Sure Ventures plc ('Sure Ventures' or 'the Company')
Portfolio Update Q1 2023, NAV Calculation and Director commentary
Sure Ventures is a London listed venture capital fund which invests in early stage software companies in the rapidly growing technology areas of Augmented Reality ('AR'), Virtual Reality ('VR'), Internet of Things ('IoT') and Artificial Intelligence (AI). We are pleased to provide an update on the Company's investment portfolio.
SURE VALLEY VENTURES FUND
Sure Ventures made a €7million commitment to Sure Valley Ventures Fund ('Sure Valley') representing an interest in Sure Valley of approximately 25.9%. This commitment was made at a price of €1.00 per share. The current NAV of the Sure Valley Ventures ICAV as of Q1 2023 is €1.3729 which is a 0.8% increase from its NAV as at Q4 2022.
Sure Valley has several investments across the AI, AR, VR and IoT sectors and the major contributing factors and commentary on underlying portfolio companies that has driven this NAV calculation are as follows:
Cameramatics
CameraMatics US operational activity has increased significantly in Q1 with the roll out of
several key contracts, specifically one with a major US logistics company who are part of
a larger logistics group with scope for CameraMatics to win contracts in the rest of the
group.
The company is focusing on growing their product offering, building their re-occurring revenue model and enhancing their award winning platform. Cameramatics are well funded and expanding internationally.
GetVisibility
Getvisibility has successfully onboarded 28 new channel partners in the last quarter, with total enterprise customer number growing to 116. The sales pipeline continues to build and the team are working closely with existing and new customers in an everchanging space.
Buymie
The fund has written the value of Buymie down to zero in this quarter's NAV calculation. The company has been acquired by Dunnes Stores, but the terms of the deal have not yet been formally disclosed.
NDRC Arc Labs
The NDRC accelerator program has now been wound up and the 300K euro investment has been written off in this quarter's NAV calculation.
Smarttech 247
247 are the leaders in the cybersecurity field of eXtended Detection and Response
(XDR). That is Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation that prevents cybersecurity threats at
faster speed, greater scale, and higher accuracy than humanly possible.
In December 2022 Smarttech247 listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market.
The company raised £3.67m through a placing of roughly 12.38m ordinary shares at a price of
£0.2966 per share. The placing price gives the company a valuation of £36.8m
Additional updates this quarter include:
· New and renewed contracts secured:
· Existing contract with a global pharmaceutical client renewed for another year which is
worth c.US$615,000
· Contract secured with a new client - a global pharmaceutical organisation
· New three-year contract worth over €100,000 with a leading climate solution company
· Extended the scope of an existing contract with a Fortune 500 customer
· Signed a letter of intent for a three-year contract with a major European financial services
group
· Successful Zero Day Con 2023 conference held in March 2023.
· participation in new Managed Security Service Provider Program with partner, Forcepoint, a
global security leader, announced in April 2023.
· Shortlisted by Small Cap Awards for IPO of the Year and by Tech Excellence Awards for managed Security Service Provider for the Year.
Immotion/Lets Explore
Immotion (now known as Let's Explore Group plc), the UK-based immersive entertainment group announced it has entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement, for the sale of its Location Based Entertainment business (collectively; Immotion Studios Limited, Immotion VR Limited and C.2K Entertainment Inc.), to LBE BidCo, Inc. for an enterprise value of $25,211,739 on a cash free/debt free basis.
Further to this news a tender offer for 65% of shares held was made by the acquirer at 4.75p a share, which the AIFM team took up and the sale of this stock has now been completed. Sure Ventures PLC still retains a residual position in stock of Let's Explore Group plc.
Sure Ventures PLC NAV
The Sure Ventures PLC NAV at the end of March 2023 sits at 119.99p. This represents a 0.28% decrease across the period, down from 120.33 per share at the end of Q4 2022 and means that the Sure Ventures share price trades at a 18.74% discount to its NAV. This decrease represents costs and changes to the value of its listed holdings in Engage XR and Let's Explore Group plc. The Engage XR share price performance has been frustrating, but the AIFM continues to back the business and believe in its future potential.
Director Commentary:
"Despite the challenging market conditions, our portfolio companies have been performing well overall and the quarterly NAV was materially unchanged. The write downs of NDRC and Buymie were offset by the uplift achieved via Cameramatics new funding round. The positive performance of Let's Explore Group and Smartech247, offset the drop in the Engage XR share price and highlighted the importance of diversification within the investment portfolio that has been achieved".
For further information, please visit www.sureventuresplc.com or contact:
Gareth Burchell
Sure Ventures plc
+44 (0) 20 7186 9918
Notes to Editors
Sure Ventures plc listed on the London Stock Exchange in January 2018 giving retail investors access to an asset class that is usually dominated by private venture capital funds. Sure Ventures is focusing on companies in the UK, Republic of Ireland and other European countries, making seed and series A investments in companies with first rate management teams, products which benefit from market validation with target revenue run rates of at least £400,000 over the next 12 months. Website: https://www.sureventuresplc.com/
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