Close Venture Management takes control of four Murray Johnstone VCTs

01 March 2005

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The board of Murray VCT, VCT 2, VCT 3 and VCT 4 have announced that Close Venture Management has agreed to take over the management of the portfolio. The board also announced that it has served notice terminating its management agreement with Murray Johnstone Ltd in six months' time, or earlier if agreement for a shorter notice period is reached with Murray Johnstone. The Murray VCT's boards have each come to their decisions individually but each of the Murray VCT companies operate in accordance with a co-investment arrangement which regulates the allocation of funds each invests in investee companies. More than two thirds of the investee companies in which the Murray funds are invested are co-invested between two or more of the Murray VCT companies. The failed management buyout of part of the Aberdeen group's private equity and investment business by its senior executives, which was abruptly terminated at the end of September 2004, caused each of the Murray VCT boards (as they are in any event required to do) to review Murray Johnstone's performance and to consider alternatives available from other service providers. Given Close Venture Management's willingness to accept the appointment as manager of each of the Murray VCT companies and to co-invest on a basis which relates to cash available across the whole of Close's venture capital trust portfolio, each of the boards reached its own unanimous conclusion that shareholders' interests would undoubtedly be best served by appointing Close Venture management to manage the Murray funds under the terms of a new co-investment agreement which will be implemented as soon as management of the funds moves to the new manager.