Investors In Industry chairman Viscount Caldecote yesterday refuted national newspaper reports that the venture capital outfit is close to a public flotation. Speaking at his last annual press luncheon before retiring next month, Lord Caldecote said that 3i had no plans for a listing at the moment. He said he was delighted to be handing over to such an experienced industrialist as Sir John Cuckney, the chairman of Westland Helicopters, after another successful year. In the 12 months to March 31, 3i increased its pre-tax profits to a record UKP66.4m from UKP46.2m and saw net assets rise by 14%, helped by the rise in share prices, to UKP2,200m. In total in 1986-87, 3i invested UKP368m, of which UKP33.3m was spread among 85 companies in the electronics sector. In the last few days, two of 3i’s longer standing investments, Learmonth and Burchett Management Systems Plc (CI No 711) and ITL Information Technology Plc (CI No 717) have both gone public – ITL only yesterday (see back page) – and another two, Invertron Simulators Plc and IPS Ltd have joined United Scientific Holdings Plc (CI No 715) and JBA UK Plc (CI No 716) respectively. 3i has maintained a stake in each of those four companies and in other floated companies including Pericom Plc, Cifer Plc, Sherwood Computer Services Plc, Domino Printing Sciences Plc, Rodime Plc and DPCE Plc. It also has stakes in other candidates for a public listing such as chip-maker LSI Logic, CCA Micro Rentals, Taxsoft Ltd, distributor Software Ltd and Vanderhoff Plc (CI No 706), and in M4 Data Systems, a spin-out from Thorn EMI that is developing cheap 3480-type cartridges tape systems and expects to do around UKP10m this calendar year.
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