venture matters Winter Albion Ventures wins two top awards

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1 In this issue Albion Wins Two Awards Early Investment Offer venture matters Winter Portfolio Updates Free Health Club Membership 2009 Albion Ventures wins two top awards We are delighted to have won VCT Manager of the Year and VCT of the Year at two leading industry awards. continued...

2 our news Welcome to the WINTER 2009 issue of Venture Matters Albion Ventures wins two top awards continued... We are delighted to have won VCT of the Year and VCT Manager of the Year and at two leading industry awards. It is pleasing that our success as a manager owned business has been recognised by the venture capital industry. Above all, it reflects the hard work and entrepreneurial drive of the management teams we back, as well as the positive feedback we are getting from our shareholders. The first award was VCT of the Year at the 2009 Investor AllStars in September. We won the award for Albion Development VCT PLC, which is currently open to shareholders in a new D Share Offer. The award was open to all Venture Capital Trusts. We were also shortlisted for Exit of the Year for the sale of Grosvenor Health to Serco for 19.6m. The judging panel cited: Albion showed a high level of activity during the past 12 months, and has also completed its own MBO from Close Brothers in January. With 13 new investments, and one great exit with Grosvenor, the Albion team clearly impressed the judges. Albion has also won VCT Manager of the Year at the Unquote British Private Equity Awards in November. Unquote is one of the leading private equity magazine and its awards are seen as the Oscars of the industry. The judges said: Much of the work Albion has done has been built around genuine added value and genuine business knowledge. A realistic alternative to pension investment? VCTs may now become the tax shelter of choice for many investors. Many commentators see the tax benefits of VCTs being particularly attractive for high earners with tax relief on pension contributions reducing to as little as 20% and their highest rate of income tax set to increase to 50% 02 Venture Matters

3 our news WINTER 2009 VCT Fundraising Offer You can now participate in a new 25 million D Share offer in our award winning Albion Development VCT PLC one of our most successful and established VCTs. Early Investment Offer by 23 December In line with existing investment strategy, Albion Development VCT s D share issue aims to generate both long term growth and a regular tax free dividend stream. 1% Albion look for two key factors in private company opportunities: the quality of the company s management and the market opportunity. Current conditions are providing a great climate for investment. The D shares will invest in two types of businesses: those which are lower-risk, providing a more stable, often assetbacked foundation to the portfolio, and a smaller number of higher risk companies which provide opportunities through their strong growth prospects. As part of our risk management approach, it is our policy that investee companies have no external bank borrowing. Examples of each type are on the next pages. of shares free Investors subscribing by 12 noon on 23 December 2009 will receive 1 additional D Share for every 100 D Shares subscribed for in Albion Development VCT PLC. Call, or visit our website for further details: Tel: info@albion-ventures.co.uk Web: Free Membership to two of London s most stylish Health Clubs 37 health and fitness is offering subscribers to Venture Matters FREE MEMBERSHIP to both the Kensington and Tower Bridge clubs for the whole of January In addition you can also enjoy a complimentary personal training session and a free mini treatment of your choice. 37 facilities include a 20m swimming pool, sauna and steam, 5000 sq ft gym with private viewing screens on all equipment, PowerPlate, a rooftop sun terrace with views across London at Kensington, spa treatments, high energy, mind & body and spin studios, weight management, personal training, Pilates studio, a full GP service on site, physiotherapy and much more. To enjoy this offer Please call the clubs on (Kensington Olympia) or (Tower) or info@thirtysevendegrees.co.uk quoting Venture Matters as your reference. 03

4 investment news We have provided further investment to a number of our portfolio companies this year, including an increased focus on the environmental sector, notably in Vibrant Energy and Helveta. Despite the weak economic backdrop, trading remains buoyant in a diverse range of investments. Vibrant Energy Mirada Medical Vibrant Energy and Green Energy Matters merge to create largest independent provider of energy surveys Vibrant Energy, an Albion backed company, has joined forces with Green Energy Matters to tackle climate change head-on in a strategic move, catapulting the merged business into prime position within the energy and property report sector. The merger positions the new group as the largest independent provider of Energy Performance Certificates and related energy and property services. It has over 100 staff dedicated to the provision of core services and completing in excess of 100,000 EPCs per year. Combined clients include estate agents, landlords, local authorities, HIP providers, solicitors, as well as individual home sellers, supplying a range of products and services designed to assist in the reduction of CO2 emissions 04 Mirada Medical wins Varian Contract Mirada Medical is a leading cancer imaging company. Albion backed the MBO from Siemens in November Mirada Medical has signed a significant contract with the global market leader in cancer treatment technology, Varian Medical Systems (market cap US$5.6bn). Oxford based Mirada will supply technology that allows patient scans from multiple sources such as MRI, PET and CT to be combined to provide greater clinical certainty in diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Initially Mirada will supply the technology which Varian will build into their own product offerings. The agreement also allows for future collaborative product development between the two companies. In the past 12 months Mirada has doubled revenues and plans to open a US office in 2010 to fuel its growth next year and beyond

5 investment news WINTER 2009 Albion Ventures LLP is a leading venture capital investor which has been managing investments since The team previously worked together at Close Ventures before becoming an independent business in January Albion s Health Clubs Geronimo Inns We have invested 8m into Geronimo Inns to fund four landmark central London pubs. Our funds have financed the acquisition and refurbishment of four landmark freehold pubs in central London; the Prince Albert on Battersea Bridge, The Elgin on Ladbroke Grove, The Northcote in Clapham and Curtains Up in West Kensington. Over recent years London pubs have tended to be overvalued resulting in low returns on capital employed. The credit crunch has, however, changed the economics of London pubs in our favour. If Geronimo hit their trading projections the return on capital employed could be over 17%. The sites we have acquired were sadly under performing, giving us an opportunity to create value through both improved trading and higher valuation multiples in the future. We are backing a strong management team well known to us through some of our previous pub investments. The refurbished pub sites are all now open for business and trading well Albion s Health Clubs hosts Strictly Come Dancing Albion Funds have invested in three Health and Fitness Clubs: Kensington and Tower Bridge in London, and Weybridge in Surrey. Strictly Come Dancing, the BBC s Saturday night dancing show has been using all three of our clubs for the daily rehearsals for three couples: Ali Bastian is training with her partner Brian at Kensington, Zoe Lucker is training at Weybridge and Anton Du Beke and his partner Layla used the Tower Bridge club at the start of the series. The clubs can been seen in the background of the Saturday night show when they show each couple practising. The additional income from the BBC combined with strong September membership sales has meant the clubs recorded their highest monthly profit to date in October Venture Matters 05

6 performance The VCTs managed by Albion Ventures have a policy of buying back their shares in the market. In such circumstances the VCTs will look to buy back shares at a discount to their net asset value, subject to certain conditions. Performance of VCTs managed by Albion Ventures LLP Fund Launch date Total return since launch Mid-market share price Last dividend paid/declared per share Albion Venture Capital Trust PLC Apr p 62.5p 2.5p paid on 31/7/09 Ordinary shares* Albion Protected VCT PLC Apr p 50.0p 1.0p paid on 7/8/09 Albion Development VCT PLC Jan p 65.0p 4.0p paid on 25/9/09 Ordinary shares* Albion Technology & General VCT PLC Jan p 75.0p 8.0p paid on 30/12/08 Ordinary shares Albion Technology & General VCT PLC Jan p 60.5p 1.0p paid on 18/9/09 C shares Albion Income & Growth VCT PLC Oct p 50.0p 1.25p paid on 3/7/09 Albion Enterprise VCT PLC Apr p 70.0p 1.0p paid on 7/8/09 Crown Place VCT PLC** Apr p 25.0p 1.25p paid on 6/11/09 Source: Albion Ventures. All data is prepared as at 18 November 2009, using the last published net asset value of the relevant fund. * The Albion VCT PLC C shares were converted to Ordinary shares at a rate of 1 Ordinary share for each C share and the Albion Development VCT PLC C shares were converted to Ordinary shares at a rate of Ordinary shares for each C share. ** Albion Ventures took over the management of this VCT in April Dividends paid/declared plus NAV. Please note: the above excludes all tax reliefs. As at 18/11/09. Albion Ventures LLP 1 King s Arms Yard, London, EC2R 7AF T: E: info@albion-ventures.co.uk This newsletter is not a prospectus and should not be relied upon in making a decision to invest in any of our funds. That decision should be based solely on the relevant prospectus or fund raising document. None of the figures quoted herein should be regarded as a dividend or profit forecast. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. This newsletter is issued by Albion Ventures LLP which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.