Adams is an investing company with an investing policy under which the directors of Adams (“the Directors”) sought to acquire interests in special situation investment opportunities that have an element of distress, dislocation, dysfunction or other special situation attributes and that the Directors perceive to be undervalued.

However, on 25 October 2024 the Company announced proposals to:

  • cancel the admission of the Company’s shares to trading on AIM (“the Cancellation”); and
  • persue an orderly realisation of investments strategy and a return of capital to shareholders over the short to medium term; and
  •  use the Company’s existing share buyback authority to purchase shares to help enable shareholders who wish to sell their shares at 4 pence each ahead of the Cancellation.

 The resolution to approve the Cancellation was passed by shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting on 27 November 2024 and the delisting from AIM became effective at 7.00 a.m. on 5 December 2024.

 

Proposed realisation of investments and return of capital to shareholders

The Directors believe that UK small-cap public markets have changed significantly over the last few years with a continuing deterioration in liquidity and declining access to cost-effective growth capital. There are no indications that these markets are expected to recover in the foreseeable future.

As a result, the Directors consider that the Company’s strategy, with a focus to invest in the small to middle market capitalisation sectors of the UK or Europe, is no longer sufficiently attractive. In addition, the Company only has a small capital base which severely limits the alternative investment strategy options available to it. The Directors have, therefore, concluded that the Company should not make any further investments and instead should pursue an orderly realisation of existing investments and return of capital to Shareholders over the short to medium term, following which it is expected that the Company will be voluntarily wound up or subject to an administrative dissolution pursuant to the Isle of Man Companies Act 2006 (“the Companies Act”).

The return of capital to shareholders is expected to be by way of one or more capital distributions as and when funds permit but there can be no certainty on the timing or monetary amounts of such distributions.