Half year trading update and notice of results

RNS Number : 5391D

Draper Esprit PLC

29 October 2020

 

Draper Esprit Plc

("Draper Esprit", "the Group" or the "Company")

Half year trading update and notice of results

Draper Esprit (LSE: GROW, Euronext Growth: GRW), a leading venture capital firm investing in and developing high growth digital technology businesses, today announces an update on its portfolio and NAV (unaudited) ahead of its interim results for the period ended 30 September 2020, which are scheduled for release on 30 November 2020.

Highlights:

· NAV per share is expected to be not less than 595p (30 September 2019 - 574p; 31 March 2020 - 555p).

· Gross Portfolio Value (unaudited), even after significant realisations, is expected to be not less than £695m (30 September 2019 - £683m; 31 March 2020 - £703m).

· Realisations since 31 March 2020 amount to £106m (6 months to 30 September 2019 - £23m; year to 31 March 2020 - £40m), including proceeds from the disposals of Peak Games and TransferWise.

· Increase in Gross Portfolio Fair Value (unaudited) of circa £70m (10%) over the 6-month period (6 months to 30 September 2019 - £70m; year to 31 March 2020 - £59m), including the fair value uplift from the disposal of Peak Games and Transferwise.

· Investments in the six months since 31 March 2020 amount to £32m (6 months to 30 September 2019 - £42m; year to 31 March 2020 - £90m) including new investments in Cazoo and Ravelin plus follow on investments to Aircall, Lyst, Form3 and PushDoctor.

· Strong available cash resources at year-end of £62m further complemented by £39m from EIS and VCT funds.

· Post year-end fundraise with further net proceeds of circa £107m gives us significant firepower to take advantage of the current opportunity-rich environment and increase our investment cadence.

· Post year-end investment co-led the $50m Series B fundraising by PrimaryBid, a technology platform that allows retail investors fair access to public companies raising capital.

Martin Davis, CEO Draper Esprit commented:

"It is positive to see, especially in highly uncertain times, our portfolio of fast-growing European technology companies allows us to deliver for our shareholders.

"We continue to build the infrastructure to scale the Group and leverage our co-investment model, which will enable us to take advantage of the opportunities we see in our existing portfolio and in the European market as a whole.

"The ongoing pandemic is only serving to accelerate the transition to digital and creating new opportunities for new entrants across many end markets.  Our recent fundraise and potential for raising a growth fund will further support our vision of backing entrepreneurs to invent the future."

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Enquiries

Draper Esprit plc Martin Davis (Chief Executive Officer) Ben Wilkinson (Chief Financial Officer)	[phone]
Numis Securities Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker Simon Willis Richard Thomas Jamie Loughborough	[phone]
Goodbody Stockbrokers Euronext Growth Adviser & Joint Broker Don Harrington Charlotte Craigie Dearbhla Gallagher	[phone]
Powerscourt Public relations Elly Williamson Donjeta Miftari	[phone] / [phone]

About Draper Esprit

Draper Esprit is one of the most active venture capital firms in Europe, investing in disruptive, high growth technology companies. We believe the best entrepreneurs in Europe are capable of building the global businesses of the future. We fuel their growth with long-term capital, access to international networks and decades of experience building businesses.

Currently, Draper Esprit is a shareholder in a diverse portfolio of 66 companies with 16 of those part of our core portfolio which accounts for 67% of our holdings. Our core companies include Trustpilot, UiPath, Aircall, TransferWise, Graphcore and Revolut. We invest across four sectors: Consumer Technology, Enterprise Technology, Hardware and Deeptech, and Digital Health and Wellness, with highly experienced partners constantly looking for new opportunities in each. We look for high-growth companies with strong IP, powerful technology, and the management teams to deliver success. They operate in new markets, with serious potential for global expansion. We also look for businesses with the potential to generate strong margins to ensure rapid, sustainable growth in substantial addressable markets.

Draper Esprit provides an opportunity for public market investors to access these fast growing tech businesses, without having to commit to long term investments with limited liquidity. Since IPO in June 2016, we have deployed circa£450m capital into fast growing technology companies and have realised £211m. In October 2020 we raised net proceeds of circa £107m to help us capitalise on a European VC market which is expanding rapidly, but is still less than one quarter of the combined size of the US and European market by value. It will also allow us to capitalise on the transition to a digital future that has been given added impetus as a result of the recent pandemic.

For more information, go to https://draperesprit.com/

 

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