Vector Capital plc Chief Executive Officer Agam Jain caught up with DirectorsTalk for an exclusive interview to discuss the delisting from AIM, and the key milestones for the company in the coming months.
Q1: Agam, what were the key factors that led to the decision to delist Vector Capital and how do you believe this will enhance the company’s focus and operational efficiency?
A1: So, I don’t think our case is unique because it’s widely reported throughout the business press.
We listed about four years ago with a view to raise capital, to fund our exciting growth plans but what we found is that there’s been a distinct lack of appetite from a shrinking number of investors to do this. Even though we’ve been posting good profits and good dividends and had a good story to tell, there just was a very low level of interest and at some point, we have to think, well, is it going to improve going forward? Or is it going to be like this for some more time?
I know they’re talking about some changes, especially on AIM rules, to attract more investors but at the moment, the demand is very low and it just wasn’t making sense for us.
Now, it’s not a decision that we’ve taken lightly but what is the point of being on there and incurring all the listing costs and dealing with all the compliance and investor relations, etc., if it’s not meeting our fundamental objective, which was to raise capital, to try and achieve our £100 million loan book.
Q2: How is the decision to delist from AIM position the company for future growth and strategic development?
A2: I suppose in the short term, there’ll be a period of readjustment to make up for the capital that we’ve returned to the external shareholders so by the end of this year, we’ll address those topics.
We’ve got another wholesale banking line that we’re getting established so that we can make up for the reduction in capital with further debt facilities. Our effort can now be focused 100% on growth of the business, rather than on compliance and investor relations, really.
Q3: So, what are the key milestones then for Vector Capital in the coming months?
A3: I think there’s a bit of administrative tidying up to be done, following the delisting, which is quite a big exercise, and then we will start creating our business plans for 2025, once we’ve got the alternative debt facility in place. So, they’ll be the milestones to achieve, to see out the rest of the year.
In 2025, we’re hoping to achieve a 20% growth from where we are at the moment.
