Following its launch on Monday 20 April, Neil Woodford's second fund, Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT), is already trading at a premium to net asset value (NAV) of 3.5 per cent, having moved to a share price of 102.2p following its launch at 100p a share. This follows the upscaling of the maximum issue size to £800m, which was still oversubscribed by nearly 10 per cent.
The issue size makes it the largest ever UK-domiciled investment company raising, even beating the £460m raised by star manager Anthony Bolton's Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) at launch in 2010.
Woodford Patient Capital will invest in early-growth companies, typically quoted; and quoted and unquoted early-stage companies, many of which are expected to have a significant exposure to medical science. The first of these is Alternative Investment Market (Aim) listed Sphere Medical Holding (SPHR), a provider of monitoring and diagnostic devices for critical care.
Woodford Patient Capital has subscribed for 23,125,000 shares in Sphere Medical at 16p, which represents about 17 per cent of its share capital. This company is undertaking a fundraising of 75m new shares.
Mr Woodford says that Woodford Patient Capital has about 30 investment ideas ready to go and hopes to execute on these relatively quickly. Woodford Patient Capital will eventually have 50-100 holdings, predominantly from the UK, and these will include listed mid and large-cap mature companies that offer growth opportunities.
When the portfolio is mature - expected to be one to two years after launch - Mr Woodford says around three-quarters will be in early-stage companies, with 25 per cent in mature dividend payers to cover the trust's costs as it does not charge an annual management fee.
