Livermore Investments Group Limited Final Results (7982Z)

Share Name	Share Symbol	Market	Type	Share ISIN	Share Description
Livermore Investments Group Limited	LSE:LIV	London	Ordinary Share	VGG550931015	ORD NPV

	Price Change	% Change	Share Price	Bid Price	Offer Price	High Price	Low Price	Open Price	Shares Traded	Last Trade
	0.50	1.73%	29.40	28.80	30.00	30.00	30.00	30.00	66	16:35:22

Industry Sector	Turnover	Profit	EPS - Basic	PE Ratio	Market Cap
Finance Services	-20.93M	-24.36M	-0.1473	-2.04	49.61M

TIDMLIV

RNS Number : 7982Z

Livermore Investments Group Limited

26 May 2021

Highlights

   --      Net profit for the year was USD 0.845m (2019: net loss of USD 1.1m). 
   --      Net Asset Value per share remains stable at USD 0.94 (2019: USD 0.99).

-- On 08 March 2021, the Company announced an interim dividend of USD 8m (USD 0.0488 per share) to members on the register on 19 March 2021. The dividend was paid on 16 April 2021.

-- CLO portfolio and warehouse generated USD 21.9m in distributions and USD 1.8m in net gains in 2020.

Chairman's and Chief Executive's Review

Introduction

We are pleased to announce the financial results for Livermore Investments Group Limited ("Livermore" or "the Company") for the year ended 31 December 2020. References to the Company hereinafter also include its consolidated subsidiary (note 8). References to financial statements hereinafter are to the Company's consolidated financial statements.

The COVID-19 outbreak across the world has triggered tremendous human and economic hardship. Since February 2020, protective measures taken to contain spread of COVID-19 (lockdown) supressed demand in many sectors of the global economy and resulted in supply chain constraints globally. This led to immense job losses and exceptional turbulence in financial markets. In light of the extra-ordinary situation, the Company focussed on protecting its capital, maintaining continuous operations, and ensuring well-being of its employees and consultants.

Management cut warehousing risk before the COVID-19 related market sell-off took hold and maintained a high cash positions of over USD 60m through the end of the first half of the year. This conservative positioning helped the Company navigate the tremendous volatility and uncertainty that ensued and allowed the Company to participate in the recovery phase by deploying capital opportunistically.

We are pleased to report that the Company was successful in achieving all of the above objectives. Our net profit for the year was USD 0.845m (2019 net loss: USD 1.1m) and the year-end NAV was USD 0.94 per share (2019 NAV: USD 0.99 per share) after a dividend payment of USD 6m (USD 0.0343 per share).

The Company recorded net gains of USD 1.8m from its US CLO and warehousing portfolio. Interest and distribution income from the financial portfolio totalled USD 22.0m (2019: USD 29.0m). The Company ended the year with over USD 50.4m in cash at hand. During the second half of the year, the Company added exposure to US equity index ETFs as well as profitably traded some CLO BB tranches.

Financial Review

The NAV of the Company on 31 December 2020 was USD 163.9m (2019: USD 173.1m). Net profit, during the year was USD 0.845m, which represents earnings per share of USD 0.005.

Operating expenses were USD 2.8m (2019: USD 5.1m).

The overall change in the NAV is primarily attributed to the following:

 
                                             31 December 2020   31 December 2019 
                                                  US $m              US $m 
                                            -----------------  ----------------- 
 Shareholders' funds at beginning of year         173.1              174.3 
                                            -----------------  ----------------- 
                                               ___________        ___________ 
                                            -----------------  ----------------- 
 Income from investments                           22.0               29.0 
                                            -----------------  ----------------- 
 Unrealised losses on investments                 (22.6)             (25.5) 
                                            -----------------  ----------------- 
 Operating expenses                               (2.8)              (5.1) 
                                            -----------------  ----------------- 
 Net finance income                                0.3                0.5 
                                            -----------------  ----------------- 
 Tax charge                                       (0.1)              (0.1) 
                                            -----------------  ----------------- 
                                               ___________        ___________ 
                                            -----------------  ----------------- 
 Decrease in net assets from operations           (3.2)              (1.2) 
                                            -----------------  ----------------- 
 Dividends paid                                   (6.0)                - 
                                            -----------------  ----------------- 
                                               ___________        ___________ 
                                            -----------------  ----------------- 
 Shareholders' funds at end of year               163.9              173.1 
                                            -----------------  ----------------- 
                                                     ------             ------ 
                                            -----------------  ----------------- 
 Net Asset Value per share                       US $0.94           US $0.99 
                                            -----------------  -----------------

Dividend & Buyback

At 21 February 2020, the Company paid an interim dividend of USD 6m (USD 0.0343 per share) to members on the register on 24 January 2020, as announced by the Board on 30 December 2019.

The Board of Directors will decide future dividends based on profitability, liquidity requirements, portfolio performance, market conditions, and the share price of the Company relative to its NAV.

During 2021, the Company bought back 10,888,577 shares to be held in treasury for a total cost of USD 6.9m. The Company had no shares in treasury as at 31 December 2020.

Richard B Rosenberg Noam Lanir

Chairman Chief Executive Officer

25 May 2021

Review of Activities

Introduction and Overview

2020 will forever be etched in our minds. The COVID-19 pandemic, its immense economic and human devastation, and humanity's fight to survive - through medical and scientific breakthroughs, unparalleled monetary and fiscal stimulus, and individual stories of courage and sacrifice - will all go down in the annals of world history.

Although the year started well for most asset classes and ended even better, only their movements through the year tell the whole story. Once the virus spread out from China, equity and credit markets collapsed globally and developed nation bond yields declined sharply with safe-haven currencies such as the Swiss Franc and US Dollar appreciating, as country after country enforced lockdowns to protect its citizens and prevent their healthcare systems from complete collapse. Central banks and governments across the world responded swiftly and in good measure and seem to have saved the world from a deep economic depression. Global equity markets recovered sharply on these steps taken and hope for effective vaccines against COVID-19 propelled risk markets to further highs.

Floating rate loans in the US declined in line with the broader credit assets but were slower to recover on expectations of very low rates for very long. Rating agencies also acted quickly and downgraded a significant portion of the leveraged loan and high-yield market. The downgrades and a handful of defaults eroded over-collateralization cushions in most CLOs and resulted in steep decline in market valuations of CLO tranches. However, there were almost no forced sales. In April, over 25% of CLO equity in the market (especially short reinvestment period deals) tripped key tests and as expected, diverted some cash away from equity investors to bolster the CLO structure. By October, most CLO deals had recovered, and distributions were made to equity tranches.

Although the Company's CLO portfolio suffered mark-to-market declines, our CLO portfolio received distributions from almost all of our positions as we were positioned with stronger deals with longer reinvestment periods. Further, management had taken a very conservative approach focussed on capital preservation and retained a very high cash position of over USD 50m, allowing us to weather this storm and opportunistically add value through trading secondary CLO positions. For the 2020 year, our CLO and warehouse portfolio generated cash distributions of USD 21.9m. Management had one warehouse open pre-COVID-19 and swiftly converted it to a CLO prior to the market declines. Although the CLO market started to heal towards the end of the year, the mark-to-market declines did not fully recover and adjusted for the valuations, the net gain on the CLO and warehousing portfolio was USD 1.8m (2019: USD 3.35m). Our conservative approach resulted in gains in a year that saw most CLO equity investors experience losses.

For 2020, the Company reported NAV/share of USD 0.94 and net profit of USD 0.845m. Interest and distribution income amounted to USD 22.0m, of which, USD 21.9m was generated from the CLO and warehousing portfolio. The net return of the CLO and warehousing portfolio was USD 1.8m as mark-to-market changes contributed to a loss of USD 19m. Operating expenses amounted to USD 2.8m. In addition, the Company wrote down its investment in Evolution Venture and Elephant Capital. These write downs contributed to USD 3.7m in NAV decline.

During 2020 management added exposure to equity index ETFs mostly in the US to capture some market beta in light of the immense liquidity injected by Central Banks globally. In December 2020, the Company invested USD 10m in a new warehouse that has since been converted to a CLO, in April 2021, and generated a gain of USD 1.8m for 2021. The Company reduced its cash position somewhat ending the year with over USD 50.4m of cash at hand.

The Company does not have an external management company structure and thus does not bear the burden of external management and performance fees. Furthermore, the interests of Livermore's management are aligned with those of its shareholders as management has a large ownership interest in Livermore shares.

Considering the strong liquidity positions of Livermore, together with its strong foothold in the US CLO markets as well as the robustness of its investment portfolio and the alignment of the management's interests with those of its shareholders, management believes that the company is well positioned to benefit from current conditions.

Global Investment Environment

An already weak global economy on account of trade tensions between the US and China as well as the uncertainty over the UK's exit from the European Union, was plunged sharply into a recession as the COVID-19 outbreak spread rapidly across the world. Preventive measures to slow the infection rate shut down several businesses sectors, disrupted global supply chains, and movement of people across borders was also restricted which varied from country to country. The resulting jobs losses, especially in the travel, entertainment and retail sectors, inflicted significant economic damage in addition to the health crisis. Due to lower global production capacity utilization and lower oil prices, consumer price inflation declined in advanced economies. In the second quarter of 2020, GDP in most countries was 10% to 20% lower than at the end of 2019. Unemployment levels rose in most countries and are still above pre crisis levels.

Thankfully, central Banks across the world acted swiftly to lower rates substantially and injected unprecedented amounts of liquidity to ensure orderly functioning of the global markets. In addition, governments responded quickly to provide stimulus, such as forgivable business financing, generous unemployment benefits and short-term work schemes, to blunt the impact of the crisis. These aggressive measures helped stabilize markets and supported household spending which in turn improved sentiments on financial markets by end of March. The decline in new infections, easing of the containment measures in the Summer months, and hopes for an effective vaccine to prevent COVID-19, increasingly allowed a strong recovery of the global economy in the third quarter.

USA: COVID-19 restrictions imposed by governments and the resulting behavioural changes by consumers and businesses resulted in GDP decline of 10% over the first half of 2020, and the unemployment rate spiked to a high of 14.8% in April. To counter the economic decline, the US Federal Reserve (the Fed) eased monetary policy significantly and cuts its policy rate by 1.5%, announced purchase of Treasury and mortgage-backed securities, and introduced various credit facilities to support the flow of credit to households and businesses and support functioning of financial markets. The US government also launched several fiscal measures to support the economy. Still, overall GDP declined 2.5% in 2020. The unemployment rate rose from 3.6% at the beginning of the year to nearly 15% but recovered to 6.3%. Headline inflation fell to 1.2%, from 1.8% in 2019 and remained below pre-COVID-19 levels. In August 2020, the Fed announced that it would seek to achieve inflation that averages 2% over time and is on track to moderately exceed 2% for some time.

Eurozone: COVID-19 spread throughout Europe from mid-February 2020 and most countries introduced restrictive public health measures to limit the spread of the pandemic. Although the measures were eased in May 2020, new strains and colder temperatures caused COVID-19 cases to spread again later in the year. Overall, GDP declined by 6.8% on average for the year. The unemployment rate in the Eurozone area increased, although the rapid expansion of short-time work schemes curtailed the rise. Unemployment rate in the Eurozone was 8.3% in December compared with 7.3% at the beginning of 2020. Eurozone countries and the European Central Bank (ECB) provided extensive fiscal policy support from March 2020 onwards. The ECB eased the conditions and increased the volume of its asset purchase programme. In addition to the short-time work schemes, member states provided liquidity support and loan guarantees for businesses, tax relief and investment in infrastructure. By the end of the year, the ECB had increased the programme to about 15% of GDP and planned to continue it until March 2022. The ECB signalled that it would not raise its key interest rates until inflation had sufficiently firmed.

Headline inflation in the Eurozone area fell to 0.3% in 2020, down from 1.2% in 2019. Core inflation was dampened in particular by declining prices for tourism services owing to the pandemic and a temporary reduction in value added tax in Germany.

Japan: In Japan, GDP declined by 4.9% as a result of the pandemic. In the first quarter, the public health measures were still moderate, but a six-week state of emergency declared in mid-April 2020 had a strong impact on economic activity. With the easing of measures in May2020, supported by fiscal policy and global demand, the economy recovered quickly although GDP had still not returned to pre-crisis levels by the end of the year. Labour market conditions remained difficult despite employment subsidies to avoid redundancies. Unemployment rose by almost 1% within the year and stood at 2.9% in December. In Japan, core inflation was slightly negative as prices for tourism services, in particular, declined sharply in the second half of December 2020.

Since 2016, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) has placed yield curve control at the centre of its monetary policy. In 2020, it maintained the target for 10-year government bond yields at around 0% and its short-term deposit rate at - 0.1%. Further, it announced purchasing Japanese government bonds without an upper limit to stabilise the yield curve across all maturities. It also introduced measures to facilitate banks' lending to small and medium-sized enterprises in particular and increased its purchases of corporate bonds and equity exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

China: China recorded positive GDP growth of 2.3% despite the pandemic. Stringent containment measures put in place in January 2020 resulted in a decline in new infections. The measures were relaxed again in March 2020. After a historic contraction in the first quarter, economic activity recovered quickly, and China's GDP surpassed its pre-crisis level in the third quarter. The recovery was supported by public spending, financial assistance and temporary duty relief for companies. Exports benefited from the increased global demand for medical protective equipment and technical equipment for working from home. The labour market recovered significantly by the end of the year and in urban areas the unemployment rate in December 2020 was back in line with the 2019 levels of 5.2%. Headline inflation was slightly lower at 2.5%, while core inflation hit its lowest level in more than ten years at 0.8%.

To support the recovery, the People's Bank of China lowered its key rates, including its seven-day reverse repo rate by 0.3% to 2.2%, and reduced the reserve requirement ratio for smaller banks.

Brazil, India and Russia were severely affected by the COVID-19 crisis. In India, strict containment measures had a particularly severe impact on economic activity whereas Russia's economy suffered due to the weak global demand for oil. With the easing of containment measures from June 2020, economic activity recovered gradually in all three countries. Headline inflation initially declined in Brazil to 3.2% and Russia to 3.4% but rose in both countries towards the end of the year. In India, however, headline inflation rose to 6.6% as disrupted supply chains caused price increases. The central banks of Brazil, India and Russia also eased their monetary policies. In Brazil, the policy rate was reduced by 2.5% to 2%, in India by 1.15% to 4%, and in Russia by 2% to 4.25%.

Commodities: Commodity prices declined in the first half of the year on account of lower demand. The price of WTI oil futures for May 2020 futures fell temporarily to negative levels on concerns over delivery of physical barrels of oil when storage sites were reaching full maximisation. The oil price recovered as the global economy revived again in the second half of 2020 and output cuts made by OPEC. Industrial metals prices also recovered from the decline in the first half of the year, supported by increased demand from China, and closed 2020 significantly higher than at the beginning of the year. Gold finished the year up 24.6%.

Equities and Bonds: Swift and plentiful monetary policy support helped financial markets recover and hopes for efficient vaccine eventually propelled US equity markets to record highs. Global equity prices also recovered and sovereign credit spreads in emerging market economies and in the European periphery narrowed. In major developed economies, government yields remained near historical low levels amid continued monetary policy accommodation. Technology and work-from-home related stocks soared with the NASDAQ composite gaining a monstrous 43.6% (compared to 16.3% for the S&P 500). Small cap stocks in the Russell 2000 outpaced the S&P 500 by 3%, but also saw a steeper drawdown during times of volatility. US equities continued to outperform the European markets.

US government and corporate bonds had a positive year; however, their returns were primarily driven by support from the Federal Reserve's monetary policy. The Federal Reserve increased its portfolio of Treasury notes and bonds by 79% since March 2020, with its total assets reaching $7.3 trillion at the end of 2020.

Foreign exchange: At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing flight-to-safety, the US Dollar and the Swiss Franc gained against most major currencies. However, as recovery took hold, the US Dollar depreciated, more than reversing its appreciation as policy easing by the Fed resulted in the US Dollar losing its interest-rate advantage. Further fiscal stimulus expectations in the US are likely to weigh on the dollar in the long term. The Swiss Franc was one of the most resilient currencies and also one of the best performers at the end of the year alongside the Euro and Australian Dollar with gains of 9% or more.

Loan Market: US Leveraged Loans fully recovered towards the end of 2020 despite a turbulent start. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, rating agencies downgraded about 47% of the issuers (USD 550 billion), the highest ever in a year (640 companies or $550 billion, or 47% of issuers) as reported by J.P. Morgan. Subsequently about 13.6% of the issuers were upgraded and the rate of loan defaults slowed towards end of 2020. The Credit Suisse Leverage Loan Index ("CSLLI") generated a return of 2.78%, while the Merrill Lynch High Yield Master II Index ("MLHYI") generated returns of 6.17%. According to S&P Capital IQ, total institutional loan issuance was $287.8 billion, down 7% from 2019, while total institutional loans outstanding stood at $1.2 trillion as of 31 December 2020. In 2020, mutual funds and ETFs investing in US leveraged loans withdrew $27 billion from the asset class, compared to a withdrawal of $38 billion in 2019. However, we expect this trend to reverse in 2021.

The 12-month trailing par-weighted default rate as of December 2020 was at 3.83% versus expectations of around 10% by rating agencies and bank analysts. This compares to 1.39% in 2019 and the long- term average default rate of 2.9%. Looking into 2021, we expect the default rate to moderate from 2020 levels but remain somewhat elevated.

CLO Market: The CLO market began 2020 strongly after a lacklustre 2019 with lower mezzanine tranches rally leading the way. However, the momentum quickly turned negative in the wake of the pandemic and the freezing of the credit markets. The new issue market was effectively shut down as CLO AAA spreads in the secondary market traded at over 400dm. By June, the market recovered somewhat with CLO AAAs in the mid-190s, and the CLO AAA spreads more or less fully recovered and ended the year close to 2019-year end levels.

Given the challenging environment, the refinancing and reset market option was out-of-the-money as liability spreads were higher than locked-in for existing CLOs. However, with the pace of tightening late in the year as well as the demand for yield in an otherwise yield-less fixed income universe, we expect strong demand to return in 2021 and CLO refinancing and reset market to reopen.

Against this backdrop, CLO equity had a challenging year as higher defaults and significantly higher downgrades eroded the over-collateralization cushion resulting in over 25% of CLOs diverting cash from CLO equity tranche to either buying additional loans or pay down liabilities. By October 2020, however, this number had declined sharply in line with the improvement in the loan market as well as active management and trading by CLO managers to reposition the loan portfolios. Although the loan market default rate remained at an elevated level, our CLOs experienced a much lower default rate due to active management and credit selection by CLO managers.

Sources: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, European Central Bank (ECB), Swiss National Bank, Bloomberg, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse

Livermore's Strategy

The financial portfolio is focused on fixed income instruments which generate regular cash flows and include exposure mainly to senior secured and usually broadly syndicated US loans and to a limited extent emerging market debt through investments in CLOs. This part of the portfolio is geographically focused on the US.

Strong emphasis is given to maintaining sufficient liquidity and low leverage at the overall portfolio level and to re-invest in existing and new investments along the economic cycle.

Financial portfolio

The Company manages a financial portfolio valued at USD 99.6m as of 31 December 2020, which is invested mainly in fixed income and credit related securities.

The following is a table summarizing the financial portfolio as of year-end 2020.

 
             Name                      2020            2019 
                                 Book Value   Book Value US 
                                      US $m              $m 
----------------------------  -------------  -------------- 
  Investment in the 
   loan market through 
   CLOs                                77.0            98.4 
  Open Warehouse facilities            10.1               - 
  Perpetual Bonds                         -             1.1 
  Other Public Equities                12.5             1.7 
----------------------------  -------------  -------------- 
  Invested Total                       99.6           101.2 
----------------------------  -------------  -------------- 
  Cash                                 50.4            56.5 
----------------------------  -------------  -------------- 
  Total                               150.0           157.7 
----------------------------  -------------  --------------

Senior Secured Loans and Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLO):

US senior secured loans are a floating rate asset class with a senior secured claim on the borrower and with overall low volatility and low correlation to the equity market. CLOs are managed portfolios invested into diversified pools of senior secured loans and financed with long term financing.

Evaluating the late cycle behaviour in the credit and loan market, the Company had already started cutting down risk in late 2019. The Company started 2020 with over USD 56m in cash and one warehouse open. The CLO market performed strongly until the end of February and CLO tranches continued their late 2019 rally. Management took advantage of this tightening and refinanced one CLO to lower its cost of funding. However, as soon as COVID-19 started spreading outside China, management further cut down risk and exiting its open warehouse position with a net carry of USD 1.6m.

The spread of COVID-19 across Europe and US from early March 2020 caused widespread concern for health and markets declined sharply. The US Central Bank and government responded quickly and in good measure, stemming the decline in broader risk markets. This assistance, however, was not extended to borrowers in the leveraged loan market and the rating agencies quickly downgraded several credits causing significant declines in buffers for most CLOs. As a result, market values across CLO equity positions declined sharply. However, there were almost no forced sales. In April 2020, over 25% of CLO equity in the market (especially short reinvestment period deals) tripped key tests, and as expected, diverted some cash away from equity investors to improve the CLO structure. Our CLO portfolio, however, continued to receive distributions from almost all of our positions as we were positioned with stronger long reinvestment deals. 91% of the portfolio by market value was invested in CLOs with over two years of reinvestment period remaining at January 2020.

The loan market lagged initially but rallied strongly in the last quarter of 2020. Most IG rated CLO tranches recovered to prior year levels and BB and CLO equity valuations were also catching up. As the loan market re-opened, new loans were issued with wider spreads and LIBOR floors. LIBOR floors are very accretive to CLO equity as CLO liabilities do not have a positive LIBOR floor. The positive effect of LIBOR floors in the loan market already resulted in higher cash flows in the fourth quarter payments.

Management also took advantage of depressed and dislocated pricing levels in CLO BB tranches and opportunistically traded them in the second half of the year. In 2020, we received about USD 21.9m in cash distributions from the CLO and warehouse portfolio and we expect to receive strong distributions in the near future. Further, with CLO liability spreads tightening into the year-end and expectations for further tightening in 2021, management opened a new warehouse. As of the date of this report, management have converted this warehouse into a new issue CLO with the tightest liability spreads since 2018. This warehouse generated USD 1.6m in net carry.

As of the end of the year, all of the Company's US CLO equity positions were passing their Junior Overcollateralization (OC) tests. Management continues to actively monitor the CLO portfolio and position it towards longer reinvestment periods through recycling old CLOs into new or refinancing them with extended reinvestment periods, as well as conducting relative value and opportunistic trading. As of the date of this report, management has already refinanced four of its CLOs to lower their cost of funding and reset one 2017 CLO extending its reinvestment period by 5 years and also reduced its cost of funding.

We expect loan default rates to be moderate from 2020 levels but to continue to stay somewhat elevated. Management expects credit markets to remain benign in the near future given the amount of liquidity and lack of yield in investment grade fixed income.

The Company's CLO portfolio is divided into the following geographical areas:

 
               2020   Percentage   2019 Amount   Percentage 
             Amount 
            US $000                    US $000 
 US CLOs     77,006      100.00%        98,418      100.00% 
             ------       ------        ------       ------ 
             77,006         100%        98,418         100% 
             ------       ------        ------       ------

Private Equity Funds

The other private equity investments held by the Company are incorporated in the form of Managed Funds (mostly closed end funds) mainly in Israel and the emerging economies. The investments of these funds into their portfolio companies were mostly done in 2008 and 2009. The Company expects material exits of portfolio companies from funds to materialize over the next couple of years.

The following summarizes the book value of the private equity funds as at year-end 2020.

 
         Name           Book Value 
                             US $m 
--------------------  ------------ 
  Phytech (Israel)             1.9 
  Other investments            1.8 
  Total                        3.7 
--------------------  ------------

Phytech: Phytech is an agriculture-technology company in Israel providing end-to-end solutions for achieving higher yields on crops and trees. In September 2020, Phytech raised USD 25m at a pre-money valuation of USD 105m. As part of the capital raise, the manager of the investment reduced its holding in Phytech and distributed USD 471k (versus our investment of USD 394k) in cash. Following these transactions, Livermore continues to hold 12.2% in Phytech Global Advisors Ltd, which in turns now holds 11.95% on a fully diluted basis in Phytech Ltd.

The following table reconciles the review of activities to the Company's financial assets as of 31 December 2020:

 
                   Name                      Book Value 
                                                  US $m 
-----------------------------------------  ------------ 
  Financial Portfolio                              99.6 
  Private Equity Funds                              3.7 
-----------------------------------------  ------------ 
  Total                                           103.3 
-----------------------------------------  ------------ 
  Financial assets at fair value through 
   profit or loss (note 4)                         99.6 
  Financial assets at fair value through 
   other comprehensive income (note 
   5)                                               3.7 
  Total                                           103.3 
-----------------------------------------  ------------

Events after the reporting date

Details of materials events after the reporting date are disclosed in note 28 to the financial statements.

Litigation

At the time of this Report, there is one matter in litigation that the Company is involved in. Further information is provided in note 23 to the financial statements. --

Report of the Directors

The Directors submit their annual report and audited financial statements of the Company for the year ended 31 December 2020.

This report has been prepared on a voluntary basis and it does not contain all of the information that would have been required had it been prepared in accordance with the UK Companies Act 2006 guidance.

The Board's objectives

The Board's primary objectives are to supervise and control the management activities, business development, and the establishment of a strong franchise in the Company's business lines. Measures aimed at increasing shareholders' value over the medium to long-term, such as an increase in NAV are used to monitor performance.

The Board of Directors

Richard Barry Rosenberg (age 65) independent, Non-Executive Director, Chairman of the Board

Richard joined the Company in December 2004. He became Non-Executive Chairman on 31 October 2006. He qualified as a chartered accountant in 1980 and in 1988 co-founded the accountancy practice SRLV. He has considerable experience in giving professional advice to clients in the leisure and entertainment sector. Richard is a Director of a large number of companies operating in a variety of business segments.

Noam Lanir (age 54), Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Noam founded the Company in July 1998, to develop a specialist online marketing operation. Noam has led the growth and development of the Company's operations over the last twenty years which culminated in its IPO in June 2005 on AIM. Prior to 1998, Noam was involved in a variety of businesses mainly within the online marketing sector. He is also the major shareholder of Babylon Ltd, an International Internet Company listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. He is also a major benefactor of a number of charitable organisations.

Ron Baron (age 53), Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer

Ron was appointed as Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer in August 2007. Ron has led the establishment and development of Livermore's investment platform as a leading specialized house in the credit space. Ron also has wide investment and M&A experience. From 2001 to 2006 Ron served as a member of the management at Bank Leumi, Switzerland and was responsible for investment activity. Prior to this he spent five years as a commercial lawyer advising banks and large corporations on corporate transactions, including buyouts and privatisations. Ron has over 18 years of experience as an investment manager with particular focus on the US credit market and CLOs. He holds an MBA from INSEAD Fontainebleau and an LLB (LAW) and BA in Economics from Tel Aviv University. Ron is also the founder and owner of the Israel Cycling Academy a non-profit professional cycling team.

Augoustinos Papathomas (age 58) independent, Non-Executive Director

Augoustinos joined the Board in February 2019. He is a trained and qualified UK Chartered Accountant. He is the senior Partner of APP Audit and APP Advisory in Cyprus with over 30 years of experience in assurance, taxation and advisory for local and international clients. He is also an insolvency practitioner with experience in many liquidations and receiverships. Augoustinos has served as a director in various bodies and organisations and currently he is the chairman of the Famagusta Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Cyprus.

Directors' responsibilities in relation to the financial statements

The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union.

The Directors are required to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the financial position of the Company, and its financial performance and cash flows for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Directors are required to:

   --      Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; 
   --      Make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

-- State whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

-- Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Company will continue in business.

The Directors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Company's transactions, and at any time enable the financial position of the Company to be determined with reasonable accuracy and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the applicable law and International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the Company's website. Legislation in the British Virgin Islands governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Disclosure of information to the Auditor

In so far as the Directors are aware:

   --      there is no relevant audit information of which the Company's auditor is unaware; and

-- the Directors have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.

Substantial Shareholdings

As at 19 March 2021 the Directors are aware of the following interests in 3 per cent or more of the Company's issued ordinary share capital:

 
                             Number         % of issued      % of voting 
                              of Ordinary    ordinary         rights* 
                              Shares         share capital 
                            -------------  ---------------  ------------ 
 Groverton Management Ltd     123,048,011            70.39         75.06 
 Ron Baron                     25,456,903            14.56         15.53

* after consideration of the treasury shares bought during 2021.

Save as disclosed in this report and in the remuneration report, the Company is not aware of any person who is interested directly or indirectly in 3% or more of the issued share capital of the Company or could, directly or indirectly, jointly or severally, exercise control over the Company.

Details of transactions with Directors are disclosed in note 22 to the financial statements.

Corporate Governance Statement

Introduction

The Company recognises the importance of the principles of good Corporate Governance and the Board is pleased to accept its commitment to such high standards throughout the year.

The Board Constitution and Procedures

The Company is controlled through the Board of Directors, which comprises of two independent Non-Executive Directors (one of which is the Board's Chairman) and two Executive Directors. The Chief Executive's responsibility is to focus on co-ordinating the company's business and implementing Company strategy.

A formal schedule of matters is reserved for consideration by the Board, which meets approximately four times each year. The Board is responsible for implementation of the investing strategy as described in the circular to shareholders dated 6 February 2007 and adopted pursuant to shareholder approval at the Company's EGM on 28 February 2007. It reviews the strategic direction of the Company, its codes of conduct, its annual budgets, its progress towards achievement of these budgets and any capital expenditure programmes. In addition, the Directors have access to advice and services of the Company Secretary and all Directors are able to take independent professional advice if relevant to their duties. The Directors receive training and advice on their responsibilities as necessary. All Directors submit themselves to re-election at least once every three years.

Board Committees

The Board delegates clearly defined powers to its Audit and Remuneration Committees. The minutes of each Committee are circulated by the Board.

Remuneration Committee

The Remuneration Committee comprises of the Non-Executive Chairman of the Board and a Non-Executive Director. The Remuneration Committee considers the terms of employment and overall remuneration of the Executive Directors and key members of Executive management regarding share options, salaries, incentive payments and performance related pay. The remuneration of Non-Executive Directors is determined by the Board.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee comprises of the Non-Executive Chairman of the Board and a Non-Executive Director and is chaired by the Chairman of the Board. The duties of the Committee include monitoring the auditor's performance and reviewing accounting policies and financial reporting procedures.

The Quoted Company Alliance (QCA) Code

The Directors recognise the importance of good corporate governance and have chosen to apply the Quoted Companies Alliance Corporate Governance Code (the 'QCA Code'). The QCA Code was developed by the QCA in consultation with a number of significant institutional small company investors, as an alternative corporate governance code applicable to AIM companies. The underlying principle of the QCA Code is that "the purpose of good corporate governance is to ensure that the company is managed in an efficient, effective and entrepreneurial manner for the benefit of all shareholders over the longer term". The Directors anticipate that whilst the Company will continue to comply with the QCA Code, given the Group's size and plans for the future, it will also endeavour to have regard to the provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code as best practice guidance to the extent appropriate for a company of its size and nature. To see how the Company addresses the key governance principles defined in the QCA Code please refer to the table listed on the Company's website, which was last reviewed and updated in February 2021.

A complete index of the disclosures required by the QCA Code, including those on the Company's website, can be found at http://www.livermore-inv.com/CorporateGovernance.

Communication with Investors

The Directors are available to meet with shareholders throughout the year. In particular the Executive Directors prepare a general presentation for analysts and institutional shareholders following the interim and preliminary results announcements of the Company. The chairman, Richard Rosenberg, is available for meetings with shareholders throughout the year. The Board endeavours to answer all queries raised by shareholders promptly.

Shareholders are encouraged to participate in the Annual General Meeting at which the Chairman will present the key highlights of the Company's performance. The Board will be available at the Annual General Meeting to answer questions from shareholders.

Internal Control

The Board is responsible for ensuring that the Company has in place a system of internal controls and for reviewing its effectiveness. In this context, control is defined in the policies and processes established to ensure that business objectives are achieved cost effectively, assets and shareholder value safeguarded, and that laws and regulations are complied with. Controls can provide reasonable but not absolute assurance that risks are identified and adequately managed to achieve business objectives and to minimise material errors, frauds and losses or breaches of laws and regulations.

The Company operates a sound system of internal control, which is designed to ensure that the risk of misstatement or loss is kept to a minimum.

Given the Company's size and the nature of its business, the Board does not consider that it is necessary to have an internal audit function. An internal audit function will be established as and when the Company is of an appropriate size.

The Board undertakes a review of its internal controls on an ongoing basis.

Going Concern

The Directors have reviewed the current and projected financial position of the Company, making reasonable assumptions about interest and distribution income, future trading performance, valuation projections and debt requirements. On the basis of this review, the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the Annual Report and accounts.

Independence of Auditor

The Board undertakes a formal assessment of the auditor's independence each year, which includes:

   --      a review of non-audit related services provided to the Company and related fees;

-- discussion with the auditor of a written report detailing all relationships with the Company and any other parties which could affect independence or the perception of independence;

-- a review of the auditor's own procedures for ensuring independence of the audit firm and partners and staff involved in the audit, including the rotation of the audit partner;

   --      obtaining written confirmation from the auditor that it is independent; 
   --      a review of fees paid to the auditor in respect of audit and non-audit services.

Remuneration Report

The Directors' emoluments, benefits and shareholdings during the year ended 31 December 2020 were as follows:

Directors' Emoluments

Each of the Directors has a service contract with the Company.

 
                                                                     Total emoluments 
---------------  ------------  ---------  ---------  ---------- 
                                                         Reward 
                      Date of       Fees   Benefits    payments       2020       2019 
 Director           agreement    US $000    US $000     US $000    US $000    US $000 
---------------  ------------  ---------  ---------  ----------  ---------  --------- 
 Richard Barry 
  Rosenberg          10/06/05         69          -           -         69         82 
---------------  ------------  ---------  ---------  ----------  ---------  --------- 
 Noam Lanir          10/06/05        400         45           -        445        745 
---------------  ------------  ---------  ---------  ----------  ---------  --------- 
 Ron Baron           01/09/07        350          -           -        350      1,450 
---------------  ------------  ---------  ---------  ----------  ---------  --------- 
 Augoustinos 
  Papathomas         01/02/19         37          -           -         37         30

The dates are presented in day / month / year format.

Directors' Interests

Interests of Directors in ordinary shares

 
                                As at 31 December              As at 31 December 
                  Notes                2020                           2019 
---------------  -------  -----------------------------  ----------------------------- 
                             Number of       Percentage     Number of   Percentage 
                              Ordinary      of ordinary      Ordinary    of ordinary 
                                Shares    share capital        Shares    share capital 
---------------  -------  ------------  ---------------  ------------  --------------- 
 Noam Lanir         a)     133,936,588          76.620%   133,936,588          76.620% 
---------------  -------  ------------  ---------------  ------------  --------------- 
 Ron Baron                  25,456,903          14.560%    25,456,903          14.560% 
------------------------  ------------  ---------------  ------------  --------------- 
 Richard Barry 
  Rosenberg                     15,000            0.01%        15,000            0.01% 
------------------------  ------------  ---------------  ------------  ---------------

Notes:

a) Noam Lanir has his interest in ordinary shares by virtue of the fact that he owns directly or indirectly all of the issued share capital of Groverton Management Limited. Further information is provided in note 22 to the financial statements. --

Remuneration Policy

The Company's policy has been designed to ensure that the Company has the ability to attract, retain and motivate executive Directors and other key management personnel to ensure the success of the organization.

The following key principles guide its policy:

-- policy for the remuneration of executive Directors will be determined and regularly reviewed independently of executive management and will set the tone for the remuneration of other senior executives.

-- the remuneration structure will support and reflect the Company's stated purpose to maximize long-term shareholder value.

   --      the remuneration structure will reflect a just system of rewards for the participants.

-- the overall quantum of all potential remuneration components will be determined by the exercise of informed judgement of the independent remuneration committee, taking into account the success of the Company and the competitive global market.

-- a significant personal shareholding will be developed in order to align executive and shareholder interests.

-- the assessment of performance will be quantitative and qualitative and will include exercise of informed judgement by the remuneration committee within a framework that takes account of sector characteristics and is approved by shareholders.

   --      the committee will be proactive in obtaining an understanding of shareholder preferences.

-- remuneration policy and practices will be as transparent as possible, both for participants and shareholders

-- the wider scene, including pay and employment conditions elsewhere in the Company, will be taken into account, especially when determining annual salary increases.

Review of the Business and Risks

Risks

The Board considers that the risks the Shareholders face can be divided into external and internal risks.

External risks to shareholders and their returns are those that can severely influence the investment environment within which the Company operates, and include economic recession, declining corporate profitability, higher corporate default rates and lower than historical recoveries, rising inflation and interest rates and excessive stock-market speculation.

The Company's portfolio is exposed to interest rate changes, credit risk, liquidity risk and volatility particularly in the US. In addition, the portfolio is exposed to currency risks as some of the underlying portfolio is invested in assets denominated in non-US currencies while the Company's functional currency is USD. Investments in certain emerging markets are exposed to governmental and regulatory risks.

The mitigation of these risks is achieved by following micro and macroeconomic trends and changes, regular monitoring of underlying assets and price movements and investment diversification. The Company also engages from time to time in certain hedging activities to mitigate these risks.

As of the date of this report, large-scale vaccination programs and huge fiscal and monetary stimulus seem to have been successful in reducing the spread and health impact of the virus, as well as put most developed countries on a strong recovery course. Unfortunately, the virus continues to spread in less developed regions such as India and the risk of a vaccine-resistant mutated virus remains. The Company is primarily exposed to the US economy and is benefiting from the economic recovery as tighter credit spreads and reduced distressed credits increase the value of the Company's CLO portfolio. While the Company continues to be conservatively positioned with cash in excess of USD 45m as of 13 May 2021, the Company plans to increase its investments in the CLO market in the near-mid term. At the same time, the Company plans to maintain strong liquidity and stay debt free.

Internal risks to shareholders and their returns are related to Portfolio risks (investment and geography selection and concentration), balance sheet risk (gearing) and/or investment mismanagement risks. The Company's portfolio has a significant exposure to senior secured loans of US companies and therefore has a concentration risk to this asset class.

A periodic internal review is performed to ensure transparency of Company activities and investments. All service providers to the Company are regularly reviewed. The mitigation of the risks related to investments is effected by investment restrictions and guidelines and through reviews at Board Meetings.

As the portfolio of the Company is currently invested in USD denominated assets, movements in other currencies are expected to have a limited impact on the business.

On the asset side, the Company's exposure to interest rate risk is limited to the interest-bearing deposits and portfolio of bonds and loans in which the Company invests. Currently, the Company is primarily invested in sub-investment grade corporate loans through CLOs, which exposes the Company to credit risk (defaults and recovery rates, loan spreads over base rate) as well as liquidity risks in the CLO market.

Management monitors liquidity to ensure that sufficient liquid resources are available to the Company. The Company's credit risk is primarily attributable to its fixed income portfolio, which is exposed to corporate bonds with a particular exposure to the financial sector and to US senior secured loans.

Further information on Financial risk management is provided in note 26 of the financial statements.

Share Capital

There was no change in the authorised share capital during the year to 31 December 2020. The authorised share capital is 1,000,000,000 ordinary shares with no par value.

Related party transactions

Details of any transactions of the Company with related parties during the year to 31 December 2020 are disclosed in note 22 to the financial statements.

By order of the Board of Directors

Chief Executive Officer

25 May 2021

Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of Livermore Investments Group Limited

Opinion

We have audited the consolidated financial statements of Livermore Investments Group Limited (the "Company") and its subsidiary Livermore Capital AG (the "Group"), which are presented in pages 24 to 51 and comprise the consolidated statement of financial position as at 31 December 2020, and the consolidated statements of profit or loss, Consolidated statement of comprehensive income, Consolidated statement of changes in equity and Consolidated statement of cash flows for the year then ended, and notes to the consolidated financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies.

In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated financial statements give a true and fair view of the consolidated financial position of the Group as at 31 December 2020, and of its consolidated financial performance and its consolidated cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union.

Basis for Opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the "Auditor's Responsibilities for the Audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements" section of our report. We are independent of the Group in accordance with the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants' International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (IESBA Code) together with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the consolidated financial statements in Cyprus, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements and the IESBA Code. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Emphasis of Matter - Uncertain Outcome of a Legal Claim

We draw attention to note 23 of the consolidated financial statements which describes the uncertainty outcome of a legal claim against one of the custodian banks that the Group and the Company uses on its behalf. Our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter.

Key Audit Matters

Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most significance in our audit of the consolidated financial statements of the current period. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the consolidated financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters. This is not a complete list of all risks identified by our audit.

 
Investments' valuation Level 3 
Refer to note 7 of the consolidated financial statements. 
The key audit matter                 How the matter was addressed in our audit 
                                     Our audit work included, but was not 
                                      restricted to: 
The Group has financial              -- discussing and obtaining an understanding 
 assets of $21m (2019: $12m)          of the valuation methodologies applied 
 classified within fair value         by the directors and assessing their 
 hierarchy at level 3, as             appropriateness for each investment; 
 disclosed in note 7. The 
 fair value of level 3 financial      -- obtaining third party confirmations 
 assets is generally determined       indicating the NAV/Fair Value of the 
 either based on third party          investments and comparing to clients' 
 valuations, or when not              records; and evaluating the independent 
 available based on adjusted          professional valuer's competence, capabilities 
 Net Asset Value (NAV) calculations   and objectivity; 
 using inputs from third 
 parties.                             -- in cases where the valuations have 
                                      been performed by the Board of directors, 
 Due to the use of significant        evaluating the reasonableness of the 
 judgments by the Board of            underlying assumptions and verifying 
 Directors, the existence             the inputs used by checking them to reliable 
 of unobservable inputs and           third party sources; and 
 the significant total value 
 of financial assets within           -- considering the adequacy of consolidated 
 the Level 3 hierarchy, we            financial statement disclosures in relation 
 consider the valuation of            to the valuation methodologies used for 
 these investments as a key           each class of level 3 financial assets.

 audit matter.                        Key observations 
                                      We concluded that the judgements and 
                                      estimates used by the management in determining 
                                      the Fair Value of investments were reasonable 
                                      and the disclosures made in relation 
                                      to these matters in the consolidated 
                                      financial statements were appropriate.

Other Information

The Board of Directors is responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Highlights, Chairman's and Chief Executive's Review, Review of Activities, Report of the Directors, Corporate Governance Statement, Remuneration report, Review of the Business and Risks, but does not include the consolidated financial statements and our auditor's report thereon.

Our opinion on the consolidated financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the consolidated financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the consolidated financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

Responsibilities of the Board of Directors for the Consolidated Financial Statements

The Board of Directors is responsible for the preparation of consolidated financial statements that give a true and fair view in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union, and for such internal control as the Board of Directors determines is necessary to enable the preparation of consolidated financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the consolidated financial statements, the Board of Directors is responsible for assessing the Group's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Board of Directors either intends to liquidate the Group or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.

Those charged with governance are responsible for overseeing the Group's financial reporting process.

Auditor's Responsibilities for the Audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these consolidated financial statements.

As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs, we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also:

 
 
    *    Identify and assess the risks of material 
         misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, 
         whether due to fraud or error, design and perform 
         audit procedures responsive to those risks, and 
         obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and 
         appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The 
         risk of not detecting a material misstatement 
         resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting 
         from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, 
         intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the 
         override of internal control. 
 
    *    Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant 
         to the audit in order to design audit procedures that 
         are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the 
         purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness 
         of the Group's internal control. 
 
    *    Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies 
         used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates 
         and related disclosures made by the Board of 
         Directors. 
 
    *    Conclude on the appropriateness of the Board of 
         Directors' use of the going concern basis of 
         accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, 
         whether a material uncertainty exists related to 
         events or conditions that may cast significant doubt 
         on the Group's ability to continue as a going 
         concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty 
         exists, we are required to draw attention in our 
         auditor's report to the related disclosures in the 
         consolidated financial statements or, if such 
         disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. 
         Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence 
         obtained up to the date of our auditor's report. 
         However, future events or conditions may cause the 
         Group to cease to continue as a going concern. 
 
    *    Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and 
         content of the consolidated financial statements, 
         including the disclosures, and whether the 
         consolidated financial statements represent the 
         underlying transactions and events in a manner that 
         achieves a true and fair view. 
 
    *    Obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence 
         regarding the financial information of the entities 
         or business activities within the Group to express an 
         opinion on the consolidated financial statements. We 
         are responsible for the direction, supervision and 
         performance of the group audit. We remain solely 
         responsible for our audit opinion.

We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.

We also provide those charged with governance with a statement that we have complied with relevant ethical requirements regarding independence, and to communicate with them all relationships and other matters that may reasonably be thought to bear on our independence, and where applicable, related safeguards.

From the matters communicated with those charged with governance, we determine those matters that were of most significance in the audit of the consolidated financial statements of the current period and are therefore the key audit matters. We describe these matters in our auditor's report unless law or regulation precludes public disclosure about the matter or when, in extremely rare circumstances, we determine that a matter should not be communicated in our report because the adverse consequences of doing so would reasonably be expected to outweigh the public interest benefits of such communication.

Other Matter

This report, including the opinion, has been prepared for and only for the Group's members as a body and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving this opinion, accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whose knowledge this report may come to.

The engagement partner on the audit resulting in this independent auditor's report is Mrs Froso Yiangoulli.

 
Froso Yiangoulli 
 Certified Public Accountant and Registered 
 Auditor 
 for and on behalf of 
Grant Thornton (Cyprus) Ltd 
Certified Public Accountants and Registered 
 Auditors 
 
  Nicosia, 25 May 2021

Livermore Investments Group Limited

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position as at 31 December 2020

 
                                         Note         2020         2019 
Assets                                             US $000      US $000 
 
Non-current assets 
Property, plant and equipment                           32           45 
Right-of-use assets                                    272          329 
Financial assets at fair value through 
 profit or loss                           4         77,006       98,418 
Financial assets at fair value through 
 other comprehensive income               5          3,729        6,204 
Investments in subsidiaries               8          6,813        5,787 
                                                 ---------    --------- 
                                                    87,852      110,783 
Current assets                                   ---------    --------- 
Trade and other receivables               9          8,238        8,251 
Financial assets at fair value through 
 profit or loss                           4         22,577        2,837 
Cash and cash equivalents                 10        50,407       56,499 
                                                 ---------    --------- 
                                                    81,222       67,587 
                                                 ---------    --------- 
Total assets                                       169,074      178,370 
                                                 ---------    --------- 
Equity 
Share capital                             11             -            - 
Share premium                             11       169,187      169,187 
Other reserves                                    (21,285)     (20,598) 
Retained earnings                                   16,005       24,491 
                                                 ---------    ---------

Total equity                                       163,907      173,080 
                                                 ---------    --------- 
Liabilities 
Non-current liabilities 
Lease liability                                        181          248 
                                                 ---------    --------- 
Current liabilities 
Trade and other payables                  12         4,868        4,907 
Lease liability - current portion                       91           83 
Current tax payable                                     27           52 
                                                 ---------    --------- 
                                                     4,986        5,042 
                                                 ---------    --------- 
Total liabilities                                    5,167        5,290 
                                                 ---------    --------- 
Total equity and liabilities                       169,074      178,370 
                                                 ---------    --------- 
 
Net asset value per share 
Basic and diluted net asset value per 
 share (US $)                             14          0.94         0.99 
                                                 ---------    ---------

These financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 25 May 2021.