The board of Neil Woodford’s crisis-hit investment trust has acknowledged the manager could be ousted and another fund manager brought in.
In a company update to the London Stock Exchange the board of Woodford Patient Capital Trust plc said it remained confident of Woodford’s commitment to the day-to-day management of the portfolio, but that the board has already held preliminary discussions with management groups that have approached the company.
The statement added that “the Board intends to engage with a broader range of third-party managers in order to undertake a full assessment of all potential management options, which may or may not lead to a change in the Company’s management arrangements”.
The board said it had been working with Woodford to assess the funding requirements of the trust’s investee businesses and to reduce borrowings which, as at July 25, 2019, were £117.4 million (€130.6 million). This equated to a gearing position of 15.95% of net asset value.
It was also widely reported that Woodford sold about 60% of his holding in the trust between July 3 and July 8 to meet personal financial obligations including a tax bill. The share sale made Woodford just less than £1 million, it was reported.
*Read about lessons from the Woodford crisis.
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