Bramdean to decide Nicola Horlick’s fate
CITY superwoman Nicola Horlick is to meet with the new board directors at Bramdean Alternatives this week to decide her fate, after property magnate Vincent Tchenguiz won a shareholder vote to oust the former management team last week.
Tchenguiz was backed by 56 per cent of the shareholders in the vote on Thursday and the board directors he has nominated will now consider whether or not to liquidate the listed fund, which is currently managed by Bramdean Asset Management, the firm Horlick founded and runs.
If she is dropped as the manager of Bramdean Alternatives, Horlick stands to receive a “golden goodbye” payout of up to $8.1m (£4.9m).
A spokesman for Horlick said yesterday the new board, led by Jonathan Carr, would weigh up the options, including axing her as fund manager and discussing how she could stay on to help wind up the fund. He added that the meeting would delve into the possibility of her making a firm takeover offer for the fund through newly-created vehicle Petersfield Asset Management.
It emerged two weeks ago that Horlick was behind an approach initially made to Bramdean Alternatives on 17 March. Last week, she vowed not to give up on her takeover quest despite a decision by the former board to terminate offer discussions.
Elsina, the vehicle controlled by Tchenguiz which owns 28 per cent of Bramdean Alternatives, confirmed last week it would give full consideration to all viable alternatives to winding up the fund and returning money to investors, including any future bid from Horlick.