Sure Ventures plc, a London listed venture capital fund which invests in early stage software companies in the rapidly growing financial technology (‘fintech’), augmented reality (‘AR’), virtual reality (‘VR’), and Internet of Things (‘IoT’) sectors, is pleased to provide an update on its investment portfolio.

SUIR VALLEY VENTURES

Sure Ventures made a 4.5 million commitment to Suir Valley Ventures Fund (‘Suir Valley’) representing an interest in Suir Valley of approximately 22.167% (assuming no other funding commitments are made).  This commitment was made at a price of €1.00 per share; the last recorded Suir Valley dealing NAV as at 20 August 2018 was recorded at €1.1583 per share.

Suir Valley has several investments across the fintech, AR, VR and IoT sectors:

·     Immersive VR Education plc – http://immersivevreducation.com/

Immersive VR Education listed on the Alternative Investment Market in March. Its signature Titanic VR experience has now been launched on all major VR platforms and its ‘Berlin Blitz’ VR recreation of a British bombing raid in the Second World War premiered at the Venice Film Festival to positive reviews. Its founders, husband and wife team David and Sandra Wheldon, were recently nominated for EY Entrepreneur of the Year award.

·     WarDucks – www.warducks.com

WarDucks, a Dublin based VR games studio which has created a number of top-ranking VR games, recently launched its popular Rollercoaster Legends II on PlayStation VR. WarDucks also launched the alpha version of the AR powered mobile game called ‘My Smooshy Mushy’ that’s built around the characters of Smooshy Mushy, the hit children’s toy brand.

·     Wia – www.wia.io

Wia Studios is a new professional IoT engineering service which assists companies in bringing IoT to their organisation. Wia provides a six-week prototyping process, where Wia takes care of idea exploration, definition, concept ideation, product build, user experience and installation.

·     ProVision – www.provisioncameramatics.com

The IoT based fleet manage system continued to develop its advanced technology and expand its client base of more than a hundred fleets across the UK and Ireland.  Its technology provides remotely accessible IoT solutions to manage and reduce fleet risk, enhance driver safety, increase fleet efficiencies and help operators comply with growing governance and compliance regulations.  The technology combines high quality vehicle camera and tracking technology linked to advanced cloud software. ProVision’s most advanced products can issue warnings such as flagging driver fatigue, mobile phone use, collision dangers, lane departure and driver distractions, ultimately improving road safety and helping companies with compliance requirements.

·     NDRC Arc Labs – http://www.arclabs.ie/

Suir Valley secured a partnership deal with a leading EU Accelerator, the Research and Development Centre at the Waterford Institute of Technology,  which is expected to provide first look deal flow for Suir Valley. The accelerator is expected to produce 30 companies in Suir Valley’s focus sectors over the next two years and the fund will have the first refusal right to invest in any of these companies.

·     Artomatix – https://artomatix.com/

Suir Valley led a €2.7 million investment round in Artomatix  which provides AI powered software that reduces the time needed to create 3D art by as much as 80%, thereby significantly reducing users’ production costs. This technology could be game changing for the industry – the computer graphics market is expected to reach $US212 billion by the end of 2023. Artomatix will use the funds to accelerate its market delivery worldwide. 

DIRECT INVESTMENTS

Investments made directly by Sure Ventures plc:

·     Immotion PLC (‘Immotion’), a UK based company that creates its own high-quality VR content and enhances the immersive experience by coupling this content with motion simulation, is the only direct investment made by Sure Ventures to date, with a £500,000 investment made in February 2018. As previously announced, Immotion listed on the Alternative Investment Market in July 2018, at a price that represented a notable uplift in the value of Sure Venture’s original investment. Immotion has made continued progress, rolling out VR centres in Yorkshire, Manchester, Cardiff, Newcastle, Derby and Uxbridge. It has also created new proprietary content (such as Delta zero) and a branded roller coaster experience for the Lego discovery centre in Manchester.

Sure Ventures Director, Gareth Burchell said, “We are extremely pleased with the progress our fund has made thus far Suir Valley Ventures has built a well balanced portfolio with exposure to several exciting and rapidly growing companies. Our investments have grown at a healthy rate which we believe provides an encouraging outlook for further investments in our chosen sectors. We are especially pleased with the successful IPO of our first direct investment, Immotion PLC, that came to fruition just a short few months after cash deployment.  I look forward to providing further updates as further investments are made by Sure Ventures directly and by Suir Valley Ventures Fund and the current investee companies continue to develop.”

ENDS

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

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. The Company aims to provide investors with a diversified exposure to three rapidly-growing markets: augmented reality/virtual reality, fintech and Internet of Things.  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/