REG-Augmentum Fintech Plc: NatWest Group to acquire Cushon

Augmentum FintechAnnouncement

13/02/2023 14:45

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER REGULATION
(EU) NO 596/2014 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL OF 16 APRIL
2014 ON MARKET ABUSE, AS AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME, WHICH IS PART OF UK LAW BY
VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS AMENDED.

13 February 2023

Augmentum Fintech plc

Proposed acquisition of Cushon by NatWest Group

Augmentum Fintech plc (LSE: AUGM) (the “Company” or “Augmentum”),
Europe’s leading publicly listed fintech fund, announces that NatWest Group,
the FTSE 100 banking and financial services group, has agreed to acquire a
majority shareholding in Cushon, a portfolio investment of the Company. The
acquisition will be subject, inter alia, to the receipt of the necessary
regulatory approvals. This transaction will represent Augmentum’s fifth
successful portfolio investment exit, all of which have been at or above the
last reported holding value.

Augmentum first invested in workplace savings and Net Zero pension provider
Cushon (www.cushon.co.uk) in June 2021 with a £5 million investment as part
of Cushon’s Series A fundraising round and since that date the Company has
invested a further £5.8 million.

Augmentum is expected to receive proceeds of £22.8 million from the
completion of the acquisition, representing a 46.2% uplift on the unaudited 30
September 2022 holding value of £15.6 million, a multiple of 2.1x on cost and
an IRR of 66.3%(1).

Augmentum expects this transaction to complete within the next 12 months. The
transaction implies an increase of 3.1p over the last published NAV per
ordinary share after performance fee (unaudited) as at 30 September 2022 of
155.0p. This announcement does not constitute or describe an updated NAV of
the Company(2).

Tim Levene, CEO of Augmentum Fintech, said: “The acquisition of Cushon by
NatWest Group marks Augmentum’s fifth realisation since IPO and demonstrates
the strategic nature of many of the assets in our portfolio. Financial
incumbents are increasingly looking to accelerate their digital transformation
through acquiring innovative, digital-first propositions. The pensions
industry has certainly suffered from a lack of transformative innovation to
date and with their Net Zero pension offering and tech-led approach, Cushon is
a true digital disruptor. We wish Ben Pollard and the team all the best for
their next phase with NatWest”.

Notes:

(1)Assuming completion on 30 April 2023.

(2)The Company's NAV and NAV per ordinary share as at 31 March 2023, both
prior to and after performance fee, will be calculated in accordance with the
Company’s valuation policy and are expected to be announced with the
Company’s full year results. Shareholders should note that the calculation
of the NAV per ordinary share as at 31 March 2023 will take account of the
latest valuations of all of the Company's investments as at 31 March 2023 and
any applicable costs and charges.

Enquiries:

 Augmentum Fintech Tim Levene, Portfolio Manager Georgie Hazell Kivell, Marketing and IR  +44 (0)20 3961 5420 georgie@augmentum.vc  
 Quill PR Nick Croysdill, Sarah Gibbons-Cook (Press and Media)                            +44 (0)20 7466 5050 press@augmentum.vc    
 Peel Hunt LLP Liz Yong, Luke Simpson, Huw Jeremy (Investment Banking)                    +44 (0)20 7418 8900                       
 Singer Capital Markets Harry Gooden, Robert Peel, Alaina Wong (Investment Banking)       +44 (0)20 7496 3000                       
 Frostrow Capital LLP Paul Griggs, Company Secretary                                      +44 (0)20 3709 8733                       

About Augmentum Fintech

Augmentum invests in fast growing fintech businesses that are disrupting the
financial services sector. Augmentum is the UK’s only publicly listed
investment company focusing on the fintech sector in the UK and wider Europe,
having launched on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in 2018,
giving businesses access to patient capital and support, unrestricted by
conventional fund timelines and giving public markets investors access to a
largely privately held investment sector during its main period of growth.



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