Q1 2022 Portfolio Update

RNS Number : 7744L

Sure Ventures PLC

17 May 2022

 

Sure Ventures plc ('Sure  Ventures' or 'the Company')

Portfolio Update Q1 2022 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 is €1.47 which is a 9.99% increase from its NAV as at Q4 2021.

Sure Valley has several investments across the AI, AR, VR and IoT sectors and the major contributing factors and commentary on underlying companies that has driven this NAV calculation are as follows:

Getvisibility

Getvisibility successfully raised €10 million in equity from new investors Alpha Intelligence Capital ("AIC"), a global venture capital firm which invests in deep artificial intelligence/machine learning technology-based companies and Fortino Capital Partners ("Fortino"), a leading B2B software venture capital and growth equity firm.  

Certain existing investors, including Sure Valley Ventures and Pires have also made follow-on investments alongside AIC and Fortino and other additional new investors. As part of this funding round, Sure Ventures PLC invested a further 310,773 Euros from existing cash resources as part of the follow-on round.

Getvisibility has made significant progress in both winning customers and identifying customer needs, in what is clearly a requirement that has become "front and centre" to commercial operations across the globe. This round of funding, based on the post funding round valuation of Getvisibility, provides a 4x uplift to our original investment and has been responsible for the NAV uplift.

VIVIDQ

VividQ announced the launch of its latest cutting-edge technology, unveiled for the first time at the SID Display Week Conference in San Jose, California. VividQ's Alpha Optical Engine Demonstrator displays high-resolution 3D visuals (60 PPD) with excellent contrast and realistic focal depth using Computer-Generated Holography (CGH), the process of engineering light in software.

This new technology allows device manufacturers to test and evaluate VividQ's innovations in Computer generated holography (CGH) against their AR display specifications and image quality requirements. VividQ is collaborating with device manufacturers from the US, Japan and China to integrate CGH into the next generation of AR devices soon to be available on the market.

 Listed holdings

Equity markets have been volatile, and both Engage XR (EXR.L) and Immotion PLC (IMMO.L) traded lower on a quarter-on-quarter basis. The AIFM are happy with both positions and are long term investors. Both listed entities are producing strong revenue growth and market adoption.

During the quarter Immotion PLC signed a three-year agreement for the installation of a 24 seat Gorilla Trek VR Theatre at Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. The company also announced full year results showing Revenues for the year increasing by 230% to £9,391,000 and the Group achieved a full year positive adjusted EBITDA^[5] result for the first time since its inception of £908,000 (2020: £1,690,000 negative).

ENGAGE XR is also performing well despite the market volatility and Engage platform revenue comprises 72% of total Group revenue. Since the Group's interim results, ENGAGE has continued to grow, including the recent signing of a contract with one of the world's leading professional services groups to use the platform.  Annual ENGAGE revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is in excess of 100%.

SURE VALLEY VENTURES ENTERPRISE CAPITAL FUND

During the quarter Sure Ventures PLC also made a commitment of £5m to the Sure Valley Ventures Capital Fund. The fund has launched, and the first investment was made in a company called RETìníZE on the 16^th of March 2022.

Retinize are developing an innovative software product called Animotive that is harnessing the latest VR technologies to transform the 3D animation production process. The proceeds of the seed round will drive the next two-year step in its growth and the global rollout of Animotive.

The seed round, led by the SVV Software Fund's £1 million investment, marks the first investment from this fund which recently announced its first close of £85 million, which included a cornerstone £50 million investment from the British Business Bank, an investment arm of the UK Government.

Sure Ventures PLC NAV

The funding round secured by Getvisability has had a significant impact on the Company's NAV and despite a decline in value of the listed assets, the NAV of Sure Ventures PLC has grown from 118.34p a share to 128.9p a share, which represents a 8.923% uplift quarter on quarter.

Forward looking statement & Director comment

When calculating the NAV for both Sure Valley Ventures and Sure Ventures PLC we do not re-rate an unlisted investee company valuation unless there is a funding round priced by another investor. The nature and stage of the software companies that we invest requires patience and we are now starting to see these businesses mature at a strong pace. This quarter has seen another portfolio company complete a follow on round with a 4x original cash uplift and we look forward to updating the market with progress of our portfolio as it continues to grow.

Gareth Burchell comment 

"Sure Valley Ventures and its portfolio of deep technology companies continue to perform in what are difficult economic circumstances. The speed at which some of the growth is starting to come through has the team excited for the future. The NAV is beginning to reflect some of the achievements of our founders and we look forward to updating shareholders with further progress"

For further information, please visit www.sureventuresplc.com or contact:

Gareth Burchell

Sure Ventures plc

[phone]

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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