April 2018 – Sure Ventures

Sure Ventures plc – First Direct Investment in VR Sector

Posted on 24th April 201814th August 2018 by shardadmin

SURE VENTURES PLC, a 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 announce that it has invested £500,000 in Immotion Group Limited (‘Immotion’), a UK-based company focused on creating superior out-of-home immersive VR experiences in Europe and the USA.

Overview

· First investment in VR sector – Immotion, which has developed VR cinema pods that engage the senses by combining advanced sight, sound and multi-directional motion, with premium content from award-winning creators

· Immotion’s VR cinema pods are being placed in entertainment centres, theme parks and museums, to give individuals and groups access to VR experiences far beyond what is currently available at home

· Continuing to explore other investment opportunities in the AR/VR, FinTech and IoT sectors, having listed on the Specialist Fund Segment (SFS) of the London Stock Exchange in January 2018

Immotion, which has offices in London, Manchester and Los Angeles, has developed a range of VR cinema pods, which enable users to enjoy immersive VR experiences, blurring the boundaries between reality and fiction. Founded by experienced technology and media entrepreneurs, Martin Higginson and David Marks, Immotion is revenue generative, having placed its pods in a variety of different outlets including several leading visitor attractions across Europe and the USA under its own brand, VR Star, as well as through its partnership network including Genting Resorts World. Most recently, the Yorkshire Museum used Immotion’s technology in its Jurassic World exhibition, an educational attraction opened by naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough in March 2018, who described the technology as “tremendous”.

Immotion will use the £500,000 funds raised to fast-track its sales and marketing strategy, advance the roll-out of its product worldwide across Europe and US and create additional content. This follows a £1.3m investment made by a range of strategic investors in Immotion at the end of 2017.

Sure director, Gareth Burchell, said, “With more than £4 billion invested in the VR sector over the last two years, this is a booming global market, so we are delighted to support Immotion’s highly creative team as they embark on the next development phase. As one of the leading companies in the sector, Immotion offers significant growth opportunities. Demand for its VR cinema pods are gaining traction as customers increasingly look for new experiences and engage with the concept of being immersed in new virtual worlds.

“Having previously invested in the Suir Valley Venture Fund, this is the first direct investment we have made. We are currently in talks with other exciting companies in our target AR/VR, FinTech and IoT sectors.”

Martin Higginson, Executive Chairman of Immotion, said: “We’re delighted to secure this funding from Sure, which shares our excitement in the enormous potential of the out-of-home VR experiences market. We believe our out-of-home experiences will allow people of all ages to experience the full immersive thrill of VR, including movement, in a safe and fun way.

“We have seen what is needed to deliver a great experience. Our VR cinema pods engage the senses by combining sight, sound and motion, along with premium content from our own award-winning studios, allowing us to help users genuinely escape reality.”

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

Gareth Burchell	Sure Ventures plc	+44 (0) 20 7186 9918
Isabel de Salis / Priit Piip	St Brides Partners (Financial PR)	+44 (0) 20 7236 1177
Immotion	immotion@redleafpr.com	+44 (0) 20 3757 6880

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 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 +£400,000 over the next 12 months.

Website: https://www.sureventuresplc.com/

About Immotion

Immotion is an exciting UK-based company focused on creating superior out-of-home immersive virtual reality experiences in Europe and the USA.

Website: http://www.immotiongroup.com/

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

Sure Ventures plc – Information on investment approach and loan facility

Posted on 24th April 201814th August 2018 by shardadmin

Sure Ventures plc (the “Company”) announces further information on its investment approach and its entry into a loan facility.

As contemplated in the prospectus published by the Company on 17 November 2017, the Company has made a £5 million commitment to invest in the Suir Valley Venture Fund (the “Fund”), a sub-fund of Suir Valley Funds ICAV. It is expected that the Company’s commitment to the Fund will be drawn down from time to time over a period of up to four years, dependent on the investment activity of the Fund. The Fund is managed by Shard Capital AIFM LLP (“SCAIFM”) which is also the Company’s manager.

Prior to the full drawdown of the Company’s commitment to the Fund, the cash held by the Company will be utilised in accordance with the Company’s stated investment policy and cash management policy. The directors, on advice from SCAIFM, consider that it is in the interests of shareholders for the cash held by the Company in respect of its commitment to the Fund to potentially be available for investment in suitable investment opportunities pending draw down by the Fund.

As stated in the Company’s investment policy, the Company will seek to satisfy capital calls on its commitment to the Fund and other investee entities through a combination of reserves, realisation proceeds, borrowings and, potentially, further issues of equity.

In that regard, the Company has entered into a loan facility agreement with Shard Merchant Capital Limited, an associate of SCAIFM, which makes available to the Company a facility of up to £1 million (the “Loan Facility”). The Loan Facility may be drawn at any time for the purpose of satisfying capital calls or for other working capital purposes. Amounts borrowed under the Loan Facility are subject to interest charged at a rate of 3 per cent per annum and are repayable within four years of drawdown or (if earlier) on the fifth anniversary of the date of the loan facility agreement. The Loan Facility will only be utilised in accordance with the Company’s stated borrowing policy.

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

Gareth Burchell	Sure Ventures plc	+44 (0) 20 7186 9918
Isabel de Salis / Priit Piip	St Brides Partners (Financial PR)	+44 (0) 20 7236 1177

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

Pixar Animation Studios co-founder, Mr Loren Carpenter appointed advisor to VR Education Holdings

Posted on 10th April 201814th August 2018 by shardadmin

Suir Valley Ventures first investment, VR Education Holdings has today announced the appointment of Mr. Loren Carpenter, co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and Academy Award winner, as an advisor to the company.

Speaking about the appointment via the London Stock Exchange, Mr Carpenter said, “I’ve been thoroughly impressed with the meticulous approach VR Education has taken in all of their projects. It’s refreshing to see such attention to detail and I admire how much the company has achieved from its inception, just three years ago.”

Mr Carpenter offers decades of experience to VR Education including being the co-invention of the Reyes rendering algorithm which is used in 3D computer graphics to render photo-realistic images, and as one of the authors of the PhotoRealistic RenderMan, a software used to render all of Pixar’s movies.

David Whelan, CEO of VR Education, said “We are incredibly pleased to have Loren – a luminary of the industry on board. Having grown Pixar from a small company to a multi-billion-dollar business by the time it was acquired by Disney, his advice will be invaluable to VR Education when we take our next steps. As always, our mission remains to provide world class educational platform and experiences to people across the globe and we’re thrilled that now we have Loren to assist us.”

Pixar Studios is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney company and has been a pioneer in computer-generated animated movies. Pixar launched its first feature film in 1995 with the release of their first feature film, Toy Story. Not only was Toy Story the world’s first computer animated feature film, it was also the highest grossing film of the year making over $362 million worldwide. Pixar’s own IPO took place just days later and was the largest IPO of the year.

Head of Stockbroking at Shard Capital, Gareth Burchell, commented, “The appointment of Mr. Loren Carpenter as an advisor is an outstanding sentiment to the potential for VR Education and their VR experiences revolutionising education. We are extremely impressed with their growth and their future ahead.”

Sources:

http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/VRE/13596086.html