Woodford to offload stake in Push Doctor-backer ADV to Legal & General
Beleaguered fund manager Neil Woodford is set to offload his firm’s stake in Accelerated Digital Ventures (ADV), which has backed startups including GP on-demand service Push Doctor.
Woodford Investment Management is expected to strike a deal this week to sell its 40 per cent stake in ADV to fellow shareholder Legal & General, Sky News reported.
The deal would make Legal & General by far ADV’s largest investor. The British Business Bank and ADV’s management also hold small stakes.
ADV, which was launched in 2016, has pumped money into a string of startups and scale-ups, including gradual home ownership platform Unmortgage.
The value of the deal is unclear, but City sources said it was likely to be in the tens of millions of pounds, according to the report.
The move comes amid a fire sale by the former star stockpicker, who has offloaded major holdings in a bid to shore up his troubled equity income fund.
Woodford suspended trading in his largest fund in June after a spate of withdrawals from investors.
L&G and Woodford declined to comment to Sky News.
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