Vpc Specialty Lending In... Share Price (VSL)

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Share Name Share Symbol Market Type Share ISIN Share Description
Vpc Specialty Lending Investments Plc LSE:VSL London Ordinary Share GB00BVG6X439 ORD GBP0.01
  Price Change % Change Share Price Shares Traded Last Trade
  -1.00 -1.15% 86.00 133,127 13:09:46
Bid Price Offer Price High Price Low Price Open Price
86.00 87.20 87.00 85.80 87.00
Industry Sector Turnover (m) Profit (m) EPS - Basic PE Ratio Market Cap (m)
General Financial 41.25 23.90 8.08 10.6 266
Last Trade Time Trade Type Trade Size Trade Price Currency
15:45:22 O 460 86.90 GBX
Related Shares
London Stock Exchange (LSEG), 3i (III), Eight Peaks (8PG), Amphion Innovations (AMP)

Vpc Specialty Lending In... (VSL) Latest News

Vpc Specialty Lending In... News

Date Time Source Headline
31/8/202110:17UKREGVPC Specialty Lending Invest. PLC Net Asset Value(s)
19/8/202107:00UKREGVPC Specialty Lending Invest. PLC Dividend Declaration
03/8/202107:00UKREGVPC Specialty Lending Invest. PLC VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings Sponsor..
30/7/202107:00UKREGVPC Specialty Lending Invest. PLC Net Asset Value(s)
01/7/202107:00UKREGVPC Specialty Lending Invest. PLC Total Voting Rights
30/6/202117:16UKREGVPC Specialty Lending Invest. PLC Transaction in Own Shares
28/6/202107:00UKREGVPC Specialty Lending Invest. PLC Net Asset Value(s)
25/6/202117:19UKREGVPC Specialty Lending Invest. PLC Transaction in Own Shares
24/6/202116:36UKREGVPC Specialty Lending Invest. PLC Result of AGM
23/6/202117:06UKREGVPC Specialty Lending Invest. PLC Transaction in Own Shares
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Vpc Specialty Lending In... (VSL) Discussions and Chat

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Date Time Title Posts
07/9/202117:59VPC Specialty Lending Victory Park 842

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Vpc Specialty Lending In... (VSL) Most Recent Trades

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11:25:5486.004,2203,629.20AT
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Vpc Specialty Lending In... (VSL) Top Chat Posts

DateSubject
20/9/2021
09:20		Vpc Specialty Lending In... Daily Update: Vpc Specialty Lending Investments Plc is listed in the General Financial sector of the London Stock Exchange with ticker VSL. The last closing price for Vpc Specialty Lending In... was 87p.
Vpc Specialty Lending Investments Plc has a 4 week average price of 84.40p and a 12 week average price of 83p.
The 1 year high share price is 92.80p while the 1 year low share price is currently 62.20p.
There are currently 309,778,118 shares in issue and the average daily traded volume is 198,938 shares. The market capitalisation of Vpc Specialty Lending Investments Plc is £266,409,181.48.
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03/8/2021
09:33		davebowler: Liberum; VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings II (VPCB), a SPAC sponsored by an affiliate of VSL's investment manager, has entered into a definitive agreement to combine with FinAccel, the parent company of Kredivo, a buy now pay later platform in Indonesia. Following the transaction, FinAccel will become a publicly traded company with an expected equity value of $2.5bn. VSL currently owns 1.0m Class B Shares and 0.8m private placement warrants in VPCB, held at cost of $1.25m. The transaction implies a value of $10 per Class A share. 70% of VSL's Class B shares will convert into Class A shares with an undiscounted implied transaction value of $7.2m. The remaining 30% of the Class B shares have an implied value of $3.1m. These shares have a 5 year vesting period but are fully vested if the VWAP reaches defined levels for 10 out of 20 trading days at any time (defined levels range from $12.50 to $15.00 per share). VSL will hold the Class A shares at a 40% discount to reflect illiquidity and closing risks. The discounted value of $6.2m implies a 1.5% NAV increase. The private placement warrants have a strike price of $11.50 per share and expire five years after the closing of the transaction. The options will be valued using a Black Scholes model and the initial value is $1.7m. The Class A shares will be subject to a two-year lockup and the transaction is expected to close in Q4 2021/Q1 2022. Liberum view In the recent June monthly report, the company announced that the valuation policy for warrants issued by SPACs has been amended. This follows a statement from the SEC's Division of Corporate Finance. VSL had previously held its private placement warrants at zero. The valuation policy is now as follows: Post-IPO - all shares will be held at cost. Deal announcement and post-close lock-up periods - Founders and sponsor shares will be valued at the closing price as of the valuation date, with a discount applied and amortised throughout the duration of the process to account for deal closing risk and liquidity. Private placement warrants - valued utilising an option pricing model/Black Scholes model. The transaction value implies a high multiple on capital invested for VSL (6.3x at the discounted value), demonstrating the favourable economics for SPAC sponsors in the US. VSL's equity investments have been highly accretive to NAV in Q4 2020 and 2021. In total, we calculate a 7.1x gross unrealised multiple on the $5.4m invested across the four SPACs. We calculate a total 7.6% NAV increase from the SPAC transactions in 2021 after fees. Several other equity investments have also been realised over this period (including positions in Bread and Elevate Credit) and we note other investments such as wefox are demonstrating strong operating performance. Approximately 25% of VSL's NAV is invested in equity positions. We believe the company should consider committing to return a percentage of realised profits from the equity investments to shareholders in order to help address the discount.
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30/7/2021
09:27		davebowler: Liberum; Equity positions drive 3.9% NAV return in June Mkt Cap £237m | Share price 85.2p | Prem/(disc) -19.8% | Div yield 9.4% Event VPC Specialty Lending Investments' NAV per share at 30 June 2021 was 106.2p, representing a 3.9% NAV total return in the month. The YTD NAV total return is 15.2% primarily due to large NAV uplifts in January (+7.1%) and June (+3.9%). June's performance was driven by gross revenue returns of 1.0% and capital returns of 3.9%. The factsheet has not yet been published but the uplift from capital returns in June was partly due to VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings III’s (VPCC) agreement to combine with Dave Inc, a banking app that launched in 2017. Following the transaction, Dave will become a publicly traded company with an expected equity value of $4bn. The cost of VSL's investment is $1.25m and the implied transaction value of the position is $7.7m. This would represent a 1.6% NAV increase. VSL will hold the Class A shares at a 30% discount to reflect illiquidity and closing risks. The discounted value of $5.4m implies a 1.0% NAV increase. VSL currently owns 1.0m Class B Shares and 0.8m private placement warrants in VPCC. The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2021. Liberum view June was another strong month of NAV performance for VSL, driven by capital returns. The last 12 months has been an active period for equity investments, with the manager agreeing a number of SPAC deals. The Dave Inc transaction value implies a high multiple on capital invested for VSL, demonstrating the favourable economics for SPAC sponsors in the US. VSL's equity investments have contributed meaningfully to NAV performance in Q4 2020 and 2021. The majority of the equity upside in 2021 relates to unrealised gains from another SPAC transaction (VIH's merger with Bakkt), but several equity investments have also been realised over this period (including positions in Bread and Elevate Credit). Approximately 20% of VSL's NAV is invested in equity positions. Despite the strong performance from both the debt and equity investments, the discount remains relatively wide (c.20%). One course of action worth considering is a commitment to returning a percentage of realised profits from the equity investments to shareholders in order to address this.
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28/6/2021
09:18		davebowler: Liberum; Mkt Cap £234m | Share price 84p | Prem/(disc) -17.8% | Div yield 9.5% Event VPC Specialty Lending Investments' NAV per share at 31 May 2021 was 102.2p, representing a 1.0% NAV total return in the month. The YTD NAV total return is 11.0% primarily due to a large NAV uplift in January. May's performance was driven by gross revenue returns of 1.0% and capital returns of 0.5%. The uplift from capital returns was driven by Sunbit Inc's Series D funding round and the closing of the Katapult Holdings merger on 9 June. The position was previously held at a 30% discount to the value implied by the share price to reflect illiquidity and deal closing risks. We note the potential for further capital gains in June. VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings III (VPCC), a SPAC sponsored by an affiliate of VSL's investment manager, has entered into a definitive agreement to combine with Dave Inc, a banking app that launched in 2017. Following the transaction, Dave will become a publicly traded company with an expected equity value of $4bn. The cost of VSL's investment is $1.25m and the implied transaction value of the position is $7.7m. This would represent a 1.6% NAV increase. VSL will hold the Class A shares at a 30% discount to reflect illiquidity and closing risks. The discounted value of $5.4m implies a 1.0% NAV increase.
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07/4/2021
10:12		davebowler: Liberum; NAV performance benefits from gains on equity investments Mkt Cap £238m | Prem/(disc) -18.8% | Div yield 9.4% Event VPC Specialty Lending Investments' NAV per share rose by 1.9% in February to 104.5p. The YTD NAV total return is 9.2% following the large NAV uplift in January. The NAV increase in February was due to gross revenue returns of 0.8% and a capital return of 1.9%. The gross capital return was driven primarily by unrealised gains in several equity positions. The gross revenue return has typically been c.1.0% per month and the lower return in February was primarily due to the lower day count. There has been no change in the underlying performance of the balance sheet investments. In March, VSL sold its equity position in Elevate Credit (in line with the February book value). New investments have been completed in two SPACs, VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings II and VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings III for $1.3m each. Both vehicles are targeting investments in the fintech sector and have two years to complete a transaction. As previously reported, VSL has completed a new $130m gearing facility with MassMutual. $80m has been drawn from the facility to repay the previous debt facility with Pacific Western Bank and the first-out participation facility on Avant. The new debt facility has a lower interest cost than the prior facility and and there is also an option to increase the facility to $200m. The look-through gearing ratio is currently 33% of NAV. Liberum view The equity investments have been very profitable over the last six months and it is important to see further realisation across these investments. VSL has the highest exposure to equity investments of the direct lending funds. Equity investments account for 19% of gross assets and this could rise further following the two investments in SPACs. Many of the equity investments are warrants and common stock that are often received in conjunction with funding the a platform's balance sheet loan investments. Returns on equity investments have been relatively small across the sector to date. In recent months, VSL's equity investments have generated meaningful NAV uplifts from a number of liquidity events. Equity investments added c.3% to NAV in the period from IPO in 2015 to the end of 2020. This was boosted by gains in WeFox and Katapult in H2 2020. The Bakkt transaction and February's revaluation gains have added 9.6% to NAV (pre-performance fees) to date in 2021. The higher exposure to equity investments will result in additional volatility in NAV performance. We note the 8% reduction in the share price of VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings (Bakkt) since the end of February, which we estimate has reduced NAV by 0.8%. The position is currently held at a 30% discount to the value implied by the share price to reflect illiquidity and deal closing risks.
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03/3/2021
09:45		davebowler: Liberum Mkt Cap £252m | Prem/(disc) -12.8% | Div yield 8.9% Event VPC Specialty Lending Investments' NAV per share rose by 7.1% in January to 102.6p. The NAV increase in December was due to gross revenue returns of 1.0% and a capital return of 7.7%. The gross capital return was driven primarily by unrealised gains in the investments in VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings. VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings (VIH), a SPAC sponsored by an affiliate of VSL's investment manager, entered into a definitive agreement on 11 January to combine with Bakkt Holdings, a digital asset marketplace launched in 2018 by Intercontinental Exchange. VSL's investment in VIH was held at cost ($2.7m) at 31 December. The transaction price implies a total value of $22.2m for VSL's investment and the share price of VIH has risen a further 50% above the transaction price. At 31 January 2021, VIH's share price of $14.93 implied a total value of $42.5m for VSL's investment. VSL has applied a 30% discount to this to reflect illiquidity and deal closing risks and the position is held at a value of $29.7m. VSL's shares and warrants are subject to one-year lockup and the transaction is expected to close in Q2 2021. Despite the significant sell-off in the US tech sector over the past week, the current share price of VIH is 0.6% above the level at 31 January. Bakkt was launched three years ago enabling institutions and consumers to buy, sell, store and spend digital assets. Bakkt’s existing equity holders and management will roll 100% of their equity into the combined company. Bakkt will have $574m of cash to fund the growth of the business following the transaction. VSL has agreed a new $130m gearing facility with MassMutual. $80m has been drawn from the facility to repay the previous debt facility with Pacific Western Bank and the first-out participation facility on Avant. The new debt facility has a lower interest cost than the prior facility and and there is also an option to increase the facility to $200m. The look-through gearing ratio has increased marginally to 33% of NAV as a result (32% of NAV at 31 January 2021). Liberum view The investment in VIH has been highly profitable in part due to the attractive economics for sponsors in SPAC transactions. The implied valued at 31 January (pre-discount) represents a 15.7x multiple on VSL's initial $2.7m investment. Liquidity events across a number of the equity positions have contributed to the strong NAV growth since mid-2020. Many of the equity investments are warrants and common stock that are often received in conjunction with funding the a platform's balance sheet loan investments. Based on the current share price of VIH, we estimate the potential NAV upside is 2.8% after stripping out the 30% discount. These potential gains are subject to the deal completing (expected in Q2 2021) and the holding is also subject to a lock-up period. In addition to the positive performance from equity investments, the company's balance sheet debt portfolio continues to perform well and is generating a return of c.1% per month. Cash collection has been robust across the debt portfolio and this has enabled the release of some of the ECL provisions taken in H1 2020. A high level of prepayments has enabled debt reduction from 59% of NAV at 31 March 2020 to 32% currently.
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03/2/2021
09:34		davebowler: Liberum; Equity returns drive strong finish to 2020 Mkt Cap £242m | Prem/(disc) -10.7% | Div yield 9.4% Event VPC Specialty Lending Investments generated a NAV total return of 2.1% in December, resulting in an overall return of 11.1% for 2020. The NAV increase in December was due to gross revenue returns of 1.0% and a capital return of 1.9%. The gross capital return was driven by unrealised gains in the investments in Katapult Holdings and Elevate Credit's share price. $22m of capital was deployed into debt investments in the month. This included an initial investment in Cap Hill Brands, a technology driven consumer goods platform that will acquire and operate a portfolio of branded Amazon third-party seller assets. As previously disclosed, recent M&A activity in two of the company's equity investments could result in a material NAV increase. Part of the uplift in Katapult was reflected in the December NAV:: Katapult - Katapult will go public through a merger with SPAC FinServ Acquisition Corp, valuing the business at c.$1bn. VSL holds equity and warrants in Katapult with a combined value of c.$4m prior to the transaction. VSL will receive a combination of cash and shares in FinServ. The NAV uplift reflected at December from this transaction was 1.2% (gross of fees). The December valuation represents a 30% discount to the market value of the transaction and we note that Finserv's share price has risen a further 34% in 2021. The transaction is expected to close in Q2 2021 and the shares are subject to a six-month lock-up. Bakkt - VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings (VIH), a SPAC sponsored by an affiliate of VSL's investment manager, has entered into a definitive agreement to combine with Bakkt Holdings, a digital asset marketplace launched in 2018 by Intercontinental Exchange. VSL's investment in VIH was held at cost ($2.7m) at 31 December. The transaction price implies a total value of $22.2m for VSL's investment and the share price of VIH has risen a further 49% above the transaction price. VSL's shares and warrants are subject to one-year lockup and the transaction is expected to close in Q2 2021. Liberum view VSL's 11% NAV TR was predominantly due to consistent revenue returns of c.1% per month from the balance sheet investments. Cash collection has been robust across the debt portfolio and this has enabled the release of some of the ECL provisions taken in H1. A high level of prepayments has enabled debt reduction from 59% of NAV at 31 March 2020 to 32% by December 2020. Liquidity events across a number of the equity positions contributed to the strong NAV growth in H2. 16% of NAV is invested in common stock, preferred stock, warrants and convertible debt across 26 investments in portfolio companies. Many of the equity investments are warrants and common stock that are often received in conjunction with funding the a platform's balance sheet loan investments. We believe the two recently announced transactions (Katapult and Bakkt) imply an additional NAV uplift of c.10% after performance fees (based on the current share prices of Finserv Acquisition Corp and VIH). Part of the uplift from the Katapult transaction has been reflected in the NAV and we calculate the current share price of Finserv implies an additional uplift of c.1% (after removing the 30% discount). The current share price of VIH implies a total value of $42.2m on VSL's initial investment of $2.7m. This would imply a NAV uplift of c.9% (net of fees). These potential gains are subject to both deals completing (expected in Q2 2021) and the holdings are also subject to lock-up periods.
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21/1/2021
09:17		davebowler: Stifel; Summary Credit should be given where it is due. We believe the manager has done a good job navigating the economic impact of the virus and is now also reaping the rewards of its equity portfolio. In 2020 the manager commented on the resilience of their portfolio and so far this has proven to be true. They also believed in the hidden value of their equity holdings and this has been corroborated by two transactions which we believe will add c.12% to NAV. We think the prospective discount to NAV of c.18% and the dividend yield of 10% are attractive for a fund that has delivered on its objectives. Key Points SPACs will lead to c.12% NAV Uplift Over the past few months we have seen VPC announce two important transactions involving its equity holdings. The first was the investment in stock and warrants of Katapault Holdings which has announced a definitive merger agreement with a Specialty Purpose Acquisition Company (ticker FSRV). On closing of the deal (expected in Q2 2021) VPC Specialty will receive $3.33 per Katapault share and 604,821 shares of FSRV. The second, is the announcement that the VPC SPAC (ticker VIH) has announced an agreement to acquire Bakkt Holdings. As part of the pre-IPO sponsor economics VPC Specialty will receive 2.2m shares in VIH and 2.7m warrants (with an exercise price of $11.50). The current share price of FSRV is $16.85 and VIH $14.57. We understand VPC Specialty (VSL) may apply up to a 20% discount to post-uplift valuation of VIH to account for the risk that the deal may not close. Impact: Overall, the net impact from Katapault Holdings gain over the 30/11/20 NAV of 93.76p will be c. +3% (+2.8p) and the gain from VIH c.+9% (c.+8p, i.e.+1.6p from warrants and +6.4p from common shares), after accounting for a merger arbitrage discount. In total, these two transactions will add c.+10.8p to the NAV. As a result, we are expecting the prospective NAV at 31/01/21 to be c.104p after deducting the 2p dividend (ex-dividend date of 26/11/20). Levered equity: It is important to note that the warrants will behave like levered equity, given they will have no intrinsic value below their strike price of $11.50. VSL’s holding in VIH will also be subject to a one-year holding period and therefore crystallisation of any gains will have to wait. Given these factors, we think it is unlikely that the full NAV uplift which we expect to be reported to 31/01/21 will be reflected in the share price and a discount will persist. However, we think it is important to recognise that the manager has had their positive comments regarding their equity holdings validated through actual transactions. This comes on the back of the portfolio also proving to be resilient from the economic shock of the virus in 2020 as reserves have been slowly released in Q4. All in all it has been a very good period for the fund, in our view. Cash Dividend Cover The dividend policy of VSL is to pay 2p a quarter. We believe the cash dividend cover has been under some pressure over the past year due to a combination of 1) the share buyback policy, 2) look through leverage falling from 43% to 37% of NAV over the past 12 months, 3) high gross cash balance of 9% of assets and 4) the weighted average coupon of balance sheet loans falling from 14% to 11% over two years. These factors would have led to the income producing proportion of VSL to fall. However, the manager is expecting to deploy the bulk of its cash shortly, and so we think the current snapshot should represent the trough of revenue earnings. Key Positives. 1) Expected fully cash covered dividend, 2) The demise of Pollen St Secured Lending may lead to a technical tailwind as there are limited options to gain exposure to the sector, 3) The Board have highlighted the need to close the discount to NAV and have put a number of objectives in place. Key Negatives. 1) Gains from equity holdings will be subject to lock-up periods and share price volatility until released, 2) Negative sentiment amongst shareholders for the sector. 3) Ownership structure of VSL is overshadowed by a holding of 20% of share capital which is effectively controlled by the manager.
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20/1/2021
11:24		chucko1: Interesting that they refer to a "$19.8mn turn" - representing around 5.5p on NAV. This was the calculation we did here a week or so ago, whereas Stifel talked about 14p. The number grew as the VIH share price grew to $18 but is now back at just over $14, so I am confident that 6p is close to the mark. Funny that the VSL share price rose by around 6p or so and has fallen back 2p as the VIH share price has fallen back recently. It could simply be chance, but I would love to see the analysis behind Stifel's 14p bonanza. That said, it's a 6p gift and the underlying business looks well set for the foreseeable as well.
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04/1/2021
10:19		davebowler: Liberum; Further release of reserves and potential equity uplift Mkt Cap £222m | Prem/(disc) -16.1% | Div yield 10.2% Event VPC Specialty Lending Investments generated a NAV total return of 1.7% in November 2020 (9.0% in 2020 to 30 November). The revenue return was 0.28% and capital return was 1.45% for the month. The capital return was driven by a decrease in Expected Credit Loss provisions as as credit performance remains strong. Total provisions are now 2.8% of the invested capital in balance sheet investments. During November, VSL made new balance sheet investment in FinAccel and Zip Money as the company continues to close on new deals following a number of new opportunities. FinAccel is a Singapore-based fintech that provides Indonesian consumers with a digital credit platform to finance e-commerce purchases, pay bills, and secure personal loans. Australian lender Zip Money offers point-of-sale credit and digital payment services to the retail, home, health, automotive and travel industries. VSL holds shares in Bread Financial, which agreed to be acquired by Alliance Data Systems Corporation. VSL sold its investment in December upon closing of the transaction. The sale crystallised an unrealised gain of $1.3m and was in line with the latest book value. In addition, M&A activity may result in a valuation uplift on the company's investment in Katapult Holdings. Katapult will go public through a merger with SPAC FinServ Acquisition Corp, valuing the business at c.$1bn. VSL holds equity and warrants in Katapult with a combined value of c.$4m. The merger is expected to close in Q2 2021 and VSL will receive a combination of cash and shares in FinServ. Based on the latest price for FinServ, the NAV uplift from the transaction is c.2%. Liberum view VSL continues to deliver strong NAV performance, primarily due to strong cash collections from the balance sheet portfolio. The improving credit outlook has enabled the release of some of the ECL provisions taken in H1 and a number of liquidity events on the equity investments have also contributed to NAV performance. A high level of prepayments has enabled debt reduction from 59% of NAV at 31 March 2020 to 37% by November 2020. The company appears to be increasingly on the front foot with $600m of new deals agreed by the manager in recent months, which VSL will participate in. These new loans have been written to tighter credit standards. VSL's discount to NAV has narrowed from 23% to 16% during December. This is still the widest discount of the performing direct lending funds and we regard it as attractive given the structural protection within the loans.
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14/5/2020
16:03		spectoacc: Missed this an hour ago: 14 May 2020 Dear fellow shareholders of VPC Specialty Lending Plc The investment personnel at Staude Capital Limited act as the portfolio management team for the Global Value Fund, an investment company that has been an investor in VPC Specialty Lending Plc (VSL, "the Company") since 2017. We note that the articles of VSL require a continuation vote to be presented at the 2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM). These periodic votes, rather than a formality, are important events, the purpose of which is for shareholders and boards to consider a manager's investment performance over a suitable time horizon, and to honestly reflect on whether a fund's structure remains fit for purpose. Even before the turmoil that the coronavirus pandemic brought to financial markets, it was plainly the case that in its current format VSL suffered from structural problems. Despite a turnaround in investment performance by the investment manager in recent years, VSL shares have continued to trade at a persistent and unacceptably wide discount to their net asset value (NAV). More recently, the market dislocations that the coronavirus pandemic has generated have starkly laid bare the challenges the Company faces. Throughout March's sell-off, VSL performed significantly worse than both the wider investment trust universe and most of its debt focused peers. As of today, it continues to trade at a c. 38% discount to its underlying asset backing. Given the clear challenges that VSL is facing, we find it hard to believe that the board of the Company has not been directly engaged in a rigorous and proactive shareholder engagement program ahead of this important vote. Therefore, we find ourselves deeply concerned that the board will be bringing forward its own set of proposals for the Company's future without widespread shareholder input. Frustrated by a lack of direct board engagement, we sent a letter (available here) to the Company's independent directors on 28 April 2020, putting forward what we believe was a reasonable proposal given the structural challenges the Company faces. Specifically, we argued that shareholders should have the right to realise all or part of their investment in an orderly manner, in a way that has no impact on others' interest in the portfolio. We also sought to address, pre-emptively, the likely arguments against our suggestion. Subsequent to our letter, we were grateful for the opportunity to speak to the Chairman on 12 May 2020. We found ourselves frustrated, however, that he was unable to discuss any of the issues we had raised, even at a high-level, prior to the publication of the AGM notice. In our view, it is hard to justify engaging with shareholders about the options available to address VSL's structural problems after the board has published its proposals for the AGM. Given it seems likely that once the AGM proposals have been published it will be too late to change them, shareholders shall be left with an unappealing binary choice: acquiesce to proposals they have had no real input into, or vote against continuation. Since our letter in April, we have spoken to many VSL shareholders, representing a significant proportion of the register and a range of investor types. We found most, like us, surprised by the lack of independent board engagement. In fact, we were disappointed to learn that none of the investors had recently spoken to the board on this matter prior to our call. Instead, our impression has been that the feedback exercise has largely been driven by the manager, Victory Park Capital (VPC). While we have a positive view on the manager and the recent NAV performance it has delivered, shareholder discussions ahead of a continuation vote should clearly be led by the board. Even if shareholder feedback reaches the board unfiltered and with the correct emphasis, there are naturally some things shareholders would tell a chairman that they would rather not say to an external manager. The common message we have taken from speaking to other shareholders is that the status quo is unacceptable. We do not pretend to have the only solutions to solving the Company's challenges and welcome others' perspectives. We believe that approached properly, there is scope for a redesign of the current VSL fund structure which properly addresses the discount challenge, without necessarily calling time on the Company. Informed by our conversations with a wide number of VSL shareholders, it is our belief that for the Company to have a successful, long-term future, the following changes are needed: § Periodic opportunities for shareholders to realise part of their investment at NAV. § The addition of a shareholder-advocate to the board. One that the market can be confident is engaged and independent of the manager. § An assurance to appropriately manage the inherent potential conflict of interest that the manager's significant voting stake creates, particularly in relation to sensitive matters such as continuation votes. On the final point, while the Company's announcement on 24 February 2020 hailed the purchase of a significant minority stake as a positive development, we struggle to recall an example where a significant stake controlled by an external manager has had a positive impact on a fund's rating, particularly where the manager's voting power is greater than its economic interest and was acquired on the eve of a continuation vote. Ensure you have a say in your investment We do not seek to speak on behalf of other shareholders. Rather, we have published this open-letter to urge all shareholders to communicate their views directly to the board before the company's AGM proposals are finalised. We sincerely believe that it is possible to formulate a set of proposals which give the Company every chance of long-term success, if there is a genuine and unchaperoned shareholder and board engagement process. We would very much welcome the opportunity to discuss the issues raised in this letter with VSL shareholders. Should you wish to contact us, please email myself and Emma Davidson at the addresses below. Yours sincerely, Miles Staude Emma Davidson Director, Staude Capital Limited Director, Staude Capital Limited Miles.Staude@staudecapital.com Emma.Davidson@staudecapital.com
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