Risk warning: The value of investments and derived income can fall. Investors may get back less than they invested.

Suir Valley Ventures Investment in Environmental Monitoring Group, Ambisense

Suir Valley Ventures, the entrepreneur-led venture capital fund launched in partnership with Shard Capital Partners LLP to invest in early stage software companies across a range of high-tech verticals, is pleased to announce its participation alongside Atlantic Bridge, in a €1.1 million investment round for Ambisense Ltd, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) environmental analytics company. The round was also supported by Enterprise Ireland and a number of private investors.

Overview

  • Invested as part of €1.1 million investment round led by Atlantic Bridge
  • Ambisense’s Ambilytics™ platform optimises the delivery of environmental risk assessment on some of the world’s largest infrastructure & industrial projects
  • Tailored service encompasses IoT and AI solutions

Suir Valley Ventures Managing Partner, Barry Downes, said, “We are delighted to support Ambisense in this fundraise as it looks to build on its position as a leading innovator within the environmental space.   Its technology stack, encompassing both IoT and AI, is increasingly a necessity for infrastructure and industrial clients worldwide, which is why it can boast a rapidly growing international client base.    This is an exciting time for Ambisense and we look forward to being part of its journey.”

Ambisense CEO, Stephen McNulty, said, “We are delighted to have secured the support of Suir Valley as we look to continue our mission to optimise environmental risk assessment. The Suir Valley team has significant experience founding, funding and growing a number of highly innovative successful businesses; we are keen to onboard and utilise this to help us grow Ambisense into a globally recognised company, using technology to solve the world’s most pressing environmental problems.” We are also grateful for the ongoing support of our existing investors, including Enterprise Ireland who have supported the business from day one and been instrumental in our success to date.

University Bridge Fund Partner, Dr Chris Horn, said, “Atlantic Bridge is very pleased to have Suir Valley Ventures join us to add further momentum to Ambisense’s emerging leadership in environmental management and risk assessment.   The Green Agenda is now mainstream, and combines financial opportunity with critical benefits to society and to the economy at large.  Suir Valley is not only bringing investment capital but also valuable industry contacts to add to our own global network of partners.”

Founded in 2014, Ambisense’s Ambilytics™ platform optimises the delivery of environmental risk assessment on some of the world’s largest infrastructure projects across industrial, Oil & Gas and Waste Management verticals, partnering with global multinationals such as CEMEX, SGS & Arcadis. Ambilytics™ encompasses both IoT and AI solutions, combining information from remotely deployed field devices with contextual data sources such as weather, satellite, geophysical and operational data to build machine learning models. These models identify the relationships, patterns, and drivers hidden within the data and allow customers to forecast and predict the behaviour of targeted environmental pollutants.

It is estimated that the costs of climate change will stand at $500bn annually by the end of the 21st century.  To meet the growing demand for cost-effective bespoke applications to mitigate this and other types of environmental risks, Ambisense has developed a toolkit to enable customers to build fully customisable, web-enabled instruments to acquire and analyse the data required quickly and cost-effectively.  Each element can be tailored to different needs whether a client wants to measure gas, air or water quality or anything in between.  Ultimately, it can help to:

  • Reduce monitoring costs by minimising time to site
  • Obtain live and continuous information from remote sites
  • Continuously monitor and troubleshoot problem locations
  • Understand and minimise environmental risk
  • Build useful datasets quickly and cost effectively to analyse problems
  • Build predictive models for environmental processes

Ambisense began life as an Irish EPA STRIVE funded project developed in the National Centre for Sensor Research (NCSR) in Dublin City University, one of the largest and most successful research institutions of its kind in the world with annual income of €100M and 250 multi-disciplinary researchers working on novel sensing techniques for a variety of applications.

For further information, please visit https://suirvalleyventures.com/ or contact:

Simon HughesSuir Valley Ventures+44 (0) 20 7186 9918
Isabel de SalisMelissa HancockSt Brides Partners (Financial PR)+44 (0) 20 7236 1177

Notes to Editors

Suir Valley Ventures is an entrepreneur led venture capital fund that invests in early stage software companies. It specialises in investing in Augmented and Virtual Reality (‘AR’/‘VR’), Financial Technology (‘FinTech’), Artificial Intelligence (‘AI’) and the Internet of Things (‘IoT’) sectors.  Suir Valley Ventures works in partnership with Shard Capital, which is a London based independent financial services company offering a full range of broking, asset management and corporate capital services.   Investments include:

About Atlantic Bridge:

Atlantic Bridge is a Global Growth Technology Firm which invests in high growth technology companies and accelerates the scale up of these companies by applying its proprietary Bridge Model into the US, Middle East and Chinese markets. The Firm has investment teams, offices and extensive networks in Dublin, London, Palo Alto, Munich and Beijing.  Atlantic Bridge invests in early stage companies through the €60m University Bridge Fund which backs companies built from world-class research undertaken by Irish third level universities and research institutions in high growth and disruptive sectors such as Artificial Intelligence, Computer Visioning, Robotics, Machine Learning, Enterprise Software and IoT.  Irish portfolio companies include Aylien (https://aylien.com/), Danalto (https://www.danalto.com/), Data Chemist (https://www.datachemist.com/) and Siren (https://siren.io/technology/)

Ambisense Limited:

Website: https://ambisense.net/

Contact: Stephen McNulty, CEO: stephen.mcnulty@ambisense.net

Sure Ventures plc – investment in holographic tech start-up VividQ

 

Sure Ventures plc, a London listed venture capital fund which invests in early-stage software companies across a range of high-tech verticals including Augmented Reality (‘AR’) and Virtual Reality (‘VR’), Artificial Intelligence (‘AI’), and the Internet of Things (‘IoT’), is pleased to announce it has made a direct investment of £500,000 in VividQ Limited – a UK-based deep tech software company pioneering the application of holography in AR/VR and consumer electronics display.

Overview

  • VividQ is a deep tech start-up with world-leading expertise in 3D holography. The company developed patented software to enable commercial applications of holographic display in AR/VR headsets, smartglasses, automotive head-up displays, and consumer electronics.
  • VividQ was founded in February 2017 in Cambridge, UK. Technical co-founders include engineers, mathematicians and computer scientists from the University of Cambridge, Oxford, and St Andrews with expertise in digital holography.
  • VividQ established partnerships with chipmakers, display and hardware manufacturers in the US, Taiwan and Europe, to enable mass adoption of holographic display with their patented software for hologram generation.
  • The AR market is expected to grow from $11 to $61 billion between 2018 and 2023, with the VR market growing from $8 to $34 billion in the same period, at CAGRs of over 30%, according to Markets and Markets. At the same time, the global display market, valued at $115.60 billion in 2017, is projected to reach $206.29 billion by 2025, registering a CAGR of 7.4% from 2018 to 2025, according to Allied Market Research.
  • The investment will enable VividQ to accelerate the adoption of their hologram generating software. They aim to double their Cambridge and London-based teams to implement further developments to the software framework and complete ongoing customer projects, to productise devices using holographic display in 2020.

Sure Ventures CIO, Barry Downes, said, “We are delighted to invest directly in VividQ Limited. Darran and his team have the unique combination of the world-leading expertise and the pioneering,  proprietary software technology that is the missing piece needed for the mass adoption of holography, which will radically enhance and grow the AR and digital display industry.”

VividQ’s CEO, Darran Milne, said, “Sure Ventures have been great to work with, both for their professionalism and deep understanding of the companies they invest in and the technology behind them. They demonstrate the kind of vision and passion that the deep tech companies of today need to accelerate bringing truly disruptive solutions to market.”

 

Further Information

Founded in February 2017, VividQ is a deep-tech software company with world-leading expertise in 3D holography. With seed funding, VividQ has grown its Commercial and Technical teams in Cambridge and London, made a full release of their software framework, and secured partnerships with world-class customers including hardware and embedded systems manufacturers.

Holography has long been considered the ultimate display technology. The science fiction ideal of engineering and manipulating light to produce 3D projections appealed to the imagination of millions through franchises such as Star Wars or Star Trek. While physically possible, the tremendous computing requirements to create full-depth holographic display made it unreachable for commercial applications. Until now.

VividQ has developed solutions required for the mass adoption of holography in AR and consumer electronics. Its patented software framework allows for the real-time generation of holograms from 3D data, and projection on available micro-displays. Commercially viable holographic display solves a crucial problem of today’s AR/VR – the lack of depth perception, which disrupts the user’s sense of realism and results in eye-fatigue and nausea. Holography overcomes these issues and paves the way for immersive 3D without the need for glasses at all.

With technical co-founders leading their team out of Cambridge (UK), VividQ has benefited from the rich research environment of the University and its Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics. VividQ’s Commercial Team operates from London, as part of the rich entrepreneurial network of TechHub and Innovation Warehouse. The company has achieved wide recognition at international industry events including AWE, nVidia GTC, Photonics West, and Mobile World Congress.

Suir Valley Ventures IoT investee company Wia announce their first hardware product – The Dot One

Dublin, Ireland: Wia, an Internet of Things startup that helps developers and companies build electronics, announced their move into the consumer hardware space with their first product. The Dot One is designed as an entry level piece of kit for kids and makers who want to learn electronics and create their own inventions. The product is built on top of the Wia Cloud which is being used by developers in more than 100 countries and comes pre-configured for the platform out of the box.

Build with Blocks

As part of the launch, Wia are releasing their new Blocks programming interface which allows users to create the code required to control hardware without requiring any previous programming experience using a simple drag and drop user interface. This will be an exclusive feature for the Dot One.

Alexa, say “Hiya to Wia”

All Wia users will get access to their new integration with Amazon’s Alexa. This brings voice to not just the Dot One, but every developer and maker board on the market. Any device connected to the Wia Cloud will be accessible from the Echo range of products.

About the announcement, Conall Laverty Founder & CEO of Wia said, “This is a new chapter in the story of Wia as we work towards becoming an end-to-end electronics company. We’re super excited to be moving into the consumer hardware space and are looking forward to seeing the inventions that the budding makers of the future will create around our suite of products. Bringing speech recognition to the Wia Cloud was a natural move as we have seen a rapid rise in voice enabled interfaces over the past couple of years.“

The Dot One will retail for €24.95 with additional sensor modules ranging from €8.95 to €12.95. It is available for pre-order now from the Wia Store and will begin shipping early May 2019.

More about the Dot One is available at https://wia.io/dot-one

About Wia: Wia is an Internet of Things startup based in Dublin, Ireland. The company was founded by Conall Laverty who was listed on this years Forbes 30 Under 30 and has raised €1m in funding to date from Suir Valley Ventures, Enterprise Ireland and NDRC.

Sure Ventures Plc – Attendance at the UK Investor Show 2019

SURE VENTURES PLC, the London listed venture capital fund, which invests in early stage software companies across a range of verticals, is pleased to announce that it will be participating in the UK Investor Show, Britain’s largest one-day investor event, on Saturday 30 March 2019 at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre Westminster, London, SW1P 3EE.

SURE VENTURES CIO, Barry Downes, and a cross section of the Company’s investee companies will be exhibiting at the event on stands 101, 102 and 103.  These include:

  • Wia – a ground-breaking Internet of Things (IoT) cloud platform, enabling developers to turn any type of sensor device into a secure, smart and useful application in a matter of minutes.
  • Artomatix – Creative Artificial Intelligence (AI) software technology that cuts the cost of content creation for animated movies, video games, 3D and AR/VR applications by over 85% through AI automation.
  • Admix – with over 200 million ad requests to the platform from developers in February 2019, Admix is the first monetisation platform for XR, empowering global VR/AR developers to monetise their content through non-intrusive advertising – ads that do not disrupt or interrupt, but are instead integrated within the content as product placements.
  • VividQ – a deep tech software company with world-leading expertise in real-time 3D holography, the next generation of display technology. VividQ’s revolutionary digital light shaping technology makes 3D holographic screens a viable commercial display solution, by generating multiple-depth holographic images on standard computing power.
  • Provision – an IoT fleet management system which provides CameraMatics solutions for commercial fleets. Provision delivers products that allow fleet managers to reduce fleet risk, increase driver safety and comply with growing governance and compliance regulations. Provision clients report savings in claim payouts from 15% to >50%, and per vehicle savings as high as €/$/£2,000 per year and payback in as quickly as 3 months.
  • VR Education Holdings Plc (AIM: VRE) – a multi award winning VR/AR software firm dedicated to changing how educational content and corporate training are provided and consumed globally. VR Education Holdings PLC is well known for their showcase experiences including Apollo 11 VR, Titanic VR, ER VR Medical, and Berlin Blitz. The core focus of the business is the ENGAGE virtual reality education and corporate training platform that allows educators, third-party developers, and corporate trainers to create and share their own content within the ENGAGE publishing platform.
  • Immotion Group Plc (AIM: IMMO) – focused on the delivery of out of home, location-based VR experiences. Immotion provides a complete ‘end to end’ solution including hardware (motion platforms with VR) and software (experiences) to theme parks, shopping malls, cinemas and Family Entertainment Centres. An Immotion VR simulator will be located at at stand 134 for attendees to experience its VR worlds.

 

More details on the event can be found via the following link: www.ukinvestorshow.com

Sure Ventures plc Follow-on Investment in WarDucks

SURE VENTURES PLC, the London listed venture capital fund, which invests in early stage software companies across a range of verticals, is pleased to announce that Suir Valley Ventures (‘Suir Valley’), it which it holds a circa 23% interest, has participated in a €3.3 million investment round, at a valuation of led by EQT Ventures fund for WarDucks, the Dublin-based augmented reality (‘AR’) game development studio. The funds raised will be used to drive the development of WarDucks’ new location-based AR game and expand its development team.

Suir Valley was an initial seed investor in September 2017, investing €300,000 in WarDucks in the seed round and this has led to a 4X unrealised gain. Suir Valley has followed-on and maintained its 10% holding in the new funding round and remain supportive of WarDucks and its future potential.

CEO Nikki Lannen, formerly a senior member of Facebook’s gaming team, founded WarDucks (www.warducks.com) in 2013 with the aim of creating world-class content for mobile, AR and VR platforms. It has attracted global talent to work on its latest AR game including gaming legend John Romero as a creative consultant. Co-founder of the BAFTA award-winning Romero Games studio and winner of more than 100 awards, Romero is best known for his work on Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM, DOOM II and Quake. WarDucks has also hired Doug Kaufman, the game designer behind Civilization II and Frontierville, as its lead game designer, and Lawrence Schick, who was previously at ZeniMax where he was Loremaster on the Elder Scrolls Online, as lead narrative designer.

SURE VENTURES CIO, Barry Downes, said, “We are delighted to be part of this investment round as WarDucks focuses on launching a new location-based AR reality mobile game. Traction for these games continues to gain momentum; for example, Pokemon Go has made $2 billion since it launched and is still making over $2 million a day. Notably, our fellow investor EQT Ventures, discovered WarDucks using its AI platform Motherbrain, which leverages data to identify promising start-ups. Our on-the-ground investment team were one step ahead having first invested in WarDucks in 2017.”

Sure Ventures Plc Net Asset Value 31 December 2018

Sure Ventures Plc (“Sure Ventures”), 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 its unaudited, estimated NAV per share  as at 31st of December 2018.

The NAV as at the 31st of December 2018 stands at 91.77p, which represents a -9.67% decrease from the 30th of September 2018 NAV calculation, reported to the market on the 26th of October 2018.

The board would like to highlight that Immotion plc and VR Education Holdings are the only two of its nine portfolio companies that Sure Ventures has exposure to, directly and indirectly,  that are UK exchange listed investments and, as such, are subject to fluctuating  share prices.

Sure Ventures plc – Financial Statements – 30 September 2018

Chairman’s Statement

Dear Shareholders.

On behalf of my fellow directors, I am delighted to present the interim results of Sure Ventures plc (the ‘Company’) covering the six months ended 30 September 2018.

Financial Performance

In the six month period to 30 September 2018 the Company’s performance has been in line with expectations with a net asset value total return of 10.29% (31 March 2018: -7.88%) and a life to date performance of +1.60%. The profitability of the Company in the first reporting period to 31st March 2018 was impacted by the realisation of all fund related formation costs in this first period of trading in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards.

The improvement in performance in the interim period to 30 September 2018 has been driven in large part by the performance of the Company’s first direct investment, Immotion Group PLC (‘Immotion’). Immotion, is a UK based company that creates its own high-quality VR content and enhances the immersive experience by coupling this content with motion simulation. The £500,000 investment made on 24 April 2018 is the only direct investment made by the Company to date. Immotion listed on the Alternative Investment Market on 12 July 2018, at a price that represented a notable uplift in the value of the Company’s original investment and has continued to perform positively. Whilst the fair value of the Company’s investment in Suir Valley Ventures has fallen during the period since 31 March 2018, the life to date performance of Suir Valley Ventures is 15.8%.

Further detail is provided in the report of the Investment Manager which follows this statement.

Dividend

During the interim period to 30 September 2018, the Company has not declared a dividend (31 March 2018: £nil). Pursuant to the Company’s dividend policy the directors intend to manage the Company’s affairs to achieve shareholder returns through capital growth rather than income. The Company does not expect to receive a material amount of dividends or other income from its direct or indirect investments. It should not be expected that the Company will pay a significant annual dividend, if any.

Gearing

The Company may deploy gearing of up to 20% of net asset value (calculated at the time of borrowing) to seek to enhance returns and for the purposes of capital flexibility and efficient portfolio management. The Company’s gearing is expected to primarily comprise bank borrowings, but may include the use of derivative instruments and such other methods as the board may determine. During the period to 30 September 2018 the Company did not employ any borrowing (31 March 2018: £nil).

The board will continue to review the Company’s borrowing, in conjunction with the Company’s investment Manager on a regular basis pursuant with the Company’s overall cash management and investment strategy.

Outlook

On 2 July 2018 the Company announced the raising of gross proceeds of £200,000 pursuant to the issue of new ordinary shares.

On 27 September 2018 the Company raised gross proceeds of £1,078,480 by conditionally allotting ordinary shares at £1.0225 each. The issue of these shares became effective on 3 October 2018 when the shares were admitted to the Specialist Funds Segment of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. The Company now has 4,564,748 ordinary shares in issue.The Investment Manager’s Report following this Statement gives further detail on the affairs of the Company. The board is confident of the long-term prospects for the Company in pursuit of its investment objectives.

Perry Wilson

Chairman
21 December 2018

Investment Manager’s Report

The company

Sure Ventures plc (the ‘Company’) has been established to enable investors to gain access to early stage technology companies within the market verticals of augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR), the Internet of Things (IoT) and financial technology (FinTech).

The Company aims to gain access to deal flow ordinarily reserved for venture capital funds and ultra-high net worth angel investors, establishing a diversified software-centric portfolio with a clear strategy. Listing the fund on the London Stock Exchange should offer investors:

Relative liquidity

A quoted share price

A high level of corporate governance

It is often too expensive, too risky and too labour intensive for investors to build their own portfolio of the type. We are leveraging the diverse skillsets of an experienced management team who have the industry network to gain access to quality deal flow, the expertise to complete extensive due diligence in target markets and the entrepreneurial skills to help these companies to mature successfully. Those investing in our fund will get exposure to Suir Valley Ventures which in turn makes direct investments in the above sectors in the Republic of Ireland.

Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality

The AR/VR market is evolving at a rapid pace. The market is expected to grow into a US$108 billion industry within the next five years [1] Significant investment in VR hardware capability and headset development has been made by major industry players such as Facebook (through its Oculus division), Microsoft, Sony (through its PlayStation division), HTC, Samsung and others. In 2017 Apple and Google launched development tools supporting the growth of AR smartphone apps. These investments have ignited a new and exciting industry within the technology sector. Hardware manufacturers and AR/VR users are now searching for software capabilities/support and content, and we believe that exposure to this industry via the Company and direct investment into software companies in the space will offer significant upside potential for investors. Through our network of technology accelerators, angel investor partners and industry contacts in the AR/VR space, we expect to have a strong chance of discovering the industry leaders of tomorrow.

Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) as a segment of the market is a broad investment area, but is defined as the interconnection via the internet of computing devices embedded in everyday objects enabling them to send and receive data. The market was estimated to be worth US$120 billion dollars in 2016 and is predicted to reach a size of US$253 billion by 2021[2]. The global growth and advancement of internet coverage, the increased speed and capability of connectivity and the mass market penetration of smartphones/tablet sales has opened up significant opportunities for software companies. Businesses from many industries are embracing the efficiencies, cost savings and the “direct to consumer” penetration this technological advancement has offered. We see continued growth opportunities in this area and believe that investor returns will benefit from exposure to the space.

 

FinTech

FinTech is an industry segment that has grown significantly and continues to do so at a rapid pace. It has a transaction value that’s estimated to be US$2.6 trillion US dollars. The market is predicted to expand to a size of US$6.9 trillion in the next 5 years, which represents a transaction value at a compound annual growth rate of 20.5%[3]. The banking, finance and insurance industries are increasingly accepting and embracing the efficiencies and benefits of technology. Ever changing financial regulation, cyber security requirements and payment trends are driven by technological advancement. We continue to see new and exciting deal flow in this area and believe that this market segment will continue to develop at pace. We believe that investors looking for exposure to the emerging software technology market should include a FinTech element in their investment strategy.

[1] eDigi-Capital, 2017 (https://www.digi-capital.com/)

[2] Zinnov Zones 2016 – Internet Of Things Technology Services (http://zinnovzones.com)
[3] Statistica, June 2017 (https://www.statista.com/chart/4204/fintech-market-outlook/

 

PORTFOLIO BREAKDOWN

On 17 January 2018 the placing of 3.31m ordinary shares of Sure Ventures plc was concluded, following an extensive fundraising programme as described in the prospectus published on 17 November 2017 (‘the prospectus’). The ordinary shares were admitted to trading on the Specialist Fund Segment of the London Stock Exchange on 19 January 2018 under the ISIN: GB00BYWYZ460. On 2 July 2018 the Company announced the raising of gross proceeds of £200,000 by the placing of new ordinary shares.

On 6 February 2018, Sure Ventures entered into a €4.5m commitment to Suir Valley Ventures, the sole sub-fund of Suir Valley Funds ICAV and its investment was equalised into the sub-fund at that date. The first drawdown of this commitment was made on 5 March 2018 with the second drawdown on 22 August 2018.

In addition to investing in Suir Valley Ventures, Sure Ventures plc may, in pursuit of its investment objectives, invest directly in investee companies. On 24 April 2018 the Company announced a £500,000 direct investment in Immotion Group Plc On 12 July 2018 it was announced that the company had listed on AIM (ticker IMMO.L) having raised £5.75mm through an oversubscribed placing.

In addition to the two investments made above, the Company has pursued the cash management strategy as outlined in the prospectus and made an investment in UK Treasury Bills.

Suir Valley Funds ICAV

Suir Valley Funds ICAV (the ”ICAV”) is a close-ended Irish collective asset-management vehicle with segregated liability between sub-funds incorporated in the Republic of Ireland pursuant to the Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicles Act 2015 and constituted as an umbrella fund insofar as the share capital of the ICAV is divided into different series with each series representing a portfolio of assets comprising a separate sub-fund.

The ICAV was registered on 18 October 2016 and authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland as a qualifying investor alternative investment fund (“QIAIF”) on 10 January 2017. The initial sub-fund of the ICAV is Suir Valley Ventures (the “Fund”), which had an initial closing date of 1 March 2017. The Fund intends to invest in a broad range of software companies but with a focus on companies in the AR/VR, FinTech and IoT sectors.

As at 30 September 2018 the Fund had commitments totalling €20.3m and had made five direct investments into companies spanning the AR/VR and  IoT sectors. On 12 March 2018, Immersive VR Education Limited, the Fund’s first investment, completed a flotation on the London Stock Exchange (AIM) and the Dublin Stock Exchange (ESM). The public company is now called VR Education Holdings PLC – ticker VRE. VRE was the first software company to list on the ESM since that market’s inception. The Company’s €4,500,000 commitment to the Fund was made at a price of €1.00 per share; the last recorded dealing NAV of the Fund as at 30 September 2018 was at €1.1583 representing a return since inception for investors of 15.83%.

DIRECT INVESTMENTS

Immotion Group 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 the Company to date, with a £500,000 investment made in February 2018. Immotion listed on AIM 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 VR) and a branded roller coaster experience for the Lego discovery centre in Manchester.

Performance

During the period to 30 September 2018 the Company has made a total return on net asset value per share of +10.29% (31 March 2018: -7.88%), which represents a life to date performance of +1.60%.

This return since commencement of operations is in line with expectation and can be attributed to the recognition of one-off formation costs, placing fees and fund operating costs tempered by the positive performance of the investments in the Fund and the direct investment in Immotion.

Future Investment Outlook

We are pleased with the progress the Fund has made thus far. The Fund has built a well balanced portfolio with exposure to several exciting and rapidly growing companies. Overall 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 flotation of our first direct investment, Immotion, that came to fruition shortly after investment.  We look forward to providing further updates as further investments are made by the Company directly and by the Fund and the current investee companies continue to develop.

Shard Capital AIFM LLP

Investment Manager

21 December 2018

Condensed Statement of Comprehensive Income

For the six months ended 30 September 2018 (unaudited)

 

Revenue

£

Capital
£

Total
£

Income

Other net changes in fair value on financial assets at fair value through profit or loss

467,649

467,649

Other income

3,174

3,174

Management fee rebate

1,155

3,611

4,766

Total net income

4,329

471,260

475,589

Expenses

Management fee

Custodian, secretarial and administration fees

(36,933)

(36,933)

Other expenses

(92,521)

(92,521)

Total operating expenses

(129,454)

(129,454)

(Loss) / Profit before Taxation and after finance costs

(125,125)

471,260

346,135

Taxation

(Loss) / Profit after taxation

(125,125)

471,260

346,135

Earnings per share

(3.67)

13.84

10.17

For the period from 21 June 2017 (date of incorporation) to 31 March 2018 (audited)

Revenue

£

Capital
£

Total
£

Income

Other net changes in fair value on financial assets at fair value through profit or loss

44,980

44,980

Total net income

44,980

44,980

Expenses

Management fee

(1,155)

(3,611)

(4,766)

Custodian, secretarial and administration fees

(19,850)

(19,850)

Other expenses

(230,282)

(230,282)

Total operating expenses

(251,287)

(3,611)

(254,898)

(Loss) / Profit before Taxation and after finance costs

(251,287)

41,369

(209,918)

Taxation

(Loss) / Profit after taxation

(251,287)

41,369

(209,918)

Earnings per share

(7.59)p

1.25p

(6.34)p

The total comprehensive income and expense for the period is attributable to shareholders of the Company

The accompanying notes on pages 11 to 17 form part of these condensed interim financial statements.

Condensed Statement of Financial Position

As at 30 September 2018

Notes

30 September 2018

(unaudited)

£

31 March 2018

(audited)
£

Non-current assets

Investments held at fair value through profit or loss

7

2,821,001

739,258

2,821,001

739,258

Current assets

Receivables

3,700

689,713

Cash and cash equivalents

789,931

1,663,505

793,631

2,353,218

Total assets

3,614,632

3,092,476

Current liabilities

Management fee payable

(4,766)

Other payables

(48,614)

(38,550)

(48,614)

(43,316)

Total assets less current liabilities

3,566,018

3,049,160

Total net assets

3,566,018

3,049,160

Shareholders’ funds

Ordinary share capital

8

35,100

33,100

Share premium

3,394,701

3,225,978

Revenue reserves

(376,412)

(251,287)

Capital reserves

512,629

41,369

Total shareholders’ funds

3,566,018

3,049,160

Net asset value per share

101.59p

92.12p

The accompanying notes on pages 11 to 17 form part of these condensed interim financial statements.

The financial statements on pages 11 to 17 were approved by the board of directors and authorised for issue on 21 December 2018. They were signed on its behalf by:

Perry Wilson, Chairman

Condensed Statement of Changes in Equity

For the six months ended 30 September 2018 (unaudited)

Ordinary

Share

Capital

£

Share

Premium

£

Revenue

Reserves

£

Capital

Reserves

£

Total

Reserves

£

Total

Equity

£

Balance at 31 March 2018

33,100

3,225,978

(251,287)

41,369

(209,918)

3,049,160

Ordinary shares issued

2,000

198,000

200,000

Ordinary shares issue costs

(29,277)

(29,277)

(Loss) / Profit after taxation

(125,125)

471,260

346,135

346,135

Dividends paid in the period

Balance at 30 September 2018

35,100

3,394,701

(376,412)

512,629

136,217

3,566,018

For the period from 21 June 2017 (date of incorporation) to 31 March 2018 (audited)

Ordinary

Share

Capital

£

Share

Premium

£

Revenue

Reserves

£

Capital

Reserves

£

Total

Reserves

£

Total

Equity

£

Balance at 21 June 2017

Ordinary shares issued

33,100

3,276,900

3,310,000

Ordinary shares issue costs

(50,922)

(50,922)

(Loss) / Profit after taxation

(251,287)

41,369

(209,918)

(209,918)

Dividends paid in the period

Balance at 31 March 2018

33,100

3,225,978

(251,287)

41,369

(209,918)

3,049,160

The accompanying notes on pages 11 to 17 form part of these condensed interim financial statements.

Condensed Statement of Cash Flows

For the six months ended 30 September 2018

30 September 2018

(unaudited)

£

31 March 2018

(audited)

£

Cash flows from operating activities:

Profit / (Loss) after taxation

346,135

(209,918)

Adjustments for:

Decrease in receivables

686,013

Increase in payables

10,064

43,316

Unrealised (loss)/gain on foreign exchange

(3,221)

6,875

Decrease in Management fee payable

(4,766)

Net changes in fair value on financial assets at fair value through profit or loss

(467,649)

(51,855)

Net cash inflow/outflow from operating activities

566,576

(211,582)

Cash flows from investing activities:

Purchase of investments

(1,610,873)

(694,278)

Net cash (outflow) from investing activities

(1,610,873)

(694,278)

Cash flows from financing activities:

Proceeds from issue of ordinary shares

200,000

2,620,287

Share issue costs

(29,277)

(50,922)

Net cash inflow from financing activities

170,723

2,569,365

Net change in cash and cash equivalents

(873,574)

1,663,505

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period

1,663,505

Net cash and cash equivalents

789,931

1,663,505

The accompanying notes on pages 11 to 17 form part of these condensed interim financial statements.

Notes to the Condensed Interim Financial Statements

1)  General information

Sure Ventures plc (the “Company”) is a company incorporated in England and Wales (registration number: 10829500) on 21 June 2017, commencing trading on 19 January 2018 upon listing. The registered office of the Company is 23rd Floor, 20 Fenchurch Street, London, United Kingdom, EC3M 3BY.

The Company is an investment company within the meaning of section 833 of the Companies Act 2006.

The Company operates as an investment trust in accordance with Chapter 4 of Part 24 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 and the Investment Trust (Approved Company) (Tax) Regulations 2011. In the opinion of the directors, the Company has conducted its affairs so that it is able to maintain its status as an investment trust. Approval of The Company’s application for approval as an investment trust was received from HMRC on 22 November 2018, applicable from the accounting period commencing 1 April 2018.

The Company is an externally managed closed-ended investment company with an unlimited life and has no employees.

The information set out in these unaudited condensed interim financial statements for the period ended 30 September 2018 does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in section 435 of Companies Act 2006. Comparative figures from inception to 31 March 2018 are derived from the financial statements for that period. The financial statements for the period ended 31 March 2018 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and contain an unqualified audit report and did not contain a statement under emphasis of matter or statements under section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements of the Company for the period ended 31 March 2018 are available upon request from the Company’s registered office at 23rd Floor, 20 Fenchurch Street, London, United Kingdom, EC3M 3BY.

2)  Basis of accounting

The financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and IFRIC interpretations (IFRS IC) as adopted by the European Union. They do not include all the information required for the full annual financial statements, and should be read in conjunction with the annual financial statements of the Company for the period ended 31 March 2018. The principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the financial information in these unaudited condensed interim  financial statements are unchanged from those used in the Company’s financial statements for the period ended 31 March 2018. This report does not itself contain sufficient information to comply with IFRS.

3)  Estimates

The preparation of the unaudited condensed interim financial statements requires management to make judgement, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, income and expenses. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

In preparing these unaudited condensed interim financial statements, the significant judgement made by management in applying the Company’s accounting policies and the key sources of estimation were the same as those that applied to the Company financial statements as at and for the period ended 31 March 2018.

4)  Financial risk management

The Company’s financial risk management objectives and policies are consistent with those disclosed in the Company financial statements as at and for the period ended 31 March 2018.

5)  Taxation

As an investment trust the Company is exempt from corporation tax on capital gains. The Company’s revenue income is subject to tax, but offset by any interest distribution paid, which has the effect of reducing that corporation tax to nil. This means the interest distribution may be taxable in the hands of the Company’s shareholders.

6)  Earnings per Share

For the six months period ended 30 September 2018

Revenue
pence

Capital
pence

Total
pence

Earnings per ordinary share

(3.67)p

13.84p

10.17p

For the financial period ended 31 from March 2018

Earnings per ordinary share

(7.59)p

1.25p

(6.34)p

The calculation of the above is based on revenue return loss of £125,125 (31 March 2018: loss £251,287), capital return profit of £471,260 (31 March 2018: profit £41,369) and total return profit of £346,135 (31 March 2018: loss £209,919) and weighted average number of ordinary shares of 3,405,082 (31 March 2018: 3,310,000) as at 30 September 2018

7)  Investment at fair value through profit or loss

As at 30 September 2018

£

As at 31 March

 2018
£

Opening cost

Opening fair value

739,258

Purchases at cost

1,610,873

694,278

Cost at fair value measurement

467,649

51,855

Unrealised (loss) on foreign exchange

3,221

(6,875)

Closing fair value

2,821,001

739,258

8)  Ordinary Share Capital

The table below details the issued share capital of the Company as at the date of the Financial Statements.

Issued and allotted

No. of shares

30 September

 2018

No. of shares
31 March

 2018

30 September 2018
£

31 March 2018
£

Ordinary shares of 1 penny each

3,510,000

3,310,000

35,100

33,100

On incorporation, the issued share capital of the Company was £0.01 represented by one ordinary share of £0.01.  Redeemable preference shares of 50,000 were also issued with a nominal value of £1 each, of which 25% were paid. The redeemable shares were issued to enable the Company to obtain a certificate of entitlement to conduct business and to borrow under section 761 of the Companies Act 2006. The redeemable shares were redeemed on listing from the proceeds of the issue of the new ordinary shares upon admission on 19 January 2018.

3,310,100 ordinary shares of £0.01 each were issued to shareholders as part of the placing and offer for subscription in accordance with the Company’s prospectus dated 17 November 2017 and the supplementary prospectus dated 2 January 2018. The shares were admitted to trading on the Specialist Fund Segment (‘SFS’) of the London Stock Exchange on 19 January 2018.

An additional 200,000 ordinary shares of £0.01 each were issued to shareholders as part of the placing and offer for subscription and admitted to trading on the SFS on 5 July 2018.

9)  Related Party Transactions and Transactions with the Manager

Directors – There were no contracts subsisting during or at the end of the period in which a director of the Company is or was interested and which are or were significant in relation to the Company’s business.  There were no other transactions during the period with the directors of the Company.  The directors do not hold any ordinary shares of the Company.

At 30 September 2018, there was £1,672 (31 March 2018: £203) payable in respect of directors fees and expenses.

Manager – Shard Capital AIFM LLP (the ‘Manager’), a UK-based company authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, has been appointed the Company’s manager and authorised investment fund manager for the purposes of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive. Details of the services provided by the manager and the fees paid are given in the prospectus dated 17 November 2017.

During the period the Company was rebated £4,767 (31 March 2018: paid £4,767) of fees and at 30 September 2018, there was £nil (31 March 2018: £4,767) payable to the manager.

During the period the Company paid £9,697 (31 March 2018: £50,922) of placement fees to Shard Capital Partners LLP.

During the period the Company paid £6,000 (31 March 2018: £3,000) of advisory fees to Shard Capital Partners LLP.

10)  Subsequent Events

On 27 September 2018 the Company raised gross proceeds of £1,078,480 by conditionally allotting ordinary shares at £1.0225 each. The issue of these shares became effective on 3 October 2018 when the shares were admitted to the Specialist Funds Segment of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. The Company now has 4,564,748 ordinary shares in issue.

On 12 October 2018 the Company made a further €306,480 investment in Suir Valley Ventures (the “Fund”), representing the third drawdown against the Company’s €4,500,000 commitment to the Fund.

On 20 December 2018 Sean Nicolson resigned as Non-Executive Director of the Company and Chairman of the Board.

On 20 December 2018 Perry Wilson was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of the Company and Chairman of the Board.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

END

Sure Ventures plc – Directorate Change – Board Change

Board Changes

Sure Ventures plc (the “Company”), a venture capital fund which invests in early stage software companies in the Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Internet of Things (IOT) and Fintech sectors hereby announces changes to its board.

Sean Nicolson, who has served as Chairman and Non-Executive Director since the Company’s flotation, has resigned from the Board. The Board has accepted his resignation with immediate effect. We take this opportunity to thank him for his valuable efforts over the last year.

The Directors further announce the appointment of Mr. Perry Wilson as a director with immediate effect and welcome him to the Board.  Mr. Wilson is an accountant by training who has specific fund management experience, holding a number of other Independent Director roles at either Non-Executive Director or Trustee level.

We thank Mr Nicolson and Mr. Wilson for their flexibility and furthermore, wish Mr Nicolson well in his future endeavours and look forward to working with Mr. Wilson in due course.

For further information about this announcement please contact:

Apex Fund Services (Ireland) Ltd

Company Secretary

Tel: +353 1 56 79 210

21 December 2018

Suir Valley Ventures invests in IoT security company for connected medical devices – Nova Leah

Suir Valley Ventures, the entrepreneur-led venture capital fund launched in partnership with Shard Capital Partners LLP to invest in early stage software companies across a range of verticals including augmented/virtual reality (‘AR/VR’), the Internet of Things (‘IoT’) and FinTech, has participated in a €2.25 million investment led by the Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund, in Nova Leah, a leading IoT security company for connected medical devices.

Overview

Investment in Nova Leah, a provider of cybersecurity risk management compliance solutions for the medical devices
Operating in rapidly growing sector expected to be worth $11 billion by 2020 driven by security concerns and escalating regulations
Funding will enable the team to expand, further develop product roadmap and build profile
Founded by Anita Finnegan, an internationally recognised expert in the field of medical device cybersecurity, Nova Leah specialises in developing cybersecurity risk management compliance solutions for the medical device domain. Its first offering, SelectEvidence®, improves the security of connected medical devices and patient safety, and reduces both the costs associated with new cybersecurity regulatory requirements and the likelihood of product recalls and related lawsuits. The system accurately tracks risks for each device, highlights known vulnerabilities, recommends solutions, provides a feedback mechanism between manufacturers and hospitals and does so within a fully traceable framework.

Connected/IoT medical devices represent a rapidly growing sector in healthcare with an ever-expanding array of devices including insulin pumps, pacemakers, infusion devices, syringe pumps, nurses’ workstations, imaging devices; these are all at risk of being targeted by malicious individuals. Regulation in the sector is therefore tightening, with the US Food and Drugs Administration and European regulators insisting that manufacturers mitigate risk by increasing security and calling on medical device manufacturers and healthcare providers to adapt a collaborative approach to managing the security of devices from development, implementation, operation through to retirement. In line with this, cybersecurity spend in the healthcare sector is anticipated to grow from the current $5.5 billion annually to $11 billion by 2020.

Suir Valley Ventures Managing Partner, Barry Downes, said, “Nova Leah is uniquely positioned to tackle the major challenges faced by medical device manufacturers including ensuring compliance with the rapidly evolving regulatory requirements and minimising the probability of malicious attacks to medical devices. We are therefore delighted to support the team as it builds on Nova Leah’s position as a leading name in this burgeoning market place.”

Anita Finnegan, CEO of Nova Leah, said, “This investment milestone will see Nova Leah further expand on its existing success as we strive to become the number one provider of cybersecurity compliance solutions for the connected medical device industry. The proceeds of this investment will allow us to expand our team, further develop our product roadmap and build our presence in the marketplace.”

 

For further information, please visit https://suirvalleyventures.com or contact:

Simon Hughes Suir Valley +44 (0) 20 7186 9918
Isabel de Salis / Priit Piip St Brides Partners (Financial PR) +44 (0) 20 7236 1177

Suir Valley Ventures is an entrepreneur-led venture capital fund launched in Ireland in 2017, which invests in early stage software companies across Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), Internet of Things (IoT) and FinTech sectors. Suir Valley Ventures works in partnership with Shard Capital, which is London based independent financial services company offering a full range of broking, asset management and corporate capital services. Investments include:

Immersive VR Education plc – http://immersivevreducation.com/
WarDucks – warducks.com
Wia – wia.io
ProVision – provisioncameramatics.com
NDRC@Arclabs – ndrc.ie
Artomatix – https://artomatix.com/
Nova Leah – https://novaleah.com/

Sure Ventures Plc – Portfolio Update

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:

 

Gareth Burchell

Sure Ventures plc

+44 (0) 20 7186 9918

Priit Piip/ Isabel de Salis

St Brides Partners (Financial PR)

+44 (0) 20 7236 1177

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/

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.