NatWest Group to acquire Cushon

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER REGULATION (EU) NO 596/2014 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL OF 16 APRIL 2014 ON MARKET ABUSE, AS AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME, WHICH IS PART OF UK LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS AMENDED.

13 February 2023

Augmentum Fintech plc

Proposed acquisition of Cushon by NatWest Group

Augmentum Fintech plc (LSE: AUGM) (the “Company” or “Augmentum”), Europe’s leading publicly listed fintech fund, announces that NatWest Group, the FTSE 100 banking and financial services group, has agreed to acquire a majority shareholding in Cushon, a portfolio investment of the Company. The acquisition will be subject, inter alia, to the receipt of the necessary regulatory approvals. This transaction will represent Augmentum’s fifth successful portfolio investment exit, all of which have been at or above the last reported holding value.

Augmentum first invested in workplace savings and Net Zero pension provider Cushon (www.cushon.co.uk) in June 2021 with a £5 million investment as part of Cushon’s Series A fundraising round and since that date the Company has invested a further £5.8 million.

Augmentum is expected to receive proceeds of £22.8 million from the completion of the acquisition, representing a 46.2% uplift on the unaudited 30 September 2022 holding value of £15.6 million, a multiple of 2.1x on cost and an IRR of 66.3%¹.

Augmentum expects this transaction to complete within the next 12 months. The transaction implies an increase of 3.1p over the last published NAV per ordinary share after performance fee (unaudited) as at 30 September 2022 of 155.0p. This announcement does not constitute or describe an updated NAV of the Company².

Tim Levene, CEO of Augmentum Fintech, said: “The acquisition of Cushon by NatWest Group marks Augmentum’s fifth realisation since IPO and demonstrates the strategic nature of many of the assets in our portfolio. Financial incumbents are increasingly looking to accelerate their digital transformation through acquiring innovative, digital-first propositions. The pensions industry has certainly suffered from a lack of transformative innovation to date and with their Net Zero pension offering and tech-led approach, Cushon is a true digital disruptor. We wish Ben Pollard and the team all the best for their next phase with NatWest”.

Notes:

¹Assuming completion on 30 April 2023.

²The Company's NAV and NAV per ordinary share as at 31 March 2023, both prior to and after performance fee, will be calculated in accordance with the Company’s valuation policy and are expected to be announced with the Company’s full year results. Shareholders should note that the calculation of the NAV per ordinary share as at 31 March 2023 will take account of the latest valuations of all of the Company's investments as at 31 March 2023 and any applicable costs and charges.

Enquiries:

Augmentum Fintech Tim Levene, Portfolio Manager Georgie Hazell Kivell, Marketing and IR	[phone] [e-mail]
Quill PR Nick Croysdill, Sarah Gibbons-Cook (Press and Media)	[phone] [e-mail]
Peel Hunt LLP Liz Yong, Luke Simpson, Huw Jeremy (Investment Banking)	[phone]
Singer Capital Markets Harry Gooden, Robert Peel, Alaina Wong (Investment Banking)	[phone]
Frostrow Capital LLP Paul Griggs, Company Secretary	[phone]

About Augmentum Fintech

Augmentum invests in fast growing fintech businesses that are disrupting the financial services sector. Augmentum is the UK’s only publicly listed investment company focusing on the fintech sector in the UK and wider Europe, having launched on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in 2018, giving businesses access to patient capital and support, unrestricted by conventional fund timelines and giving public markets investors access to a largely privately held investment sector during its main period of growth.