Redemption Facility
23/11/2007 9:57am
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:3672I
New Star RBC Hedge250 IDX (3X GBP)
23 November 2007
HEDGE ETS
New Star RBC Hedge 250 Index Exchange Traded Securities
PCC Limited
(A closed-ended investment company incorporated in Guernsey with registered
number 45501 under the provisions of The Companies (Guernsey) Laws 1994 to 1996
and The Protected Cell Companies Ordinance 1997 to 1998, as amended)
23 November 2007
REDEMPTION FACILITY
Redemption Day
The Company's Articles of Association incorporate provisions to enable
Shareholders, at the Directors' discretion, to redeem up to 100 per cent of
their Shares for cash as at the first business day in January or July in each
year or up to 50 per cent of their Shares for cash in January, April, July, or
October in each year. The Directors intend to make quarterly decisions on
whether to operate the redemption facility and have decided to operate the
facility at 1 April 2008 (the "Redemption Day") on the following basis.
Redemption Price
Such redemptions will be effected at the most recent net asset value ("NAV") per
Share of the relevant class prior to the Redemption Day (being the NAV per share
as at 31 March 2008), less direct costs. No redemption fee is expected to be
payable.
Notice Period and Procedure
Each Shareholder may request the redemption of up to 50 per cent of his holding
of Shares by giving not less that 90 days' notice to the Company in advance of
the Redemption Day, in the form of a redemption request submitted to the
following address:
Capita Registrars Limited
The Registry
34 Beckenham Road
Beckenham
Kent BR3 4TH
From UK: 0870 162 3100
From Overseas: + 44 208 639 2157
To be valid, the redemption request and, where relevant, the appropriate share
certificate, must be received by the Company's Receiving Agent no later than
5.00 p.m. (London time) on 2 January 2008. In addition, in the case of the
Shares held in uncertificated form, the relevant USE instruction must be
submitted no later than 5.00 p.m. on 2 January 2008.
Relevant Member Account ID's in relation to redemption requests submitted
through Crest are as follows:
1X US$ Redeemable Preference Shares - 1XUSDRED
1X Euro Redeemable Preference Shares - 1XEURRED
1X Sterling Redeemable Preference Shares - 1XSTERED
3X US$ Redeemable Preference Shares - 3XUSDRED
3X Euro Redeemable Preference Shares - 3XEURRED
3X Sterling Redeemable Preference Shares - 3XSTERED
Shareholders should note that the Directors are entitled to suspend the
processing of redemptions at any time, including circumstances where a limit is
placed on the Company in respect of the aggregate reductions that it may make
under the swaps it has entered into with the Royal Bank of Canada (the "Swaps"),
as more particularly described in the Securities Note published by the Company
dated 19 October 2007.
Settlement
Full redemption proceeds will normally be dispatched to Shareholders within 15
days after the publication of the RBC Hedge 250 Index level prevailing on the
Redemption Day (which is expected to be on or about the 45th day after 31 March
2008). Where payments under the Swaps are delayed or withheld or the Company is
unable to liquidate its other investments in an orderly manner, the Company may
take longer to pay the redemption proceeds or scale back redemptions pro rata
amongst redeeming Shareholders.
UK Taxation
Persons who are resident in the UK and dispose of a "material interest" in a
collective investment scheme (within the meaning of section 236 of the Financial
Services and Markets Act 2000) which has at any time been a "non-qualifying
offshore fund" (i.e. one in respect of which certification as a "distributing
fund" has not been obtained from HM Revenue & Customs) are subject to income tax
rather than capital gains tax in respect of any gains arising on the disposal of
such an interest.
The Directors have been advised that, on the basis that the Company is not
considered to be a collective investment scheme, it would not be an offshore
fund. However, provisions enacted in the Finance Act 2007 may have the effect
that the Company should thereafter be regarded as an offshore fund and that any
interest in the Company acquired on or after 19 July 2007 (being the day on
which the Finance Act 2007 came into effect) would fall to be treated as a "
material interest". Consequently, the Directors intend to seek certification of
each Sterling Share class in the Company as having distributing fund status with
a view to ensuring that on a disposal of Sterling Shares (by way of redemption,
transfer or otherwise) UK resident Shareholders are subject to capital gains tax
rather than income tax. It cannot be guaranteed, however, that the conditions
necessary to obtain distributing fund status will always be met.
The United Kingdom Government has announced in its Pre-Budget Report on 9
October 2007 proposals for a new framework for the taxation of investments in
offshore funds to replace the present distributing funds regime which would
operate by reference to whether a fund opts into a reporting regime ("reporting
funds") or not ("non-reporting funds"). Under the proposals, investors in
reporting funds would be subject to tax on the share of the reporting fund's
income attributable to their holding in the fund, whether or not distributed,
but any gains on disposal of their holding would be subject to capital gains
tax. HM Revenue & Customs would be able to approve a fund (or a class of shares
in a fund) in advance as a reporting fund. Investors in non-reporting funds
would not be subject to tax on income retained by the non-reporting fund but any
gains on disposal of their holding would be subject to tax as offshore income
gains. The proposed new regime would be enacted in the Finance Act 2008.
Expected Timetable
Latest date for receipt of redemption request and submission 5.00 p.m. on 2 January 2008
of relevant USE instruction or share certificate (as
appropriate)
Redemption Day 1 April 2008
Redemption proceeds dispatched 30 May 2008
Enquiries
Alison Bilham, HSBC Securities Services (Guernsey) Limited
Tel: + 44 (0)1481 707213
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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