Interim Statement

Matrix e-Ventures Fund VCT PLC 12 January 2001 Interim Statement for the period ended 31 October 2000 Chairman's Statement I would like to thank all shareholders for supporting Matrix e-Ventures Fund VCT plc since its commencement of trading in May 2000. The public offer opened on 11 May 2000 with an initial closing date of 20 June 2000. By that date, the minimum subscription level had been achieved but the board of directors took the view that to meet further demand the offer period should be extended and the offer finally closed on 22 December 2000. I am delighted to report that the Company raised £12,389,223, after expenses amounting to 6% of the funds raised. In the period from commencement of trading on 10 May 2000 to 31 October 2000 the Company had made four investments totalling £1,550,000. These investments are in Sit-up.com Limited, Callserve Communications plc, Clarity Commerce Solutions plc and e-go systems.com plc. You will have read about these four investments and two further investments made in November totalling £1,100,000 (e-Gas & Power plc and i-Desk plc) in my letter to shareholders during November. During December 2000 a seventh investment of £750,000 was made in ImageCom Limited bringing the total of investments to £3,400,000. In accordance with BVCA guidelines these investments are valued at cost, except in the case of Clarity Commerce Solutions plc which is valued at the mid market price on 31 October 2000. In total, these seven investments represent 27% of net funds raised. Shareholders will receive two newsletters in addition to the interim and annual reports providing a regular update of the new investments which we make. I am also pleased to report that the fund adviser, Matrix Private Equity (Managers) Limited, continues to receive a very encouraging flow of investment opportunities. My next statement will be in respect of the period from 10 May 2000 to 30 April 2001. By that time I am optimistic that we will have made further progress in investing the Company's funds. Michael Cumming Chairman, 12 January 2001 Fund Manager's Report The fund has been investing since the middle of 2000 post the change in market sentiment towards technology stocks. The slower development and penetration of the internet has been reflected in more conservative financing structures and lower valuations than at any stage in the last 18 months. There are still good investment opportunities available in the unquoted arena and the investment team has been exceptionally busy evaluating over 400 investment proposals over the last six months. The vast majority of these have been submitted from high quality sources including other venture capitalists, accountants, corporate finance departments and specialist advisers. The fund completed four investments up to the end of October, details of which are as follows: Sit-up.com Limited Investment of £500,000 The company aims to create a range of programmes for digital TV and the internet. Their first product is Bid-up.TV, the UK's first interactive TV-based auction site. This has an experienced and focused management team. Growth will be driven by the promising future for home TV shopping with penetration of digital TV set to reach a forecast of 15% of all households by end of 2000 and 43% by 2004. Callserve Communications Plc Investment of £300,000 The company is a global provider of telephony over the Internet. This is a business which gives consumers the opportunity to make worldwide calls using microphone headsets attached to their PCs for the price of a local call, thereby undercutting the prices of international telephone providers. Callserve offers the service through high profile partners such as NEC/Packard Bell, Lycos, Freeserve and Disney. Clarity Commerce Solutions plc Investment of £250,000 Clarity provides integrated solutions to the hospitality and leisure markets, encompassing site-based hardware, extensive back office software and a multi-functional head office management tool. The group's products address the pub, restaurant and nightclub markets but it also supplies hotels and fast food operators. Customers include Punch, Bass, Harry Ramsdens, Belgo and Whitbread. The company was listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in July 2000 and the VCT's investment has risen from 125p per share to 135.5p per share (09/01/2001). E-go systems.com plc Investment of £500,000 Provides Unified Messaging services to multinational companies. Unified messaging allows employees to receive their voice mail, e- mail, fax, and mobile messages in one place of their choice (e.g. their mobile) and at the time of their choice. A strong management team has been assembled from leading US companies such as Lucent and CISCO and e-go has substantial strategic partners such as Clarent Corp and Comverse - NASDAQ-listed US corporations. Since October we have completed three further investments: e-Gas & Power plc Investment of £350,000 e-Gas & Power Plc is a major broker of natural gas and electricity in Europe using a telephone-based trading set-up with deals being undertaken with clients using data viewed on dedicated screens. The company is expanding its operations by offering an e-B2B exchange for gas and electricity, first to UK customers and eventually to other EU countries. Delivery is via the Internet with data, including contracts, being communicated by e-mail. i-Desk plc Investment of £750,000 i-Desk is a provider of internet e-services to UK Internet Service Providers and telecom providers and over 2.5 million end-users are currently supported. The company is operating in the fast growing technical call centre market and is also in the electronic bill payment and presentation market. ImageCom Limited Investment of £750,000 ImageCom is a specialised video communications company providing the technology to enable high quality live video images to be transmitted over telephone networks by compressing and decompressing the images at either end. The Fund invested alongside Thompson Clive to provide funds for expansion. All the unquoted investments are valued at cost in accordance with the British Venture Capital Association Guidelines. The investment in Clarity Commerce Solutions is valued at the mid-market price on 31 October 2000. We believe that we have many more suitable investment opportunities under consideration and that valuations now prevalent reflect a more realistic balance of risk and reward than has been the case for many months. Unquoted venture capital companies typically take 3 years to mature to a size where sale or flotation is appropriate. The spread of investments listed above, together with those under consideration, should provide a well-balanced portfolio of technology companies at all stages of development. UNAUDITED STATEMENT OF TOTAL RETURN Period from 10 May 2000 to 31 October 2000 Revenue* Capital Total £ £ £ Unrealised gains and losses on investments - 3,425 3,425 Income 215,187 - 215,187 Investment management fees (27,692) (83,076) (110,768) Other expenses (126,184) - (126,184) Return on ordinary activities before taxation 61,311 (79,651) (18,340) Tax on ordinary activities (16,615) 16,615 - Return attributable to equity shareholders 44,696 (63,036) (18,340) Dividends in respect of equity shares - - - Transfer to reserves 44,696 (63,036) (18,340) Return per ordinary share: Basic 0.5p (0.7)p (0.2)p * The Revenue column of this Statement is the profit and loss account of the Company. Notes: 1. There are no comparative figures for the equivalent period in 1999 as the Company was incorporated on 8 March 2000 and commenced trading on 10 May 2000. 2. All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing operations. 3. Basic revenue return per Ordinary Share is based on the net revenue on ordinary activities after taxation. For the period from 30 May 2000 (the date of the first allotment), this return was based on 8,974,377 shares being the weighted average number of Ordinary Shares in issue during the period. 4. In accordance with the policy statement published under 'Management and Administration' in the Company's prospectus, the directors have charged 75% of the investment management expenses to the capital reserve. 5. Funds raised from the share issue as at 31 October 2000 of £12,571,800, before deduction of expenses of £721,858, are invested in accordance with the prospectus. 6. The financial information set out in this report has not been audited and does not comprise full financial statements within the meaning of Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. 7. Copies of this statement are being sent to all shareholders. Further copies are available free of charge from the Company's registered office. BALANCE SHEET as at 31 October 2000 £ £ £ Fixed Assets Equity Investments 1,569,999 Fixed Interest Securities 6,513,000 Monies held pending investments 3,410,994 11,493,993 Current Assets Debtors and prepayments 340,795 Cash 300,201 640,996 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Corporation tax - Other creditors 63,504 Accruals 239,883 (303,387) Net current assets 337,609 Net assets 11,831,602 Capital and reserves Called up share capital 126,042 Share premium account 11,723,900 Capital reserve - realised (66,461) Capital reserve - unrealised 3,425 Revenue reserves 44,696 11,831,602 Net asset value per share 93.87p
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