Update re BTL Group Ltd

RNS Number : 5247C

Vela Technologies PLC

22 January 2018

Vela Technologies plc

("Vela")

BTL Group Ltd - Investment Update

The Board of Vela (AIM: VELA), the investing company focused on early-stage and pre-IPO disruptive technology investments, is pleased to note the update announcement made today by BTL Group Ltd ("BTL") regarding its European energy trading project under which several oil and gas companies and energy traders propose to use BTL's Interbit blockchain platform.

Vela holds, as at the date of this announcement, 620,000 common shares in BTL equivalent to approximately 2.91 per cent. of BTL's issued share capital. BTL is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, on which the closing mid-market price on 19 January 2018 of BTL's common shares was C$11.50 per share which values Vela's shareholding in BTL at approximately C$7.13 million (equivalent to £4.11 million*).

Extracts from the BTL announcement are copied below:

BTL GROUP LTD. (TSX Venture:BTL) ("BTL" or the "Company") is pleased to provide further information on the next phase of its previously announced European energy trading project, under which four oil and gas supermajors and five leading energy traders including Eni Trading & Shipping, Total, Gazprom Marketing & Trading Limited, Mercuria, Vattenfall, Petroineos and Freepoint, propose to participate in using BTL's Interbit blockchain platform to deliver gas trading reconciliation through to settlement and delivery of trades. This enterprise solution is being called OneOffice and is a revenue generating project for BTL.

OneOffice - this second phase of BTL's European energy project - follows the successful completion of the phase one pilot (see the Company's press release dated June 5, 2017) which demonstrated the Interbit platform's delivery of back office cost saving via smart contracts that automate trade reconciliation processes. In this second phase, BTL will work with the participants to build the OneOffice application to deliver cost savings across the trade life cycle.

Interbit, as a next generation blockchain platform, has the capacity to operate and interconnect many thousands of blockchains per server, in a secure, private and scalable manner and moreover is designed for ease of use. See the Company's October 17, 2017 press release for more information about Interbit's capabilities and the patents filed in connection therewith.

Francesco Romeo, Eni Trading & Shipping ICT Vice President, said, "Following our experience during the European energy pilot, we look forward to expanding the scope to enable straight through processing through the whole settlement process as well as bringing wider participation from the industry."

"Total has been trading gas and power since 2000. At the moment, we hear a lot about blockchain and how this technology could transform the trading processes. If successful, this initiative with BTL could help us to reduce the risks of human errors and to increase the speed in the reconciliation process of transactions with our fellow counterparts," said Philippe Chauvain, Vice President Risk Control and IT - Total Gas & Power Limited.

Catherine Newman, General Manager Global IT & Delivery, Gazprom Marketing & Trading Limited, said, "Blockchain could provide cross-industry opportunities to improve the speed, security and efficiency of transactions with Gazprom Marketing & Trading Limited's counterparties at the forefront of technological developments in commodity trading. These opportunities can only be realised by working collaboratively with other commodity market participants. Although it is early stages yet, the POC with BTL represents an exciting and potentially disruptive prospect in the near future."

"Blockchain has great potential to increase automation and efficiency of our trading operation. Back office processes for confirmation, settlement and invoicing are ideal use cases for this emerging technology. We expect significant improvements in these processes by utilising BTL's OneOffice," said Frank van Doorn, acting Head of Trading, Vattenfall.

"Phase two extends from trade reconciliation to settlement using our Interbit application for the natural gas trade life cycle. We are delighted to be working with some of the largest and most innovative companies in the energy sector, bringing together like-minded firms that see the potential of BTL's industry agnostic blockchain technology in reducing risks, costs and providing better protection against cyber threats," said Dominic McCann, BTL's CEO. "The launch of the OneOffice project is a significant achievement for BTL as we move closer towards introducing the Interbit platform across multiple industries later this calendar quarter."

Recent Annual General Meeting

The Company is also pleased to announce that all resolutions presented before the Company's shareholders at its Annual and Special Meeting on January 9, 2018, received requisite approvals by shareholders of the Company. Elected as directors of the Company were Brian Hinchcliffe, John Thomson, Dominic McCann and Guy Halford-Thompson. Should the Board of Directors decide to take further action in connection with the proposed name change of the Company as approved by shareholders, it will announce such actions at the applicable times.

ABOUT BTL™ AND INTERBIT™

Listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX Venture:BTL) and operating from both Canada and the UK, BTL is an enterprise technology platform provider that is developing Interbit, a proprietary next generation blockchain platform. Via Interbit, BTL can help companies greatly reduce risks and costs by securely streamlining existing IT infrastructures. BTL has successfully demonstrated how Interbit can innovate and transform existing business processes for leading companies in the finance, energy and gaming sectors.

Interbit is a fast, private, and scalable inter-connected blockchain platform. Via its suite of APIs and smart contracts, Interbit allows businesses around the world to improve efficiency in trading and operations, accelerate development of internal systems, and embrace new revenue generating opportunities, while providing the high levels of security, resilience and auditability required in regulated enterprise environments.

With offices in Vancouver and Calgary, Canada and London, UK, 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
Videos: https://youtu.be/YFOH0YEHLak and https://youtu.be/wx-ZOzzNx1U

*Based on the exchange rate as on 22 January 2018 of C$1: GB0.5766

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)

Nick Athanas/Katrina Perez/Asha Chotai

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3328 5656

Smaller Company Capital Limited