General Update & Clean Power Hydrogen Investment

RNS Number : 7883B

Primorus Investments PLC

16 February 2022

 

Primorus   Investments   plc

("Primorus"   or   the   "Company")

General Update & Clean Power Hydrogen

Investment

Primorus Investments plc (AIM: PRIM) is pleased to announce that it has invested £1,000,000 in the initial public offering (IPO) of Clean Power Hydrogen ("CPH2") on AIM. CPH2 is a manufacturer of the membrane-free electrolyser which is used to create hydrogen and medical grade oxygen.

Primorus has agreed to subscribe for 2,222,222 shares at a price of £0.45 per share.

CPH2 has raised £30 million of new equity finance before expenses and fees which is intended to be used for working capital, supply chain development, global marketing, product development and factory development.  Its market capitalisation on admission to trading on AIM will be approximately £120 million.

Further information about CPH2 and its business can be found on its website: https://www.cph2.com/

The demand for electrolysers is cited by Global Market Insights (https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/electrolyzer-market?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwovvu8Ht9QIV0oxoCR0WlAgGEAAYASAAEgK-qvD_BwE) to be growing rapidly with a projected market value of $53bn by 2030.

The board of Primorus believes this is an excellent time to make an investment into this sector and looks forward to CPH2 developing its products and global brand.

In the year ended 31 December 2020 CPH2 had turnover of £107,000 and made a loss of £1,679,000.

General Update

Rambler Metals and Mining PLC ("RMM")

Further to the investment announced on 3 February 2022, Primorus has purchased an additional 262,358 shares in RMM for an average price per share of £0.275 bringing its total shareholding in RMM to 1,306,168 ordinary shares.

Fresho

Fresho has completed a capital raise of $12m at $0.90 per share which is approximately a 55% increase on the previous price of $0.575 per share.  This values Primorus' holding in Fresho at approximately £1.6m based on an exchange rate of $0.53 AUD.

Fresho has provided the following summary of its business

- the value through the Fresho platform has risen 50% year on year to over $1bn annualized

- there are now over 21,000 businesses using the Fresho platform

- Fresho are significantly expanding their UK arm of the business

- Fresho has received more than 3m orders per annum

ENGAGE

ENGAGE provided an update for the period ending November 2021. 

ENGAGE has gained significant traction in its new Managed Service Provider ("MSP") target market,

securing new contracts and being invited to tender for more.  The secured work was for a reasonable size account with roughly 500 workers on site.

The work being tendered for has the potential to be much larger than the existing accounts they have secured.

If ENGAGE can maximise its MSP opportunity it will potentially double the size of its available market and de-risk the overall business model.

In March 2021 ENGAGE raised circa £400,000 of new investment from a target of £1.5m.  This investment was specifically required to fund development for the MSP market. Due to the full investment amount not being achieved, and to ensure cash burn was maintained at the same rate, ENGAGE is forecasting a delay in the growth of its original core market to facilitate the MSP market opportunity.

The management team at ENGAGE are confident that taking on MSP in the immediate term will ensure they meet or exceed the medium-term forecasts that were originally dependant on the original core market alone.

Further progress has been made with the original core market, with new end-hirers taking on the Vendor Management System solution. This has led to the new end-hirers supply chain of recruitment agencies and umbrella payroll businesses exclusively utilising the ENGAGE platform.

Interest in ENGAGE from strategic investors remains high and two new complimentary

software developers have joined the list.

We understand that ENGAGE is maintaining and increasing the number of conversations and relationships with strategic investors or acquirers to ensure it has multiple options available to it. ENGAGE remains well funded with £2.5m cash on its balance sheet and strong forecast revenue growth from its existing business model.

With its large and well-defined pipeline of pent-up demand, now in two markets, the main objective for ENGAGE during 2022 is to increase engineering capacity by taking on strategic investment.

Payapps (formerly Zuuse)

Zuuse Limited has been renamed and rebranded to Payapps Limited ("Payapps").

The name change and re-brand is at a parent entity level, with the existing core product branding being retained given the strong market awareness and brand recognition, especially for GCPay & Payapps. As part of the re-brand, a new website for Payapps has been published and can be located at www.payappscompany.com.

Primorus has been informed that the UK and US businesses have grown over 50% on a revenue run rate basis in the second half of 2021.

Payapps, as of 31 December 2021, is expected to have a revenue in the mid-20 million (Australian Dollar) range, subject to December's performance and exchange rates. The performance has largely been delivered as a result of the growth in the Construction Payment Management product during 2021.

Payapps has increased its headcount by more than 85% over the last twelve months.  The board of Payapps are therefore forecasting an EBITDA loss for the year; however, we understand that Payapps is expecting the additional investment to yield a stronger growth in 2022 (subject to no further construction restrictions being imposed on its key markets).

Mustang Energy

Further to the Company's announcement on 19 January 2022 the court case is ongoing, and we will provide notification of the outcome as soon as we are made aware of it.  The outcome of the court case will, however, enable the Company to determine which of the conversion options detailed in the announcement of 19 January 2022 will provide the best returns for shareholders.  A decision on the conversion options is expected to be made on or around 28 February 2022.

Executive Chairman's Comment

Rupert Labrum, Executive Chairman of Primorus, stated "I am very pleased that we are continuing to make investments which align with the Company's revised strategy, approved at the 2021 AGM, and believe this gives our shareholders the ability to clearly and visibly measure the performance of the Company. We believe that making investments in companies which offer a clear path to liquidity, with market determined valuations will enable Primorus far greater flexibility when managing the entry and exit points of each investment".

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the UK Market Abuse Regulation and the Directors are responsible for the release of this announcement.

Forward Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements relating to expected or anticipated future events and anticipated results that are forward-looking in nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such as general economic, market and business conditions, competition for qualified staff, the regulatory process and actions, technical issues, new legislation, uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans, uncertainties resulting from working in a new political jurisdiction, uncertainties regarding the results of exploration, uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of prospecting rights, uncertainties regarding the Company's ability to execute and implement future plans, and the occurrence of unexpected events. Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors.

For further information please contact:

PrimorusInvestmentsplc Matthew Beardmore, Chief ExecutiveOfficer	[phone]
NominatedAdviser CairnFinancialAdvisersLLP SandyJamieson/James Caithie	[phone]

 

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