Waterfall officially replaces PSC as PSSL fund manager

Pollen Street Capital (PSC) has officially been replaced as manager of the Pollen Street Secured Lending (PSSL) investment trust.

The investment manager had received a termination notice in February from the PSSL board amid claims that it was refusing to co-operate with a proposed takeover bid from Waterfall Asset Management.

PSC denies these claims but Waterfall was named as a preferred successor in August and has now been drafted in to run the fund despite the initial termination notice running until February 2021.

A stock market update from PSSL said it has agreed to pay PSC a sum representing the approximate balance of the unpaid base management fee, including the unexpired notice period.

From today (1 October), an investment management agreement has been signed that will see Mirabella Financial Services act as alternative investment fund manager and Waterfall will act as delegated portfolio manager.

Waterfall is still considering making a cash offer to take over the whole fund, with the latest deadline to make a decision approaching on 6 October.

If no offer materialises, the board has previously said it would recommend shareholders back a wind-down of the fund.

Read more: What is going on at Pollen Street Secured Lending?

“The board is pleased to effect the change of investment manager, something which the board unanimously and firmly believes is in the best interests of shareholders,” Simon King, chair of PSSL, said.

“This follows a period of intensive and rigorous preparatory work undertaken by Waterfall and its legal advisers.”

It comes as a half-year report from PSSL showed it posted a net asset value (NAV) return of 0.7 per cent for the six months to the end of June 2020.

The alternative finance-focused fund is currently trading on a discount to NAV of 10.2 per cent.