23
April 2024
Molten
Ventures plc
("Molten
Ventures", "Molten", or the “Group”)
Full year
trading update and notice of results
Stable and
enhanced platform, in an improving market with greater expectation
for realisations
Molten Ventures
(LSE: GROW, Euronext Dublin: GRW), a leading venture capital firm
investing in and developing high-growth digital technology
businesses, today announces an update on its portfolio, NAV
(unaudited) and highlights for the year ahead of its full year
results for the 12 months ended 31 March 2024, due to be announced
on 12 June 2024.
Highlights:
-
£55 million capital raise (net of
fees) completed in December 2023, providing additional liquidity to
pursue follow-on investments and access exceptional secondary
investments at attractive valuations.
-
Acquisition of a stake in
Seedcamp’s Fund III as part of our secondary strategy; with value
concentrated in six mature, proven assets in attractive market
segments.
-
All-share acquisition of Forward
Partners completed with integration underway, adding a balanced,
well-positioned and well-capitalised portfolio of 40+ assets,
enhancing the Group’s access to early-stage deal flow
opportunities.
-
Gross Portfolio Value (“GPV”)
(unaudited) is expected to be circa £1,377 million (31 March 2023:
£1,299 million).
-
Underlying Gross Portfolio fair
value (unaudited) stabilised and broadly flat for the year at
constant currency, reflecting a modest increase in the
like-for-like portfolio in the second half and positive
contribution from the two acquisitions (first half: 3.7% decrease,
second half: 4.2% increase at constant currency).
-
Uplifts in fair value from the
acquisition of Forward Partners and the investment stake in
Seedcamp’s Fund III. Currency movements from the weaker US and Euro
continued in the second half of the year resulting in larger
foreign exchange losses in the second half.
-
Core portfolio remains well funded,
focused on capital efficiency and continues to trade positively
with very limited exceptions: in the calendar year to 31 December
2023, value-weighted revenue growth in our Core portfolio was
63%.
-
Invested £65 million (year to 31
March 2023: £138 million), of which £40 million from Molten’s
balance sheet for the year ended 31 March 2024, and £25 million
representing the Forward Partners share-for-share exchange (net of
cash acquired), with a further £37 million from the managed EIS and
VCT co-investment strategies.
-
Realisations generated cash
proceeds for Molten in the year of £39 million (year to 31 March
2023: £48 million).
-
NAV per share (unaudited) is
expected to be circa 661p (31 March 2023: 780p).
-
Disciplined approach to capital
allocation through FY24 with cash investments of £40m (excluding
Forward Partners) below historical investment rates and aligned to
£39m of realisations. Focus on secondary acquisitions to broaden
the portfolio at attractive prices.
-
Molten balance sheet cash as at 31
March 2024 of £57 million, and a further £66 million available for
investment from the managed EIS/VCT funds. Undrawn Molten Revolving
Credit Facility of up to £60 million provides further funding
flexibility.
-
Strengthened Board with two key
appointments in Laurence Hollingworth as Non-Executive Chair, and
Lara Naqushbandi as Non-Executive Director - adding further capital
markets, investment banking, technology, climate technology and
leadership experience.
Portfolio
performance and fair value movements:
-
Portfolio companies continue to
maintain revenue growth momentum, demonstrating the underlying
resilience of these businesses and the structural demand for their
products across their respective end-markets.
-
Total fair value movements in the
second half of £55 million arose mainly from the Forward Partners
and Seedcamp Fund III portfolio acquisitions, offset by adverse FX
movements of £19m. These aside, valuations across both our Core and
Emerging portfolio assets have held essentially flat in aggregate
in the second half.
-
Our portfolio remains well funded
with over 90% of
the Core projecting more than 12 months of cash runway, and
over 50% projecting
greater than 24 months.
Outlook for
FY25 (year to 31 March 2025):
-
We have continued to make strategic
progress in enhancing our platform and believe Molten is
well-positioned to generate returns for our investors. We have the
skillset, market positioning and the firepower available to capture
opportunities while market valuations remain
subdued.
-
FY25 showing promise of delivering
a more normalised realisations market with divestment proceeds
expected to be meaningfully higher than the last two
years.
-
A continued focus on our
third-party capital strategy to be spearheaded by a newly hired
head of third-party funds.
Martin Davis,
Chief Executive Officer of Molten Ventures,
commented:
“We are grateful to all our
investors who supported us through the period, most notably with
our fundraise and with the addition of the Forward Partners
portfolio. With £123
million of cash resources across PLC, the managed EIS/VCT funds, as
well as a £60 million undrawn debt facility and a stable and
enhanced platform, we are in a strong position to deploy capital
selectively to maximise returns for our investors in a stabilising
but still challenging environment for high-growth
companies.
Our portfolio remains in good
health, and we expect to see a step up in realisations in the
current financial year, with a number of potential exit processes
ongoing across our portfolio.”
Notice of Full
Year Results:
-
Molten Ventures Full Year Results
are scheduled for release on 12 June 2024. Presentation and
conference call details will be confirmed in due
course.
|
Six Months
to
30 September
2023
(unaudited)
|
% change to
opening GPV
|
Six Months to 31
March 2024
(unaudited)
|
% change to
opening GPV
|
Year to 31 March
2024
(unaudited)
|
% change to
opening GPV
|
|
£’million
|
|
£’million
|
|
£’million
|
|
Opening Gross Portfolio
Value
|
£1,371
|
|
£1,299
|
|
£1,371
|
|
Investments
|
£17
|
|
£48
|
|
£65
|
|
Realisations
|
(£33)
|
|
(£6)
|
|
(£39)
|
|
Movement in Foreign Exchange
(a)
|
(£5)
|
-0.4%
|
(£19)
|
-1.5%
|
(£24)
|
-1.8%
|
Movement in Fair Value
(b)
|
(£51)
|
-3.7%
|
£55
|
4.2%
|
£4
|
0.3%
|
Total Fair Value Movements
(a+b)
|
(£56)
|
-4.1%
|
£35
|
2.7%
|
(£20)
|
-1.5%
|
Closing Gross Portfolio
Value
|
£1,299
|
|
c. £1,377
|
|
c. £1,377
|
|
Enquiries:
Molten Ventures
plc
Martin Davis (Chief Executive
Officer)
Ben Wilkinson (Chief Financial
Officer)
|
+44 (0)20 7931
8800
ir@molten.vc
|
Deutsche
Numis
Joint Financial
Adviser and Corporate Broker
Simon Willis
Jamie Loughborough
Iqra Amin
|
+44 (0)20 7260
1000
|
Goodbody
Stockbrokers
Joint Financial
Adviser and Corporate Broker,
Euronext Dublin
Sponsor
Don Harrington
Dearbhla Gallagher
William Hall
|
+44 (0) 20 3841
6202
|
Powerscourt
Public
relations
Elly Williamson
Nick Hayns
|
+44 (0)7970 246
725
+44 (0)7880 744
379
molten@powerscourt-group.com
|
|
|
|
About Molten
Ventures
Molten Ventures is a leading
venture capital firm in Europe, developing and investing in
disruptive, high growth technology companies. We inject visionary
companies with energy to help them transform and grow. This energy
comes in many forms - capital, of course, but also knowledge,
experience, and relationships. We believe it is our role to support
the entrepreneurs who will invent the future, and that future is
being built, today, in Europe.
As at 30 September 2023, Molten
Ventures had a diverse portfolio with shareholdings in 74
companies, 17 of which represent our Core Portfolio holdings and
account for 62% of the Gross Portfolio Value. Our core companies
include Thought Machine, Coachhub, Form3, Aiven, Ledger and
Aircall. We invest across four sectors: Enterprise Technology,
Hardware and Deeptech, Consumer Technology, and Digital Health and
Wellness, with highly experienced partners constantly looking for
new opportunities in each. We look for high-growth companies
operating in new markets, with aspirations for global expansion,
strong IP, powerful technology, and strong management teams to
deliver success. We also look for businesses with the potential to
generate strong margins to ensure rapid, sustainable growth in
substantial addressable markets.
Molten Ventures provides a unique
opportunity for public market investors to access these
fast-growing tech businesses, without having to commit to long term
investments with limited liquidity. Since our IPO in June 2016, we
have deployed over £1bn capital into fast growing tech companies
and have realised £520m to 30 September 2023.