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Maven Income and Growth VCT 5 PLC
Interim Results for the Six Months Ended 31 May 2022 (Unaudited)
The Directors announce the Chairman's Statement, Investment Manager's Interim Review and the unaudited Financial Statements for the six months ended 31 May 2022.
Highlights
• NAV total return at 31 May 2022 of 84.63p per share
• NAV at 31 May 2022 of 37.98p per share, after payment of final dividend of 1.00p per share in May 2022
• Enhanced interim dividend of 3.00p per share declared
• Partial exit from Ideagen, the largest holding in the AIM portfolio, generating proceeds of £4.7m. The full exit completed post the period end generating a total return of 15x cost over the life of the investment
• Offer for Subscription to be launched in Autumn 2022
Overview
On behalf of your Board, I am pleased to present the results for the six months to 31 May 2022. Despite the volatile market conditions, your Company's NAV total return has remained stable. This reflects good performance across the unlisted portfolio, where most portfolio companies have delivered revenue growth and achieved commercial milestones. In certain cases, this has resulted in uplifts to valuations. The overall performance of the AIM quoted portfolio has been affected by the volatility within listed markets. Notwithstanding the wider market issues, a notable development in the period was the announcement by portfolio company Ideagen that it had agreed terms on a recommended all cash offer at a significant premium to the underlying share price. The Manager was subsequently able to take advantage of market liquidity and partially realised the holding, with a full exit completing in July. Following this material realisation, and in line with the commitment to make regular Shareholder distributions, the Directors are pleased to declare an enhanced interim dividend of 3.00p per share for payment to Shareholders in August 2022.
During the reporting period, the impact of the pandemic has gradually receded, enabling most global economies to re-open, with activity initially recovering in response to pent up demand. However, the invasion of Ukraine has had a destabilising impact on economic growth, with financial markets and commodity prices expected to remain volatile. Furthermore, as global prices, particularly energy costs, continue to rise, high inflation is likely to remain a persistent feature and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis is still to take full effect. The Board and the Manager will continue to monitor the impact of the economic situation on your Company's investment strategy.
Given the challenging backdrop, it is worthwhile noting that your Company maintains a low level of direct exposure to consumer facing sectors such as travel, retail, leisure and hospitality. Over recent years, the Manager's investment strategy has consistently focused on defensive sectors such as software, cybersecurity, data analytics and healthcare, which are sectors that have continued to grow and are generally not market sensitive. The Board believes that this approach to portfolio composition should provide a degree of insulation against a reduction in discretionary consumer spending and inflationary pressures. It is also important to note that, as a result of the careful approach taken by Maven in structuring new investments, the level of external debt across the portfolio is generally low, which mitigates the risk of further near term interest rate rises. The Manager maintains regular dialogue with investee companies and will assist with any specific issues that may arise.
Notwithstanding the challenges within the wider economy, your Board is encouraged by the progress that has been achieved across the portfolio during the period under review. Five new private and two AIM quoted companies were added to the portfolio, and the Board is aware of the strong pipeline of potential opportunities that are currently under review, which should help to maintain a healthy rate of new investment activity during the second half of the financial year. Throughout the reporting period, the portfolio of unlisted companies has delivered a good overall performance, with a number of the earlier stage holdings accelerating revenue growth and consolidating their commercial position, which has resulted in uplifts to certain valuations. Whilst the performance of AIM, as a whole, has been affected by adverse market conditions, your Company's holdings have been less severely impacted, with the AIM quoted portfolio reporting an 11.8% reduction in value during the period, compared to a 19.8% reduction in the FTSE AIM All-Share Index over the same time period.
Consistent with the recovery in M&A activity, a number of profitable realisations also completed. In addition to the exit from Quorum Cyber, which represents the most significant realisation to date from the early stage portfolio, your Company also realised a significant proportion of its holding in AIM quoted Ideagen. Following the announcement of the recommended cash offer, the Manager was able to take advantage of good liquidity in the market and partially realised your Company's holding at a share price in excess of the proposed offer level. It is pleasing to report that the complete exit from Ideagen concluded in July 2022 and generated a total return of 15x cost over the life of the investment.
Following this significant realisation, your Company's exposure to AIM is materially reduced and now represents 12% of NAV, compared to 20% at the year end. The Directors have previously stated their intention to seek, where possible, to reduce the size of certain, larger, AIM quoted holdings and the exit from Ideagen is consistent with this strategic objective. The Directors continue to believe that a blended portfolio of private and AIM quoted companies provides the optimal structure for long term growth in Shareholder value. However, given the current market uncertainty and the subdued activity levels within AIM, it is likely that the majority of new investments, in the near term, will be in private companies, where the Manager continues to see good deal flow.
Further details of the key portfolio developments, including new investments and realisations, can be found in the Investment Manager's Review.
Interim Dividend
In recognition of the recent strong exit activity, an enhanced interim dividend of 3.00p per Ordinary Share, in respect of the year ending 30 November 2022, will be paid on 26 August 2022 to Shareholders on the register as at 29 July 2022. Since the Company's launch, and after receipt of this latest dividend, 49.65p per share will have been distributed in tax-free dividends. Shareholders are reminded that the payment of a dividend reduces the NAV of the Company by the total cost of the distribution.
Dividend Policy
Decisions on distributions take into consideration a number of factors, including the realisation of capital gains, the adequacy of distributable reserves, the availability of surplus revenue and the VCT qualifying level, all of which are kept under close and regular review.
The Board and the Manager recognise the importance of tax-free distributions to Shareholders and, subject to the considerations outlined above, will seek, as a guide, to pay an annual dividend that represents 5% of the NAV per share at the immediately preceding year end.
The Directors would like to remind Shareholders that, as the portfolio continues to expand and a greater proportion of holdings are invested in younger companies, the timing of distributions will be more closely linked to realisation activity, whilst also reflecting the Company's requirement to maintain its VCT qualifying level. If larger distributions are required as a consequence of significant exits, this will result in a corresponding reduction in NAV per share. However, the Board and the Manager consider this to be a tax efficient means of returning value to Shareholders, whilst ensuring ongoing compliance with the VCT legislation.
Dividend Investment Scheme (DIS)
Your Company operates a DIS, through which Shareholders can, at any time, elect to have their dividend payments utilised to subscribe for new Ordinary Shares issued by the Company under the standing authority requested from Shareholders at Annual General Meetings. Shares issued under the DIS should qualify for VCT tax relief applicable for the tax year in which they are allotted, subject to an individual Shareholder's particular circumstances.
Shareholders can elect to participate in the DIS in respect of future dividends, including the interim dividend, which is due to be paid on 26 August 2022, by completing a DIS mandate, which must be received by the Registrar (City Partnership) before 12 August 2022, this being the next dividend election date. The mandate form, terms & conditions and full details of the scheme (including tax considerations) are available from the Company's website at: mavencp.com/migvct5. Election to participate in the DIS can also be made through the online investor hub:
maven-cp.cityhub.uk.com/login.
If a Shareholder is in any doubt about the merits of participating in the DIS, or their own tax status, they should seek advice from a suitably qualified adviser.
Fund Raising
Further to the announcement released on 8 July 2022, the Directors have elected to launch joint Offers for Subscription this Autumn, running alongside the three other Maven managed VCTs. Full details of the Offers will be included in the forthcoming Prospectus, which will be published in the coming months.
The Directors are confident that Maven's regional office network has the capacity and capability to continue to source attractive investment opportunities in VCT qualifying companies, and that the additional liquidity provided by the proposed fundraising will facilitate further expansion and development of the portfolio in line with the investment strategy. Furthermore, the funds raised will allow your Company to maintain its share buy-back policy, whilst also spreading costs over a wider asset base in line with the objective of maintaining a competitive total expense ratio for the benefit of all Shareholders.
Share Buy-backs
Shareholders will be aware that a primary objective for the Board is to ensure that the Company retains sufficient liquidity for making investments in line with its stated policy, and for the continued payment of dividends. However, the Directors also acknowledge the need to maintain an orderly market in the Company's shares and have, therefore, delegated authority to the Manager to buy back shares in the market, for cancellation or to be held in treasury, subject always to such transactions being in the best interests of Shareholders.
The Directors carried out a further review of the Company's share buy back policy and, following that review, it is intended that the Company will seek to buy back shares with a view to maintaining a share price discount that is approximately 5% below the latest published NAV per share, adjusted where appropriate for any dividends in respect of which the Company's shares are trading ex-dividend, and subject to market conditions, availability liquidity and the maintenance of the Company's VCT qualifying status.
During the period under review, 1,162,685 shares were bought back at a total cost of £427,000.
Principal and Emerging Risks and Uncertainties
The principal and emerging risks and uncertainties facing the Company were set out in full in the Strategic Report contained within the 2021 Annual Report, and are the risks associated with investment in small and medium sized unlisted and AIM/AQSE quoted companies which, by their nature, carry a higher level of risk and are subject to lower liquidity than investments in larger quoted companies. The valuation of investee companies may be affected by economic conditions, the credit environment and other risks including legislation, regulation, adherence to VCT qualifying rules and the effectiveness of the internal controls operated by the Company and the Manager. These risks and procedures are reviewed regularly by the Audit and Risk Committees and reported to your Board. The Board has confirmed that all tests, including the criteria for VCT qualifying status, continue to be monitored and met.
In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic developed from being an emerging risk to a principal risk that had implications for the Company, the Manager, investee companies and both the UK and global economies. The Board and the Manager have sought to identify all of the individual risks associated with the pandemic that could impact on the Company and the steps that are required to mitigate them. These have been recorded in separate risk registers that are reviewed on a regular basis as the situation continues to evolve.
During the period, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia was added to the Risk Register as an emerging risk, as the Directors were not only aware of the heightened cyber security risk associated with the Russian aggression, but were mindful of the impact that a change in the underlying economic conditions could have on the valuation of investment companies. Your Board recognise that interest rates, fuel and energy costs, and the availability of bank finance, can all be expected to be impacted during times of geopolitical uncertainty and volatile markets.
Regulatory Update
During the period under review, there have been no further amendments to the rules governing VCTs. The Spring Budget was delivered on 23 March 2022 and did not propose any changes to VCT legislation.
The Directors and the Manager continue to apply the International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation (IPEV) Guidelines as the central methodology for all private company valuations. The IPEV Guidelines are the prevailing framework for fair value information in the private equity and venture capital industry. In light of the current geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty resulting from the conflict in Ukraine, on 31 March 2022 IPEV reiterated the Special Guidance provided in March 2020 with respect to assessing the fair value of private company holdings. The Directors and the Manager continue to follow industry best practice and adhere to the IPEV Special Guidelines in all private company valuations.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
The Board is aware of the work that the Manager is doing in relation to ESG and, during the period, the investment appraisal process was enhanced, with ESG now embedded as a core component within the selection criteria. Additionally, a robust framework has been developed to ensure that ESG considerations are monitored and managed carefully throughout the period of investment.
It is encouraging to note that your Company has recently completed a number of new investments in companies that have strong ESG credentials and are achieving growth in expanding markets. These include Liftango, which has developed a technology platform to improve the efficiency of on-demand transport such as corporate buses and carpooling, in order to reduce carbon footprint and congestion; Pura, which has developed a range of eco-friendly baby nappies and wipes that are completely plastic free and biodegradable, as well as being accredited by Allergy UK and the British Skin Foundation; and iPac, a designer and manufacturer of bespoke sustainable plastic packaging for the UK food sector. ESG considerations are becoming an increasingly important feature of investment and can also be key for potential future acquirers.
It is also worthwhile noting that your Company's exposure to the energy services sector has been reducing over recent years. Following the recent realisation of RMEC, the exposure is now 2% of the portfolio by value, with most remaining investee companies actively diversifying away from traditional oil & gas markets and moving into renewable energy or other adjacent markets to realign their future growth strategy.
Outlook
Notwithstanding the uncertain economic outlook, the Directors believe that your Company is well positioned to continue to deliver its core long term investment objective. Following the resilient performance achieved during the first half of the financial year, the focus for the remainder of the year will be to progress the investment strategy by further expanding and developing the portfolio of investee companies. The Manager will also pursue exits, where appropriate, in order to generate further growth in Shareholder value and support a programme of regular tax-free distributions.
Graham Miller
Chairman
22 July 2022
Investment Manager's Interim Review
Highlights
• Five new private investments added to the portfolio, with a further three completed after the period end
• Two new AIM quoted companies added to the portfolio
• Partial realisation of Ideagen, with the exit completing post the period end, generating a total return of 15x cost over the life of the investment
• Five exits completed from the private equity portfolio, including the realisation of Quorum Cyber for a total return of 6.5x cost over the life of the investment
Overview
Notwithstanding the current economic uncertainty, your Company has made further progress during the first half of the financial year. Across the unlisted portfolio there are a growing number of earlier stage companies that are achieving their commercial objectives and building scale, which has resulted in uplifts to certain valuations. This has also been a very busy period for realisations, with several investee companies attracting acquisition interest from domestic and international buyers. In addition to the realisation of portfolio company Quorum Cyber, four profitable private company realisations also completed. Furthermore, AIM quoted Ideagen announced that it had agreed terms for a recommended all cash offer. This announcement enabled the Manager to take advantage of market liquidity and sell the majority of the holding at a premium to the recommended offer level, with the residual holding realised in July. The exit generated a total return of 15x cost over the life of the investment.
Throughout the period, the Manager has continued to see good levels of demand for equity investment from ambitious, growth focused businesses across all of its regional offices. In addition to the five new private company holdings added to the portfolio during the period, there is a strong pipeline of potential investments, across a wide range of sectors, a number of which are expected to complete in the near term. Maven retains a selective approach to investment and continues to favour companies that operate in defensive or counter cyclical sectors and will generally only invest where meaningful commercial traction and strong revenue growth can be demonstrated. This is often measured in terms of contracted annual recurring revenue (ARR), which provides a degree of visibility on the growth trajectory and, given its recurring nature, can provide some protection during a period of economic instability. It is encouraging to report that many of the earlier stage private companies have continued to deliver sustained revenue growth during the period under review which, in certain cases, has merited an uplift to the valuation, to reflect the progress that has been achieved.
During the period, two new AIM quoted investments were also added to the portfolio. Over recent years, as part of the broader investment strategy, your Company has been selectively adding new AIM investments to the portfolio with the objective of constructing a diversified portfolio that is balanced between earlier stage companies, more mature unlisted holdings and AIM quoted companies. The Manager believes that selective exposure to AIM provides access to a wider range of growth companies, often with more favourable liquidity characteristics, that can provide exposure to dynamic and complementary sectors such as biotech, medtech, new battery technology or renewable energy. Whilst most of the AIM portfolio holdings have continued to issue positive market announcements during the reporting period, the overall performance of this portfolio has been impacted by the general volatility that has affected financial markets since the turn of the year.
It is, however, pleasing to report on the realisation of the holding in AIM quoted Ideagen which, following a number of expressions of interest, announced that it had agreed terms of a recommended cash offer at a share price of 350p per share, which represented a 52% premium to the share price prior to the offer. Your Company has been invested in Ideagen for a number of years and, during that time, the holding has grown significantly in value. Throughout the period of investment, Ideagen has consistently delivered its strategic objectives, notably through an acquisition led growth plan. The exit from Ideagen, which completed in July 2022, resulted in a total return of 15x cost over the life of the investment.
Within the unlisted portfolio five profitable exits also completed, including the most significant realisation to date from the early stage portfolio with the sale of Quorum Cyber, which achieved a 6.5x money multiple return, inclusive of a retained minority holding. The Manager is encouraged by the level of external interest in the unlisted portfolio, where a number of companies have received approaches from potential buyers that recognise the strategic value within these businesses. As the early stage portfolio matures, the Manager is gaining greater clarity on the holdings that have the potential to drive future growth in Shareholder value. Conversely, there are a small number of cases where the Manager has elected to seek an exit earlier than anticipated as the necessary scale was unlikely to be achieved.
Portfolio Developments
Private Company Holdings
Integrated drug discovery service provider BioAscent Discovery continues to make encouraging progress across all business lines and is maintaining the impressive growth rate achieved during the previous period. Since the Maven VCTs first invested in 2018, the business has averaged a year-on-year growth rate of 120% in its integrated discovery projects, alongside 40% annualised growth for its more established compound storage and management services. It was also named top performing outsourcer for the second year running, and second place overall, in the Alantra Pharma Fast 50, which ranks the UK's fastest growing privately owned pharma and pharma service companies. The near term strategic objective is to expand internationally, and positive discussions are progressing with several prospective clients in North America and Europe. During the pandemic, BioAscent worked as part of a consortium, led by the University of Glasgow, to establish a national COVID-19 testing facility for high-throughput clinical testing. It is pleasing to note that the consortium (Lighthouse Laboratory) was recently awarded the Knowledge Exchange/Transfer Initiative of the Year at the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards 2021.
During the period under review, Bright Network has continued to make good commercial progress and is trading ahead of plan. The business, which utilises a powerful technology database to provide a membership network that enables UK based university undergraduates and recent graduates to connect with leading employers, has built a strong market position. Bright Network offers a comprehensive range of services including providing advice and support to assist members through their job or internship search process, as well as bespoke in-person networking events. The platform currently has over 600,000 members, with diversity and inclusion being actively monitored and promoted. The business works with over 300 partner firms including Amazon, Bloomberg, Clifford Chance, Dyson, Google and Vodafone, and the platform is endorsed by organisations such as the CBI, the Department for Work & Pensions and the Institute of Student Employers. Over the coming year, Bright Network will focus on expanding its market position and enhancing its services, with a view to entering specific overseas territories.
Fintech specialist Delio has made encouraging commercial progress, and continues to grow its customer base and increase ARR. The business, which is based in Cardiff, designs and develops digital private asset infrastructures for global financial institutions, such as angel networks, family offices and wealth managers, with a growing current client base that includes Barclays, Coutts, Rabobank and the UK Business Angels Association. Its white label platform provides a secure, compliant and efficient system for connecting investors and capital with private market investment opportunities. The business currently has over £26 billion of live deals on its platform, and has added further new clients, which has generated further growth in ARR. In February 2022, Delio secured significant additional investment from another institutional investor, with the Maven VCTs also participating. The funding is being used to accelerate product innovation and to help establish a business presence in the US, which is regarded as a key growth market.
During the reporting period, analytical software provider e.fundamentals has continued to make positive commercial progress, delivering further growth in ARR and expanding its client base. The business, which provides digital shelf analytics to major consumer packaged goods brands, helps clients to measure and optimise their ecommerce performance to ensure that they maximise an online listing. Over the past two years, e.fundamentals has experienced rapid growth, consistent with the acceleration in online grocery and household shopping during the pandemic, which has resulted in a 600% increase in ARR. e.fundamentals continues to add to its client base and has established a credible list that includes well-known brands such as Arla, Kellogg's, Mars, PepsiCo, Royal Canin and Vodafone.
Horizon Ceremonies has delivered strong operational and strategic progress since your Company first invested in 2017 and now has a portfolio of three operational crematoria. Trading at the original site in the Clyde Coast and Garnock Valley remains strong and ahead of plan. The second crematorium, in Cannock, Staffordshire, has traded ahead of plan since opening in April 2021, and the management team is working with local funeral directors and undertakers to increase awareness of the service provided. The third crematorium, in the suburbs of Glasgow, opened in mid- December 2021 and is also trading well. There are two further sites in the near term pipeline. The planning appeal process at Oxted in Surrey is ongoing and a planning application at Hooton, near Chester, has been submitted. The medium term strategic objective remains to build a portfolio of modern, technologically advanced crematoria that meet the best environmental standards whilst offering a compassionate service for families, and to sell the business to a trade, private equity or infrastructure acquirer when all sites reach maturity.
Since first investment, HR technology platform provider HiveHR has made good commercial progress and has achieved significant growth in ARR through the rapid addition of new clients. Employee engagement is becoming an increasingly important component of effective management within any organisation. HiveHR's cloud-base SaaS solution offers a comprehensive range of tools and resources that help employers to collate and analyse employee feedback in real time to enable them to better understand employee concerns or suggestions, and to implement company-wide policy updates or broader change initiatives. HiveHR now has over 170,000 live users, and its clients include Evri, Financial Services Compensation Scheme, Tarmac and Travelodge, as well as a number of universities, housing associations, charities and local authorities. HiveHR is well positioned in a high growth sector and the focus for the year ahead will be to continue to expand the business and accelerate growth in ARR.
Marketing technology provider Nano Interactive continues to trade ahead of plan and is delivering against all key performance metrics. The business has established a strong position in the "intent targeting" market, where it uses its proprietary technology to assess multiple intent signals, such as online search history. This analysis enables clients to place adverts in real time, targeting customers that have indicated an interest in a product or service, and helps them enhance the effectiveness of digital advertising campaigns. Importantly, Nano's platform achieves this in an identity-free way, without the use of third party cookies or email addresses and, thereby, respects the privacy of online users. The business has made significant progress over the past year and has an extensive client list that includes household names such as Mars, McDonalds, Microsoft, Pets at Home and Vodafone. During 2021, Nano also helped the UK Government to achieve targeted messaging with its COVID-19 communication strategy. Nano is well positioned to achieve further scale and the near term strategic objective is to develop its presence in the US, which should help drive further revenue growth.
Language analytics software specialist Relative Insight has maintained an impressive growth rate increasing ARR and extending its client base. During the period under review, the business secured series B funding from another institutional investor, which provides additional capital to accelerate the growth plan. The business has experienced strong demand for its AI-powered advanced linguistics technology platform, which enables clients to analyse any source of text data and then create content that is designed to appeal to a specific audience to increase the effectiveness of advertising and marketing campaigns. The software solution has been adopted by numerous blue chip names such as Amazon, John Lewis, Nespresso and Sky, alongside large marketing and advertising agencies. Following the recent fund raising, the business is capitalised to deliver further growth and has the medium term objective of establishing a presence in the US.
During the period, Rockar, a developer of a disruptive digital platform for buying new and used cars, has continued to grow its market presence and build commercial relationships with global car manufacturers and national dealership groups that are keen to develop a digital alternative to replace or complement the traditional showroom model. Following the demerger of the retail business in May 2021, the business is now focused exclusively on developing and expanding its technology platform and is currently working on projects with manufacturers such as BMW and Jaguar Land Rover, and is progressing discussions with several others. Over the past year, there has been a rapid acceleration in the move to digitalise the automotive market, which has been one of the few remaining major retail sectors to fully embrace a technological solution. There are now a number of high profile companies operating in this space and Rockar remains at the forefront in terms of its technological capabilities and sector experience.
Whilst the majority of companies within the portfolio have made encouraging progress in the year to date, there are a small number that have not achieved commercial objectives and where the value has been written down. Speciality industrial services provider Cat Tech experienced a particularly challenging operating environment during the pandemic, as international travel restrictions prevented the completion of scheduled maintenance programmes in its overseas territories. Whilst Cat Tech provides highly specialist services, which are a health and safety requirement, the ongoing travel disruption coupled with deferred shutdowns at key client sites has resulted in the scheduled programme of works being delayed. Trading in the current year is expected to be below budget and a provision has been taken against the value of the holding. In addition, a full write down has been taken against the valuation of the investment in Boiler Plan, which experienced challenging trading during the pandemic and has subsequently failed to deliver its business plan.
Quoted Holdings
During the reporting period, performance across AIM was impacted by negative investor sentiment surrounding inflationary pressures, the expectation of further interest rate rises and the cost-of-living crisis, as well as ongoing concerns in relation to the conflict in Ukraine. Despite the market volatility, the Manager was able to trade several holdings, either partially or in full, to crystallise gains generating total proceeds of £4.8 million, the majority of which is attributed to the partial realisation of Ideagen, with the exit completing in July 2022.
Water Intelligence released full year results, for the period to 31 December 2021, that recorded revenue growth of 44% to $54.5 million, with the statutory results $1.9 million higher than previously announced due to a one-off gain. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 48% to $10.3 million. Cash at the period end increased to $23.8 million, against $6.8 million at the end of the previous year, with net bank debt of $15.5 million. Operationally, America Leak Detection (ALD) continues to represent 90% of group revenue and divisional revenue increased by 44% to $48.4 million during 2021, with profit up 38% to $5.4 million. The company noted it was confident in further corporate development through 2022 and was well placed to navigate the inflationary challenges, primarily fuel, raw material and labour. The first quarter trading update reiterated that trading was in line with market expectations for 2022, with sales growth up 44% to $16.5 million and adjusted EBITDA increasing 26% to $3 million. Net cash at the quarter end remained steady at $10 million with further liquidity available in undrawn debt facilities.
Following its IPO on AIM in June 2021, biopharmaceutical company Arecor Therapeutics reported results for the year to 31 December 2021 that were in line with expectations. Revenue from formulation development projects increased by 50% to £1.2 million including the five new technology partner agreements that were signed during the year. R&D increased to £5.4 million reflecting spend on key clinical trials for its ultra-rapid acting insulin (AT247 and AT278) products, and the cash position remained strong at £18.3 million, reflecting the fund raised at the time of flotation. Operational highlights included the initiation of a US based Phase I clinical trial in patients with Type I diabetes to further explore the clinical benefits of AT247. Furthermore, Arecor also achieved positive headline Phase I clinical trial results for its second diabetes product, AT278, an ultra-concentrated, ultra-rapid acting insulin, which the company believes has the potential to disrupt the market, as it is the first concentrated, yet rapid acting insulin product. Arecor also secured five technology partnering agreements with leading pharmaceutical companies and two of Arecor's specialty hospital products have been partnered with Hikma Pharmaceuticals under co-development and licensing deals. There is a strong pipeline of opportunities within the speciality hospital portfolio, with further technology partnering agreements expected to be developed during the year.
In the financial year to 31 December 2021, Concurrent Technologies reported revenue of £20.5 million, which was slightly ahead of market expectations. This is regarded as a creditable outcome given the ongoing global component supply issues. EBITDA was up slightly year on year at £5.1 million, with profit before tax increasing 22% to £3.5 million. Cash at the year end remained steady at £11.8 million and the annual dividend of 2.55p per share was maintained. Operationally, the company highlighted the positive impact of the new CEO, who was appointed in June 2021, and reiterated the strategic focus to increase the pace of development and manufacturing of a new product range, both in the UK and US. Noting the challenging economic conditions, the company stated that, whilst 2022 had started with a healthy order book, which as at the end of March was £16.2 million, it expected the component supply challenges to impact during the first half of the financial year, with order deliveries expected to be delayed and revenues recognised over a longer period than normal. Despite this caution, the company added that it was managing the issues robustly and remained committed to continuing to grow the order book and further new product innovation.
The financial year to 30 November 2021 was a transformation period for K3 Business Technology, during which the recently appointed CEO launched a new growth strategy alongside implementing a restructuring of the operations with the sale of two non-core businesses and the removal of associated costs. In the full year revenue from continuing operations was 3% ahead of prior year at £45.3million, and adjusted EBITDA was up 8% at £4.4 million. The balance sheet at the year end was significantly strengthened with a net cash position of £9.0 million compared net debt of £1.9 million at the end of the previous year. Operationally, the company noted it was now better positioned, highlighting the good opportunities that were emerging to support core business processes with its target fashion and apparel markets. This included the expansion of services into key areas of sustainability (supply chain traceability and certification), omni-channel (creating a seamless shopping experience for consumers engaging with brands both digitally and physically) and business insights (to assist brands with analytics and data intelligence to provide a more personalised consumer engagement). The company confirmed that trading in the current financial year was in line with its expectations, and it was anticipated that further progress towards growth initiatives would be achieved as the year progressed.
Liquidity Management
The Board and the Manager continue to operate an active liquidity management policy, with the objective of generating income from cash resources held prior to investment. The Manager has constructed a focused portfolio of listed investment trust holdings and will continue to consider any other permitted investment options that have the potential to meet this objective.
New Investments
During the period, five new private companies were added to the portfolio:
• CYSIAM is a provider of cybersecurity and incident response services to a broad range of public and private sector clients. The company provides specialist advice and bespoke training, and also offers a wraparound managed service solution for clients seeking to fully outsource their cybersecurity function. The founders have significant experience of critical defence and national security environments, both in the UK and overseas, and a deep understanding and personal insight into this rapidly expanding speciality market. The VCT funding is being used to support the business as it launches a sales and marketing campaign to raise the corporate profile, as well as providing capital to progress further product development.
• iPac is an established designer and manufacturer of bespoke sustainable thermoformed plastic packaging, which is used by the food and pharmaceutical sectors. The business is at the leading edge of sustainable manufacturing and its products are 100% recyclable and use over 85% recycled content. The manufacturing plant is powered entirely through renewable sources and less than 2% of manufacturing waste goes into landfill. The VCT funding is being used to develop new product lines, which are more efficient and produce less waste, and to open a second manufacturing facility in the North East of England.
• Liftango is a provider of a demand responsive transport (DRT) technology platform, which enables clients such as global corporates, governments and transport authorities to optimise route planning in real-time in response to passenger usage. The business has three core products (carpool, fixed-route shuttles and on-demand buses), all of which are designed to optimise vehicle scheduling and routing to improve fleet efficiency. The technology also helps clients to minimise carbon footprint, reduce congestion and create a safe and convenient shared transport network. Liftango has a strong client list including corporates such as IKEA, Tesla, Unilever and Volvo, as well as several county councils. The VCT funding is being used to recruit key sales and marketing staff, and to assist the business as it expands into Europe and North America.
• ORCHA is a global leader in curating and managing accredited pathways, which enable private, local and national health systems to adopt digital solutions to support healthcare professionals in recommending digital health apps to patients. ORCHA's Digital Health Library contains over 6,000 reviewed apps and operates in 12 countries, including the UK, Canada and parts of Europe, helping health and care organisation, national health bodies, educational centres and charities. ORCHA's management team is supported by highly experienced board of advisors, which includes former Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy, who is also an investor in the business. The VCT funding is being used to further develop the core technology and support the expansion into new markets, specifically the US.
• Pura is a baby care brand that specialises in eco-friendly wipes and nappies. Pura's plant-based wipes are 100% plastic free and biodegradable, as well as being accredited by Allergy UK and the British Skin Foundation, while the nappies are enhanced with organic cotton and made using green energy with no production waste to landfill. Since launching in 2020, Pura has established itself through a direct-to-consumer, subscription-based website model and has gained recognition within its core target market with its eco-friendly nappies recently awarded Gold in the Made for Mums Awards 2022. The VCT funding is being used to support the expansion into the business- to-business market, which is specifically targeted at the UK and US supermarket sectors. Pura has already made good progress in this area, having secured contracts with Amazon, Costco and Ocado, with the brand also recently launching in Asda.
In addition, two new AIM quoted investments were added to the portfolio:
• Directa Plus is a leading producer and supplier of graphene-based products for use in consumer and industrial markets. The company's manufacturing capability uses proprietary patented technology to create graphene-based materials in a variety of forms, such as liquid, paste and powder, and it has cornerstone customer and partners in four key end market (environmental, textiles, composites and lithium-sulphur batteries). The company holds the Green Economy Mark, from the London Stock Exchange which recognises its contribution to the global green economy. Your Company participated in the £7 million fund raising, which completed in December 2021. The investment is being used to support research and development with the objective of broadening the number of applications offered. It will also strengthen the balance sheet and provide general working capital.
• Velocys is an international sustainable fuels company that has developed a proprietary technology for the generation of clean, low carbon aviation and road transport fuel from residual wood biomass and municipal solid waste. The Fischer-Tropsch technology seeks to reduce greenhouse gases and key exhaust pollutants to support the net zero carbon commitment. Your company participated in the £25 million placing, which completed in December 2021. The investment is being used to accelerate the delivery of the technology and enable the business to grow with a view to achieving its target of being net cash flow positive by 2024.
The following investments have been completed during the reporting period:
Investments |
Date |
Sector | Investment cost £'000 |
New unlisted |
|
|
|
CYSIAM Limited | December 2021 | Software | 373 |
Kanabo GP Limited1 | February 2022 | Pharmaceuticals, biotechnology & healthcare | 1,639 |
Liftango Group Limited | December 2021 | Software | 547 |
mypura.com Group Limited (trading as Pura) | January 2022 | Business services | 448 |
ORCHA Health Limited | March 2022 | Pharmaceuticals, biotechnology & healthcare | 497 |
Project Falcon Topco Limited (trading as Quorum Cyber)2 | December 2021 | Software | 126 |
Reed Thermoformed Packaging Limited (trading as iPac) | March 2022 | Business services | 448 |
Total new unlisted |
|
| 4,078 |
Follow-on unlisted | | | |
Atterley.com Holdings Limited | April 2022 | Software | 41 |
Boiler Plan (UK) Limited | February 2022 | Business services | 33 |
Contego Solutions Limited (trading as NorthRow) | April 2022 | Software | 245 |
Delio Limited | February 2022 | Software | 248 |
e.fundamentals (Group) Limited | January 2022 | Marketing & advertising technology | 125 |
HiveHR Limited3 | March & April 2022 | Software | 23 |
MirrorWeb Limited | May 2022 | Software | 350 |
Precursive Limited | March 2022 | Software | 500 |
Push Technology Limited | May 2022 | Data analytics | 200 |
Shortbite Limited (trading as DigitalBridge) | January 2022 | Marketing & advertising technology | 57 |
Total follow-on unlisted |
|
| 1,822 |
|
|
|
|
Total unlisted |
|
| 5,900 |
Investments |
Date |
Sector | Investment cost £'000 |
New quoted |
|
|
|
Directa Plus PLC | February 2022 | Industrials & engineering | 120 |
Velocys PLC | December 2021 | Industrials & engineering | 148 |
Total new quoted |
|
| 268 |
|
|
|
|
Follow-on quoted |
|
|
|
Verici Dx PLC | March 2022 | Pharmaceuticals, biotechnology & healthcare | 83 |
Total follow-on quoted |
|
| 83 |
|
|
|
|
Total quoted |
|
| 351 |
|
|
|
|
Total investments |
|
| 6,251 |
1 The holding in this investment resulted from the sale of The GP Service (UK) Limited, which was structured as a share for share exchange.
2 Retained minority interest following the sale of Quorum Cyber Security Limited.
3 Follow-on investment completed in two tranches.
At the period end, the portfolio stood at 123 unlisted and quoted investments, at a total cost of £42.6 million.
Realisations
In December 2021, the sale of online mortgage broker Mojo Mortgages completed following receipt of regulatory approval. Your Company first invested in Mojo in 2019, supporting an ambitious management team to develop its disruptive mortgage broking technology platform. Mojo's solution provides an innovative hybrid of online and advised services, capable of managing the entire process from product price comparison through to the mortgage application and completion. The sale to RVU, which is part of the Zoopla Property Group and owns of a number of consumer finance and comparison sites, generated a total return of up to 1.8x cost (including monies held in escrow) over the life of the investment.
In December, the sale of cybersecurity technology provider Quorum Cyber completed. The threat of cyber-attacks has become an increasingly significant risk for businesses, which was amplified during the pandemic as companies followed Government advice and implemented working from home practices which, in some cases, exposed system weaknesses. Against this backdrop Quorum, which provides a fully managed, 24/7 cyber risk mitigation platform for corporate clients, experienced a rapid increase in demand for its services which, in turn, resulted in strong growth in revenues. The business increased its customer base through organic growth as well as via referrals from partners such as Microsoft. An approach to acquire Quorum was subsequently received from a UK private equity house and the exit delivered an overall money multiple return of 6.5x cost, inclusive of a retained minority holding in the business. This retained holding enables your Company to participate in the future growth of Quorum, offering the potential for a further return.
In January 2022, the holding in 3D photonic circuit specialist Optoscribe was realised through the sale to a US corporate buyer. Since the Maven VCTs first invested in 2019, the Manager has supported the company's growth through several funding rounds, enabling the business to strengthen strategic partnerships and move into higher volume production. Optoscribe manufactures high-performance photonic integrated circuits for use by optical transceiver manufacturers in the production of glass-based 3D circuits in the telecom, datacom and mobile network markets. Its technology produces components primarily for the cloud data centre sector, which has experienced strong growth as consumer demand increases for access to high quality content. The exit generated a total return of 1.85x cost over the holding period.
In early March 2022, the residual holding in Global Risk Partners (Maven Co-invest Endeavour) was provisionally sold to US listed insurance broker Brown & Brown, subject to regulatory approval. The acquisition enables Brown & Brown to establish itself in the UK retail insurance sector, where it does not currently have a large presence. As part of the initial sale of Global Risk Partners to Searchlight Capital Partners in 2020, an element of the sale consideration was reinvested in the acquiring vehicle. The subsequent sale to Brown & Brown will result in a full exit from this investment and will generate a further return equivalent to 1.24x the original cost, taking the total money multiple return to 3.38x cost.
In March, Servoca, a leading provider of staffing solutions and outsourced services, announced a Tender Offer of up to £10 million at a price of 30p per share. Given the premium this offered above your Company's carrying value, it represented a good opportunity to crystallise value. As a result, your Company realised 74.9% of its holding which generated proceeds of £843,000, whilst also leaving a smaller retained investment.
In late March, the holding in energy services specialist RMEC was realised through the sale to Aberdeen based trade acquirer Centurion Group. Over the holding period, RMEC has delivered a consistently strong performance despite the various challenges within its operating environment. The business traded profitably throughout the pandemic and, during this time, continued to secure blue-chip clients and agree long term master service agreements with key North Sea operators and service companies. The exit achieved a total return of 2.28x cost over the life of the investment, inclusive of all income payments.
The table below gives details of all realisations completed during the reporting period:
| | Cost of shares disposed of £'000 | Value at 30 November 2021 £'000 | |
Realised gain/ (loss) £'000 | Gain/(loss) over 30 November 2021 value £'000 | |
| Year first invested | Complete/ partial exit | Sales proceeds £'000 | ||||
| |||||||
Sales | |||||||
Unlisted | | | | | | | |
Life's Great Group Limited (trading as Mojo Mortgages) | 2019 | Complete | 817 | 1,374 | 1,374 | 557 | - |
Optoscribe Limited | 2018 | Complete | 275 | 629 | 631 | 356 | 2 |
Quorum Cyber Security Limited1 | 2020 | Complete | 150 | 961 | 961 | 811 | - |
RMEC Group Limited2 | 2014 | Complete | 308 | 503 | 463 | 155 | (40) |
Servoca PLC3 | 2007 | Partial | 476 | 365 | 843 | 367 | 478 |
The GP Service (UK) Limited4 | 2016 | Complete | 860 | 892 | 1,639 | 779 | 747 |
Tissuemed Limited | 2000 | Complete | 71 | - | 177 | 106 | 177 |
Others | | | - | - | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Total unlisted |
|
| 2,957 | 4,724 | 6,094 | 3,137 | 1,370 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Quoted |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gelion PLC | 2021 | Partial | 28 | 28 | 51 | 23 | 23 |
Ideagen PLC | 2005 | Partial | 99 | 3,469 | 4,786 | 4,687 | 1,317 |
Total quoted |
|
| 127 | 3,497 | 4,837 | 4,710 | 1,340 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total sales |
|
| 3,084 | 8,221 | 10,931 | 7,847 | 2,710 |
1 Proceeds exclude yield received, which is disclosed as revenue for financial reporting purposes.
2 Proceeds exclude yield and redemption premium received, which are disclosed as revenue for financial reporting purposes.
3 Partial sale following tender offer.
4 The holding in The GP Service (UK) Limited was acquired by Kanabo GP Limited, a subsidiary of Kanabo Group PLC, in a transaction that was structured as a share for share exchange. In line with IPEV guidelines, the valuation of the holding has been adjusted to reflect the market value as at 31 May 2022.
During the period, one private and one AIM quoted company were struck off the Register of Companies, resulting in a total realised loss of £302,000 (cost £302,000). This had no effect on the NAV of the Company as full provisions had been made against the value of the holdings in a previous period.
Material Developments Since the Period End
Since 31 May 2022, three new private company holdings have been added to the portfolio:
• Novatus Advisory is a regulatory advisory business that helps financial organisations prevent or remedy regulatory or compliance issues through the provision of advisory services (both project based and long terms assignments) and also provides bespoke regulatory software. The company has a strong client base which includes blue-chip names such as Artemis and Enstar. It recently invested in software development to create a transaction reporting tool to help clients to meet legal reporting requirements and to reconcile trades. The VCT funding is being used to progress product development, particularly within the software side of the business.
• XR Games is a developer of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) games, which creates mobile and console-based games under licence, as well as providing a work-for-hire studio. Through a licence agreement with Sony Pictures, XR has developed the VR game The Angry Birds Movie 2 VR: Under Pressure, which was released for PlayStation and launched alongside the movie Angry Birds 2. More recently XR produced and developed Zombieland VR, a game based on the film franchise of the same name. XR has become a Microsoft partner, through its relationship with Sony, and is currently working on a number of projects and game prototypes. The business has built a good market reputation and is well positioned to achieve growth in this expanding sector. The VCT funding is being used to support the pipeline of game development, enhance the marketing function and make a number of strategic new hires.
• Zinc Systems is a provider of a software-based solution for safety, security and critical event management, which currently supports clients in four key sectors: retail, corporate, government, and security and facilities management. Zinc's solution, which provides support for incidents such as fire, online fraud or compliance breaches is fully integrated with a client's system and configured for mobile access meaning that critical information is instantly available and remotely accessible. The business has achieved good scale and currently has over 30,000 users in over 20 countries with a strong client list that includes B&Q, the Environmental Agency and City of London Police. The VCT funding is being used to enhance the sales and marketing function, and to progress product development.
In July 2022, the holding in e.fundamentals was realised through a sale to CommerceIQ, a US private equity backed trade consolidator. The exit generated a total return on investment of 2.35x cost, which comprises of an initial cash return of 1x cost, plus an equity stake in the enlarged business, which has the potential to deliver a further return to Shareholders in the future.
Outlook
Your Company has continued to make positive progress during the first half of the financial year and has sufficient liquidity to enable it to continue to progress its investment strategy. The primary near term challenge is the impact of inflationary pressures and the associated risk of constrained economic growth. Against this background, the Manager will maintain a focussed approach in targeting emerging growth companies operating in sectors and markets that are likely to be more resilient and less dependent on discretionary consumer spending.
On behalf of the Board
Maven Capital Partners UK LLP
Manager
22 July 2022
Investment Portfolio Summary
As at 31 May 2022
Investment | Valuation £'000 | Cost £'000 | % of total assets | % of equity held | % of equity held by other clients1 |
Unlisted | | | | | |
Bright Network (UK) Limited | 1,655 | 940 | 2.5 | 8.2 | 31.7 |
Rockar 2016 Limited (trading as Rockar) | 1,464 | 980 | 2.3 | 5.2 | 16.4 |
Relative Insight Limited | 1,290 | 600 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 22.1 |
Delio Limited | 1,276 | 648 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 9.7 |
Cardinality Limited | 1,188 | 796 | 1.8 | 7.9 | 17.0 |
e.fundamentals (Group) Limited | 1,176 | 625 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 9.2 |
MirrorWeb Limited | 1,176 | 1,000 | 1.8 | 7.2 | 37.7 |
Nano Interactive Group Limited | 1,126 | 625 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 11.2 |
Precursive Limited | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1.5 | 6.7 | 27.5 |
Horizon Ceremonies Limited (trading as Horizon Cremation) | 990 | 660 | 1.5 | 3.6 | 49.1 |
Horizon Technologies Consultants Limited | 900 | 796 | 1.3 | 5.5 | 11.7 |
CB Technology Group Limited | 856 | 521 | 1.3 | 10.6 | 68.3 |
Contego Solutions Limited (trading as NorthRow) | 843 | 843 | 1.3 | 4.9 | 27.3 |
Push Technology Limited | 725 | 725 | 1.1 | 3.4 | 9.9 |
Enpal Limited (trading as Guru Systems) | 697 | 697 | 1.0 | 7.5 | 14.1 |
Atterley.com Holdings Limited | 654 | 654 | 1.0 | 7.6 | 10.0 |
BioAscent Discovery Limited | 651 | 174 | 1.0 | 4.4 | 35.6 |
Draper & Dash Limited (trading as RwHealth) | 597 | 597 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 10.6 |
FodaBox Limited | 597 | 597 | 0.9 | 4.3 | 6.5 |
GradTouch Limited | 567 | 567 | 0.8 | 6.2 | 33.9 |
HiveHR Limited | 560 | 374 | 0.8 | 6.0 | 38.6 |
Ensco 969 Limited (trading as DPP) | 560 | 515 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 32.3 |
Liftango Limited | 547 | 547 | 0.8 | 3.4 | 10.5 |
Kanabo GP Limited2 | 518 | 1,639 | 0.8 | 13.8 | 53.4 |
WaterBear Education Limited | 517 | 245 | 0.8 | 5.1 | 34.1 |
Glacier Energy Services Holdings Limited | 509 | 643 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 25.2 |
Flow UK Holdings Limited | 498 | 498 | 0.7 | 6.0 | 29.0 |
ORCHA Health Limited | 497 | 497 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 1.3 |
QikServe Limited | 494 | 494 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 13.6 |
Whiterock Group Limited | 490 | 321 | 0.7 | 5.2 | 24.8 |
As at 31 May 2022
Investment | Valuation £'000 | Cost £'000 | % of total assets | % of equity held | % of equity held by other clients1 |
Unlisted (continued) |
|
|
|
|
|
Vodat Communications Group (VCG) Holding Limited (formerly Vodat Communications Group Limited) | 476 | 264 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 24.9 |
CODILINK UK Limited (trading as Coniq) | 450 | 450 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 3.6 |
mypura.com Group Limited (trading as Pura) | 448 | 448 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 16.7 |
Reed Thermoformed Packaging Limited (trading as iPac) | 448 | 448 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 10.0 |
Filtered Technologies Limited | 435 | 400 | 0.7 | 4.1 | 21.3 |
Rico Developments Limited (trading as Adimo) | 435 | 435 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 6.4 |
Hublsoft Group Limited | 375 | 300 | 0.6 | 4.7 | 26.5 |
Maven Co-Invest Endeavour Limited Partnership | 375 | 1 | 0.6 | 6.1 | 93.9 |
CYSIAM Limited | 373 | 373 | 0.6 | 6.5 | 13.5 |
RevLifter Limited | 300 | 300 | 0.4 | 3.3 | 17.1 |
Cat Tech International Limited | 299 | 299 | 0.4 | 2.9 | 27.2 |
Snappy Shopper Limited | 298 | 298 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.4 |
Growth Capital Ventures Limited | 275 | 264 | 0.4 | 4.8 | 42.6 |
HCS Control Systems Group Limited | 269 | 373 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 33.5 |
ebb3 Limited | 264 | 206 | 0.4 | 4.9 | 53.7 |
Servoca PLC2 | 241 | 138 | 0.4 | 0.7 | - |
Automated Analytics Limited (formerly eSales Hub Limited) | 150 | 150 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 16.9 |
Project Falcon Topco Limited (trading as Quorum Cyber) | 126 | 126 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 2.6 |
Shortbite Limited (trading as DigitalBridge) | 121 | 314 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 23.4 |
The Algorithm People Limited | 100 | 100 | 0.1 | 2.1 | 14.8 |
ISN Solutions Group Limited | 98 | 250 | 0.1 | 3.6 | 51.4 |
R&M Engineering Group Limited | 80 | 357 | 0.1 | 4.0 | 66.6 |
Intilery.com Limited | 75 | 75 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 58.6 |
Honcho Markets Limited | 65 | 64 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 23.5 |
LightwaveRF PLC3 | 40 | 74 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
Other unlisted investments | 25 | 2,205 | - | | |
Total unlisted | 31,259 | 28,530 | 46.9 |
|
|
As at 31 May 2022
Investment | Valuation £'000 | Cost £'000 | % of total assets | % of equity held | % of equity held by other clients1 |
Quoted |
|
|
|
|
|
Water Intelligence PLC | 1,688 | 163 | 2.6 | 1.2 | - |
Ideagen PLC | 1,058 | 22 | 1.7 | 0.1 | - |
Access Intelligence PLC | 483 | 224 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
Avingtrans PLC | 405 | 54 | 0.7 | 0.3 | - |
Concurrent Technologies PLC | 356 | 161 | 0.5 | 0.7 | - |
GENinCode PLC | 342 | 397 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 9.3 |
K3 Business Technology Group PLC | 309 | 238 | 0.5 | 0.5 | - |
Vianet Group PLC | 270 | 405 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 0.3 |
Arecor Therapeutics PLC | 267 | 167 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
Anpario PLC | 262 | 57 | 0.4 | 0.2 | - |
Netcall PLC | 221 | 26 | 0.3 | 0.2 | - |
Polarean Imaging PLC | 209 | 246 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
Crossword Cybersecurity PLC | 156 | 150 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.9 |
Synectics PLC | 144 | 308 | 0.2 | 0.8 | - |
Saietta Group PLC | 139 | 111 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
Oncimmune Holdings PLC | 132 | 250 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
Avacta Group PLC | 108 | 13 | 0.2 | - | 0.1 |
Croma Security Solutions Group PLC | 108 | 433 | 0.2 | 1.0 | - |
Velocys PLC | 96 | 148 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
LungLife AI PLC | 94 | 114 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
Directa Plus PLC | 82 | 120 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
Gelion PLC | 79 | 121 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
SulNOx PLC | 74 | 130 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
Intelligent Ultrasound Group PLC | 71 | 51 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 1.6 |
ReNeuron Group PLC | 71 | 150 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.7 |
Destiny Pharma PLC | 68 | 100 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.5 |
C4X Discovery Holdings PLC | 66 | 40 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.9 |
Feedback PLC | 63 | 74 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.3 |
Verici Dx PLC | 60 | 83 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 1.4 |
Eden Research PLC | 58 | 83 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.0 |
Osirium Technologies PLC | 51 | 199 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 2.9 |
Vertu Motors PLC | 49 | 50 | 0.1 | - | - |
As at 31 May 2022
Investment | Valuation £'000 | Cost £'000 | % of total assets | % of equity held | % of equity held by other clients1 |
Quoted (continued) |
|
|
|
|
|
Renalytix PLC | 39 | - | 0.1 | - | - |
RUA Life Sciences PLC | 31 | 229 | - | 0.3 | 1.3 |
Seeen PLC | 31 | 100 | - | 0.4 | 1.3 |
Egdon Resources PLC | 24 | 48 | - | 0.1 | - |
Diurnal Group PLC | 23 | 62 | - | 0.1 | 0.4 |
Merit Group PLC | 23 | 450 | - | 0.2 | - |
XP Factory PLC (formerly Escape Hunt PLC) | 22 | 26 | - | 0.1 | 0.1 |
Incanthera PLC | 21 | 49 | - | 0.6 | 0.6 |
Transense Technologies PLC | 21 | 1,188 | - | 0.3 | - |
Trackwise Designs PLC | 15 | 20 | - | 0.1 | 0.3 |
DeepMatter Group PLC | 10 | 201 | - | 0.2 | 0.3 |
Other quoted investments | 15 | 4,454 | - | | |
Total quoted | 7,914 | 11,715 | 11.8 |
|
|
Private equity investment trusts | | | | | |
HgCapital Trust PLC | 548 | 315 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.0 |
HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited | 478 | 310 | 0.7 | - | 0.1 |
BMO Private Equity Trust PLC (formerly F&C Private Equity Trust PLC) | 431 | 342 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
ICG Enterprise Trust PLC | 401 | 324 | 0.6 | - | 0.1 |
abrdn Private Equity Opportunities Trust PLC (formerly Standard Life Private Equity Trust PLC) | 372 | 266 | 0.6 | - | 0.1 |
Apax Global Alpha Limited | 355 | 289 | 0.5 | - | 0.1 |
Princess Private Equity Holding Limited | 351 | 308 | 0.5 | - | 0.2 |
Pantheon International PLC | 312 | 236 | 0.5 | - | 0.1 |
Total private equity investment trusts | 3,248 | 2,390 | 4.9 |
|
|
| | | | | |
Total investments | 42,421 | 42,635 | 63.6 |
|
|
1 Other clients of Maven Capital Partners UK LLP.
2 The holding in this investment resulted from the sale of The GP Service (UK) Limited to Kanabo GP Limited in a share for share exchange. In line with IPEV guidelines, the valuation of the holding has been adjusted to reflect the market value as at 31 May 2022.
3 This company delisted from AIM in a previous period.
Shaded line indicates that the investment was completed pre 2015.
Income Statement
For the six months Ended 31 May 2022
| Six months ended | Six months ended | Year ended | ||||||
| 31 May 2022 | 31 May 2021 | 30 November 2021 | ||||||
| (unaudited) | (unaudited) | (audited) | ||||||
| Revenue | Capital | Total | Revenue | Capital | Total | Revenue | Capital | Total |
| £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 |
Gains on investments | - | 773 | 773 | - | 6,807 | 6,807 | - | 9,624 | 9,624 |
Income from investments | 263 | - | 263 | 200 | - | 200 | 516 | - | 516 |
Other income | 4 | - | 4 | 1 | - | 1 | 3 | - | 3 |
Investment management fees | (221) | (663) | (884) | (157) | (472) | (629) | (324) | (972) | (1,296) |
Other expenses | (192) | - | (192) | (135) | - | (135) | (415) | - | (415) |
Net return on ordinary activities before taxation | (146) | 110 | (36) | (91) | 6,335 | 6,244 | (220) | 8,652 | 8,432 |
Tax on ordinary activities |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Return attributable to Equity Shareholders | (146) | 110 | (36) | (91) | 6,335 | 6,244 | (220) | 8,652 | 8,432 |
Earnings per share (pence) |
(0.08) |
0.06 |
(0.02) |
(0.06) |
4.37 |
4.31 |
(0.14) |
5.38 |
5.24 |
All gains and losses are recognised in the Income Statement.
All items in the above statement are derived from continuing operations. The Company has only one class of business and one reportable segment, the results of which are set out in the Income Statement and Balance Sheet. The Company derives its income from investments made in shares, securities and bank deposits.
There are no potentially dilutive capital instruments in issue and, therefore, no diluted earnings per share figures are relevant. The basic and diluted earnings per share are, therefore, identical.
The accompanying Notes are an integral part of the Financial Statements.
Statement Of Changes In Equity
Six months ended 31 May 2022
| Non-distributable reserves | Distributable reserves |
| |||||||
Six months ended 31 May 2022 (unaudited) | Share capital £'000 | Share premium account £'000 | Capital redemption reserve £'000 | Capital reserved unrealised £'000 | Capital reserve realised £'000 | Special distributable reserve £'000 | Revenue reserve £'000 | Total £'000 |
| |
At 30 November 2021 | 17,635 | 14,527 | 484 | 6,543 | 1,720 | 29,308 | (1,454) | 68,763 |
| |
Net return | - | - | - | (6,757) | 7,530 | (663) | (146) | (36) |
| |
Dividends paid | - | - | - | - | - | (1,751) | - | (1,751) |
| |
Repurchase and | (116) | - | 116 | - | - | (427) | - | (427) |
| |
cancellation of shares | | | | | | | | |
| |
Net proceeds of DIS issue | 50 | 135 | - | - | - | - | - | 185 |
| |
At 31 May 2022 | 17,569 | 14,662 | 600 | (214) | 9,250 | 26,467 | (1,600) | 66,734 |
| |
| Non-distributable reserves | Distributable reserves |
|
| |||||
Six months ended 31 May 2021 (unaudited) | Share capital £'000 | Share premium account £'000 | Capital redemption reserve £'000 | Capital reserved unrealised £'000 | Capital reserve realised £'000 | Special distributable reserve £'000 | Revenue reserve £'000 | Total £'000 | |
At 30 November 2020 | 12,405 | 21 | 218 | (3,095) | 1,734 | 35,087 | (1,234) | 45,136 | |
Net return | - | - | - | 6,978 | (171) | (472) | (91) | 6,244 | |
Dividends paid | - | - | - | - | - | (1,926) | - | (1,926) | |
Repurchase and | (190) | - | 190 | - | - | (655) | - | (655) | |
cancellation of shares | | | | | | | | | |
Net proceeds of share issue | 5,381 | 13,667 | - | - | - | - | - | 19,048 | |
Net proceeds of DIS issue | 58 | 143 | - | - | - | - | - | 201 | |
At 31 May 2021 | 17,654 | 13,831 | 408 | 3,883 | 1,563 | 32,034 | (1,325) | 68,048 |
| Non-distributable reserves | Distributable reserves |
| |||||
Year ended 30 November 2021 (audited) | Share capital £'000 | Share premium account £'000 | Capital redemption reserve £'000 | Capital reserved unrealised £'000 | Capital reserve realised £'000 | Special distributable reserve £'000 | Revenue reserve £'000 | Total £'000 |
At 30 November 2020 | 12,405 | 21 | 218 | (3,095) | 1,734 | 35,087 | (1,234) | 45,136 |
Net return | - | - | - | 9,638 | (14) | (972) | (220) | 8,432 |
Dividends paid | - | - | - | - | - | (3,874) | - | (3,874) |
Repurchase and | (266) | - | 266 | - | - | (933) | - | (933) |
cancellation of shares | | | | | | | | |
Net proceeds of share issue | 5,381 | 14,210 | - | - | - | - | - | 19,591 |
Net proceeds of DIS issue | 115 | 296 | - | - | - | - | - | 411 |
At 30 November 2021 | 17,635 | 14,527 | 484 | 6,543 | 1,720 | 29,308 | (1,454) | 68,763 |
The accompanying Notes are an integral part of the Financial Statements.
Balance Sheet
As at 31 May 2022
| 31 May 2022 (unaudited) £'000 | 31 May 2021 (unaudited) £'000 | 30 November 2021 (audited) £'000 | |
Fixed assets |
|
|
| |
Investments at fair value through profit or loss | 42,421 | 42,109 | 46,313 | |
Current assets |
|
|
| |
Debtors | 430 | 367 | 436 | |
Cash | 24,278 | 25,829 | 22,434 | |
| 24,708 | 26,196 | 22,870 | |
Creditors |
|
|
| |
Amounts falling due within one year | (395) | (257) | (420) | |
Net current assets | 24,313 | 25,939 | 22,450 | |
Net assets | 66,734 | 68,048 | 68,763 | |
Capital and reserves |
|
|
| |
Called up share capital | 17,569 | 17,654 | 17,635 | |
Share premium account | 14,662 | 13,831 | 14,527 | |
Capital redemption reserve | 600 | 408 | 484 | |
Capital reserve - unrealised | (214) | 3,883 | 6,543 | |
Capital reserve - realised | 9,250 | 1,563 | 1,720 | |
Special distributable reserve | 26,467 | 32,034 | 29,308 | |
Revenue reserve | (1,600) | (1,325) | (1,454) | |
Net assets attributable to Ordinary Shareholders | 66,734 | 68,048 | 68,763 | |
|
|
|
| |
Net asset value per Ordinary Share (pence) | 37.98 | 38.54 | 38.99 | |
The Financial Statements of Maven Income and Growth VCT 5 PLC, registered number 04084875, were approved by the Board and were signed on its behalf by:
Graham Miller
Director
22 July 2022
The accompanying Notes are an integral part of the Financial Statements.
Cash Flow Statement
For the six months ended 31 May 2022
| Six months ended 31 May 2022 (unaudited) £'000 | Six months ended 31 May 2021 (unaudited) £'000 | Year ended 30 November 2021 (audited) £'000 |
Net cash flows from operating activities | (855) | (605) | (1,042) |
Cash flows from investing activities |
|
|
|
Purchase of investments | (4,612) | (4,213) | (8,067) |
Sale of investments | 9,304 | 2,516 | 4,885 |
Net cash flows from investing activities | 4,692 | (1,697) | (3,182) |
Cash flows from financing activities |
|
|
|
Equity dividends paid | (1,751) | (1,926) | (3,874) |
Issue of Ordinary Shares | 185 | 19,249 | 20,002 |
Repurchase of Ordinary Shares | (427) | (735) | (1,013) |
Net cash flows from financing activities | (1,993) | 16,588 | 15,115 |
|
|
|
|
Net increase in cash | 1,844 | 14,286 | 10,891 |
Cash at beginning of period |
22,434 |
11,543 |
11,543 |
Cash at end of period | 24,278 | 25,829 | 22,434 |
The accompanying Notes are an integral part of the Financial Statements.
Notes to the Financial Statements
1. Accounting policies
The financial information for the six months ended 31 May 2022 and the six months ended 31 May 2021 comprises non-statutory accounts within the meaning of S435 of the Companies Act 2006. The financial information contained in this report has been prepared based on the accounting policies set out in the Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 30 November 2021, which have been filed at Companies House and which contained an Auditor's Report that was not qualified and did not contain a statement under S498 (2) or S498 (3) of the Companies Act 2006.
2. Reserves
Share premium account
The share premium account represents the premium above nominal value received by the Company on issuing shares net of issue costs. This reserve is non-distributable.
Capital redemption reserve
The nominal value of shares repurchased and cancelled is represented in the capital redemption reserve. This reserve is non-distributable.
Capital reserve - unrealised
Increases and decreases in the fair value of investments are recognised in the Income Statement and are then transferred to the capital reserve unrealised account. This reserve is non-distributable.
Capital reserve - realised
Gains or losses on investments realised in the year that have been recognised in the Income Statement are transferred to the capital reserve realised account on disposal. Furthermore, any prior unrealised gains or losses on such investments are transferred from the capital reserve unrealised account to the capital reserve realised account on disposal. This reserve is distributable.
Special distributable reserve
The total cost to the Company of the repurchase and cancellation of shares is represented in the special distributable reserve account. The special distributable reserve also represents capital dividends, capital investment management fees and the tax effect of capital items. This reserve is distributable.
Revenue reserve
The revenue reserve represents accumulated profits retained by the Company that have not been distributed to Shareholders. This reserve is distributable.
3. Return per Ordinary Share
| Six months ended 31 May 2022 |
The returns per share have been based on the following figures:
| |
Weighted average number of Ordinary Shares | 175,879,350
|
Revenue return | (£146,000) |
Capital return | £110,000 |
Total return | (£36,000) |
| |
Directors' Responsibility Statement
The Directors confirm that, to the best of their knowledge:
• the Financial Statements for the six months ended 31 May 2022 have been prepared in accordance with FRS 102, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland;
• the Interim Management Report, comprising the Chairman's Statement and the Investment Manager's Interim Review, includes a fair review of the information required by DTR 4.2.7R in relation to the indication of important events during the first six months, and of the principal and emerging risks and uncertainties facing the Company during the second six months, of the year ending 30 November 2022; and
• the Interim Management Report includes adequate disclosure of the information required by DTR 4.2.8R in relation to related party transactions and any changes therein.
Other information
The NAV per Ordinary Share has been calculated using the number of Ordinary Shares in issue at 31 May 2022, which was 175,699,831. A summary of investment changes for the six months under review and an investment portfolio summary as at 31 May 2022 are included above. A full copy of the Interim Report and Financial Statements will be printed and issued to Shareholders in due course. Copies of this announcement will be available to the public at the office of Maven Capital Partners UK LLP, Kintyre House, 205 West George Street, Glasgow, G2 2LW; at the registered office of the Company at 1-2 Royal Exchange Buildings, London, EC3V 3LF; and on the Company's website at: mavencp.com/migvct5.
Neither the content of the Company's website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
On behalf of the Board
Maven Capital Partners UK LLP
Secretary
22 July 2022
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