i pondered a little further on this and have come to the thought that if there were indeed companies out there scrabbling to get their hands on VERs there would be no need whatsoever for these crooks to cold call old ladies and pensioners, fleecing them of their life savings. after all, surely they will be cheaper for said company to purchase now before the price has gone up considerably on the investment.
so if cold called by one of these chancers i will ask them who is eventually to buy my illiquid holding if i go ahead with a sizeable VERs purchase. if i get a crap answer like a company will purchase i will just inform the muppet on the end of the phone that he would be advised, with haste, to contact said company and sell to them right away, and put the phone down laughing.