
102, and challenged the assumptions
applied to the valuation inputs.
Considered alternative valuation methods
and discussed with the Directors and the
investment manager to gain comfort as to
why alternative methods were not used and
considered the rationale for changes in
basis from one year to the next, if any.
Performed sensitivity analysis on any
relevant inputs to determine whether the
valuation calculations are materially
correct.
Considered any changes in the markets and
environment in which the investee
companies operate and reviewed latest
available information available to
management.
Our conclusion
Based on the procedures performed, we
consider the unquoted investment valuations to
be appropriate given the level of estimation
uncertainty.
Our application of materiality
We apply the concept of materiality both in planning and performing our audit, and in evaluating the effect of
misstatements on our audit and on the financial statements.
For the purposes of determining whether the
financial statements are free from material misstatement, we define materiality as the magnitude of
misstatement that makes it probable that the economic decisions of a reasonably knowledgeable person would
be changed or influenced.
We also determine a level of performance materiality which we use to assess the
extent of testing needed to reduce to an appropriately low level the probability that the aggregate of uncorrected
and undetected misstatements exceeds materiality for the financial statements as a whole.
We determined the materiality for the financial statements as a whole to be £60,000 (2024: £74,720) based on
1% of gross assets (2024: 1% of gross assets).
Performance materiality was set at £30,000 (2024: £37,360), being 50% of financial statement materiality
having considered a number of factors including the level of transactions in the year and the expected total
value of known and likely misstatements.
For income statement and balance sheet items not related to investment balances and movements, we
determined that misstatements of lesser amounts than materiality for the financial statements as a whole would
make it probable that the judgement of users, relying on the information would have been changed or
61
influenced by the misstatement or omission.
Accordingly, we set a specific materiality figure of £15,000
(2024: N/A) for these other balances.
Performance materiality was set at £8,000 (2024: N/A).
The specific
materiality was based on 10% of loss before tax (excluding investment gains and losses) (2024: N/A).
We agreed with the Board that we shall report to them misstatements in excess of £2,000 (2024: £3,736) that
we identify through the course of the audit, together with any qualitative matters that warrant reporting.
Conclusions relating to going concern
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Directors’ use of the going concern basis of
accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Our evaluation of the Directors’
assessment of the Group’s and Parent Company’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of
accounting included:
Obtaining the VCT compliance reports prepared by management during the year and as at the year end,
and reviewing the calculations therein to check that the Company was meeting the requirements to retain
VCT status;
Discussing future plans with management, including the expectation of future compliance with VCT
legislation, reviewing the Going Concern and Viability Statement, cost budgets and considering the
appropriateness of assumptions used in the preparation of those cost budgets;
Assessing the value and liquidity of quoted investments
Reviewing the availability of financing facilities to the Group; and
Reviewing the results of subsequent events and assessing the impact on the financial statements and
considering whether management have used all relevant information in their assessment and enquiring
whether any known events or conditions beyond the period of assessment may affect going concern.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or
conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the Company’s ability to continue
as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for
issue.
In relation to the Group and Parent Company’s reporting on how it has applied the UK Corporate Governance
Code, we have nothing material to add or draw attention to in relation to the Directors’ statement in the
financial statements about whether the Directors considered it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of
accounting.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Directors with respect to going concern are described in the
relevant sections of this report.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial
statements and our Auditor’s Report thereon.
The Directors are responsible for the other information contained
within the Annual report.
Our opinion on the Company financial statements does not cover the other
information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of
assurance conclusion thereon.
Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is
materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or
otherwise appears to be materially misstated.
If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material
misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial
statements themselves.
If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material
misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
62
Corporate Governance Statement
The Listing Rules require us to review the Directors’ statement in relation to going concern, longer-term
viability and that part of the Corporate Governance Statement relating to the Company’s compliance with the
provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Statement specified for our review.
Based on the work undertaken as part of our audit, we have concluded that each of the following elements of
the Corporate Governance Statement is materially consistent with the financial statements or our knowledge
obtained during the audit:
Going concern and
longer term viability
The Directors’ statement on page 45 with regards to the appropriateness
of adopting the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the
financial statements and any material uncertainties identified; and
The Directors’ explanation on page 19 as to how they have assessed the
prospects of the Company, over what period they have done so and why
they consider that period to be appropriate.
Other code provisions
The Directors’ statement on page 41 on fair, balanced and
understandable;
The Board’s confirmation on page 18 that is has carried out a robust
assessment of emerging and principal risks;
The section of the Annual Report on page 54 that describes the review
of effectiveness of the Company’s risk management and internal
control systems; and
The section of the Annual Report on pages 54 to 56
that describes the
work of the Audit Committee, including the significant issues that the
Audit Committee considered relating to the financial statements.
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report to be audited has been properly prepared in
accordance with the Companies Act 2006.
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
the information given in the Strategic Report and the Directors’ Report for the financial year for which
the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the Strategic Report and the Directors’ Report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal
requirements.
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the Group and the Parent Company and their environment
obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Strategic Report or the
Directors’ Report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006
requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
adequate accounting records have not been kept by the Parent Company, or returns adequate for our audit
have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the Parent Company financial statements and the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report to be audited
63
are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of Directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit
Responsibilities of Directors
As explained more fully in the Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities, the Directors are responsible for the
preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such
internal control as the Directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that
are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the
Directors are responsible for assessing the Group’s and Parent Company’s ability to continue as a going
concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of
accounting unless the Directors either intend to liquidate the Group or Parent Company or to cease operations,
or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free
from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an Auditor’s Report that includes our
opinion.
Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in
accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists.
Misstatements can arise
from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be
expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations.
We design
procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of
irregularities, including fraud.
The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities,
including fraud, is detailed below.
We evaluated the Directors’ and management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of
the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls) and determined that the principal risks were
related to posting manual journal entries to manipulate financial performance, management bias through
judgements and assumptions in significant accounting estimates and significant one-off or unusual
transactions.
Our audit procedures were designed to respond to those identified risks, including non-compliance with laws
and regulations (irregularities) and fraud that are material to the financial statements.
Our audit procedures
included but were not limited to:
Discussing with the Directors and management their policies and procedures regarding compliance with
laws and regulations;
Communicating identified laws and regulations throughout our engagement team and remaining alert to
any indications of non-compliance throughout our audit; and
Considering the risk of acts by the Parent Company which were contrary to applicable laws and
regulations, including fraud.
Our audit procedures in relation to fraud included but were not limited to:
Making enquiries of the Directors and management on whether they had knowledge of any actual,
suspected or alleged fraud;
Gaining an understanding of the internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud;
Discussing amongst the engagement team the risks of fraud; and
Addressing the risks of fraud through management override of controls by performing journal entry
testing.
64
There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above and the primary responsibility for the
prevention and detection of irregularities including fraud rests with management.
As with any audit, there
remained a risk of non-detection of irregularities, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional
omissions, misrepresentations or the override of internal controls.
A
further
description
of
our
responsibilities
is
located
on
the
FRC’s
website
at:
https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities
.
This description forms part of our Auditor’s Report.
Other matters which we are required to address
We were appointed by the Board on 17 March 2025 to audit the financial statements for the year ended 28
February 2025 and subsequent financial periods.
Our total uninterrupted period of engagement is one year.
The non-audit services prohibited by the FRC’s Ethical Standard were not provided to the Group or the Parent
Company and we remain independent of the Group and the Parent Company in conducting our audit.
Our audit opinion is consistent with the additional report to the Audit Committee.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the Company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of
the Companies Act 2006.
Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Company’s
members those matters we are required to state to them in an Auditor’s Report and for no other purpose.
To
the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone, other than the
Company and the Company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we
have formed.
Jonathan Hayward
Senior Statutory Auditor
For and on behalf of Royce Peeling Green Limited
Chartered Accountants
Statutory Auditor
The Copper Room
Deva City Office Park
Trinity Way
Manchester
17 June 2025
65
Consolidated Income Statement
Consolidated
Year to 28 February 2025
Consolidated
Year to 29 February 2024
Revenue
Capital
Total
Revenue
Capital
Total
Note Ref
£'000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
Gain/(loss) on disposal of fixed asset
investments
-
19
19
-
(62)
(62)
Loss on valuation of fixed asset
investments
-
(1,339)
(1,339)
-
(1,515)
(1,515)
Investment Income
2
70
-
70
77
-
77
Investment Management Fee
3
(63)
-
(63)
(79)
-
(79)
Other expenses
4
(179)
-
(179)
(172)
-
(172)
Return on ordinary activities before
tax
(172)
(1, 320)
(1,492)
(174)
(1, 577)
(1,751)
Taxation on return on ordinary
activities
5
-
-
-
-
-
-
Return on ordinary activities after
tax
(172)
(1,320)
(1,492)
(174)
(1,577)
(1,751)
There was no other Comprehensive Income recognised during the period.
The ‘Total’ column of the Income Statement is the profit and loss account of the Group; the supplementary
revenue return and capital return columns have been prepared under guidance published by the Association of
Investment Companies.
All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing operations.
The Group has only one class of business and derives its income from investments made in shares and securities
and from bank and money market funds.
The Group has no recognised gains or losses other than the results for the period as set out above.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the Financial Statements.
66
Income Statement – OT1 Share Class (non-statutory analysis)
OT1 Share Class
Year to 28 February 2025
OT1 Share Class
Year to 29 February 2024
Revenue
Capital
Total
Revenue
Capital
Total
£'000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
Gain on disposal of fixed asset
investments
-
-
-
-
-
-
Loss on valuation of fixed asset
investments
-
(153)
(153)
-
(300)
(300)
Investment Income
43
-
43
49
-
49
Investment Management Fee
(11)
-
(11)
(12)
-
(12)
Other expenses
(45)
-
(45)
(43)
-
(43)
Return on ordinary activities
before tax
(13)
(153)
(166)
(6)
(300)
(306)
Taxation on return on ordinary
activities
-
-
-
-
-
-
Return on ordinary activities after
tax
(13)
(153)
(166)
(6)
(300)
(306)
Earnings per share – basic and
diluted
(0.3)p
(2.8)p
(3.1)p
(0.1)p
(5.5)p
(5.6)p
Income Statement – OT2 Share Class (non-statutory analysis)
OT2 Share Class
Year to 28 February 2025
OT2 Share Class
Year to 29 February 2024
Revenue
Capital
Total
Revenue
Capital
Total
£'000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
Gain on disposal of fixed asset
investments
-
-
-
-
-
-
Loss on valuation of fixed asset
investments
-
(230)
(230)
-
(203)
(203)
Investment Income
8
-
8
7
-
7
Investment Management Fee
(11)
-
(11)
(13)
-
(13)
Other expenses
(45)
-
(45)
(43)
-
(43)
Return on ordinary activities
before tax
(48)
(230)
(278)
(49)
(203)
(252)
Taxation on return on ordinary
activities`
-
-
-
-
-
-
Return on ordinary activities after
tax
(48)
(230)
(278)
(49)
(203)
(252)
Earnings per share – basic and
diluted
(0.9)p
(4.3)p
(5.2)p
(0.9)p
(3.8)p
(4.7)p
67
Income Statement – OT3 Share Class (non-statutory analysis)
OT3 Share Class
Year to 28 February 2025
OT3 Share Class
Year to 29 February 2024
Revenue
Capital
Total
Revenue
Capital
Total
£'000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
Gain on disposal of fixed asset
investments
-
19
19
-
-
-
Loss on valuation of fixed asset
investments
-
(421)
(421)
-
(649)
(649)
Investment Income
3
-
3
3
-
3
Investment Management Fee
(14)
-
(14)
(21)
-
(21)
Other expenses
(45)
-
(45)
(43)
-
(43)
Return on ordinary activities
before tax
(56)
(402)
(458)
(61)
(649)
(710)
Taxation on return on ordinary
activities
-
-
-
-
-
-
Return on ordinary activities after
tax
(56)
(402)
(458)
(61)
(649)
(710)
Earnings per share – basic and
diluted
(0.9)p
(6.4)p
(7.3)p
(1.0)p
(10.3)p
(11.3)p
Income Statement – OT4 Share Class (non-statutory analysis)
OT4 Share Class
Year to 28 February 2025
OT4 Share Class
Year to 29 February 2024
Revenue
Capital
Total
Revenue
Capital
Total
£'000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
Loss on disposal of fixed asset
investments
-
-
-
-
(62)
(62)
Loss on valuation of fixed asset
investments
-
(534)
(534)
-
(364)
(364)
Investment Income
18
-
18
18
-
18
Investment Management Fee
(27)
-
(27)
(33)
-
(33)
Other expenses
(45)
-
(45)
(43)
-
(43)
Return on ordinary activities
before tax
(54)
(534)
(588)
(58)
(425)
(483)
Taxation on return on ordinary
activities
-
-
-
-
-
-
Return on ordinary activities after
tax
(54)
(534)
(588)
(58)
(425)
(483)
Earnings per share – basic and
diluted
(0.5)p
(5.0)p
(5.5)p
(0.5)p
(3.9)p
(4.4)p
68
Consolidated and Company Balance Sheet
*At fair value through profit and loss
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the Financial Statements.
The statements were approved by the Directors and authorised for issue on 17 June 2025 and are signed on
their behalf by:
Richard Roth
Chairman
Note
reference
Combined
As at 28 February 2025
Combined
As at 29 February 2024
£’000
£’000
£'000
£'000
Fixed asset investments*
7
5,929
7,327
Current assets:
Cash at bank and cash equivalents
97
139
Debtors
8
16
6
Creditors:
Amounts falling due within one year
9
(155)
(93)
Net current (liabilities)/assets
(42)
52
Net assets
5,887
7,379
Called Up Share Capital
10
278
278
Special Distributable Reserve
11
10,078
10,078
Unrealised Capital Reserve
11
(3,765)
(2,510)
Profit and Loss Account
11
(704)
(467)
Total equity shareholders' funds
11
5,887
7,379
69
Balance Sheet – OT1 Share Class (non-statutory analysis)
*At fair value through profit and loss
Balance Sheet – OT2 Share Class (non-statutory analysis)
*At fair value through profit and loss
OT1 Share Class
As at 28 February 2025
OT1 Share Class
As at 29 February 2024
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
Fixed asset investments*
1,997
2,150
Current assets:
Cash at bank and cash equivalents
4
12
Debtors
-
-
Creditors:
Amounts falling due within one year
(12)
(7)
Net current (liabilities)/assets
(8)
5
Net assets
1,989
2,155
Called Up Share Capital
54
54
Special Distributable Reserve
2,343
2,343
Unrealised Capital Reserve
(415)
(262)
Profit and Loss Account
7
20
Total equity shareholders’ funds
1,989
2,155
Net asset value per share
36.6p
39.7p
OT2 Share Class
As at 28 February 2025
OT2 Share Class
As at 29 February 2024
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
Fixed asset investments*
779
1,009
Current assets:
Cash at bank and cash equivalents
113
133
Debtors
16
6
Creditors:
Amounts falling due within one year
(99)
(61)
Net current assets
30
78
Net assets
809
1,087
Called Up Share Capital
53
53
Special Distributable Reserve
1,001
1,001
Unrealised Capital Reserve
(189)
41
Profit and Loss Account
(56)
(8)
Total equity shareholders’ funds
809
1,087
Net asset value per share
15.2p
20.4p
70
Balance Sheet – OT3 Share Class (non-statutory analysis)
*At fair value through profit and loss
** OT3 Share Class has a negative cash balance of £23k at 29 February 2025, so this is included in creditors
Balance Sheet – OT4 Share Class (non-statutory analysis)
*At fair value through profit and loss
** OT4 Share Class has a negative cash balance of £23k, so this is included in creditors
OT3 Share Class
As at 28 February 2025
OT3 Share Class
As at 29 February 2024
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
Fixed asset investments*
959
1,438
Current assets:
Cash at bank and cash equivalents **
4
-
Debtors
-
-
Creditors:
Amounts falling due within one year **
(20)
(37)
Net current (liabilities)/assets
(16)
(37)
Net assets
943
1,401
Called Up Share Capital
63
63
Special Distributable Reserve
2,542
2,542
Unrealised Capital Reserve
(1,398)
(1,002)
Profit and Loss Account
(264)
(202)
Total equity shareholders’ funds
943
1,401
Net asset value per share
15.1p
22.4p
OT4 Share Class
As at 28 February 2025
OT4 Share Class
As at 29 February 2024
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
Fixed asset investments*
2,195
2,730
Current assets:
Cash at bank and cash equivalents **
-
17
Debtors
-
-
Creditors:
Amounts falling due within one year **
(48)
(11)
Net current (liabilities)/assets
(48)
5
Net assets
2,147
2,735
Called Up Share Capital
108
108
Special Distributable Reserve
4,192
4,192
Unrealised Capital Reserve
(1,763)
(1,288)
Profit and Loss Account
(390)
(277)
Total equity shareholders’ funds
2,147
2,735
Net asset value per share
19.8p
25.3p
71
Consolidated and Company Statement of Changes in Equity
Called up
Share Capital
£’000
Special
Distributable
Reserve £’000
Unrealised
Capital
Reserve
£’000
Profit & Loss
Account
£’000
Total
£’000
As at 1 March 2023
278
10,078
(1,383)
156
9,130
Revenue return on ordinary
activities after tax
-
-
-
(174)
(174)
Current period losses on disposal
-
-
--
(62)
(62)
Current period losses on fair
value of investments
-
-
(1,515)
-
(1,515)
Prior years unrealised losses now
realised
-
-
388
(388)
-
Balance as at 29 February 2024
278
10,078
(2,510)
(467)
7,379
As at 1 March 2024
278
10,078
(2,510)
(467)
7,379
Revenue return on ordinary
activities after tax
-
-
-
(172)
(172)
Current period gains on disposal
-
-
-
19
19
Current period losses on fair
value of investments
-
-
(1,339)
-
(1,339)
Prior years unrealised losses now
realised
-
-
25
(25)
-
Permanent diminution of value
now realised
-
-
59
(59)
-
Balance as at 28 February 2025
278
10,078
(3,765)
(704)
5,887
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the Financial Statements.
*
72
Statement of Changes in Equity – OT1 Share Class (non-statutory analysis)
Share Capital
Special
Distributable
Reserve
Unrealised
Capital
Reserve
Profit and
Loss
Account
Total
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
As at 1 March 2023
54
2,343
38
26
2,461
Revenue return on ordinary activities after
tax
Current period losses on fair value of
investments
-
-
-
-
-
(300)
(6)
-
(6)
(300)
Balance as at 29 February 2024
54
2,343
(262)
20
2,155
As at 1 March 2024
54
2,343
(262)
20
2,155
Revenue return on ordinary activities after
tax
-
-
-
(13)
(13)
Current period losses on fair value of
investments
-
-
(153)
-
(153)
Balance as at 28 February 2025
54
2,343
(415)
7
1,989
Statement of Changes in Equity – OT2 Share Class (non-statutory analysis)
Called up
Share
Capital
£’000
Special
Distributable
Reserve
£’000
Unrealised
Capital
Reserve
£’000
Profit & Loss
Account
£’000
Total
£’000
As at 1 March 2023
53
1,001
40
245
1,339
Revenue return on ordinary activities
after tax
-
-
-
(49)
(49)
Current period losses on fair value of
investments
-
-
(203)
-
(203)
Prior years unrealised losses now realised
-
-
204
(204)
-
Balance as at 29 February 2024
53
1,001
41
(8)
1,087
As at 1 March 2024
53
1,001
41
(8)
1,087
Revenue return on ordinary activities
after tax
-
-
-
(48)
(48)
Current period losses on fair value of
investments
-
-
(230)
-
(230)
Balance as at 28 February 2025
53
1,001
(189)
(56)
809
73
Statement of Changes in Equity – OT3 Share Class (non-statutory analysis)
Share Capital
Special
Distributable
Reserve
Unrealised
Capital
Reserve
Profit and
Loss
Account
Total
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
As at 1 March 2023
63
2,542
(413)
(81)
63
Revenue return on ordinary activities after tax
-
-
-
(61)
(61)
Current period losses on fair value of
investments
-
-
(649)
-
(649)
Prior years unrealised losses now realised
-
-
60
(60)
-
Balance as at 29 February 2024
63
2,542
(1,002)
(202)
1,401
As at 1 March 2024
63
2,542
(1,002)
(202)
1,401
Revenue return on ordinary activities after tax
-
-
-
(56)
(56)
Current period gains on disposal
-
-
-
19
19
Current period losses on fair value of
investments
-
-
(421)
-
(421)
Prior years unrealised losses now realised
-
-
25
(25)
-
Balance as at 28 February 2025
63
2,542
(1,398)
(264)
943
Statement of Changes in Equity – OT4 Share Class (non-statutory analysis)
Share Capital
Special
Distributable
Reserve
Unrealised
Capital
Reserve
Profit and
Loss
Account
Total
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
As at 1 March 2023
108
4,192
(1,047)
(34)
3,219
Revenue return on ordinary activities after tax
-
-
-
(58)
(58)
Current period losses on disposal
-
-
-
(62)
(62)
Current period losses on fair value of
investments
-
-
(364)
-
(364)
Prior years unrealised losses now realised
-
-
123
(123)
-
Balance as at 29 February 2024
108
4,192
(1,288)
(277)
2,735
As at 1 March 2024
108
4,192
(1,288)
(277)
2,735
Revenue return on ordinary activities after tax
-
-
-
(54)
(54)
Current period losses on disposal
-
-
-
-
-
Current period losses on fair value of
investments
-
-
(534)
-
(534)
Permanent diminution of value now realised
-
-
59
(59)
-
Balance as at 28 February 2025
108
4,192
(1,763)
(390)
2,147
74
Consolidated and Company Statement of Cash Flows
Combined
Year to
28 February 2025
£’000
Combined
Year to
29 February 2024
£’000
Cash flows from operating activities
Return on ordinary activities before tax
(1,492)
(1,751)
Adjustments for:
(Increase)/decrease in debtors *
(10)
7
Increase/(decrease) in creditors *
62
10
(Gain)/loss on disposal of fixed asset investments
(19)
62
Loss on valuation of fixed asset investments
1,339
1,515
Outflow from operating activities
(119)
(157)
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of investments
-
-
Disposal of investments
77
4
Total cash outflow from investing activities
77
4
Cash flows from financing activities
Dividends paid
-
-
Total cash inflow from financing activities
-
-
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents
(42)
(153)
Opening cash and cash equivalents
139
292
Closing cash and cash equivalents
97
139
*
The OT4 Share Class was “overdrawn” at 28 February 2025 (by £23k), with its “cash” balance included in creditors.
The OT3
Share Class was “overdrawn” at 29 February 2024 (by £23k), with its “cash” balance included in creditors.
The combined cash flow
removes these on consolidation.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the Financial Statements
.
75
Statement of Cash Flows – OT1 Share Class (non-statutory analysis)
OT1 Share Class
Year to
28 February 2025
OT1 Share Class
Year to
29 February 2024
£'000
£'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Return on ordinary activities before tax
(166)
(306)
Adjustments for:
Decrease in debtors
-
-
Increase in creditors
5
-
Gain on disposal of fixed asset investments
-
-
Loss on valuation of fixed asset investments
153
300
Outflow from operating activities
(8)
(6)
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of investments
-
-
Disposal of investments
-
-
Total cash inflow from investing activities
-
-
Cash flows from financing activities
Dividends paid
-
-
Total cash outflow from financing activities
-
-
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents
(8)
(6)
Opening cash and cash equivalents
12
18
Closing cash and cash equivalents
4
12
Statement of Cash Flows – OT2 Share Class (non-statutory analysis)
OT2 Share Class
Year to
28 February 2025
OT2 Share Class
Year to
29 February 2024
£'000
£'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Return on ordinary activities before tax
(278)
(252)
Adjustments for:
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
(10)
7
Increase in creditors
38
11
Gain on disposal of fixed asset investments
-
-
Loss on valuation of fixed asset investments
230
203
Outflow from operating activities
(20)
(31)
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of investments
-
-
Disposal of investments
-
-
Total cash inflow from investing activities
-
-
Cash flows from financing activities
Dividends paid
-
-
Total cash outflow from financing activities
-
-
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents
(20)
(31)
Opening cash and cash equivalents
133
164
Closing cash and cash equivalents
113
133
76
Statement of Cash Flows – OT3 Share Class (non-statutory analysis)
OT3 Share Class
Year to
28 February 2025
OT3 Share Class
Year to
29 February 2024
£'000
£'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Return on ordinary activities before tax
(458)
(710)
Adjustments for:
Decrease in debtors
-
-
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
6
(1)
Gain on disposal of fixed asset investments
(19)
-
Loss on valuation of fixed asset investments
421
649
Outflow from operating activities
(50)
(62)
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of investments
-
-
Disposal of investments
77
-
Total cash inflow from investing activities
77
-
Cash flows from financing activities
Dividends paid
-
-
Total cash outflow from financing activities
-
-
Increase/(Decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
27
(62)
Opening cash and cash equivalents
(23)
39
Closing cash and cash equivalents *
4
(23)
* The balance at 29 February 2024 is included in creditors on the OT3 Share Class Balance Sheet
Statement of Cash Flows – OT4 Share Class (non-statutory analysis)
OT4 Share Class
Year to
28 February 2025
OT4 Share Class
Year to
29 February 2024
£'000
£'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Return on ordinary activities before tax
(588)
(483)
Adjustments for:
Decrease in debtors
-
-
Decrease in creditors
14
-
Loss on disposal of fixed asset investments
-
62
Loss on valuation of fixed asset investments
534
364
Outflow from operating activities
(40)
(57)
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of investments
-
-
Disposal of investments
-
4
Total cash inflow from investing activities
-
4
Cash flows from financing activities
Dividends paid
-
-
Total cash outflow from financing activities
-
-
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents
(40)
(54)
Opening cash and cash equivalents
17
71
Closing cash and cash equivalents *
(23)
17
* The balance at 28 February 2025 is included in creditors on the OT4 Share Class Balance Sheet
77
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Oxford Technology 2 Venture Capital Trust Plc is a public company and is limited by shares.
1.
Principal Accounting Policies
Basis of Preparation
The Financial Statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, except for the measurement
at fair value of certain financial instruments, and in accordance with UK Generally Accepted Accounting
Practice (“GAAP”), including Financial Reporting Standard 102 – ‘The Financial Reporting Standard
applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland’ (‘FRS 102’) and with the Companies Act 2006 and
the Statement of Recommended Practice (“SORP”) ‘Financial Statements of Investment Trust Companies and
Venture Capital Trusts (revised 2022)’ issued by the AIC.
The principal accounting policies have remained materially unchanged from those set out in the Company’s
2024 Annual Report and Financial Statements.
A summary of the principal accounting policies follows.
FRS 102 sections 11 and 12 have been adopted with regard to the Company’s financial instruments.
The
Company held all fixed asset investments at fair value through profit or loss.
Accordingly, all interest income,
fee income, expenses and gains and losses on investments are attributable to assets held at fair value through
profit or loss.
The most important policies affecting the Company’s financial position are those related to investment
valuation and require the application of subjective and complex judgements, often as a result of the need to
make estimates about the effects of matters that are inherently uncertain and may change in subsequent periods.
These are discussed in more detail below.
In 2022, the assets and liabilities of each Target VCT were transferred to the Company in return for the issue
of shares to the Target VCT Shareholders corresponding to the class of Target VCT Share they held in the
Target VCT, pursuant to a scheme of reconstruction under section 110 of IA 1986.
The combination was
accounted for using the purchase method.
The consideration for each acquisition was measured at the
aggregate of the fair values at acquisition date of the assets given and liabilities assumed.
As a result of the Merger, the Company’s interest in Select Technology exceeded 50% (even though certain
economic benefits have been restricted to no more than 50%).
Per the SORP “Financial Statements of
Investment Trust Companies and Venture Capital Trusts” issued by the AIC in July 2022 (“AIC SORP”),
subsidiary undertakings are excluded from consolidation by virtue of the requirements of the Companies Act
2006 or FRS 102 where investments are held as part of an investment portfolio.
Under FRS 102, a subsidiary
shall be excluded from consolidation where it is held as part of an investment portfolio.
Where presentational
guidance set out in the AIC SORP is consistent with the requirements of FRS 102, the Directors have sought
to prepare the financial statements on a basis compliant with the recommendations of that SORP.
Basis of consolidation
The consolidated financial statements consolidate the financial statements of the Company and its subsidiary
(OT2 Managers Ltd) drawn up to 28 February 2025.
The figures for the Group and Company are the same.
A subsidiary is an entity controlled by the Company.
Control is achieved where the Company has the power
to govern the financial and operating policies of an entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities.
The purchase method of accounting is used to account for business combinations that result in the acquisition
of subsidiaries by the Group.
The cost of a business combination is measured as the fair value of the assets
given, equity instruments issued and liabilities incurred or assumed at the date of exchange, plus the costs
directly attributable to the business combination.
Identifiable assets acquired and liabilities (including
contingent liabilities) assumed in a business combination are measured initially at their fair values at the
acquisition date.
Any excess of the cost of the business combination over the acquirer’s interest in the net fair
value of the identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities recognised is recorded as goodwill.
78
Inter-company transactions and balances between the Company and its subsidiary, which are related parties,
are eliminated in full.
Accounting policies of the subsidiary are consistent with the policies adopted by the Group.
Going Concern
The assets of the Company consist mainly of securities, two of which are AIM quoted.
Scancell is relatively
liquid; shares in Arecor can be traded, but the market is not overly liquid.
As at 28 February 2025, 1.6% of
net assets were cash.
After reviewing the Company’s forecasts and expectations, the Directors have a
reasonable expectation that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for a
period of at least 12 months from the date of the signing of these Financial Statements.
As set out in the
Chairman’s Statement on page 13, the Directors have an agreement to borrow funds from Select Technology
to cover cash requirements in the near term.
The Company therefore continues to adopt the going concern
basis in preparing its Financial Statements.
Key Judgements and Estimates
The preparation of the Financial Statements requires the Board to make judgements and estimates regarding
the application of policies and affecting the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and expenses.
Estimates and assumptions mainly relate to the fair valuation of the fixed asset investments particularly
unquoted investments.
Estimates are based on historical experience and other assumptions that are considered
reasonable under the circumstances.
The estimates and the assumptions are under continuous review with
particular attention paid to the carrying value of the investments.
Investments are regularly reviewed to ensure that the fair values are appropriately stated.
Unquoted
investments are valued in accordance with current IPEVC Valuation Guidelines, which can be found at
www.privateequityvaluation.com
, although this does rely on subjective estimates such as appropriate sector
earnings or revenue multiples, forecast results of investee companies, asset values of investee companies and
liquidity or marketability of the investments held.
Although the Directors believe that the assumptions concerning the business environment and estimate of
future cash flows are appropriate, changes in estimates and assumptions could result in changes in the stated
values.
This could lead to additional changes in fair value in the future.
The material factors affecting the returns and net assets attributable to shareholders are the valuations of the
investments and ongoing general expenses.
Functional and Presentational Currency
The Financial Statements are presented in Sterling (£).
The functional currency is also Sterling (£).
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents includes cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term highly
liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less and also include bank overdrafts.
Fixed Asset Investments
The Company’s principal financial assets are its investments and the policies in relation to those assets are set
out below.
Purchases and sales of investments are recognised in the Financial Statements at the date of the transaction
(trade date).
These investments will be managed and their performance evaluated on a fair value basis and information
about them is provided internally on that basis to the Board.
Accordingly, as permitted by FRS 102, the
investments are measured as being fair value through profit and loss on the basis that they qualify as a group
of assets managed, and whose performance is evaluated, on a fair value basis in accordance with a documented
investment strategy.
The Company's investments are measured at subsequent reporting dates at fair value.
79
In the case of investments quoted on a recognised stock exchange, fair value is established by reference to the
closing bid price on the relevant reporting date or the last traded price, depending upon convention of the
exchange on which the investment is quoted.
In the case of AIM quoted investments this is the closing bid
price.
In the case of unquoted investments, fair value is established by using measures of value such as the price of
recent transactions, earnings, dividend or revenue multiples, discounted cash flows and net assets.
These are
consistent with the IPEVC Valuation Guidelines.
Gains and losses arising from changes in fair value of investments are recognised as part of the capital return
within the Income Statement and allocated to the Unrealised Capital Reserve.
In the preparation of the valuations of assets the Directors are required to make judgements and estimates that
are reasonable and incorporate their knowledge of the performance of the investee companies.
A key judgement made in applying the above accounting policy relates to investments that are permanently
impaired.
Where the value of an investment has fallen permanently, the loss is treated as a permanent
impairment and as a realised loss, even though the investment is still held.
The Board assesses the portfolio
for such investments and, after agreement with the Investment Adviser, will agree the values that represent the
extent to which an investment loss has become realised.
This is based upon an assessment of objective
evidence of that investment’s future prospects, to determine whether there is potential for the investment to
recover in value.
Fair Value Hierarchy
Paragraph 34.22 of FRS 102 regarding financial instruments that are measured in the Balance Sheet at fair
value requires disclosure of fair value measurements dependent on whether the stock is quoted and the level
of the accuracy in the ability to determine its fair value.
The fair value measurement hierarchy is as follows:
For Quoted Investments:
Level 1: quoted prices in active markets for an identical asset.
The fair value of financial instruments traded
in active markets is based on quoted market prices at the Balance Sheet date.
A market is regarded as active
if quoted prices are readily and regularly available, and those prices represent actual and regularly occurring
market transactions on an arm’s length basis.
The quoted market price used for financial assets held is the bid
price at the Balance Sheet date.
Level 2: where quoted prices are not available (or where a stock is normally quoted on a recognised stock
exchange that no quoted price is available), the price of a recent transaction for an identical asset, providing
there has been no significant change in economic circumstances or a significant lapse in time since the
transaction took place.
The Company held no such investments in the current or prior year.
For investments not quoted in an active market:
Level 3: the fair value of financial instruments that are not traded in an active market is determined by using
valuation techniques.
These valuation techniques maximise the use of observable data (e.g.
the price of recent transactions,
earnings/revenue multiple, discounted cash flows and/or net assets) where it is available and rely as little as
possible on entity specific estimates.
There were no transfers between these classifications in the year (2024: nil).
The change in fair value for the
current and previous year is recognised in the Income Statement.
Income
Investment income includes interest earned on bank balances and from dividends.
Dividend income from
investments is recognised when the shareholders’ rights to receive payment have been established, normally
the ex dividend date.
80
Expenses
All expenses, including investment management fees, are accounted for on an accruals basis and are charged
wholly to revenue.
Any applicable performance fee will continue to be charged 100% to capital.
Revenue and Capital
The revenue column of the Income Statement includes all income and revenue expenses of the Company.
The
capital column includes gains and losses on disposal and holding gains and losses on investments.
Gains and
losses arising from changes in fair value of investments are recognised as part of the capital return within the
Income Statement and allocated to the appropriate capital reserve on the basis of whether they are realised or
unrealised at the Balance Sheet date.
Taxation
Current tax is recognised for the amount of income tax payable in respect of the taxable profit for the current
or past reporting periods using the applicable tax rate.
The tax effect of different items of income/gain and
expenditure/loss is allocated between capital and revenue return on the "marginal" basis as recommended in
the SORP.
Deferred tax is recognised on an undiscounted basis in respect of all timing differences that have originated,
but not reversed, at the balance sheet date, except as otherwise indicated.
Deferred tax assets are only
recognised to the extent that it is probable that they will be recovered against the reversal of deferred tax
liabilities or other future taxable profits.
Financial Instruments
The Company’s principal financial assets are its investments and the policies in relation to those assets are set
out above.
Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the
contractual arrangements entered into.
An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the entity after deducting
all of its financial liabilities.
Where the contractual terms of share capital do not have any terms meeting the
definition of a financial liability then this is classed as an equity instrument.
The Company does not have any externally imposed capital requirements.
Reserves
Called Up Share Capital represents the nominal value of shares that have been issued.
Special Distributable Reserve includes cancelled share premium and capital redemption reserves available for
distribution and may be used amongst other things to cover dividend payments and share buy backs.
Unrealised Capital Reserve
arises when the Company revalues the investments still held during the period and
any gains or losses arising are credited/charged to the Unrealised Capital Reserve.
It should be noted that
where investments were taken on as part of the Merger, it was their value at that time that became the take on
cost to the Company, and hence all gains and losses (whether realised or unrealised) are now assessed against
these values.
When an investment is sold, any balance held on the Unrealised Capital Reserve in relation to that particular
investment is transferred to the Profit and Loss Account as a movement in reserves.
Similarly, where there is
considered to be a permanent reduction in value due to
a
permanent diminution in value, any such impaired
balance is also transferred to the Profit and Loss Account as a movement in reserves.
The Profit and Loss Account represents the aggregate of accumulated realised profits, less losses,
permanent diminutions in value, and dividends and buy backs.
Dividends Payable
Dividends payable are recognised as distributions in the Financial Statements when the Company’s liability to
make payment has been established.
This liability is established for interim dividends when they are declared
by the Board, and for final dividends when they are approved by shareholders.
81
2.
Investment Income
Year Ended
28 February 2025
£’000
Year Ended
29 February 2024
£’000
Dividends received
70
77
Total
70
77
All of the Company’s income has been generated in the United Kingdom from its investment portfolio.
In the
year to 28 February 2025, dividends were received from BioCote £13,200 (2024: £19,800) and Select
Technology £57,400 (2024: £57,400).
3.
Investment Management Fees
All expenses are accounted for on an accruals basis and are charged wholly to revenue.
Year Ended
28 February 2025
£’000
Year Ended
29 February 2024
£’000
Investment management fee
63
79
Total
63
79
In the two years to 28 February 2025, the Investment Manager received a fee of 0.5% of the net asset value of
the OT1 Share Class as at the previous year end, and 1% of the net asset value of the OT2, OT3 and OT4 Share
Classes, also as at the previous year end.
The Investment Adviser is also entitled to certain monitoring fees
from investee companies and the Board reviews the amounts.
Expenses are capped at 3%, including the management fee, but excluding Directors’ fees and any performance
fee.
As set out on page 18, the relevant expense ratio is 2.2% (2024: 2.0%) and so there was no cost recovery
due from OTM (2024: nil).
A performance fee is payable to the Investment Manager once original shareholders have received a specified
threshold in cash for each 100p (gross) invested, and is different by share class:
OT1 Share Class
The original threshold of 125p has been increased by compounding that portion that remains to be paid to
shareholders by 6% per annum with effect from 1 March 2008, resulting in the remaining required threshold
rising to 204.0p at 28 February 2025, corresponding to a total shareholder return of 259.0p after taking into
account the 55p already paid out (55p + 204.0p = 259.0p).
After this amount has been distributed to shareholders, each extra 100p distributed goes 80p to the shareholders
and 20p to the beneficiaries of the performance incentive fee, of which Oxford Technology Management
receives 14p.
OT2 Share Class
The original threshold of 100p has been increased by compounding that portion that remains to be paid to
shareholders by 6% per annum with effect from 1 March 2010, resulting in the remaining required threshold
rising to 173.8p at 28 February 2025, corresponding to a total shareholder return of 203.1p after taking into
account the 29.3p already paid out (29.3p + 173.8p = 203.1p).
The 29.3p already paid out includes an effective
6.8p (per original OT2 share) that was returned to shareholders as part of the tender offer in 2017.
82
After this amount has been distributed to shareholders, each extra 100p distributed goes 80p to the shareholders
and 20p to the beneficiaries of the performance incentive fee, of which Oxford Technology Management
receives 14p.
OT3 Share Class
The original threshold of 100p has been increased by compounding that portion that remains to be paid to
shareholders by 6% per annum with effect from 1 March 2010, resulting in the remaining required threshold
rising to 126.6p at 28 February 2025, corresponding to a total shareholder return of 172.1p after taking into
account the 45.5p already paid out (45.5p + 126.6p = 172.1p).
The 45.5p already paid out includes an effective
3.5p (per original OT3 share) that was returned to shareholders of OT3VCT as part of a share buyback
undertaken by OT3VCT in 2021.
After this amount has been distributed to shareholders, each extra 100p distributed goes 80p to the shareholders
and 20p to the beneficiaries of the performance incentive fee, of which Oxford Technology Management
receives 15p.
OT4 Share Class
The original threshold of 100p has been increased by compounding that portion that remains to be paid to
shareholders by 6% per annum with effect from 1 March 2015, resulting in the remaining required threshold
rising to 96.9p at 28 February 2025, corresponding to a total shareholder return of 146.9p after taking into
account the 50.0p already paid out (50.0p + 96.9p = 146.9p).
The 50.0p already paid out includes an effective
2.0p (per original OT4 share) that was returned to shareholders of OT4VCT as part of a share buyback
undertaken by OT4VCT in 2022.
After this amount has been distributed to shareholders, each extra 100p distributed goes 80p to the shareholders
and 20p to the beneficiaries of the performance incentive fee, of which Oxford Technology Management
receives 15p.
No performance fee has become due or been paid to date.
Any applicable performance fee will be charged
100% to capital.
4.
Other Expenses
All expenses are accounted for on an accruals basis.
All expenses are charged through the income statement
except as follows:
those expenses which are incidental to the acquisition of an investment are included within the cost
of the investment;
expenses which are incidental to the disposal of an investment are deducted from the disposal
proceeds of the investment.
Year Ended
28 February 2025
£’000
Year Ended
29 February 2024
£’000
Directors’ remuneration
82
73
Auditor’s remuneration
40
40
London Stock Exchange Fees
13
12
FCA Fees
8
7
Other expenses
36
40
Total
179
172
83
Details of Directors' remuneration (excluding employer’s NIC) are given in the audited part of the Directors’
Remuneration Report (see pages 48 to 51).
Irrecoverable VAT included in these expenses is £15,989 (2024: £16,519).
5.
Tax on Ordinary Activities
Corporation tax payable at 25.0% (2024: 19.0%) is applied to profits chargeable to corporation tax, if any.
The corporation tax charge for the period was £ nil (2024: £ nil).
Year Ended
28 February 2025
£’000
Year Ended
29 February 2024
£’000
Return on ordinary activities
before tax
(1,492)
(1,751)
Current tax at standard rate of
taxation
UK Dividends not taxable
(373)
(17)
(333)
(15)
Unrealised losses not taxable
335
288
Realised (gains)/ losses not
taxable
(5)
12
Excess management expenses
carried forward
60
48
Total current tax charge
-
-
The Company has excess management expenses of £2,508,414 (2024: £2,267,026) to carry forward to offset
against future taxable profits.
Approved VCTs are exempt from tax on capital gains within the company.
Since the Directors intend that the
Company will continue to conduct its affairs so as to maintain its approval as a VCT, no current deferred tax
has been provided in respect of any capital gains or losses arising on the revaluation or disposal of investments.
6.
Earnings per Share
The calculation of earnings per share (basic and diluted) for the period is based on the net profit/loss of each
Share Class attributable to those shareholders divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue during
the period.
OT1 Share Class: loss of £166,000, (2024: loss of £306,000) divided by 5,431,655 shares (2023: 5,431,655)
OT2 Share Class: loss of £278,000, (2024: loss of £252,000) divided by 5,331,889 shares (2023: 5,331,889)
OT3 Share Class: loss of £458,000, (2024: loss of £710,000) divided by 6,254,596 shares (2023: 6,254,596)
OT4 Share Class: loss of £588,000, (2024: loss of £483,000) divided by 10,826,748 shares (2023: 10,826,748).
There are no potentially dilutive capital instruments in issue and, therefore, no diluted returns per share figures
are relevant.
The basic and diluted earnings per share are therefore identical.
84
7.
Investments
AIM quoted
investments
Level 1
£’000
Unquoted
investments
Level 3
£’000
Total
investments
£’000
Valuation and net book amount:
Book cost as at 29 February 2024
6,459
3,918
10,377
Cumulative revaluation to
29 February 2024
(3,186)
136
(3,050)
Valuation at 29 February 2024
3,273
4,054
7,327
Movements in the year:
Disposals at cost
(83)
-
(83)
Disposals revaluation
24
-
24
Revaluation in year
(1,584)
245
(1,339)
Valuation at 28 February 2025
1,630
4,299
5,929
Book cost at 28 February 2025
6,376
3,918
10,294
Cumulative revaluation to
28 February 2025
(4,746)
381
(4,365)
Valuation at 28 February 2025
1,630
4,299
5,929
All investments are initially measured at their transaction price (in the case of the investments taken on as part
of the Merger, their value at that time).
Subsequently, at each reporting date, the investments are valued at fair
value through profit and loss, and all capital gains or losses on investments are so measured.
Unquoted fixed
asset investments are valued at fair value in accordance with the IPEV guidelines.
The changes in fair value of such investments recognised in these Financial Statements are treated as unrealised
holding gains or losses; a
ny permanent diminution in value is treated as a realised loss.
The methods of fair value measurement are classified into hierarchy based on the reliability of the information
used to determine the valuation.
Level 1 – Fair value is measured based on quoted prices in an active market.
Level 2 – Fair value is measured based on directly observable current market prices or indirectly being
derived from market prices.
Level 3 – Fair value is measured using valuation techniques using inputs that are not based on
observable market data.
When using this methodology for investments not quoted on an active market, however, a detailed assessment
of the respective value of each portfolio company is also performed in order to gain the necessary comfort as
to whether a fair value reduction or uplift is in fact required.
This process involves a high level review of the
progress made by each investee company, recent developments in the M&A market and any relevant
comparisons to listed competitors across any key performance indicators.
Further, all of these are considered in the context of any exit equity waterfall structure as detailed in each
investee company’s articles of association.
FRS 102 requires the Directors to consider the impact of changing
85
one or more of the assumptions used as part of the valuation process to reasonable possible alternative
assumptions.
In view of the FRS 102 requirement, the Board have considered the impact that introducing reasonable
alternative assumptions to this revenue multiple based valuation methodology could have on the value of the
Company’s investment pool as at the year end for each Share Class.
Throughout this exercise, and in determining the value of the Company’s equity investments where trading
multiples are considered, a selection of valuation methodologies are considered, not limited to: the review of
trading multiples and comparison to industry peers, based on size, stage of development, revenue generation
and growth rate, as well as wider strategy and market position.
Appropriate valuation methodologies are then
used and, where applicable, multiples are calculated in the traditional manner, by dividing the enterprise value
of the comparable group by its revenue, EBITDA, dividend or earnings depending on what is the norm in a
particular sector driven by how acquisitions in that sector are typically valued.
The trading multiple is then
adjusted for considerations such as illiquidity, marketability and other differences, advantages and
disadvantages between the portfolio company and the comparable public companies based on company
specific facts and circumstances.
The enterprise value is then adjusted for any excess cash/debt to derive a
value for the equity.
A final point to note is that company valuation is art as well as science – no examination
of numerous data points today can guarantee either an absolutely precise valuation as of a particular date in
the recent past or a fail-safe forecast of future movements in valuation.
OT1 Share Class
As a result of this analysis the Board has concluded that such reasonable possible alternative assumptions could
result in a NAV reduction of £585,000 (10.8p per share) or a NAV increase of £255,000 (4.7p per share).
In
coming to this conclusion, the Directors considered the valuation of all the unquoted portfolio companies and
are of the view that only one of the three remaining unquoted investments is material to the range of outcomes
that could reasonably be expected.
Downside analysis: 10.8p decrease in NAV per share
.
The identified company sees a reduction in
valuation to the value of its net assets.
The Directors therefore believe that this establishes a credible
lower bound to the range of possible valuations for this portfolio company.
Upside analysis: 4.7p increase in NAV per share
.
The identified company is valued by considering
a basket of standard valuation metrics as described in the introductory paragraphs to this note – there
is cautious optimism about this company’s prospects, and there are some early indications that the
company may be benefitting from improved operational gearing going forwards which might justify
an appropriate adjustment to the qualitative weighting of the aforementioned basket, resulting in this
uplift to NAV.
OT2 Share Class
As a result of this analysis the Board has concluded that such reasonable possible alternative assumptions could
result in a NAV reduction of £368,000 (6.9p per share) or a NAV increase of £226,000 (4.2p per share).
In
coming to this conclusion, the Directors considered the valuation of all the unquoted portfolio companies and
are of the view that only two of the remaining unquoted investments are material to the range of outcomes that
could reasonably be expected.
Downside analysis: 6.9p decrease in NAV per share
.
One of the identified companies sees a
reduction in valuation down to the value of its net assets, and the other identified company is wound
up and the value written off.
The Directors therefore believe that this establishes a credible lower
bound to the range of possible valuations for these portfolio companies.
Upside analysis: 4.2p increase in NAV per share
.
One of the identified companies is valued by
considering a basket of standard valuation metrics as described in the introductory paragraphs to this
note – there is cautious optimism about this company’s prospects, and there are some early indications
that the company may be benefitting from improved operational gearing going forwards which might
justify an appropriate adjustment to the qualitative weighting of the aforementioned basket, resulting
86
in this uplift to NAV.
The other identified company would see a valuation increase if a key milestone
is met.
OT3 Share Class
As a result of this analysis the Board has concluded that such reasonable possible alternative assumptions could
result in a NAV reduction of £351,000 (5.6p per share) or a NAV increase of £270,000 (4.3p per share).
In
coming to this conclusion, the Directors considered the valuation of all the unquoted portfolio companies and
are of the view that two of the remaining unquoted investments are material to the range of outcomes that
could reasonably be expected.
Downside analysis: 5.6p decrease in NAV per share
.
One of the identified companies sees a
reduction in valuation down to the value of its net assets, and the other identified company is wound
up and the value written off.
The Directors therefore believe that this establishes a credible lower
bound to the range of possible valuations for these portfolio companies.
Upside analysis: 4.3p increase in NAV per share
.
One of the identified companies is valued by
considering a basket of standard valuation metrics as described in the introductory paragraphs to this
note – there is cautious optimism about this company’s prospects, and there are some early indications
that the company may be benefitting from improved operational gearing going forwards which might
justify an appropriate adjustment to the qualitative weighting of the aforementioned basket, resulting
in this uplift to NAV.
The other identified company would see a valuation increase if a key milestone
is met.
OT4 Share Class
As a result of this analysis the Board has concluded that such reasonable possible alternative assumptions could
result in a NAV reduction of £1,023,000 (9.4p per share) or a NAV increase of £688,000 (6.4p per share).
In
coming to this conclusion, the Directors considered the valuation of all the unquoted portfolio companies and
are of the view that only two of the remaining unquoted investments are material to the range of outcomes that
could reasonably be expected.
Downside analysis: 9.4p decrease in NAV per share
.
One of the identified companies sees a
reduction in valuation down to the value of its net assets, and the other identified company is wound
up and the value written off.
The Directors therefore believe that this establishes a credible lower
bound to the range of possible valuations for these portfolio companies.
Upside analysis: 6.4p increase in NAV per share
.
One of the identified companies is valued by
considering a basket of standard valuation metrics as described in the introductory paragraphs to this
note – there is cautious optimism about this company’s prospects, and there are some early indications
that the company may be benefitting from improved operational gearing going forwards which might
justify an appropriate adjustment to the qualitative weighting of the aforementioned basket, resulting
in this uplift to NAV.
The other identified company would see a valuation increase if a key milestone
is met.
Subsidiary Companies
The Company also holds 100% of the issued share capital of OT2 Managers Ltd at a cost of £1.
Results of the subsidiary undertaking for the year ended 28 February 2025 are as follows:
Country of
Registration
Nature of
Business
Turnover
Retained
profit/loss
Net Assets
OT2 Managers
Ltd
England and
Wales
Investment
Manager
£63,015
£0
£1
87
As explained in the Basis of Preparation in Note 1, our shareholding in Select Technology is not consolidated
despite the Company holding more than 50% of its equity, as the investment is held as part of an investment
portfolio.
8.
Debtors
28 February 2025
£’000
29 February 2024
£’000
Prepayments, accrued income &
other debtors
16
6
Total
16
6
9.
Creditors
28 February 2025
£’000
29 February 2024
£’000
Creditors and accruals
155
93
Total
155
93
10.
Share Capital
28 February 2025
£’000
29 February 2024
£’000
Allotted and fully paid up:
5,431,655 (2024: 5,431,655)
OT1 shares of 1p each
5,331,889 (2024: 5,331,889)
OT2 shares of 1p each
6,254,596 (2024: 6,254,596)
OT3 shares of 1p each
10,826,748 (2024: 10,826,748)
OT4 shares of 1p each
54
53
63
108
54
53
63
108
Total
278
278
The Company has 27,844,888 ordinary shares of 1p each.
11.
Reserves
When the Company revalues its investments during the period, any gains or losses arising are credited/charged
to the Income Statement.
Changes in fair value of investments are then transferred to the Unrealised Capital
Reserve.
When an investment is sold or there is any permanent diminution in value, any balance held on the
Unrealised Capital Reserve is transferred to the Profit and Loss Account as a movement in reserves.
The
Special Distributable Reserve was created following the cancellation of the share premium and capital
redemption reserves previously held.
88
Distributable reserves are £5,609,000 as at 28 February 2025 (2024: £7,101,000).
Reconciliation of Movement in Shareholders’ Funds
28 February 2025
£’000
29 February 2024
£’000
Shareholders’ funds at start of
year
7,379
9,130
Return on ordinary activities
after tax
(1,492)
(1,751)
Shareholders’ funds at end of
year
5,887
7,379
No dividends were paid nor declared in the year to 28 February 2025 (2024: nil).
12.
Capital Commitments
The Company had made a commitment to invest a total of £40,000 in ImmBio at 28 February 2025 (no capital
commitments at 29 February 2024).
The investment was subsequently made in May 2025.
13.
Related Party Transactions
OT2 Managers Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary, provides investment management services to the Company
for a fee of either 0.5% or 1% of net assets per annum, depending on the Share Class as set out on page 43.
During the year, £63,015 was payable in respect of these fees, half of which was outstanding at 28 February
2025 (2024: £78,995, all of which had been paid).
Details of fees paid to Directors are shown on page 51.
14.
Financial Instruments
The Company’s financial instruments comprise equity, cash balances and debtors and creditors.
The Company
holds financial assets in accordance with its investment policy of investing mainly in a portfolio of VCT –
qualifying unquoted securities whilst holding a proportion of its assets in cash or near cash investments in
order to provide a reserve of liquidity.
The risk faced by these instruments, such as interest rate risk or liquidity
risk is considered to be minimal due to their nature.
All of these are carried in the accounts at fair value.
The Company’s strategy for managing investment risk is determined with regard to the Company’s investment
objective.
The management of market risk is part of the investment management process and is a central
feature of venture capital investment.
The Company’s portfolio is managed with regard to the possible effects
of adverse price movements and with the objective of maximising overall returns to shareholders.
Investments in unquoted companies, by their nature, usually involve a higher degree of risk than investments
in companies quoted on a recognised stock exchange, though the risk can be mitigated to a certain extent by
diversifying the portfolio across business sectors and asset classes, though VCT rules limit the extent to which
suitable Qualifying investments can be bought or sold.
The Company’s portfolio in each Share Class is concentrated for various reasons, including the age of the VCT
(and the legacy VCTs from which 3 of the portfolios were derived), exits within the portfolio and the
Company’s policy of seeking to return excess capital to shareholders.
No new funds have been raised by the
Company (or any of the Target VCTs) since 2010.
No investments in new portfolio companies have been
made for at least 8 years, apart from one by OT2VCT in Scancell in 2018 and by OT1VCT in Arecor in 2021.
These were both into portfolio companies well known to the Board and Investment Adviser, where the other
OT VCTs were not able to invest for VCT Qualifying Test reasons, and were primarily for liquidity
management purposes.
The overall disposition of the Company’s assets is regularly monitored by the Board.
89
Classification of financial instruments
The Company held the following categories of financial instruments, all of which are included in the balance
sheet at fair value, at 28 February 2025 and 29 February 2024:
28 February 2025
£’000
29 February 2024
£’000
Financial assets at fair value
through profit or loss
Fixed asset investments
5,929
7,327
Total
5,929
7,327
Financial assets
measured at amortised cost
Cash at bank and cash
equivalents
97
139
Debtors (excluding
prepayments)
-
-
Total
97
139
Financial liabilities measured
at amortised cost
Creditors
70
32
Accruals
85
61
Total
155
93
Fixed asset investments (see Note 7) are valued at fair value.
Unquoted investments are carried at fair value
as determined by the Directors in accordance with the IPEVC guidelines.
The fair value of all other financial
assets and liabilities is represented by their carrying value in the balance sheet.
The Directors believe that the
fair value of the assets held at the year-end is equal to their book value.
The Company’s creditors and debtors are initially recognised at fair value, which is usually the transaction
price, and then thereafter at amortised cost.
15.
Financial Risk Management
In carrying on its investment activities, the Company is exposed to various types of risk associated with the
financial instruments and markets in which it invests.
The most significant types of financial risk facing the
Company are market risk, credit risk and liquidity risk.
The Company's approach to managing these risks is
set out below together with a description of the nature and amount of the financial instruments held at the
Balance Sheet date.
Market risk
The Company’s strategy for managing investment risk is determined with regard to the Company’s investment
objective, as outlined on page 19.
The management of market risk is part of the investment management
process.
The Company's portfolio is managed with regard to the possible effects of adverse price movements
and with the objective of maximising overall returns to shareholders in the medium term.
Investments in
unquoted companies, by their nature, usually involve a higher degree of risk than investments in companies
quoted on a recognised stock exchange, though the risk can be mitigated to a certain extent by diversifying the
portfolio across business sectors and asset classes.
The overall disposition of the Company's assets is regularly
monitored by the Board.
Details of the Company’s investment portfolio at the Balance Sheet date are set out on pages 25 to 36.
90
73.0% (2024: 54.9%) by value of the Company’s net assets comprise investments in unquoted companies held
at fair value.
The valuation methods used by the Company for these assets include the price of recent
transactions, earnings or revenue multiples, discounted cashflows and net assets.
A 10% overall increase in
the valuation of the unquoted investments at 28 February 2025 (29 February 2024) would have increased net
assets and the total return for the year by £429,900 (2024: £405,400) disregarding the impact of the
performance fee; an equivalent change in the opposite direction would have reduced net assets and the total
return for the year by the same amount.
27.7% (2024: 44.4%) by value of the Company’s net assets comprises equity securities quoted on AIM.
A
10% increase in the bid price of these securities as at 28 February 2025 (29 February 2024) would have
increased net assets and the total return for the year by £163,000 (2023: £327,300) disregarding the impact of
the performance fee; a corresponding fall would have reduced net assets and the total return for the year by the
same amount.
Credit risk
There were no significant concentrations of credit risk to counterparties at 28 February 2025 or 29 February
2024.
Cash is mainly held by NatWest plc which is an A‐rated financial institution.
Consequently, the
Directors consider that the credit risk associated with cash deposits is low.
Credit risk is the risk that a counterparty to a financial instrument will fail to discharge an obligation or
commitment that it has entered into with the Company.
The Board carries out a regular review of counterparty
risk.
The carrying values of financial assets represent the maximum credit risk exposure at the Balance Sheet
date.
Liquidity risk
The Company’s financial assets include investments in unquoted equity securities which are not traded on a
recognised stock exchange and which generally are illiquid.
They also include investments in AIM-quoted
companies, which, by their nature, involve a higher degree of risk than investments on the main market.
As a
result, the Company may not be able to realise some of its investments in these instruments quickly at an
amount close to their fair value in order to meet its liquidity requirements.
The Company’s liquidity risk is managed and monitored on a continuing basis by the Board in accordance
with policies and procedures laid down by the Board.
Geo-political and economic risks
The Company continues to face material market volatility as a result of the response to macroeconomic
pressures and Covid debt servicing and repayment.
In addition, the disruption in global supply chains and
increased costs from inflationary pressures have been exacerbated by military action in Ukraine and Gaza.
Such increased costs of living and the availability (and increased cost) of raw materials may also have an
indirect impact on businesses in which the Group has invested in, hindering growth, financing or operations.
Similarly, the threat of further inflation may impact on the performance and profitability of our investees.
The
political change in the UK and US continues to have impacts.
The change of approach by the US government
to new vaccine approvals has yet to be seen.
In the UK VCT reliefs have been unaffected by the new Labour
government
but Business Property Relief changes have impacted negatively on both EIS and AIM inheritance
reliefs.
Any further change of governmental, economic, fiscal, monetary or political policy, and in particular
any spending cuts or material increases in interest rates could affect, directly or indirectly, the performance of
the Group (as a result of the performance of its underlying investments) and hence the value of, and returns
from, the Group’s shares.
16.
Control
Oxford Technology 2 Venture Capital Trust Plc is not under the control of any one party or individual.
17.
Events after the Balance Sheet Date
The holding in Mirriad Advertising Plc, which had negligible value, has been disposed of.
The Company invested £40,000 into ImmBio (an additional 2,666,667 E shares), as set out on page 9.
There are no other events to report after the balance sheet date.
91
Oxford Technology 2 Venture Capital Trust Plc - Notice of Annual General Meeting
Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) of Oxford Technology 2 Venture Capital
Trust Plc (company number:3928569) will be held at
The Magdalen Centre, Oxford Science Park, Oxford
OX4 4GA at 2pm on Tuesday 7 October 2025
for the purpose as set out below:
To consider and, if thought fit, pass the following Resolutions:
Ordinary Resolutions
1.
That the Annual Report and Accounts for the period to 28 February 2025 be approved.
2.
That the Directors’ Remuneration Report be approved.
3.
That Mr Richard Roth, who retires at the Annual General Meeting in accordance with the guidelines
in AIC Code of Corporate Governance be re-appointed as a Director.
4.
That Mr Alex Starling, who retires at the Annual General Meeting in accordance with the guidelines
in AIC Code of Corporate Governance be re-appointed as a Director.
5.
That Mr Robin Goodfellow, who retires at the Annual General Meeting in accordance with the
guidelines in AIC Code of Corporate Governance be re-appointed as a Director.
6.
That Royce Peeling Green Limited, Chartered Accountants, be re-appointed as Auditor and that the
Directors be authorised to determine their remuneration.
7.
That the Company continues in being as a Venture Capital Trust.
8.
AUTHORITY TO ALLOT SHARES IN THE COMPANY
That the Directors be and are generally and unconditionally authorised in accordance with section
551 of the Companies Act 2006 (“Act”) to exercise all the powers of the Company to allot shares or
grant rights (“Rights”) to subscribe for, or convert any security into, shares in the capital of the
Company up to a maximum number of 543,165 OT1 shares, 533,188 OT2 shares, 625,459 OT3
shares and 1,082,674 OT4 shares (representing approximately 10% of the ordinary share capital of
each share class in issue at today’s date) provided that such authority shall expire at the later of the
conclusion of the Company’s next Annual General Meeting following the passing of this Resolution
and the expiry of 15 months from the passing of this Resolution (unless previously revoked, varied
or extended by the Company in a general meeting, but so that such authority allows the Company to
make offers or agreements before the expiry thereof, which would or might require relevant securities
to be allotted after the expiry of such authority).
9.
AUTHORITY TO BUY BACK SHARES IN THE COMPANY
That the Company be and hereby is empowered to make one or more market purchases within the
meaning of Section 693(4) of CA 2006 of its own shares (either for cancellation or for the retention as
treasury shares for future re-issue or transfer) provided that:
9.1
The aggregate number of shares which may be purchased shall not exceed 543,165
OT1 shares, 533,188 OT2 shares, 625,459 OT3 shares and 1,082,674 OT4 shares;
9.2
the minimum price which may be paid per share is their nominal value (being 1p);
9.3
the maximum price which may be paid per share is an amount equal to the higher of (i) 105%
of the average of the middle market quotation per share (of the relevant class) taken from the London
Stock Exchange daily official list for the five business days immediately preceding the day on which
92
such share is to be purchased; and (ii) the amount stipulated by Article 5(6) of Market Abuse
Regulation (596/2014/EU) (as such Regulation forms part of UK law as amended);
9.4
the authority conferred by this resolution 9 shall expire (unless renewed, varied or revoked by
the Company in general meeting) 15 months following the date of the passing of this resolution; and
9.5
the Company may make a contract to purchase shares under the authority conferred by this
resolution 9 prior to the expiry of such authority which will or may be executed wholly or partly after
the expiration of such authority and may make a purchase of such shares.
Special Resolution
10.
AUTHORITY TO ALLOT SHARES ON A NON-RIGHTS ISSUE BASIS
That the Directors be empowered, pursuant to section 570(1) of the Act, to allot or make offers or
agreements to allot equity securities (as defined in s560(1) of the said Act) for cash pursuant to the
authority referred to in Resolution 8 as if s561(1) of the Act did not apply to any such allotments and
so that:
a.
reference to allotment in this Resolution shall be construed in accordance with s560(2) of the
Act; and
b.
the power conferred by this Resolution shall enable the Company to make any offer or
agreement before the expiry of the said power which would or might require equity securities
to be allotted after the expiry of the said power and the Directors may allot equity securities in
pursuance of such offer or agreement notwithstanding the expiry of such power
and this power, unless previously varied, revoked or renewed, shall come to an end at the conclusion
of the next Annual General Meeting of the Company following the passing of this Resolution or, if
earlier, on the expiry of 15 months from the passing of this Resolution.
By Order of the Board
James Gordon
Company Secretary
17 June 2025
Registered Office: The Magdalen Centre, Oxford Science Park, Oxford OX4 4GA
Notes:
1.
Resolutions 1 to 9 will be proposed as Ordinary Resolutions.
Resolution 10 will be proposed as a Special
Resolution.
2.
A member entitled to attend and vote at the meeting is entitled to appoint a proxy or proxies to attend, speak
and vote on his or her behalf.
A proxy need not also be a member but must attend the meeting to represent the
appointer.
Details of how to appoint the Chairman of the meeting or another person as a proxy using the proxy
card accompanying this notice (“Proxy Form”) are set out in the notes on the Proxy Form.
If the member
wishes his or her proxy to speak on their behalf at the meeting then the member will need to appoint their own
choice of proxy (not the Chairman) and give their instructions directly to the proxy.
To be valid, a Proxy Form
must be lodged with the Company’s Registrar,
Neville Registrars, Neville House, Steelpark Road,
Halesowen B62 8HD,
at least 48 hours
(working days)
before the meeting, being 2pm on 3 October 2025.
A Proxy Form for use by members is attached.
Completion of this Proxy Form will not prevent a member
from attending the meeting.
3.
Pursuant to regulation 41 of the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001, entitlement to attend and vote
93
at the meeting and the number of votes which may be cast there at will be determined by reference to the
Register of Members of the Company at 6pm on the day which is two working days before the day of the
meeting or adjourned meeting.
Changes to entries on the Register of Members after that time shall be
disregarded in determining the rights of any person to attend and vote at the meeting.
4.
CREST members who wish to appoint a proxy or proxies through the CREST electronic proxy appointment
service may do so by using the procedures described in the CREST Manual.
CREST Personal Members or
other CREST sponsored members, and those CREST members who have appointed a service provider(s),
should refer to their CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s), who will be able to take the appropriate
action on their behalf.
5.
In order for a proxy appointment or instruction made using the CREST service to be valid, the appropriate
CREST message (a “CREST Proxy Instruction”) must be properly authenticated in accordance with Euroclear
UK & International Limited’s specifications, and must contain the information required for such instruction,
as described in the CREST Manual.
The message, regardless of whether it constitutes the appointment of a
proxy or is an amendment to the instruction given to a previously appointed proxy must in order to be valid,
be transmitted so as to be received by the issuer’s agent ID 7RA11 by 2pm on 3 October 2025.
For this purpose, the time of receipt will be taken to be the time (as determined by the timestamp applied to
the message by the CREST Application Host) from which the issuer’s agent is able to retrieve the message by
enquiry to CREST in the manner prescribed by CREST.
After this time any change of instructions to proxies appointed through CREST should be communicated to
the appointee through other means.
6.
CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors, or voting service providers should note
that Euroclear UK & International Limited does not make available special procedures in CREST for any
particular message.
Normal system timings and limitations will, therefore, apply in relation to the input of
CREST Proxy Instructions.
It is the responsibility of the CREST member concerned to take (or, if the CREST
member is a CREST personal member, or sponsored member, or has appointed a voting service provider, to
procure that his CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s) take(s)) such action as shall be necessary to
ensure that a message is transmitted by means of the CREST system by any particular time.
In this connection,
CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting system providers are referred, in
particular, to those sections of the CREST Manual concerning practical limitations of the CREST system and
timings
7.
As at 16 June 2025 (being the last business day prior to the publication of this notice), the Company’s issued
share capital comprised 27,844,888
ordinary shares of 1p each, all of which carry one vote each.
Therefore,
the total voting rights in the Company as at 16 June 2025 was 27,844,888.
8.
Copies of the directors’ letters of appointment, the Register of Directors’ Interests in shares of the Company
and copies of the existing articles of association of the Company will be available for inspection at the
registered office of the Company during usual business hours on any weekday (Saturday and Public Holidays
excluded) from the date of this notice, until the end of the Annual General Meeting and at the place of the
Annual General Meeting for at least 15 minutes prior to and during the meeting.
9.
If a corporate shareholder has appointed a corporate representative, the corporate representative will have
the same powers as the corporation could exercise if it were an individual member of the Company.
If more
than one corporate representative has been appointed, on a vote on a show of hands on a resolution, each
representative will have the same voting rights as the corporation would be entitled to.
If more than one
authorised person seeks to exercise a power in respect of the same shares, if they purport to exercise the power
in the same way, the power is treated as exercised; if they do not purport to exercise the power in the same
way, the power is treated as not exercised.
10.
At the meeting, Shareholders have the right to ask questions relating to the business of the meeting and
the Company is obliged under section 319A of the Act to answer such questions, unless; to do so would
interfere unduly with the preparation of the meeting or would involve the disclosure of confidential
94
information, if the information has been given on the Company’s website,
www.oxfordtechnologyvct.com
in
the form of an answer to a question, or if it is undesirable in the interests of the Company or the good order of
the meeting that the question be answered.
11.
Further information, including the information required by section 311A of the CA 2006, regarding the
meeting is available on the Company’s website,
www.oxfordtechnologyvct.com
95
Oxford Technology 2 Venture Capital Trust Plc Proxy Form
Annual General Meeting – 7 October 2025 at 2pm
I/We ………………………………………………...……………………………………..…………………..
Of (address)………………………………….……………………………………………….………………..
Being a member of Oxford Technology 2 Venture Capital Trust Plc, hereby appoint the Chairman of the
meeting, or,
Name of Proxy ………………………………………………………………………………….……………..
No of Shares (All Share Classes added together) …………………………………..…………….…….…….
As my/our proxy and vote for me/us on my/our behalf at the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be
held on 7 October 2025, and at any adjournment thereof.
The proxy will vote as indicated below in respect of
the resolutions set out in the notice of meeting.
Please indicate by ticking the box if this proxy appointment is one of multiple appointments being made.
For
the appointment of one or more proxy, please refer to explanatory note 4.
For
Against
Withheld
1.
To approve the Annual Report and Accounts
2.
To approve the Directors’ Remuneration Report
3.
To re-elect Richard Roth as a Director
4.
To re-elect Alex Starling as a Director
5.
To re-elect Robin Goodfellow as a Director
6.
To approve the re-appointment of Royce Peeling Green Limited as
Auditor and authorisation of Directors to fix remuneration
7.
To approve that the Company continues as a VCT
8.
To approve the Directors’ general authority to allot shares
9.
To approve the Company’s authority to make market purchases of
its own shares
10.
To approve the allotment of shares on a non-rights issue basis
Signature:
Date:
96
Proxy Form – Notes
Annual General Meeting – 7 October 2025 at 2pm
1.
To be valid, the Proxy Form must be received by the Registrars of Oxford Technology 2
Venture Capital Trust Plc at Neville Registrars Limited, Neville House, Steelpark Road,
Halesowen, B62 8HD, no later than 48 hours (working days) before the commencement of the
meeting, being 2pm on 3 October 2025
2.
Where this form of proxy is executed by a corporation it must be either under its seal or under the
hand of an officer or attorney duly authorised.
3.
Every holder has the right to appoint some other person(s) of their choice, who need not be a
Shareholder, as his proxy to exercise all or any of his rights, to attend, speak and vote on their behalf
at the meeting.
If you wish to appoint a person other than the Chairman, please insert the name of
your chosen proxy holder in the space provided.
If the proxy is being appointed in relation to less
than your full voting entitlement, please enter next to the proxy holder’s name the number of shares
in relation to which they are authorised to act as your proxy.
If left blank your proxy will be deemed
to be authorised in respect of your full voting entitlement (or if this Proxy Form has been issued in
respect of a designated account for a Shareholder, the full voting entitlement for that designated
account.)
4.
To appoint more than one proxy, you may photocopy this form.
Please indicate next to the proxy
holder’s name the number of shares in relation to which they are authorised to act as your proxy.
Please also indicate by ticking the box provided if the proxy instruction is one of multiple
instructions being given.
All forms must be signed and should be returned together in the same
envelope.
5.
The ‘Vote Withheld’ option is provided to enable you to abstain on any particular resolution.
However, it should be noted that a ‘Vote Withheld’ is not a vote in law and will not be counted in
the calculation of the proportion of the votes ‘For’ and ‘Against’ a resolution.
6.
If the Proxy Form is signed and returned without any indication as to how the proxy shall vote, the
proxy will exercise his/her discretion as to whether and how he/she votes.
7.
The address on the envelope containing this notice is how your address appears on the Register of
Members.
If this information is incorrect, please ring the Registrar’s helpline on 0121 585 1131.
8.
The completion and return of this form will not preclude a member from attending the meeting and
voting in person
.
97
Shareholder Information
Financial Calendar
The Company’s financial calendar is as follows:
7 October 2025
- Annual General Meeting
October 2025
- Half-yearly results to 31 August 2025 published
January 2026
- Quarterly Update
May 2026
- Annual results for year to 28 February 2026 announced
Dividends
Dividends will be paid by the Registrar on behalf of the Company.
Shareholders who wish to have dividends
paid directly into their bank account rather than by cheque to their registered address can complete a mandate
form for this purpose.
Queries relating to dividends, shareholdings and requests for mandate forms should be
directed to the Company’s Registrar, Neville Registrars Limited.
Share Price and RNS
The Company’s share prices are published daily on the London Stock Exchange’s website
(
www.londonstockexchange.com
) using codes OT1 for the OT1 Share Class, OXH for the OT2 Share Class,
OT3 for the OT3 Share Class and OT4 for the OT4 Share Class.
All RNSs will only be issued under the OXH
banner, irrespective of which Share Class is referred to.
Buying and selling shares
The shares in the Company’s four Share Classes, which are listed on the London Stock Exchange, can be
bought and sold in the same way as any other company quoted on a recognised stock exchange via a
stockbroker.
Whilst the Company has a buy back policy, it is not actively used, and so if you wish to trade in
the secondary market and do not have a stockbroking relationship, you may wish to contact:
Redmayne Bentley – York Office
0800-5420055 / 01904-646362
Paul Lumley
paul.lumley@redmayne.co.uk
Chris Steward
chris.steward@redmayne.co.uk
If you do contact Redmayne Bentley, you will require your National Insurance Number and a valid share
certificate if selling.
There may be tax implications in respect of all or part of your holdings, so shareholders
should contact their independent financial adviser if they have any queries.
Shareholder Scams
We are aware that some of our shareholders are receiving unsolicited phone calls or correspondence concerning
investment matters.
These are usually from overseas based 'brokers' who target UK shareholders, offering to
buy VCT shares off them at an inflated price in return for upfront payment.
Alternatively, they may offer to
sell shares that turn out to be worthless or non-existent.
Keep in mind that firms authorised by the FCA are
unlikely to contact you out of the blue with an offer to buy or sell shares.
You can check the Financial Services
Register from
www.fca.org.uk
to see if the person and firm contacting you is authorised by the FCA.
For
further information on share fraud and boiler room scams or to report a fraudulent call, please visit the FCA
website at
www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart/how-avoid-investment-scams.
Notification of change of address/bank account/email address
Communications with shareholders are mailed to the registered address held on the share register.
In the event
of a change of address or any other amendment (eg change of bank account) this should be notified to the
Company’s Registrar, Neville Registrars Limited, under the signature of the registered holder.
Any change in
email address should be sent to OTM, at
vcts@oxfordtechnology.com.
Other information for Shareholders
Previously published Annual Reports and Half-yearly Reports are available for viewing on the Company’s
website at
www.oxfordtechnologyvct.com
as well as RNS histories and investee summaries.
98
Company Information – Directors and Advisers
Board of Directors
Richard Roth (Chairman)
Robin Goodfellow
David Livesley
Alex Starling
Accountants
Wenn Townsend
30 St Giles
Oxford
OX1 3LE
Investment Manager & Registered Office
OT2 Managers Ltd
Magdalen Centre
Oxford Science Park
Oxford OX4 4GA
Tel: 01865 784466
Independent Auditor
Royce Peeling Green Limited
The Copper Room
Deva City Office Park
Trinity Way
Manchester M3 7BG
Investment Adviser
Oxford Technology Management
Tel: 01865 784466
Email :
vcts@oxfordtechnology.com
Registrars
Neville Registrars
Neville House
Steelpark Road
Halesowen B62 8HD
Tel: 0121 585 1131
Company Secretary
James Gordon
Gordons Partnership LLP
22 Great James Street
London WC1N 3ES
Bankers
NatWest Bank
121 High Street
Oxford
OX1 4DD
Company Registration Number
3928569
Legal Entity Identifier
2138002COY2EXJDHWB30
Financial Adviser & LSE Sponsor
BDO LLP
55 Baker Street
London
W1U 7EU
Website
www.oxfordtechnologyvct.com
Legal Adviser
Hill Dickinson LLP
50 Fountain Street
Manchester M2 2AS