Update - Portr £3.3 million Series A funding round

RNS Number : 7024U

Vela Technologies PLC

31 July 2015

 



31 July 2015

Vela Technologies plc

("Vela" or the "Company")

Update on investment in Portr Limited - completion of £3.3 million Series A funding

The Board of Vela (AIM: VELA), the investing company focused on early-stage and pre-IPO disruptive technology investments, is pleased to announce that it has been informed by Portr Limited ("Portr"), its travel technology investee company, that it has successfully raised a series A funding round of £3.3 million at a £15.3 million post-money valuation (the "Series A Fundraise"). The proceeds from the Series A Fundraise will be used by Portr to fund the expansion of AirPortr into new airports. Investors in the recent funding round include two venture capital trusts managed by Hargreave Hale and a number of angel investors with backgrounds in SaaS, technology and on-demand services.

Portr has also announced the appointment of a new non-executive director, Sean McDonald. With over 20 years' experience in the travel and technology industries, Sean was formerly Senior Vice President for Sales & Marketing at Expedia where he ran the commercial teams at the Expedia Affiliate Network - the world's largest online travel affiliate business. Sean will focus on expanding and strengthening Portr's affiliate network with global partners, including airlines and hotel groups, while helping to grow the sales and relationship management teams at Portr.

Vela has an interest in 87,685 shares in Portr which have a paper value equivalent to approximately £525,000 at the price of the Series A Fundraise. Following completion of the Series A Fundraise Vela has an interest in approximately 3.4% of the enlarged issued share capital of Portr. Vela has to date invested £100,000 in cash in Portr over two funding rounds. The most recent investment of £50,000 in Portr was part of an overall £600,000 funding round by Portr in May 2014 which valued Portr at £5.1 million post-money.

Portr is a private UK company that is the owner of an on-demand airport luggage transfer service, AirPortr. AirPortr was launched at London City Airport on 1 May 2014 and full operations commenced on 22 May 2014. The service is designed to enable visitors to London to book luggage transfers between the airport and their end destination being their hotel, serviced apartment or office leaving them bag free and able to maximise their time in the city. Portr employs leading-edge technology across its web booking platform and logistics engine, integrated with leading same-day and specialist logistics provider CitySprint UK who manage and deliver the white-glove AirPortr operation.

Since AirPort was launched at London City Airport, Portr has:

§ Built a reputation as a trusted service provider successfully delivering thousands of bags maintaining a 100% on time delivery record and five star reviews online;

§ Collaborated with airlines, airports and regulators to deliver ground breaking innovations improving the passenger experience - as seen with Carousel Collection for British Airways;

§ Demonstrated the service's relevance to all traveller and trip types satisfying a growing consumer demand for convenience technology, saving the most valuable of all commodities, time; and

§ Seen high percentage of repeat usage by regular travellers showing the service has become an essential part of the journey.

In addition Portr has recently announced a long term agreement to operate at London Gatwick Airport and the launch of their services at the airport's South Terminal. In addition, AirPortr is expected to become operational at Gatwick's North Terminal following the terminal's reconfiguration and refurbishment which is planned for completion by December 2015. With almost 40 million passengers annually London Gatwick represents a major step up for Portr and provides the company with direct access to 32% of London's non-transferring traffic*.

Commenting on the successful Series A investment round, Randel Darby (CEO of Portr), commented:

"Having worked hard to build a recognised service standard over the last 12 months in a challenging, typically risk-averse industry this week's announcements are hugely exciting and progressive for a start-up such as Portr. Having secured £3.3m of equity funding, we are now well positioned to grow the business at London Gatwick as well as continue to develop our faster travel products and technology, transforming transportation."

Antony Laiker (Executive Director of Vela) added:

"The latest funding provides a further substantial uplift in the value of our investment. Following this news today, the paper value of Portr at the price of the Series A Fundraise represents a substantial percentage of Vela's current market capitalisation. In addition, Portr has secured a highly regarded shareholder to support our view that not only is the model very scaleable but that Portr has the potential to grow rapidly over the coming years."

* Source: CAA- UK Civil Aviation Authority 2014 figures

For further information on Portr please visit www.portr.com or connect with Portr on Twitter (https://twitter.com/airportr_uk), Facebook (www.facebook.com/Airportr) or Instagram (https://instagram.com/portr).

For further information please contact:

Vela Technologies plc Brent Fitzpatrick, Non-Executive Chairman Antony Laiker, Director Tel: [phone] Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser) Nick Athanas/Katrina Perez/James Reeve Vicarage Capital Limited (Broker) Rupert Williams/Jeremy Woodgate Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone]

 

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