Baskerville Capital plc
(‘Baskerville’, the ‘Group’ or the ‘Company’)
(To be renamed Oberon Investments Group plc)
(‘Oberon’ or ‘Oberon Investments’)
First day of dealings on AQSE Growth Market
for
‘Fast Growing Boutique Wealth Manager and Corporate Broker’
Baskerville, to be renamed Oberon Investments Group plc, the boutique wealth management and corporate broking group announces its first day of dealings on the Access Segment of AQSE Growth Market following the reverse takeover of Oberon Investments Limited.
About Oberon
Oberon is a boutique financial institution providing a personalised wealth management service for retail and professional clients and corporate broking services to small and mid-cap companies.
Oberon’s growth strategy targets the organic growth of assets under administration (‘AUA’) in the wealth management division, the acquisition of complementary wealth management businesses, and the creation of a trusted brand for the provision of advisory and fundraising services for companies in the small and mid-cap corporate sectors.
Highlights of the enlarged Group at admission include:
• Acquisition of Oberon Investments Limited via the reverse take-over of Baskerville Capital plc
• Since establishment in late 2017, Oberon’s wealth management division has grown organically and through acquisition. A strong, customer focused team has led to AUA increasing by over 300% to in excess of £400m in a short period.
• First new clients won and deals completed in mid-cap market by corporate broking division, Oberon Capital
• Oberon Investments is well funded and acquisitive, raising £1.44m gross via an EIS subscription at 4p a share, of which £1.25m has been received and the balance is expected to be received shortly after Admission
• A board of Directors with extensive experience in the industry, including The Hon Robert Hanson as Non-Executive Chairman and The Hon Alexander Robert Hambro as a Non-Executive Director
• Strong pipeline of wealth management acquisition opportunities; management is currently in discussion with a number of fund management and wealth management teams with a view to them joining the Group
• The Group now offers an end-to-end solution for fund and wealth management through Oberon Investments, and is able to advise and service corporate clients from inception to IPO and beyond through Oberon Capital. Oberon has the management team and infrastructure to take advantage of current market conditions to deliver significant growth
• Market capitalisation on completion of the subscription of £16m (at the Issue Price)
• Well placed in a highly fragmented, inefficient sector in which a quoted vehicle can generate shareholder value through acquisition, cost efficiencies and revenue generation
Market opportunities
The Directors believe that there is a market opportunity for an entrepreneurial based fund, wealth and advisory business giving clients a bespoke service tailored to their needs. The recent polarisation of ever-larger groups has forced clients into pooled assets and away from stock and asset selection and the ability to take managed and defined risk and reward in investment decisions. Oberon’s flexible, client focused and results-based approach is attracting both new business and capable fund managers from competitors. Oberon provides the ‘whole of life’ fund and wealth management service from independent financial advice on pensions, tax and retirement, through to tailored discretionary portfolios as well as the provision of a Managed Portfolio Service. A suite of tax efficient products including in-house VCTs will be incremental to the offering as will future launches and recruitment of funds and structures to give a multi-strategy range of funds for the Group’s clients. The bespoke investment offering to numerous affluent clients is a key feature the Directors believe is very scalable and differentiates Oberon from many of its peers.
Hon Robert Hanson, Chairman of Baskerville, to be renamed Oberon Investments Group, commented: “We are very pleased to have completed the acquisition of Oberon Investments which has created a strong boutique offering in the wealth management and small to mid-cap corporate broking markets . We will serve the market’s increasingly sophisticated needs under a trusted brand name with the additional profile and capital access benefits of our flotation and new listing on Aquis.
“Both operationally and on the Board, the Oberon team is very experienced and determined to attract the strongest teams, focus on the needs of clients and continue to grow the business The Board of Baskerville knows this is a rare opportunity to generate real value for our shareholders. “
Simon McGivern, Chief Executive Officer of Oberon Investments Group, added: “Our admission to Aquis now gives Oberon the quoted platform to facilitate a step change in delivering on our growth ambitions.
“Oberon’s focus on providing clients with a brilliant service and product offering appears to be working, as evidenced by the strong growth over the last three years.
“We feel the wealth management and small to mid-cap corporate broking markets have stagnated and there is a natural space for a forward thinking, client focused boutique. We are very excited at the prospect of turning Oberon into a well-known and respected brand in the financial sector in the next few years.”
Concert Party
Resolution numbered 2 in the Admission Document, being an ordinary resolution to be voted on by the Independent Shareholders to approve the waiver by the Takeover Panel of the obligation that would otherwise arise for the Concert Party to make a general offer for the Enlarged Group under the Rule 9 of the Takeover Code (“Whitewash Resolution”), was passed on a poll with 13,530,000 votes of Independent Shareholders, in favour and no votes against.
In accordance with the Takeover Code, following the passing of the Whitewash Resolution at the General Meeting, on Admission the members of the Concert Party will own a maximum number of Ordinary Shares as follows:
| Member of the Concert Party | Interest in Enlarged Share Capital | Percentage interest in Enlarged Share Capital on Admission 4) | Options/Warrants | Percentage interest in Enlarged Share Capital fully diluted 4) |
| Rodger Sargent | 8,516,200 | 2.09% | 1,625,000 | 2.21% |
| David Evans | 27,587,000 | 6.77% | 175,000 | 6.03% |
| Jon Hale | 4,478,825 | 1.10% | 200,000 | 1.02% |
| Courtney Investments 1) | 12,995,550 | 3.19% | 0 | 2.82% |
| Christopher Akers | 6,828,425 | 1.67% | 625,000 | 1.62% |
| Chris Venner | 5,987,500 | 1.47% | 150,000 | 1.33% |
| Andrew Headley | 17,130,325 | 4.20% | 150,000 | 3.75% |
| Simon Like | 20,415,000 | 5.01% | 13,550,000 | 7.38% |
| Darren Blake | 845,250 | 0.21% | 65,000 | 0.20% |
| Harry Hyman | 8,554,225 | 2.10% | 0 | 1.86% |
| Timothy Webb | 800,000 | 0.20% | 0 | 0.17% |
| Derek Kehoe | 3,700,000 | 0.91% | 1,925,000 | 1.23% |
| John Like | 50,000 | 0.01% | 0 | 0.01% |
| Sarah Webb | 7,709,950 | 1.89% | 0 | 1.67% |
| David Sargent | 1,836,025 | 0.45% | 100,000 | 0.42% |
| Simon McGivern | 52,756,925 | 12.94% | 25,711,125 | 17.04% |
| James Phillips | 5,751,975 | 1.41% | 0 | 1.25% |
| John Beaumont | 1,144,975 | 0.28% | 625,000 | 0.38% |
| Michael Seabrook | 1,253,375 | 0.31% | 0 | 0.27% |
| Edward Lawson | 4,756,050 | 1.17% | 0 | 1.03% |
| Chris Crawford | 1,727,625 | 0.42% | 0 | 0.38% |
| Paul Gazzard | 4,573,125 | 1.12% | 0 | 0.99% |
| Michael Hennigan | 18,407,675 | 4.51% | 0 | 4.00% |
| GMC EBT Limited | 4,810,250 | 1.18% | 0 | 1.04% |
| Basil Sellers 2) | 26,740,925 | 6.56% | 0 | 5.81% |
| MC Peat & Co LLP 3) | 772,350 | 0.19% | 0 | 0.17% |
| Alex Hambro | 500,000 | 0.12% | 0 | 0.11% |
| Total | 250,629,525 | 61.46% | 44,901,125 | 64.55% |
1) including Courtney Investments and Warren Todd, where Warren Todd is beneficiary owner of Courtney Investments
2) including BAS Nominee Australia PTY whose beneficiary owner is Basil Sellers
3) Charles Peat, who is a member of MC Peat & Co LLP, is subscribing in his personal capacity for 250,000 Subscription Shares but is not included within the Concert Party
4) percentage holding is based on the issue of all £1.44m of subscription shares
Total Voting Rights
The total number of Ordinary Shares with voting rights in the Company at Admission is 402,912,525 . This figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change of their interest in, the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority’s Transparency Rules.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
| Baskerville Capital plc | |
| Hon Robert Hanson, Chairman | via Walbrook PR |
| Oberon Investments GroupSimon McGivern | |
| AQSE Corporate Adviser and Broker | |
| Novum Securities Limited | |
| Richard Potts / Daphne Zhang / Lucy Bowden | 020 7399 9400 |
| Walbrook PR LtdTom Cooper / Nick Rome | Tel: 020 7933 8780 or Oberon@walbrookpr.com |
Notes to Editors
Oberon Investments Ltd was established in April 2017. In November 2017, it acquired small stockbroking firm M. D. Barnard & Company Limited. This initial acquisition gave Oberon a suite of FCA permissions, a platform for future growth and AUA of c.£100 million.
Oberon group’s AUA have grown from c. £100 million in 2018 to in excess of £400 million in January 2021. This was achieved organically by adding new clients and new fund managers, attracted by the emerging brand. Growth in AUA has also been achieved by the acquisition of the UK wealth management business of Hanson Investment Management in June 2020.
In May 2020, Oberon set up its corporate broking division, Oberon Capital, and announced its first client in July 2020. Oberon Capital takes advantage of the skill sets employed in its business in giving advice and providing access to capital. The business provides advice and raises capital for companies from seed and early-stage funding through to IPO and beyond.
The Enlarged Group will operate in the UK wealth and fund management sector and in the corporate broking and financial advisory sectors. The UK fund management industry is estimated to have c.£8.9 trillion in assets under management (“AUM”) in 2020-21. The industry includes assets of independently managed funds, as well as those owned by banks, insurance companies and pension funds. Conservative estimates of AUM for the UK financial advisory and wealth management sectors stand at approximately £272 billion and £942 billion respectively. The corporate broking and fundraising sector is very fragmented, ranging from the large integrated investment banks to niche corporate advisory firms.
www.oberoninvestments.com
Board of Directors
The Hon Robert William Hanson, Non-Executive Chairman
Robert Hanson founded Hanson Asset Management Ltd. and Hanson Capital Ltd. and has been Chairman or CEO of 8 different companies. Robert is Chairman of Hanson Capital Investments Ltd., Chairman of Hanson Family Holdings Ltd., Chairman for Sinojie Hanson Ltd. and Co-Chairman & Managing Partner at Millennium Hanson Advisors LLC. He is also on the board of GoviEx Uranium, Inc., Greening Donald Co. Ltd., John K & Luise V Hanson Foundation and Sport & Artist Management Ltd. and Member of Institute of Corporate Directors.
Robert previously held the positions of Chairman for Strand Hanson Ltd. and Chairman of Hanson Asset Management Ltd. Robert’s corporate broking background included roles as Chairman at Stockdale Securities Ltd. and Associate Director at N.M. Rothschild & Sons Ltd.
Robert achieved an MA in English Literature from St Peter’s College Oxford.
Simon Philip McGivern, Chief Executive Officer
Simon started his professional career at Panmure Gordon Asset Management in 1996 where he worked in the wealth management division for six years. He focused on investment management and financial analysis. In 2002, Simon left the City. He founded a number of companies, including Handpicked Companies, an ecommerce venture, which he grew substantially and exited via a trade sale to News Corp in 2014. Simon also founded Litebulb Group in 2008, which went from two people to 100 staff and £25m in sales when he left in 2015. During his time there, Simon executed six acquisitions, raised over £10m in funding and led its IPO on AIM in 2010. Additionally, Simon was a founder director of Cleeve Capital plc (now Bigblu Broadband) and oversaw its IPO on the Standard List in December 2014 and the reverse takeover of Satellite Solutions Worldwide. He also set up and is a director of Map Ventures in 2015, a corporate advisory firm.
Simon founded Oberon in November 2017 and led the acquisition of M.D. Barnard. He is approved by the FCA as a SMF1 Chief Executive and also as a SMF3 Executive Director.
The Hon Alexander Robert Hambro, Non-Executive Director
Alex Hambro has worked in the venture and private equity sector both in the UK and USA for much of his career, during which time he has acted as a principal investor, manager and sponsor of private equity and venture capital management teams and adviser on private equity investment strategies. Alex is an active personal investor in small, growth-oriented private and public companies. As well as his role at Oberon, Alex is Chairman of AIM-listed Judges Scientific plc; Falanx Group Ltd and OTAQ plc. He is also a Director of Octopus Apollo VCT plc. In addition to his responsibilities at these listed companies, Alex is also Chairman of IWP Holdings Ltd; Crescent Capital Ltd; and a non-executive director of Time Partners Ltd.
Alex is currently a principal at Welbeck Capital Partners, a specialist investment advisory boutique that deploys hybrid debt/equity instruments to finance growth opportunities for both private and small-cap AIM companies.
John Geoffrey Beaumont (ACA), Finance Director
John qualified as a chartered accountant in 1988 with Ernst & Whinney before joining Goldman Sachs in its London equity research department. He specialised in institutional research in the brewing, pubs and leisure sectors. He moved to Smith New Court in 1992, which was acquired by Merrill Lynch in 1995. Whilst at Merrill Lynch, John worked with some of the firm’s largest clients including Diageo, Compass Group and Bass, and was consistently ranked highly in the major client surveys. In 2001, John moved to Cheuvreux, the broking arm of Credit Agricole, as Head of Research in London, focusing on corporate research, on a more generalised sector basis, and helped grow both the corporate and secondary business during his time at Kaupthing in London. In 2011, John helped set up Peat & Co and became COO and Head of Finance, where along with his research activities, John is responsible for all the finance and regulatory reporting requirements of the business.
John joined Oberon as Finance Director in March 2020 and is approved by the FCA as a SMF3 Executive Director.
Significant Shareholdings
| Shareholder Name | Number of Ordinary Shares at Admission | Percentage Holding % 1) |
| Rodger Sargent | 8,516,200 | 2.08% |
| Derek Kehoe | 3,700,000 | 0.90% |
| Simon McGivern | 52,756,925 | 12.89% |
| John Beaumont | 1,144,975 | 0.28% |
| Robert Hanson | Nil | Nil |
| Alex Hambro | 500,000 | 0.12% |
| James Cox | 5,100,000 | 1.25% |
| Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management | 3,400,000 | 0.83% |
| Michael Wright | 1,900,000 | 0.46% |
| Mohamed Hanif Patel | 1,800,000 | 0.44% |
| MD Barnard Nominees Limited | 1,475,000 | 0.36% |
1) percentage holding is based on the issue of all £1.44m of subscription shares