DJ Forbes Ventures Plc Board Changes, Issue of Equity, Corporate Update
TIDMFOR 28 September 2018 FORBES VENTURES ("Forbes" or the "Company") Board Changes, Issue of Equity, Strategy Update and Investee Company Update Forbes Ventures is pleased to announce that Kirk Kashefi has been appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director with immediate effect. Kirk is a practising barrister at the independent bar of England & Wales who is specialised in handling a broad range of highly complex, multi-jurisdictional, commercial and financial litigation, as well as having specific expertise on cases involving corporate governance and business ethics. He came to the independent bar after gaining years of experience in top-tier international law firms. He has also spent time as in-house counsel at a major international investment bank and a fund management firm. The Board believes that Kirk's broad experience will prove invaluable to the Company as it continues to move towards implementing its previously announced strategy. The Company is also pleased to announce that Igor Zjali?, who was previously appointed as a Non-Executive Director, has been appointed as an Executive Director and the Company's Chief Investment Officer with immediate effect. Prior to joining Forbes, Igor worked as a Senior Portfolio Manager for a large European asset management firm, directly managing USD 8 billion of fixed income assets. The Company is pleased to announce that Nigel Quinton's appointment has been extended and he is now the Company's permanent Chief Financial Officer, after serving as Interim Chief Financial Director since his appointment to the Board. Nigel was previously Chief Executive of two building societies and more recently has been advising Financial Services firms, including a new UK challenger bank start-up, on financial and risk management. The Company also announces that GBP100,000 owed to Quanta Capital Limited ("Quanta), under an open-ended loan agreement entered into in March 2018, has been converted into 100,000 ordinary shares of 0.1p each in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") at a conversion price of 0.1p per Ordinary Share. Accordingly, Quanta now holds a total of 273,000,000 Ordinary Shares, representing 59.84 per cent of the Company's enlarged issued share capital of 456,251,830 Ordinary Shares. Quanta continues to support the Company by way of drawdowns of the open-ended loan agreement, but the Company does not anticipate any further conversion to equity of the remainder of the debt due under this agreement. Rob Cooper, the Chief Executive of Forbes, is a director of and major shareholder in Quanta. In preparation for the delivery of its strategy the Company has established a wholly owned subsidiary, located in Grand Cayman, named Forbes Advisory. It has also renamed its wholly owned UK subsidiary from Mentum Services Limited to Forbes Ventures Investment Management Limited ("FVIM"). FVIM has entered into an Appointed Representative agreement with G10 Capital Limited, which subject to regulatory approval, will permit FVIM to undertake certain investment activities regulated by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Company anticipates making further announcements about the progress of its strategy delivery in the forthcoming months. The Company has been notified by its investee company, Civilised Bank Limited (the "Bank"), that on 14 September 2018 the Bank resubmitted its Application for Authorisation to the Prudential Regulation Authority. This follows BAE Systems Pension Funds Trustees Limited and BAE Systems 2000 Pension Plan Trustee Limited (together, "BAE") recently acquiring a shareholding in the Bank. The company congratulates the Bank on this milestone. Forbes Ventures holds 4,545 ordinary shares in the Bank. In accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules, the Company announces that it now has 456,251,830 Ordinary Shares in issue, each share carrying the right to one vote. The Company does not hold any Ordinary Shares in treasury. The above figure of 456,251,830 should be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. The Directors of Forbes accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement. ENDS For further information, please contact: Forbes Ventures Peter Moss, Chairman 01625 568 767 Rob Cooper, Chief Executive Officer 020 3687 0498 NEX Exchange Corporate Adviser Peterhouse Capital Limited Mark Anwyl and Fungai Ndoro 020 7469 0930 END
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 28, 2018 06:29 ET (10:29 GMT)