AGM Statement

RNS Number : 9828X

IP Group PLC

12 May 2016

 

FOR RELEASE ON

12 May 2016

IP Group plc - AGM statement

IP Group plc (LSE: IPO) ("IP Group" or "the Company" or "the Group"), the developer of intellectual property-based businesses, issues the following statement ahead of its Annual General Meeting which will take place at 1pm today at the Group's London office. This statement provides an update on the Group's progress for the period since 31 December 2015.

Portfolio update

As at 30 April 2016, the fair value of the Group's portfolio was £539.3m compared to £552.2m at 31 December 2015. This reflects portfolio disposals of £13.5m, investments of £8.4m and a net fair value decrease of £7.7m during the period.

From 1 January 2016 to 30 April 2016, the Group generated £13.5m of cash proceeds, the most significant of which was £13.1m from the sale of the Group's holding in Tracsis plc. Including dividends, total proceeds to date from Tracsis were £14.3m, representing a multiple of approximately 38 times the Group's total cost of £0.4m.

Over the same period, the Group provided incubation, seed and further capital totalling £8.4m to 19 distinct portfolio companies and opportunities. The fair value decrease in the period of £7.7m was primarily as a result of a net reduction in the fair value of the Group's holdings in AIM-listed portfolio companies.

The Group's portfolio now comprises holdings in 59 post-seed intellectual property-based companies, both quoted and private, with a further 44 projects and companies classified as 'seed' and 'incubation' opportunities.

Significant developments in the Group's portfolio companies since 31 December 2015 include:

·    hVIVO plc announced in April that initial review of results from the PrEP-001 Phase IIa flu study suggested a favourable study outcome, only eight months after the study received ethics approval. PrEP-001 is a nasally administered, broad-spectrum agent that leverages the innate immune system to prevent upper respiratory tract viral infections (colds and flus) and is the lead program of PrEP Biopharm Limited, a new UK biotech company for respiratory infectious disease products, in which hVIVO acquired a significant equity stake on 1 November 2015.

·    Mirriad Advertising Ltd announced it had closed $15m in financing as of January 2016, led by IP Group, alongside Parkwalk Funds, with a minority investment from Unilever Ventures, the venture capital and private equity arm of Unilever. Mirriad is investing the capital into further technology designed to increase the scale of its native in-video advertising (NIVA) offer and build sales and content partnerships with leading content owners and distributors in major markets.

·   Ceres Power Holdings PLC announced in January it had signed a new Joint Development Agreement with Honda R & D Co Ltd to jointly develop Solid Oxide Fuel Cell stacks using Ceres Power's unique metal supported Steel Cell technology for a range of potential power equipment applications. The 2-year contract will allow the parties to build upon the successful previous Joint Development Agreement announced on 29 October 2014.  Additionally, Ceres announced that it had signed a new evaluation agreement and MoU with a leading global Original Equipment Manufacturer, under which a complete Steel Cell system will be deployed for a period of rigorous testing. If the testing proves successful the two parties intend to enter into a Joint Development of a multi kW system.

·    Avacta Group plc announced in April that a range of multimeric Affimer constructs central to its immuno-oncology programme had been successfully generated and manufactured with excellent production yields in simple production systems. The ability to produce a biotherapeutic efficiently during early development and for clinical trials is an essential attribute that can make the difference between success and failure.

US operations - IP Group, Inc.

In the US, the Group remains focused on continuing the positive progress achieved to date.

During the period, the Group signed a collaboration agreement with the University of Washington. Having also recently extended the initial pilot phase agreements with the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University and Princeton University, this brings the total number of IP Group university partners in the US to four.

In addition, IP Group's US partner, FedIMPACT, has signed an inter institutional agreement with UChicago Argonne LLC, the managing and operating contractor for the Argonne National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary science and engineering research centre based in Illinois. FedIMPACT is already engaging with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, bringing the total number of FedIMPACT partners to three.

IP Group's US operation now has a team of 10 FTEs, including one based in Seattle, Washington, and a portfolio of nine companies and projects.

Balance sheet update

At 30 April 2016, the Group had cash of £180m, a diversified portfolio valued at £539m and net assets of £769m, representing 136p per share. Excluding intangible assets the Group's "hard" net assets were £703m or 124p per share.

For more information, please contact:

IP Group plc	www.ipgroupplc.com
Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive Officer Greg Smith, Chief Financial Officer Liz Vaughan-Adams, Communications	[phone] [phone]/[phone]
Charlotte Street Partners
Andrew Wilson Tamsin Garrity	[phone] [phone]

Notes for editors

About IP Group

IP Group is a leading intellectual property commercialisation company which focuses on evolving great ideas, mainly from its partner universities, into world-changing businesses. The Group has pioneered a unique approach to developing these ideas and the resulting businesses by providing access to business building expertise, capital (through its 100%-owned FCA-authorised subsidiary IP Capital), networks, recruitment and business support. IP Group has a strong track record of success and its portfolio comprises holdings in approximately 100 early-stage to mature businesses across four main sectors -- Biotech, Cleantech, Healthcare and Technology. The Company is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under the code IPO.

For more information, please visit our website at www.ipgroupplc.com.

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