REG - Sure Ventures PLC - Q1 2022 Portfolio Update

Sure VenturesAnnouncement

17/05/2022 10:15

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RNS Number : 7744L  Sure Ventures PLC  17 May 2022

 

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

Portfolio Update Q1 2022 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 is €1.47 which is a 9.99% increase from
its NAV as at Q4 2021.

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

Getvisibility

Getvisibility successfully raised €10 million in equity from new investors
Alpha Intelligence Capital ("AIC"), a global venture capital firm which
invests in deep artificial intelligence/machine learning technology-based
companies and Fortino Capital Partners ("Fortino"), a leading B2B software
venture capital and growth equity firm.

Certain existing investors, including Sure Valley Ventures and Pires have also
made follow-on investments alongside AIC and Fortino and other additional new
investors. As part of this funding round, Sure Ventures PLC invested a further
310,773 Euros from existing cash resources as part of the follow-on round.

Getvisibility has made significant progress in both winning customers and
identifying customer needs, in what is clearly a requirement that has become
"front and centre" to commercial operations across the globe. This round of
funding, based on the post funding round valuation of Getvisibility, provides
a 4x uplift to our original investment and has been responsible for the NAV
uplift.

VIVIDQ

VividQ announced the launch of its latest cutting-edge technology, unveiled
for the first time at the SID Display Week Conference in San Jose, California.
VividQ's Alpha Optical Engine Demonstrator displays high-resolution 3D visuals
(60 PPD) with excellent contrast and realistic focal depth using
Computer-Generated Holography (CGH), the process of engineering light in
software.

This new technology allows device manufacturers to test and evaluate VividQ's
innovations in Computer generated holography (CGH) against their AR display
specifications and image quality requirements. VividQ is collaborating with
device manufacturers from the US, Japan and China to integrate CGH into the
next generation of AR devices soon to be available on the market.

 Listed holdings

Equity markets have been volatile, and both Engage XR (EXR.L) and Immotion PLC
(IMMO.L) traded lower on a quarter-on-quarter basis. The AIFM are happy with
both positions and are long term investors. Both listed entities are producing
strong revenue growth and market adoption.

During the quarter Immotion PLC signed a three-year agreement for the
installation of a 24 seat Gorilla Trek VR Theatre at Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG
Aquarium. The company also announced full year results showing Revenues for
the year increasing by 230% to £9,391,000 and the Group achieved a full year
positive adjusted EBITDA( 5 ) result for the first time since its inception
of £908,000 (2020: £1,690,000 negative).

ENGAGE XR is also performing well despite the market volatility and Engage
platform revenue comprises 72% of total Group revenue. Since the Group's
interim results, ENGAGE has continued to grow, including the recent signing of
a contract with one of the world's leading professional services groups to use
the platform. Annual ENGAGE revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is in
excess of 100%.

SURE VALLEY VENTURES ENTERPRISE CAPITAL FUND

During the quarter Sure Ventures PLC also made a commitment of £5m to the
Sure Valley Ventures Capital Fund. The fund has launched, and the first
investment was made in a company called RETìníZE on the 16(th) of March
2022.

Retinize are developing an innovative software product called Animotive that
is harnessing the latest VR technologies to transform the 3D animation
production process. The proceeds of the seed round will drive the next
two-year step in its growth and the global rollout of Animotive.

The seed round, led by the SVV Software Fund's £1 million investment, marks
the first investment from this fund which recently announced its first close
of £85 million, which included a cornerstone £50 million investment from the
British Business Bank, an investment arm of the UK Government.

 

Sure Ventures PLC NAV

The funding round secured by Getvisability has had a significant impact on the
Company's NAV and despite a decline in value of the listed assets, the NAV of
Sure Ventures PLC has grown from 118.34p a share to 128.9p a share, which
represents a 8.923% uplift quarter on quarter.

 

 

Forward looking statement & Director comment

When calculating the NAV for both Sure Valley Ventures and Sure Ventures PLC
we do not re-rate an unlisted investee company valuation unless there is a
funding round priced by another investor. The nature and stage of the software
companies that we invest requires patience and we are now starting to see
these businesses mature at a strong pace. This quarter has seen another
portfolio company complete a follow on round with a 4x original cash uplift
and we look forward to updating the market with progress of our portfolio as
it continues to grow.

Gareth Burchell comment

"Sure Valley Ventures and its portfolio of deep technology companies continue
to perform in what are difficult economic circumstances. The speed at which
some of the growth is starting to come through has the team excited for the
future. The NAV is beginning to reflect some of the achievements of our
founders and we look forward to updating shareholders with further progress"

 

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

Gareth Burchell

Sure Ventures plc

+44 (0) 20 7186 9918

Notes to Editors

Sure Ventures plc listed on the London Stock Exchange in January 2018 giving
retail investors access to an asset class that is usually dominated by private
venture capital funds. Sure Ventures is focusing on companies in the UK,
Republic of Ireland and other European countries, making seed and series A
investments in companies with first rate management teams, products which
benefit from market validation with target revenue run rates of at least
£400,000 over the next 12 months. Website: https://www.sureventuresplc.com/

 

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