Michael Stoddart, a venture capital industry veteran, has handed over the management of Bamboo Investments, his early-stage high-tech investment company, to the venture capital trust division of Close Brothers.

Stoddart, who as chairman of Electra Investment Trust fought off a hostile bid from 3i, wanted to give Bamboo ginvestors the chance to make back some money after the disappointing performance of some dot-com boom investments. The trust returned £7m (€9.8m) to investors from cash reserves from the original £20m raised in 2000.