Fund manager Lucius Cary said the business ‘was going well’ but the directors were currently looking to raise significant sums of money.

Cary fears that the major venture capital companies that Avidex has approached for £25 million may invest at a much lower valuation than the £37.8 million level at which the company is held in the original Oxford Technology portfolio.

Consequently he has reduced the value of this 3.8 per cent stake from £1.435 million to the cost price of £300,000. That values the group, whose lead product Rhudex may enter Phase I clinical trials in April, at £7.9 million.

‘We now have a relatively minor holding in the company and so have little say on negotiating with the huge entities that are now considering backing Avidex,’ says Cary, who was one of the earliest supporters of the Abingdon-based outfit. Former British Biotech finance director James Noble acts as chief executive of Avidex.

The reduction means the value of the VCT’s portfolio has dropped by 23p a share to 103p, or £5 million. Cary is currently trying to raise £14 million for a fourth Oxford Technology VCT. This has attracted £3.5 million so far.

For further information visit: www.oxfordtechnology.com