Non Regulatory: Update re BTL Group Ltd

RNS Number : 0582E

Vela Technologies PLC

03 May 2017

3 May 2017

Vela Technologies plc

("Vela", the "Company" or the "Group")

Non-regulatory: Update re BTL Group Ltd

The Board of Vela (AIM: VELA), the investing company focused on early-stage and pre-IPO disruptive technology investments, is pleased to note the announcement yesterday by BTL Group Ltd ("BTL") regarding the progress update and strategic outline for the rollout of Interbit, BTL's proprietary private blockchain technology platform, in a Beta version during the third quarter of this fiscal year, BTL having successfully completed pilot projects in the energy sector and the finance space with Visa.

In addition, BTL has also announced that it has filed its audited consolidated financial statements and its management's discussion and analysis for the year ended 31 December 2016, which can be found under BTL's profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), and which sets forth detailed operating and financial results for BTL.

Following the sale of 2,200 common shares in BTL at C$4.90 per share on 26 April 2017 Vela holds, as at the date of this announcement, 660,900 common shares in BTL equivalent to approximately 3.6 per cent. of BTL's issued share capital. BTL is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, on which the closing mid-market price on 2 May 2017 of BTL's common shares was C$4.60 per share which values Vela's shareholding in BTL at approximately C$3.04 million (equivalent to £1.72 million at today's prevailing exchange rate*). In addition Vela holds a total of 66,666 warrants in BTL. 41,666 warrants are exercisable at a price of C$1.50 for a period expiring on 17 December 2017 and 25,000 warrants are exercisable at a price of C$3.25 for a period expiring on 6 April 2019.

Extracts from the BTL announcement are copied below:

BTL Group Advances 2017 Blockchain Strategy Around Interbit Platform

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA and LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - May 2, 2017) - BTL GROUP LTD. (TSX VENTURE:BTL) ("BTL") is pleased to provide a progress update and strategic outline for the rollout of Interbit, its proprietary private blockchain technology platform, in a Beta version during the upcoming third quarter of this fiscal year.

"We are very proud of what we've achieved at BTL to date, which includes getting our Interbit platform to the Alpha state, along with funding in place to support development of the next phase. Having successfully completed pilot projects in the energy sector, and the finance space with Visa, we are more confident in our blockchain technology than we've ever been and have a more transparent roadmap for Interbit's route to market," said Guy Halford-Thompson, BTL's Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. "We have built the Interbit platform specifically with enterprise in mind to help companies overcome many of the challenges they face today such as the high cost of maintaining legacy IT frameworks, speed of data transfer, data loss, reconciliation and cybersecurity," he continued.

Following on from the success of pilot projects in 2016, BTL has been able to set a clear strategy for the 2017 financial and calendar year. In Q3 2017, which starts in July, BTL plans to accelerate Interbit's go to market strategy by launching a Beta version of the platform, and shifting the focus onto enabling key clients to build their own applications on Interbit directly.

"We believe that enabling key clients to build on Interbit will create a growing pipeline of new business for BTL. Having successfully raised CAD$3,105,000 during our latest fundraise completed in April 2017, we have the ability to ramp up our technical resources and expand our teams in both Canada and the UK. By adding the right people to our highly experienced blockchain technology team, our aim is that BTL and our Interbit platform will become a leading technology solutions provider," added Guy Halford-Thompson.

During 2016, BTL's highlights have been the successful completion of pilot projects with major global enterprises in both the finance and energy spaces. In these pilot projects, BTL has used its Interbit platform to demonstrate how it can use innovative processes to vastly reduce the complexity of transactional IT infrastructure, thus reducing risk and costs for enterprises.

In January 2017, BTL successfully launched the Alpha version of Interbit to undertake a European energy pilot. With this pilot past the halfway mark, the focus is to develop the framework for a commercial product and operating model for the conclusion of the pilot.

Annual Financials

BTL also announces that it has filed its audited consolidated financial statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year 31^st December 2016, which can be found under BTL's profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), and which sets forth detailed operating and financial results for BTL.

ABOUT BTL GROUP LTD AND INTERBIT

Operating from both Canada and the UK, BTL is an enterprise technology platform provider that has built Interbit, a proprietary private blockchain. Via its Interbit platform, BTL can help companies greatly reduce risks and costs by securely streamlining existing IT infrastructures. To date, BTL has successfully demonstrated how Interbit can innovate system processes for leading companies in the finance, energy and gaming sectors.

Interbit is a fast, encrypted, scalable, private, but open, multi-chain technology platform. Via its suite of APIs and smart contracts Interbit allows businesses from across the world to improve efficiency by securely trading and auditing assets in compliance with relevant regulations.

With offices in Vancouver and Canary Wharf in London, BTL is positioning itself as a front-runner in the blockchain ecosystem, partnering with and enabling enterprises on Interbit in order to improve their existing IT systems.

Website: www.btl.co

Twitter: https://twitter.com/blockchainltd

The full BTL announcement can be found via the following link:

http://web.tmxmoney.com/article.php?newsid=8475216151101760&qm_symbol=BTL

*Based on the exchange rate as on 3 May 2017 of C$1: GB0.564547.

For further information, please contact:

Vela Technologies plc

Brent Fitzpatrick, Non-Executive Chairman

Antony Laiker, Director

Tel: +44 (0) 7802 262 443

Allenby Capital Limited

(Nominated Adviser)