Sure Ventures Plc – First Day of Dealings
SURE VENTURES PLC (‘SURE’ or ‘the Company’)
First Day of Dealings
SURE VENTURES PLC, a venture capital fund which invests in early stage software companies in the rapidly growing Financial Technology (‘FinTech’), Augmented Reality (‘AR’), Virtual Reality (‘VR’), and Internet of Things (‘IoT’) sectors, is pleased to announce that its ordinary shares will commence trading on the Specialist Fund Segment of London Stock Exchange’s regulated Main Market at 8.00 a.m. today under the ticker SURE (“Admission”). In tandem with the Admission, the Company has raised £3,309,999 before expenses, through a Placing of 3,309,999 new ordinary shares of no par value at a placing price of £1 each implying a market cap of £3,310,000 on First Admission.
The total number of ordinary shares in issue stands at 3,310,000 and the total number of voting rights in the Company is 3,310,000. There are no shares held in treasury. The figure of 3,310,000 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculation by which they may determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or change to their interest in, the Company under the FCA’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
Shard Capital Partners LLP is acting as Placing Agent to the Company and Shard Capital AIFM LLP (‘SCAIFM’) is its manager.
Overview
- Targeting capital growth by investing in early stage technology companies, with a focus on software-centric businesses in three rapidly-growing markets:
- AR/VR – forecast to grow into a US$108 billion industry within the next five years following significant investment in hardware and headsets by major players such as Facebook, Oculus Rift, HTC, Samsung, Microsoft which has increased demand for software /support and content
- FinTech – current transaction value estimated to be US$2.6 trillion which is predicted to grow to US$6.9 trillion in the next 5 years, representing a CAGR of 21.8%, as the Banking, Finance and Insurance industries embrace technology to assist with changing financial regulation, cyber security and evolving payment trends
- IoT – defined as the interconnection via the internet of computing devices embedded in everyday objects enabling them to send and receive data, was estimated to be worth US$120 billion dollars in 2016 and is predicted to reach US$253 billion by 2021 driven by global growth and increasing internet coverage and speeds
- First £5 million of net proceeds raised from the First Issue invested into Suir Valley Ventures Fund, a sub-fund of Suir Valley Funds ICAV which is supported by Enterprise Ireland (one of the largest VCs in Europe), and already has four investments in target areas
- Investee companies with first rate management teams, products which benefit from market validation, have been sold to customers, and generate revenue run rates equating to €500,000 over the next 12 months, will be targeted – bias towards UK, Ireland and other countries in the EEA
- Managed by SCAIFM, which has a highly experienced and successful management team with a proven track record of investing in the technology and small / micro company sectors
- Listed entity provides investors with diversified exposure to a space that is traditionally dominated by private venture capital funds
SURE director, Gareth Burchell, said, “Raising £3,309,999 is both a measure of the demand by investors for exposure to technologies that are set to change how we lead our everyday lives both at home and in the workplace, and also an endorsement of the Board and management team’s ability to execute its strategy. The team has a proven record of value creation by investing in early stage technology companies. We are looking to replicate this success on the public markets with SURE, and in the process, offer investors the opportunity to gain early stage exposure to pioneering companies with winning technologies.
“The markets we are targeting in the technology sector are fast approaching what we believe are growth inflexion points. In the case of VR, as the number of headset units sold increases so too does demand for quality content and applications from a growing ecosystem of software, support and content providers. FinTech is already an established market but is set to grow further thanks to secular drivers such as financial regulation, cyber security and changing payment methods; while IoT, which enables devices to communicate with each other, is playing an ever-increasing role in both corporate and domestic life. Spotting tomorrow’s technology winners early offers tremendous upside potential. With a Board and management team skilled in identifying and investing in companies with game-changing technologies and a defined investment process in place, SURE is ideally positioned to deliver.”
ENDS
For further information, please visit www.sureventuresplc.com