Law firm Howard Kennedy and its regulated London Stock Exchange sponsor, Howard Kennedy Corporate Services, have advised a new entrant to the VCT market – Hazel Targa VCT.
Hazel Targa VCT PLC brings together Hazel Capital, an established investment adviser in the VCT market, and investment advisers Welbeck Capital Partners LLP to launch a new and genuinely innovative VCT focusing on convertible loan notes. The new VCT will look to raise GBP20 million under this offer.
The Howard Kennedy team was led by partner Keith Lassman, with support from senior associate Ian Scott and solicitor Sian Thomas.
Lassman says: “New entrants to the VCT market are few and far between – and we have advised two in the last three years. And Hazel Targa VCT is looking to do something very different from existing VCTs with its focus on convertible loan notes. There is growing demand for such a product from both investors and corporates, and we are delighted to be part of their team and advise on the launch of its first offer.”
In the 2014/15 tax year Howard Kennedy advised on 27 of the 33 VCT offers with a combined market value of GBP370 million.
Howard Kennedy has a dedicated team of partners and staff advising VCTs, both as legal adviser and as sponsor through its wholly owned FCA authorised subsidiary, Howard Kennedy Corporate Services. Howard Kennedy has been active in the market place since 1997, listing well over 200 companies over that period.
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Automobiles, Energy and Information Technology generated double digit returns, while Media, Banks and Health Care lagged. The top countries included Germany, Belgium and Finland. Stocks in Denmark, Ireland, United Kingdom and Switzerland underperformed. Ten year interest rates in Germany declined after Draghi basically promised more QE in December, while they rose marginally in the UK and US. Credits benefited from the risk-on mode. Commodities rose with oil and precious metals prices strengthening. The euro weakened 1.6 per cent versus the US dollar on the dovish language from the ECB and its divergence with the Fed’s hawkish guidance. The British pound strengthened 2% as markets started to reprice expectations of an earlier rate hike.
