Draper Esprit PLC Trading Statement (2789R)

TIDMGROW

RNS Number : 2789R

Draper Esprit PLC

04 November 2021

Draper Esprit Plc

4 November 2021

Draper Esprit Plc

("Draper Esprit", the "Group" or the "Company")

Half year trading update and notice of results

Draper Esprit (LSE: GROW, Euronext Dublin: GRW), a leading venture capital firm investing in and developing high growth digital technology businesses, today provides an update on its portfolio and NAV (unaudited) ahead of its interim results for the period ended 30 September 2021, which are scheduled for release on 29 November 2021.

Highlights:

-- NAV per share is expected to be not less than 885p (30 September 2020: 600p; 31 March 2021: 743p)

-- Gross Portfolio Value (unaudited) is expected to be not less than GBP1,345 million (30 September 2020: GBP702 million; 31 March 2021: GBP984 million)

-- Gross Portfolio increase in fair value (unaudited) is expected to be not less than GBP260 million (26%) for the six-month period to September 2021 (six months to 30 September 2020: GBP73 million, 10%)

-- GBP165 million invested by the Group's balance sheet ("PLC") in the first half of the year, with a further GBP4 million invested by EIS and VCT co-investment bringing the total invested for H1 to GBP169 million (six months to 30 September 2020: GBP50 million invested by PLC, EIS and VCT)

-- Cash proceeds from realisations in H1 of GBP67 million (six months to 30 September 2020: GBP106 million)

   --      Net proceeds of GBP108 million received from our equity raise in June 2021 

-- Cash on the PLC balance sheet at period-end of GBP156 million (including restricted cash) (30 September 2020: GBP62 million; 31 March 2021: GBP161 million)

-- Moved to premium listing segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority and the secondary listing segment of the official list of the Irish Stock Exchange plc, trading as Euronext Dublin

-- Strengthened board with the appointment of Gervaise Slowey and Sarah Gentleman as non-executive directors

Against the backdrop of strong market conditions, the positive momentum experienced in H2 FY2021 has continued over the past six months. Progress has been achieved across all areas of the business. Alongside funds raised in June 2021 and strong realisations during the period, capital deployed has increased in excess of those initially anticipated for the period. This increased investment is attributable to a higher level of follow on opportunities in the existing portfolio, consistently leading rounds in primary investments and the continued expansion of the platform with further additions to the team.

The H1 Gross Portfolio Value reflects new financing rounds at increased valuations for a number of our investments, including: Aircall, Revolut, Ledger, Form3, N26, Aiven. It also reflects the closing prices at the 30 September 2021 balance sheet date for our publicly listed investments Cazoo, Trustpilot and Ui Path.

The Group continues to see growth within its portfolio through revenue increases, financing rounds and exits, combined with a healthy pipeline of new investment opportunities. As a result, trading is ahead of our stated financial objective of 15% fair value growth for this financial year, and our portfolio continues to perform strongly. We therefore anticipate fair value growth in the region of 35% for the full year to 31 March 2022 subject to wider market conditions.

Martin Davis, CEO Draper Esprit commented:

"We've continued to make significant progress over the first six months of the year driven by the strength of our portfolio, our investment team and buoyant market conditions. I am pleased to report realisations have remained strong enabling us to increase our deployment of capital across the portfolio; underpinned by our expanded platform. I feel excited by our performance going into the second half of the year."

Draper Esprit is undergoing a rebranding process and will shortly be changing its name to better reflect its strategy in its latest phase of growth. We will provide a full update in the next week.

Enquiries:

 
Draper Esprit plc 
 Martin Davis (Chief Executive Officer) 
 Ben Wilkinson (Chief Financial Officer)   [phone] 
Numis Securities 
 Joint Financial Adviser and Corporate 
 Broker 
 Simon Willis 
 Richard Thomas 
 Jamie Loughborough                        [phone] 
Goodbody Stockbrokers 
 Joint Financial Adviser and Corporate 
 Broker, 
 Euronext Dublin Sponsor 
 Don Harrington 
 Charlotte Craigie 
 Linda Clarke                              [phone] 
Powerscourt 
 Public relations 
 Elly Williamson                           [phone] / 
 Jane Glover                                [phone] 
 

About Draper Esprit

Draper Esprit is one of the most active venture capital firms in Europe, investing in disruptive, high growth technology companies. We believe the best entrepreneurs in Europe are capable of building the global businesses of the future. We fuel their growth with long-term capital, access to international networks and decades of experience building businesses.

As at 31 March 2021, Draper Esprit is a shareholder in a diverse portfolio of 70+ companies with 17 of those part of our core portfolio which accounts for over 60% of our holdings. Our core companies include UiPath, Aircall, Graphcore and Revolut. We invest across four sectors: Consumer Technology, Enterprise Technology, Hardware and Deeptech, and Digital Health and Wellness, with highly experienced partners constantly looking for new opportunities in each. We look for high-growth companies operating in new markets, with a serious potential for global expansion, strong IP, powerful technology, and management teams to deliver success. We also look for businesses with the potential to generate strong margins to ensure rapid, sustainable growth in substantial addressable markets.

Draper Esprit provides an opportunity for public market investors to access these fast-growing tech businesses, without having to commit to long term investments with limited liquidity. Since IPO to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange plc in June 2016, we have deployed circa GBP550m+ capital into fast growing tech companies and have realised over GBP300m.

For more information, go to https://draperesprit.com/

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November 04, 2021 03:00 ET (07:00 GMT)