Uberior and Kenmore sell their stakes in angel investor Braveheart

Published on Wednesday 22 June 2011 22:48

UBERIOR Investments, the private equity arm of Bank of Scotland, has sold its stake in Perth-based investment management group Braveheart as part of a major shareholder restructuring of the Aim-quoted company.

Uberior, now part of Lloyds Banking Group, sold just under 1.4 million shares in Braveheart at 15p. Kenmore Private Equity, part of the Edinburgh-based Kenmore property empire which went into administration in 2009, has also sold its holding of 2.5 million shares in the group. Both companies had been looking to dispose of their stake in Braveheart, which specialises in investing in high-growth businesses on behalf of business angels and high net-worth individuals, for some time.

The restructuring at Braveheart also saw chief executive Geoffrey Thomson sell part of his holding for around 60,000, reducing his stake to 12.4 per cent in a move the company said was to help facilitate the Kenmore and Uberior disposals.

Braveheart has also raised around 950,000 before expenses through a placing of new shares at 23p each with investors including media group DC Thomson, which now holds a stake of just under 7 per cent. The company said the money raised would be used for working capital purposes and to fund new investments.

Analysts at Seymour Pierce, which has an "add" recommendation on the shares, said the placement was good news for investors as it removed the overhang from two investors who wanted to sell.

"Moreover, the additional funding will add to investment capacity.

"There will be some dilution but at present we are not changing our forecasts," the analysts said.

Braveheart's recent deals have included leading a 2 million funding round for Edinburgh electronics company Pyreos. Shares in Braveheart closed flat at 23.5p yesterday, valuing the company at about 3.5m.