Pollen Street Secured Lending manager refutes criticism of governance
Pollen Street Capital (PSC) has defended itself against criticism of its governance from Pollen Street Secured Lending (PSSL) and has warned that the trust’s board risks endangering shareholder value.
The investment manager has refuted allegations from Pollen Street Secured Lending (PSSL) that it had not provided the requested due diligence documents, after Waterfall Asset Management made an offer to acquire the company.
In January, Waterfall Asset Management made a possible cash offer of 900p per PSSL share, backed by Invesco, PSSL’s largest shareholder.
Last week the board of the alternative finance-focused investment trust, formerly known as P2P Global Investments, said that it would support the offer but accused Pollen Street of not providing the requested documents, to help with due diligence for a proposed sale of the fund.
Read more: Pollen Street backtracks on investment trust dividend increase
Read more: Invesco follows Woodford in altfin sell-off amid rising outflows
PSC said that it considers that it has acted reasonably and in good faith to meet PSSL’s requirements, including placing more than 2,000 documents requested in the diligence request into a data room.
“Pollen Street Capital has acted with the upmost integrity throughout this process and has sought to fulfil its fiduciary duty as investment manager to always protect the interests of shareholders,” said Lindsey McMurray, managing partner of Pollen Street Capital.
“Despite numerous attempts to provide expert advice and propose a practical approach since learning of the Waterfall proposal, the board has refused to engage with us constructively and now risks endangering shareholder value.
“We are committed and ready to assist PSSL however we can for the benefit of all shareholders.”
Read more: What does the future hold for the world’s first P2P lending investment trust?
