01:45 Mon 01 Feb 2010
Amati Global Partners acquires Noble Fund Managers
Noble AIM VCT manager Paul Jourdan and Douglas Lawson have acquired Noble Fund Managers through their newly formed company Amati Global Partners.
Noble Fund Managers, which was almost entirely owned by management and employees, will be re-branded as Amati Global Investors and the acquisition includes Amati CEO Jourdan's Noble AIM VCT and the CF Noble Smaller Companies fund.
The creation of Amati represents a long term commitment by the founders to grow the business and product range, including a plan to raise an additional £14 million for the AIM VCT - a move which has received support from the board of Noble AIM VCT (Ordinary Share).
Paul Jourdan, CEO of Amati, said: 'We're tremendously excited to have completed this acquisition. We have ambitious plans to build Amati both in terms of expanding our two existing funds and launching new products in the future. At a time when many investors are looking for an alternative to pensions for tax efficient investment, the Noble AIM VCT will appeal to those who believe that now is a great time to invest in quoted smaller companies with global exposure but with a strong defence against a double-dip recession.'
In fact, the Noble AIM VCT has a buyback offer which enables shareholders to sell shares once their minimum holding period is over at a 1% discount to NAV, where the proceeds are used to buy new shares which qualify for a further income tax relief on the basis of a new five-year holding period.
Since launch in March 2005, the Noble AIM VCT has posted a 3.6% loss, while the FTSE AIM Index was down 35.3%.
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