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2 NEWS 26.11.2020 TECHNOLOGY equities took centre stage during MeDirect Bank's third in- vestment webinar for 2020, with Stephen Yiu, Chief Investment Officer at Blue Whale Capital and Lead Manager of the Blue Whale Growth Fund giving a mas- terclass on the opportunities that such companies offer in terms of investment returns as well as an overview of Blue Whale's approach to stock valuation. e Blue Whale Growth Fund is a global equity fund, focusing on large-cap stocks in developed markets. e Fund was launched in September 2017 and since inception it is one of the best per- forming funds in the IA Global sector. e five-member investment team, led by Yiu, embraces a high conviction, valu- ation-driven approach to stock selection. At any given point, the fund will be in- vested in 25 to 35 individual stocks. medirectalk is a series of seminars and webinars organised by MeDirect, featur- ing several financial experts and asset managers sharing their views on mar- ket and investment opportunities. Or- ganised jointly between MeDirect Bank and Blue Whale Growth Fund, the latest webinar kicked off with an overview of the stock markets within the current COVID-19 crisis and the US elections outcome. Yiu said that his team adopts a process whereby high-quality businesses with attractive returns are evaluated, and the portfolio of the fund is limited to 25 to 50 stocks. He said that the Blue Whale Growth Fund consistently outperformed the IA Global Sector average in the last 12 months. With the onset of COVID-19, the fact that the portfolio retained circa 10 per cent of cash in terms of underlying assets has helped the firm to selectively re-in- vest such cash into the best companies with attractive valuations and, as a re- sult, managed to provide higher returns already by Q2 2020, he said. Yiu gave different examples of compa- nies which do form part of the portfolio and others which do not, while explain- ing the reasons for the firm's investment decisions. He said Blue Whale's approach to valu- ations is based on 100 per cent in-house research, with internal financial model- ling and forecasts. Some of the key factors when deciding whether to invest in technology stocks include the low risk of disruption, the sustainable element and low ESG im- pact, the capability of the management team, the strong business model, the pricing power and levels of high profit- ability. In order to view the latest medirectalk session, as well as to past events visit: https://www.medirect.com.mt/invest/ medirectalk Technology equities focus of MeDirect webinar PAUL COCKS CARLO Stivala, one of the four ultimate beneficial owners of Sti- vala Group Finance p.l.c., will be leaving the business operated by the company to pursue private business ventures, BusinessTo- day has learned. He will be relinquishing all and any ownership interest in the Stivala group of companies. Certain immovable properties currently owned by Carme- lo Stivala Group Limited and North Harbour Limited – for a total value of €81.2 million – will be transferred to CAST Holdings Limited, a compa- ny that is ultimately owned by TRI MER Services Ltd as trustee of the CAST TRUST, the bene- ficiaries of which are Carlo Sti- vala and his descendants. Stivala is one of the executive directors on a number of group companies, and is a manager at ST Properties Ltd. His involve- ment in the Group's business commenced over 20 years ago and his main responsibilities include the management of the Group's long leases of residen- tial accommodation and com- mercial outlets and offices. Michael Stivala, CEO of Sti- vala Group of Companies, told BusinessToday that Carlo had felt it was tue to initiate his own business venture. But he insisted that Carlo's de- parture would not in any way affect the Group's operations. "e Group has an executive management team that is in- volved in the day-to-day run- ning of the Group's operations, while strategic and develop- ment decisions will continue to be taken by the major share- holders (Michael Stivala, Ivan Stivala and Martin Stivala) with the aim to continue to expand and grow its business," he said. "As such, Carlo's departure will not impact in any way the Group's operations." Stivala Group Finance p.l.c. is the holding company and fi- nance arm of the Stivala Group and is the principal vehicle for further expansion of the Group's hospitality business and mixed- use developments. Its ultimate beneficial owners are Carlo Stivala and his broth- ers Martin John, Ivan and Mi- chael, together with their direct descendants and families. Stivala Group Finance p.l.c. holds 98% of the shares in Car- melo Stivala Group Limited which in turn holds the shares in the underlying operating subsid- iaries. e remaining 2% of the shares in Carmelo Stivala Group Limited are held by the Group's founder, Carmelo Stivala. On 24 November 2020, Stivala Group Finance p.l.c., Carmelo Stivala Group Limited, Car- melo Stivala Trustee Limited, North Harbour Limited, ST Properties Ltd, ST Hotels Ltd, CAST Holdings Limited, CAST Renting Ltd, Ivan Stivala, Mar- tin John Stivala, Michael Stivala and Carlo Stivala entered into a framework agreement. Under the agreement, the shareholders of Stivala Group Finance p.l.c., Carmelo Stivala Group Limited and North Har- bour Limited passed resolutions resolving to reduce the share capital of each of the companies by cancelling all shares held in them by Carlo Stivala and Car- melo Stivala Trustee Limited as trustee of the Seaside Trust, the beneficiaries of which are Carlo Stivala and his descendants. Carmelo Stivala Group Lim- ited, North Harbour Limited, Carmelo Stivala Trustee Lim- ited, CAST Holdings Limited and Carlo Stivala also entered into a promise of sale agree- ment, whereby Carmelo Stivala Group Limited and North Har- bour obliged themselves to sell, transfer and convey unto CAST Holdings Limited properties for a total aggregate value of €81.2 million, is value represents the con- sideration due to Carlo Stivala and Carmelo Stivala Trustee Limited as trustee of the Seaside Trust, for them relinquishing all of their rights and interests in the share capital of the com- panies forming part of Stivala group of companies. As at 30 June 2020, the total equity of Stivala Group Finance p.l.c. amounted to €125.9 mil- lion, represented by share cap- ital of €0.3 million, retained earnings of €35.3 million and revaluation reserve of €90.3 million. e Company's total equity would increase to €154.8 mil- lion on a pro forma basis on account of this revaluation of immovable assets and once the transactions contemplated in the Framework Agreement have been completed. After that, the remaining sharehold- ers will be increase the Com- pany's issued share capital by €30,000 to €255,000. e property portfolio held by the Company as at 30 June 2020 was carried at a value of €203 million, which as set out in the pro forma statement of financial position will increase to €234.6 million, reflecting the aggre- gate uplift in carrying values of €71.3 million and a decrease of €39.7 million once the transfer of properties to Carlo Stivala (through CAST Holdings Ltd) is completed. e increase in asset values represent the Directors' assess- ment of the fair value of the Company's properties, which is supported by valuations carried out by valuers with the appro- priate recognised professional qualifications and experience in both location and category of the property being valued. Current assets are expected to decrease by €1.0 million, re- flecting the proposed transfer to CAST Holdings Ltd of cer- tain properties in inventory and payment of deposits held in re- lation to rental properties to be assigned to CAST Holdings Ltd. e major liability included in the Company's statement of financial position as at 30 June 2020 relates to the deferred tax liability arising in connection with the revaluation of invest- ment property and property, plant and equipment, which amounted to €15.5 million. is liability is expected to in- crease to €17.6 million once the transfer of properties to CAST Holdings Ltd is completed. Michael Stivala told Business- Today the whole process is ex- pected to be finalised by end of Q1 2021. Carlo Stivala to split from brothers and leave Stivala group business From left: Carlo Stivala with his brothers Ivan, Michael and Martin John

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