TIDMONWD
RNS Number : 6708U
Onward Opportunities Limited
30 March 2023
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS
RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN
WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (THE "UNITED STATES" OR THE "US"),
AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER
JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION
WOULD BE UNLAWFUL (EACH A "RESTRICTED JURISDICTION").
30 March 2023
Onward Opportunities Limited
("Onward Opportunities" or the "Company")
First Day of Dealings on AIM
Newly launched investment company with UK smaller company
focus
Onward Opportunities Limited, the newly incorporated Guernsey
incorporated non-cellular (closed-ended) investing company, is
delighted to announce the admission of its entire issued ordinary
share capital to trading on AIM, a market operated by the London
Stock Exchange plc ("Admission").
Admission will take place, and dealings in the Company's
ordinary shares of no par value ("Ordinary Shares") will commence,
at 8.00 a.m. today under the ticker 'ONWD' .
Key Highlights:
-- The Company's investment objective is to seek to generate
risk-adjusted absolute returns to shareholders through investments
in UK smaller companies. Returns are expected to be principally
derived from capital growth over a target three to five-year
holding period with an appropriate diversification of investment
risk.
-- Dowgate Wealth Limited will provide portfolio management
services to the Company, with the investment team led by Investment
Director Laurence Hulse (the "Portfolio Manager").
-- The Board and the Portfolio Manager therefore believe that a
structural market opportunity exists in the UK smaller companies
sector which can be exploited through the deep industry experience
of the Portfolio Manager. The Board and the Portfolio Manager
consider that implementing an active investment approach to
investment identification and position management can lead to
increased returns by targeting these inefficiencies.
-- Dowgate Wealth is an employee-owned, private company founded
in 2020 by former Hargreave Hale colleagues. As at 30 January 2023,
Dowgate Wealth has assets under administration in excess of GBP495
million.
-- In connection with Admission, the Company has conditionally
raised Gross Proceeds of c.GBP12.8 million of initial capital
pursuant to the Placing at a price of 100 pence per Placing Share.
Net Proceeds are intended to be invested in accordance with the
Company's investing policy.
-- The ISIN of the Ordinary Shares will be GGOOBMZR1514, the
SEDOL of the Ordinary Shares BMZR151 and the Company's LEI number
2138000P1Q2B3E09LE92.
Cenkos Securities plc ("Cenkos") is acting as Nominated Adviser,
joint broker and joint bookrunner to the Company. Dowgate Capital
Limited ("Dowgate Capital") is acting as joint broker and joint
bookrunner to the Company.
All capitalised terms used in this announcement and not
otherwise defined shall have the meanings given to them in the
Company's admission document dated 23 March 2023. The Company's
admission document is available for viewing at
www.onwardopportunities.co.uk .
Laurence Hulse, Investment Director of Dowgate Wealth, commented
:
" We are pulling together for clients, the three core
ingredients to make money; a clear market opportunity, a bespoke
strategy to capture it and the people required to execute the plan.
This launch puts in place the foundations to grow an investment
company that can actively engage with UK smaller companies we
identify value in. I would like to extend my thanks to our seed
investors and the whole team for providing this fantastic onward
opportunity to build upon. "
Andrew Henton, Chairman of the Board, Onward Opportunities
Limited added :
" We believe that a structural market gap in the market exists
within UK smaller companies which can be exploited through the deep
industry experience of the investment team. We recognise that
implementing an active approach to identifying these companies, and
engaging with them, can support the SMEs that are the driving
wheels of enterprise in the UK and lead to increased returns by
targeting these inefficiencies. "
Mark Chadwick, Chief Executive Officer, Dowgate Wealth added
:
" Dowgate Wealth is excited to be launching our first investment
company, which sits right at home amongst the team's small cap
investing heritage. The market volatility of 2022 has created a
statistically interesting time to deploy capital into robust,
well-researched investment ideas in the UK. We are confident that
Onward Opportunities will prove to be a popular proposition for
investors looking for an innovative product that can provide
absolute returns. "
FOR FURTHER ENQUIRIES:
Onward Opportunities Limited Via Share Communications
Andrew Henton, Chairman
Dowgate Wealth Limited (Portfolio Manager) Via Share Communications
Laurence Hulse, Investment Director
Share Communications Tel: +44 (0) 20 7071
Zoe Powell / Eleanor Mitchell 3932
team@sharecomms.co.uk
Cenkos Securities plc (Nominated Adviser Tel: +44 (0)20 7397
and Joint Broker) 8900
Ben Jeynes / Camilla Hume / Dan Hodkinson
/ Hamish Waller
Michael Johnson / George Budd (Sales)
Dowgate Capital Limited (Joint Broker) Tel: +44 (0)12 9351
Russell Cooke / Nicholas Chambers 7744
To find out more, please visit:
www.onwardopportunities.co.uk
Overview of Onward Opportunities
Investment objective
The Company will seek to generate risk-adjusted absolute returns
for Shareholders through investments in UK smaller companies.
Returns are expected to be principally derived from capital growth
over a target three to five-year holding period with an appropriate
diversification of investment risk.
Investing policy
The Company will seek to achieve its investment objective by
investing primarily in equity and equity-related securities of UK
smaller companies that are predominantly listed or admitted to
trading on markets operated by the London Stock Exchange, and where
it is considered that there is a material potential valuation
upside that can be delivered from catalysing strategic, operational
or management initiatives.
In order to ensure that the Company is able to maintain its
approach of active engagement with investee companies, and to
encourage and support value creation, the Company will typically
target meaningful minority stakes in investee companies of between
5 per cent. And 25 per cent. Of the issued share capital.
Whilst the Company has no limitation on the size of the
companies in which it can invest, the Company typically expects to
invest in companies with market capitalisations of no more than
GBP250 million (with a particular focus on those below GBP100
million) at the time of investment. The Company will therefore
focus on investments in the "micro" smaller companies sector and on
companies admitted to trading on AIM.
Investee companies will typically have certain of the following
characteristics:
-- balance sheet asset backing;
-- a competitive advantage and/or strong management track record;
-- attractive cash flow potential;
-- visibility of earnings/future earnings improvement;
-- potential for liquidity and/or exit in line with the Company's targeted hold period;
-- scope for an active shareholder to trigger value creation; and/or
-- foreseeable events and catalysts to unlock intrinsic value.
Investments may be either direct investments made by the
Company, or indirect investments made by the Company through
similar funds or investment vehicles. The Company may make its
investments for cash or for share consideration.
Although investments will not be restricted to specific sectors,
the Company does not expect to pursue or make investments into
companies in the biotechnology sector or in companies directly
involved in extractive industries (such as mining or oil and
gas).
Whilst the Company will initially seek to take minority stakes
in investee companies of between 5 per cent. And 25 per cent. And
will not typically seek to take majority positions in investee
companies, it will not be restricted from taking a majority
position if considered appropriate by the Portfolio Manager.
The Company's portfolio is expected to be relatively
concentrated, with a typical investment being between 2 per cent.
And 10 per cent. Of Net Asset Value at the time of investment. This
is expected over time to result in a portfolio of approximately 10
to 15 high conviction investments and a further 5 to 10 smaller
portfolio holdings, in companies operating in a number of
industries and geographic locations.
Whilst the Company will target an investment holding period of
three to five years, actual holding periods and exit strategies
will depend on the underlying investment, the availability of exit
opportunities and the size of the Company's investment. The Company
may therefore dispose of investments outside of the target
timeframe should an appropriate opportunity arise.
The Company may hold cash in its portfolio from time to time to
maintain investment flexibility. There is no limit on the amount of
cash which may be held by the Company at any time.
Investment restrictions
The Company will observe the following investment
restrictions:
-- the maximum investment in any single investee company will be
no more than 15 per cent. of Net Asset Value at the time of
investment
-- no more than 10 per cent. of Gross Asset Value at the time of
investment will be invested in securities listed or quoted on
listing venues other than markets operated by the London Stock
Exchange (without the explicit written consent of the Board);
-- no more than 25 per cent. of Gross Asset Value at the time of
investment(s) will be in unquoted securities including, inter alia,
in unlisted shares or other unlisted instruments such as
convertible loan notes issued by quoted companies, rights, options,
warrants, bonds and notes; and
-- no more than 20 per cent., in aggregate, of the Gross Asset
Value at the time of investment will be in other listed
closed-ended investment funds.
Sector expertise and established track record
The Company has an investing policy overseen by a strong Board
with extensive relevant experience and implemented by an
experienced AIFM and FCA-authorised Portfolio Manager. The
Investment Team and the Investment Committee have, in aggregate,
more than 160 years' of collective, relevant experience and
performance and members have worked together before on this
specialist investment approach. This is supported by the Dowgate
Wealth team's long history investing in UK smaller companies during
their time at Hargreave Hale.
Market opportunity
The Board and Portfolio Manager believe that there are
compelling structural factors underpinning the investment strategy
and that prevailing market conditions create an environment in
which the Portfolio Manager has the ability to generate aggregated
portfolio returns in excess of 15 per cent. per annum over the long
term.
Pipeline of investment opportunities
The Portfolio Manager is continuously reviewing and considering
investment opportunities. Investment by the Company in any
opportunity is subject to, inter alia, the Portfolio Manager
completing satisfactory due diligence and documentation and the
Company having sufficient cash resources available.
The Board intends that the Net Proceeds will be substantially
invested within a period of twelve to eighteen months after
Admission (subject to market conditions) and that the Company will
remain substantially or fully invested thereafter.
There can be no assurance that any of the opportunities
currently under review by the Portfolio Manager will be completed
or will be purchased or funded by the Company.
DOWGATE WEALTH
Dowgate Wealth is an employee-owned, private company founded in
2020 by former Hargreave Hale colleagues. The founders wanted to
move away from industry trends and focus solely on the objectives
of their individual clients by delivering a high-quality service
via bespoke portfolio management. As at 30 January 2023, Dowgate
Wealth has assets under administration in excess of GBP495 million
and offers services across fund management, wealth management,
advisory stockbroking and discretionary portfolio management.
INVESTMENT COMMITTEE
Laurence Hulse - Investment Committee Member
Laurence joined Dowgate Wealth in 2022 from Gresham House where
he spent seven years in investment roles, latterly as a Citywire
AA-rated manager working as part of the small team to achieve two
FE 5-Crown rated funds; Gresham House Strategic plc (now called
'Rockwood Strategic plc') and Gresham House UK Smaller Companies
Fund. He also joined the Board of The Lakes Distillery plc, as a
Board observer, following an investment by Gresham House Strategic
and Gresham House Multi-Cap Income fund via Convertible Loan Note.
In 2021 Laurence was nominated for Investment Week Investment
Company Rising Star of the Year Award.
Mark Chadwick - Investment Committee Member
Mark began his investment management career in 1994 at the
Hargreave Hale Blackpool office and subsequently moved to the
Hargreave Hale London office to work with Giles Hargreave in 1997.
Mark assisted in managing the Marlborough Special Situations fund,
UK Micro-cap and Nano-cap funds from their launch before taking
over sole management of these mandates in 2014. Mark co-founded
Dowgate Wealth in 2020 and today manages a team of 25 and is the
Lead Fund Manager of the SVS Dowgate Wealth UK Small Cap Growth
Fund. He also continues to manage c.GBP190 million of bespoke
private client mandates with a focus on growth stocks, particularly
in UK mid/small cap companies which has remained his focus
throughout his 29 years in the industry.
Tom Teichman - Investment Committee Member
Tom started his career at Willis Faber & Dumas and then
William Brandt's Sons & Co., becoming head of European merchant
banking. Over the next 40 years he has sat on various credit and
investment committees whilst working at Bankers Trust Company,
Credit Suisse, Finanz AG, Mitsubishi Finance International, Bank of
Montreal Nesbitt Thomson, NewMedia Investors, SPARK Ventures (which
he co-founded), The Garage Soho (which he co-founded) and Gresham
House Strategic, where he worked directly with Laurence Hulse.
Tom was personally, or through investment vehicles he
established, a very early-stage investor in MAID, Argonaut Games,
ARC Risc Cores, lastminute.com, mergermarket.com, System C,
Notonthehighstreet.com, made.com, moshimonsters.com, Kobalt Music
Group and IMImobile. He served on the boards of almost all of these
companies, in some cases as chairman, advising on growth, funding
and exit strategy. Some of these eventually went public or were
acquired by major corporations, including The Financial Times and
Oracle, and/or achieved valuations of over GBP1 billion.
Tom has a B.Sc. (Econ.) Hons. from University College, London
and was born in Hungary. He has seven years' experience in
investment strategies similar to those to be employed by the
Company, including sitting on the investment committee of Gresham
House Strategic and Strategic Public Equity Fund LP, where he
worked with Laurence Hulse and the rest of the team. He has over 30
years' experience in venture capital and banking and has chaired or
been a member of several credit and investment committees including
the Gresham House Strategic Public Equity Investment Committee
where he worked directly with Laurence Hulse from its
inception.
David Poutney - Investment Committee Member
David is Chief Executive of Dowgate Capital and Chairman of,
Dowgate Wealth, and Dowgate Group. His early career was in
commercial banking and asset finance, after completing a history
degree from Cardiff University in 1974. He made the transition into
stockbroking a few years ahead of the Big Bang, becoming a number
one rated financials analyst for 15 years at a number of well known
firms including BZW, James Capel and UBS. He moved into a broader
role in corporate broking during the DotCom boom of the 1990s and
was involved in the flotation of a number of companies which
survived the crash, notably Sports Internet Group which was taken
over by Sky. After joining Numis in 2001 as head of corporate
broking, he was responsible for a number of growth companies such
as Dominos Pizza, Alliance Pharma and Learning Technology Group.
Overall, he was involved in the flotation of over 30 companies.
In addition to his positions at Dowgate Group, David is a
non-executive director of AIM-quoted Franchise Brands plc and
Belluscura plc and previously of Be Heard plc which was also quoted
on AIM before being sold to a private equity firm.
Jay Patel - Investment Committee Member
Jay is the Vice President and General Manager of Cisco's Webex
CPaaS initiative and joined Cisco when the company he ran,
IMImobile, was acquired for US$730 million in 2021. He helped start
IMImobile PLC in 2003, as CEO led it to a successful IPO in 2014
and then delivered its exit to Cisco. Today Jay is working on
combining the IMI platforms with relevant technologies from Webex
to create solutions that help clients deliver the world's best
customer experiences.
IMImobile was an investment for the Strategic Equity Capital
team at Gresham House between 2015 and 2019, being one of its best
performing assets. The investment delivered a 23.7 per cent. IRR
and for a number of years Gresham House (via its managed funds) was
IMImobile's largest shareholder.
Jay is an experienced technology executive with over 25 years'
commercial experience through operational, investment and advisory
roles. He has had a successful career working with fast growth
businesses and has served as both an executive and non-executive
director on the boards of both private and public companies over
the last 20 years.
Previously, Jay was a co-founder of venture capital firm Spark
SPARK Ventures PLC (an early stage venture capital firm), where he
led several successful investments, restructurings and exits in the
technology sector across digital media and publishing, B2B software
and B2C eCommerce. Jay has also worked in corporate finance roles
at UBS Warburg and BSkyB and qualified as a Chartered Accountant
with KPMG. He has an MBA from INSEAD and an Economics degree from
the London School of Economics.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Andrew Henton - Independent Non-Executive Chairman
Andrew is currently a director of Pershing Square Holdings
Limited, a closed-ended investment company domiciled in Guernsey.
He also currently serves on the Boards of several private entities.
Andrew is Chair of the Board of Butterfield Bank Jersey Limited and
a member of the Board and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of
Butterfield Bank Guernsey Limited, which acts as Custodian and
principal banker to the Company. Andrew is also a member of the
Board and Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee of Longview
Partners (Guernsey) Limited, Chair of the Board of SW7 Holdings
Limited and a director of Close Asset Management (Guernsey)
Limited, Tadaweb SA and Rain Foundation LBG. Andrew is a
non-executive director on all of the Boards on which he currently
serves. Andrew was previously Chair of the Board of Boussard &
Gavaudan Holding Limited and a member of the Board of Equity Bridge
PCC Limited and Northill Global Strategies SPC. Between 2002 and
2011 Andrew held various positions at Close Brothers Group plc,
latterly acting as Head of Offshore Businesses. During this time,
he led the creation of Close Private Bank, which provided asset
management, banking, and administration services to high net worth
and institutional clients. Andrew previously spent four years
working in HSBC's Corporate Finance division and
three years as a Fund Manager with Baring Private Equity
Partners. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and obtained his
MA in Modern History from St John's College, Oxford.
Susan Norman - Independent Non-Executive Director
Susan has over 20 years of boardroom experience, formerly in
company secretarial roles and most recently through non-executive
director roles across a wide range of companies in multiple
jurisdictions. She is currently a non-executive director of a
number of Terra Firma Capital Partners Limited's Guernsey-based
private equity vehicles. Susan started her career within the
private banking and fund of hedge funds sectors and now runs her
own consultancy business providing company secretarial, governance
and independent directorship services to a broad range of clients
across various jurisdictions. Susan's board experience covers
public and private equity investment companies, real estate
investment companies and impact investment funds, amongst others.
She holds an LLB (Hons) degree in Scots Law from the University of
Strathclyde, is a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute and
holds the Institute of Directors' Diploma in Company Direction.
Henry Freeman - Independent Non-Executive Director
Henry sits on the States of Guernsey Investment Board,
overseeing the sovereign reserve, social security and civil service
pension funds for the Crown Dependency, as well as a number of
other commercial investment fund Boards. He Chairs the Guernsey
Investment & Funds Association (GIFA) Managers' Committee and
holds the Institute of Directors' Diploma in Company Direction.
Henry has held senior and board director roles over a 25-year
career in investment banking, fund management and fintech in London
and the Channel Islands. During his executive career he has advised
companies, funds and Boards; run global equity, multi-asset and
private equity funds as well as private client and ESG portfolios;
raised institutional and retail capital for publicly listed and
private investments. He has extensive experience in the
London-listed funds and alternative assets space - both sell-side
capital markets advisory, structuring and broking and buy-side
investing. He has established and grown financial businesses; sat
on two All Party Policy Groups in Westminster and has been a
regular contributor to various media and events.
Luke Allen - Independent Non-Executive Director
Luke is an independent non-executive director with over 30
years' experience working in the financial services sector, the
last 18 of which have been spent in the investment funds industry.
Until December 2019 he was the chief executive and managing
director of Man Group plc's Guernsey office, which serviced an
extensive range of hedge funds and funds of hedge funds. His
primary role was to lead Man Group's operations in Guernsey,
chairing the local management company boards, setting strategy and
ensuring effective risk management, outsourced service provider
oversight, and compliance with laws and regulations. He has over 13
years' experience (in both an executive and independent
non-executive capacity) of working with, and sitting on the boards
of, a wide range of fund and management company structures across
various asset classes and international jurisdictions. He is a
chartered accountant (ICAEW) and, prior to running Man Group's
Guernsey office, he headed up their fund financial reporting and
liquidations team, with responsibility for the production of fund
financial statements and for fund terminations across their entire
product range. He has completed the Institute of Directors' Diploma
in Company Direction and is the holder of a personal fiduciary
license issued by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
MSCNKCBQPBKDPNB
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 30, 2023 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
Grafico Azioni Onward Opportunities (LSE:ONWD)
Storico
Da Mag 2024 a Giu 2024
Grafico Azioni Onward Opportunities (LSE:ONWD)
Storico
Da Giu 2023 a Giu 2024