British Smaller Co's - 3rd Quarter Results
21/03/2022 13:15
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RNS Number : 4701F British Smaller Companies VCT PLC 21 March 2022
British Smaller Companies VCT plc
Interim Management Statement
For the quarter ended 31 December 2021
British Smaller Companies VCT plc (the "Company") presents its interim
management statement for the quarter ended 31 December 2021. The statement
also includes relevant financial information between the end of the quarter
and the date of this statement. A copy of this interim management statement
can be found at www.bscfunds.com (http://www.bscfunds.com) .
Overview
The Company's Total Return at 31 December 2021 was 251.9 pence per ordinary
share, representing an increase of 1.6 pence per ordinary share over the Total
Return of 250.3 pence per ordinary share as at 30 September 2021. The increase
is 1.8 per cent of the opening net asset value at the beginning of the quarter
of 90.9 pence per share.
The Company completed the realisation of 15 per cent of its investment in
Matillion as part of its Series E funding round during the quarter. The
proceeds from this partial exit were £5.0 million which, together with
previous proceeds received of £2.1 million, represents a total return to date
of 2.7x the total cost of the Company's investment. The value of the Company's
residual investment in Matillion at 31 December 2021 is £29.7 million. This
is an outstanding outcome to date, in a company which is experiencing
continued fast growth.
Total proceeds from all full and partial realisations in the quarter were
£6.4 million, a gain of £3.5 million over cost. £0.2 million was invested
in the quarter.
Following its previously announced offer for subscription (alongside British
Smaller Companies VCT2 plc, together "the Offers"), on 7 January 2022 the
Company made the first and final issue of ordinary shares pursuant to the
Offers by allotting 39,514,174 ordinary shares of 10 pence each, raising gross
proceeds of £34.6 million (£33.2 million net).
Performance
The movement in Total Return in pence per ordinary share is set out in the
table below:
30 September 2021 Increase in Value Dividends paid/shares issued Buyback of shares Movement 31 December 2021
In Period
Net Assets (£m) 131.7 2.5 (5.4) (0.4) (3.3) 128.4
NAV per share (PPS) 90.9 1.6 (5.0) - (3.4) 87.5
Cumulative dividends paid (PPS) 159.4 - 5.0 - 5.0 164.4
Total Return (PPS) 250.3 1.6 - - 1.6 251.9
Shares in issue 144,873,228 - 2,306,826 (526,365) 1,780,461 146,653,689
The unaudited NAV increased in value by 1.6 pence; after payment of 5.0 pence
of dividends, the unaudited NAV per ordinary share stood at 87.5 pence per
share at the period end. Cumulative dividends paid at 31 December 2021 were
164.4 pence per ordinary share (30 September 2021: 159.4 pence per ordinary
share).
The movements in NAV per ordinary share are set out in the table below:
£m Pence per
ordinary share
NAV at 30 September 2021 131.7 90.9
Increase in portfolio value 3.0 2.0
Net operating costs (0.5) (0.4)
2.5 1.6
Issue/buy-back of shares 1.4 -
Total Return in the period 3.9 1.6
NAV before the payment of dividends 135.6 92.5
Dividends paid (7.2) (5.0)
NAV at 31 December 2021 128.4 87.5
Following payment of the third interim dividend of 2.0 pence per ordinary
share for the year ending 31 March 2022 on 5 January 2022 the unaudited net
asset value is 85.5 pence per ordinary share.
Dividends and shares in issue
On 16 November 2021, the Company issued 2,306,826 shares under the DRIS,
following the payment of the second interim dividend.
Under its standing buyback authority, on 15 December 2021 the Company
purchased 526,365 shares at 80.21 pence at a cost of £0.42 million. These
shares are held in treasury.
Subsequent to the quarter end, on 5 January 2022 the Company issued 940,963
shares under the DRIS following the payment of the third interim dividend, and
on 7 January 2022 the Company issued 39,514,174 shares arising from the
Offers, taking the number of shares in issue to 187,108,826 at that date, with
a further 17,986,301 shares held in treasury.
Net assets
Net assets at 31 December 2021 comprised the following:
£000 % of net assets
Unquoted investments at fair value 95,297 74.2
Listed investment funds 5,146 4.0
Cash and cash equivalents 27,056 21.1
Other net current assets 873 0.7
Net assets 128,372 100.0
Investments
The investment portfolio at 31 December 2021 comprised:
Valuation Cumulative valuation as a % of net assets
£000
Matillion Limited 29,655 23.1%
Springboard Research Holdings Limited 5,938 27.7%
Intelligent Office UK 4,744 31.4%
Wooshii Limited 4,743 35.1%
Unbiased EC1 Limited 4,624 38.7%
Elucidat Ltd 4,397 42.1%
SharpCloud Software Limited 4,392 45.6%
Force24 Ltd 4,160 48.8%
ACC Aviation Group Limited 3,661 51.7%
Displayplan Holdings Limited 3,512 54.4%
69,826 54.4%
Other investments 25,471 19.8%
Total investments 95,297 74.2%
Investments made since November 2015 represented 77 per cent of the value of
the unquoted portfolio at 31 December 2021.
Portfolio performance
Over the quarter to 31 December 2021, the aggregate portfolio valuation has
increased by £3.0 million.
Ukraine
During the build up to and subsequent to the recent invasion of Ukraine by
Russia, we have been closely monitoring the impact of the war on our
portfolio. There is minimal direct impact, which has principally been where
two portfolio companies have had a small section of their software development
teams based in Ukraine. From a business perspective, continuity of supply and
service has been secured, although we are aware of a small number of
developers who we believe are directly caught in the conflict and our thoughts
are with them and all those suffering the humanitarian impact of the war.
Outlook
The current environment is clearly a demanding one for many companies, dealing
with supply chain inflation, a competitive hiring environment and wider
political challenges. But as the pandemic has shown, the key to a company's
success is having a strong management team, ready access to capital and
remaining agile. We are confident that the Company's portfolio is well placed
to navigate these challenges. We also continue to see a number of promising
investment opportunities and look forward to updating you on progress with
deploying the Company's newly raised funds over the coming quarters.
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations
(EU No. 596/2014). Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory
Information Service this inside information is now considered to be in the
public domain.
21 March 2022
For further information please contact:
David Hall YFM Private Equity
Limited
Tel: 0113 244 1000
Alex Collins Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited
Tel: 0207 886 2767
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