REG - Sure Ventures PLC - Portfolio Update Q2 2023 and NAV calculation

Sure VenturesAnnouncement

12/09/2023 08:45

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RNS Number : 1535M  Sure Ventures PLC  12 September 2023

Sure Ventures plc ('Sure  Ventures' or 'the Company')

Portfolio Update Q2 2023, NAV Calculation and Director commentary

 

Sure Ventures is a London listed venture capital fund which invests in
early-stage software companies in the rapidly growing technology areas of
Augmented Reality ('AR'), Virtual Reality ('VR'), Internet of Things ('IoT')
and Artificial Intelligence (AI). We are pleased to provide an update on the
Company's investment portfolio.

SURE VALLEY VENTURES FUND

Sure Ventures made a €7million commitment to Sure Valley Ventures Fund
('Sure Valley') representing an interest in Sure Valley of approximately
25.9%. This commitment was made at a price of €1.00 per share. The current
NAV of the Sure Valley Ventures ICAV as of Q2 2023 is €1.3729 which is a
0.36% decrease from its NAV as at Q1 2023.

Sure Valley has several investments across the AI, AR, VR and IoT sectors and
the major contributing factors and commentary on underlying portfolio
companies that has driven this NAV calculation are as follows:

Cameramatics

Cameramatics continue to grow their user base in the UK, Europe, and the US.
In the US they have won contracts with some flagship logistic Businesses and
they continue to win new Business across their more mature customer base in
the UK and Ireland.

 

Recurring revenues have grown significantly over the last 2/3 years and the
Company is focusing on the continuation of this, by growing its user base by
direct and indirect methods. Technological advancement and compliance
requirements are contributing factors to growth, and we are incredibly happy
with the progress the management team have achieved to date.

Nova Leah

Nova Leah is the leader in cyber security for connected medical devices and is
an IoT investment by Sure Valley Ventures. Nova Leah sells directly to the top
medical device manufactures typically in Boston, MA, and the west coast of the
USA. The founder, Anita Finnegan, is an expert in the area and originally
built the technology in a top medical device software research group in DKIT,
while doing a PhD, and later she spun out the technology and developed the
market selling to a number of tier 1 medical device manufacturers.

The company received additional funding of 1M Euros in Q2 2023 which equates
to a 50% uplift from the previous round. The AIFM team remain confident in the
progress of Nova Leah, its leadership team, and the traction they are making
in the arena.

Smarttech 247

247 are the leaders in the cybersecurity field of extended Detection and
Response

(XDR). That is Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation that prevents
cybersecurity threats at

faster speed, greater scale, and higher accuracy than humanly possible.

The share price has stayed strong during a challenging time for the UK small
cap. Additional updates this quarter include:

 

·    In July 2023, the Company announced that it has received an order
from a long-standing client, a global, automotive technology company, worth in
total c. $3 million over three years.

 

·    Smarttech also announced a partnership with SentinelOne is the
quarter, whereby Smarttech247 will maximise the benefits and value of
SentinelOne's leading technology for its customers with specialist-managed
endpoint protection and response services, whilst SentinelOne will provide
Smarttech247 with access to its latest threat intelligence and research.

 

·    Smarttech247 were also Shortlisted by Small Cap Awards for IPO of the
Year and by Tech Excellence Awards for Managed Security Service Provider for
the Year

Immotion/Lets Explore

Immotion (now known as Let's Explore Group plc), the UK-based immersive
entertainment group announced it has entered into a conditional sale and
purchase agreement, for the sale of its Location Based Entertainment
business  (collectively; Immotion Studios Limited, Immotion VR Limited and
C.2K Entertainment Inc.), to LBE BidCo, Inc. for an enterprise value
of $25,211,739 on a cash free/debt free basis.

The AIFM decided to sell its remaining stake in Immotion PLC and the key
driver for this decision was the unknown nature of any potential acquisition.

Sure Ventures PLC NAV

The Sure Ventures PLC NAV at the end of March 2023 sits at 115.4p. This
represents a 3.7% decrease across the period, down from 119.p per share at the
end of Q1 2023. This means that the Sure Ventures share price trades at a
18.54% discount to its NAV. This decrease represents costs and changes to the
value of its listed holdings in Engage XR and Let's Explore Group plc. The
Engage XR share price performance has been frustrating, but the AIFM continues
to back the business and believe in its future potential.

The Sure Valley Ventures Enterprise Capital fund commitment has such a small
weighting to the NAV of Sure Ventures PLC until deployment increases. It
currently equates to 1.51% of the overall investment to date. Despite this, AI
technologies are beginning to create a new wave of exciting software solutions
and the pipeline continues to build.

Director Commentary:

"As quarters of the past have gone, the Q2 period was quiet and unchanged. The
small decrease in the NAV was led by small negative FX movement and the costs
& fees of running the PLC. There has been some great progress from our
portfolio companies, in difficult global trading conditions and we are pleased
with the direction.

Sure Valley ventures fund 1 has a number of companies that are now looking to
either raise further funds at potentially higher valuations or look at
potential trade sales. The excitement surrounding AI software and the
opportunity it provides Industries across the board, has really driven the
pipeline within the Enterprise Capital Fund (Fund 2). We are excited by the
future and look forward to updating the market with progress."

 

For further information, please visit www.sureventuresplc.com or contact:

Gareth Burchell

Sure Ventures plc

+44 (0) 20 7186 9918

 

 

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