Molten Ventures gross portfolio value rises to £1.5bn on wave of new investment opportunities

Natasha Doris
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Molten Ventures gross portfolio value rises to £1.5bn on wave of new investment opportunities

Molten Ventures shares decreased 5.5% to 450p in early morning trading on Monday, following a gross portfolio value rise to £1.5 billion in FY 2022 against £984 million in the previous year.

The tech investment company saw a 37% gross portfolio fair value growth compared to 51% the year before, alongside £311 million in cash invested in the year and an extra £45 million from EIS/VCT funds compared to £128 million from plc and £34 million from EIS/VCT funds in FY 2021.

The growth was attributed to a higher level of follow-up opportunities in its existing portfolio, leading to consistent rounds in new primary investment opportunities and the continued expansion of its scalable platform.

The company also committed to 22 new seed funds through its Fund of Funds programme, which brought its overall seed portfolio to 57 funds.

Molten Ventures reported a NAV per share of 937p from 743p, and £78 million in plc cash against £161 million year-on-year.

The group announced a post-tax profit growth to £301 million compared to £267 million, with cash proceeds from realisations of £126 million from £206 million the last year, linked to its sale of shares in Trustpilot and UiPath, alongside its exits from SportPursuit, Premfina, Conversocial and Bright Computing, and amounts which were released from escrow related to previously announced disposals.

Molten Ventures noted £108 million in net funds raised over 2022 against £107 million in 2021, and that its operating costs remained at less than 1% of year-end NAV.

“This year, we made huge progress across the business from both an operational and financial perspective,” said Molten Ventures CEO Martin Davis.

“Our job is not only to identify the best opportunities but to do everything we can to support the growth of the companies in our portfolio, and ensure they have all the tools they need to realise their full potential. Molten is better positioned than ever to take advantage of investing in these sought-after assets right the way through their lifecycle from seed to exit.”

“Despite recent volatility in world markets caused in part by the tragic events in Ukraine, VC remains resilient, and the European technology market continues to be an area of growth. We have successfully navigated several market cycles and our adaptable and scalable business model, combined with the significant progress made this year, puts us in an advantaged position within the current market context.”

Molten Ventures declined to distribute a dividend for FY 2022 in its financial results.

Sirius Real Estate rent roll climbs 73.1%, German and UK assets grow

Natasha Doris
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1
Sirius Real Estate rent roll climbs 73.1%, German and UK assets grow

Sirius Real Estate shares fell 3% to 107.2p in early morning trading on Monday, despite a 73.1% growth in annualised rent roll to €167 million in FY 2022 compared to €96.5 million in FY 2021.

Sirius Real Estate highlighted growth across its UK and German assets, with a 7.6% increase in like-for-like annualised rent roll in the group’s 4.5 month term ownership of Bizspace, which it acquired for cash consideration of approximately £245 million based on an enterprise value £380 million, representing a net initial yield of 7.1%.

The group also noted a like-for-like annualised rent roll uptick of 6.4% in its German portfolio in the firm’s eighth consecutive year of rent roll growth over 5%, with €201.9 million in acquisitions completed or notarised in 10 sites across the country. Sirius Real Estate drew attention to the blend of income and value-add opportunity for its portfolio in the region.

Sirius Real Estate mentioned a pre-tax profit rise of 3.2% to €168.9 million against €163.7 million year-on-year, and a funds from operations climb of 22.5% to €74.6 million from €60.9 million.

The company also completed two strategic disposals which provided €30 million in capital to recycle into the business completed or expected to complete after the period end.

“Against an ongoing period of challenging market conditions, Sirius has delivered another very positive set of annual results leading to a 20% total accounting return including a 16.1% increase in dividend for shareholders,” said Sirius Real Estate CEO Andrew Coombs.

“This strong operating performance was underpinned by continued demand and asset management led rental growth across both our German and UK platforms.”

“The Company grew acquisitively through the commitment of over €200 million into acquisitions in Germany, as well as the acquisition of BizSpace in November 2021 for £380 million.”

Sirius Real Estate said its outlook highlighted post-year end trading which fell in line with market expectations, reportedly driven by continued strong occupier demand, investment and consistent on-shoring of production and supply chains by UK and German manufacturers.

The company remarked that the positive impacts of its FY 2022 acquisitions were expected to be more evident in FY 2023, and the firm said it was actively assessing new opportunities for growth across the UK and Germany.

Sirius Real Estate added that it remained well-placed to deliver attractive returns for shareholders, despite the volatile geopolitical environment for the coming months.

“We remain focused on driving property returns through the capability of our internal operating platforms and, despite the inflationary environment and the uncertainty created by the situation in Ukraine, are confident that we can continue to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns through active asset management,” said Coombs.

“Looking ahead, we expect the ten assets acquired or notarised in Germany during the period to have a greater impact on earnings in FY23 compared to FY22, whilst the encouraging operating performance of BizSpace provides further income growth opportunities.”

“Against an ongoing period of challenging market conditions, Sirius has delivered another very positive set of annual results leading to a 20% total accounting return including a 16.1% increase in dividend for shareholders,” said Sirius Real Estate CEO Andrew Coombs.

Sirius Real Estate noted a total dividend rise of 16.1% for the financial year to 4.4c per share compared to 3.8c the year before, with an unchanged payout ratio of 65% of the group’s funds from operations and a total shareholder accounting return of 20% against 19.5% the last year.

Mind Gym’s valuable content

Andrew Hore
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Mind Gym’s valuable content

AIM-quoted learning and development products and services provider Mind Gym (LON: MIND) fell into loss last year, but it is set to bounce back in 2022-23. The true value of the business is in the IP that is being created over more than two decades.
In the year to March 2022, revenues were 24% ahead at £48.7m with US revenues growing even faster. Repeat revenues from customers that have bought products and services in the past three years were 86% of the total.
Gross margins remain stable at around 87%, but overheads are higher as management anticipates future growth in demand. There were also ...

AEX Gold finds partner for strategic minerals prospects

Andrew Hore
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0
AEX Gold finds partner for strategic minerals prospects

Greenland-focused AEX Gold Inc (LON: AEXG) has signed non-binding terms for the creation of a joint venture with ACAM that will hold the group’s strategic mineral assets. The AEX Gold share price rose 1.5p to 45.5p.
ACAM will invest £18m for a 49% stake and AEX Gold will inject the non-gold assets and cover site support, logistics and overhead costs relating to the group’s infrastructure in southern Greenland. The investment has already been made in this infrastructure for the gold projects. It has already contracted rigs for drilling.
AEX Gold will have managerial and operational control. The...

FTSE 100 sinks with European shares after US inflation hits 40-year high

Natasha Doris
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0
FTSE 100 sinks with European shares after US inflation hits 40-year high

The FTSE 100 took a hit of 2.1% to 7,317.5 at close of trading on Friday, after US inflation was revealed to have surged to a 40-year high of 8.6% in May this year.

Global equity markets sank, with the NASDAQ down 3.1% to 11,390.1, the Dow sliding 2% to 15,155.4, the German DAX falling 2.7% to 13,814.6, the French CAC dropping 2.6% to 6192.2 and the Italian FTSE MIB decreasing 4.4% to 22,708.6.

The route in European shares came a day after the ECB ended assets purchases and said they would start increasing interest rates for the first time in over a decade.

Today’s US inflation data means markets will likely have to swallow additional moves to tighten monetary policy, with the US Federal Reserve predicted to scale up interest rates by 0.5% next week.

“The data dashed hopes that inflation had passed its peak and means a 0.5% rate hike by the Fed next week is all but guaranteed. It also means Fed guidance regarding further rate hikes is all the more likely to be hawkish,” said Kingswood investment strategist Rupert Thompson.

Commodities producers tumbled as Shanghai re-entered Covid-19 lockdown, which sparked fears that the major global production hub was set to grind to a halt.

Anglo American shares plummeted 7.3% to 3,611p, Antofagasta decrease 3.5% to 1,431p, Glencore fell 4.8% to 507.3p, Rio Tinto was down 3.6% to 5,686 and Croda dipped 1.9% to 6,348p.

“The FTSE 100 fell … as commodity producers took a tumble thanks to Shanghai going back into lockdown, which might cause China to buy fewer commodities if the Covid flare-up lasts a long time,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

Meanwhile, banks have been warned today by the Bank of England to pull their act together, after the institution issued a statement that the companies were no longer “too big to fail.”

There was notable room for improvement, as the Bank shook its finger at Lloyds, Standard Chartered and HSBC, all of which were told to improve their resolution plans. The banks all apparently agreed to the mandate.

“With a gloomy near-term economic outlook, the resolvability test will provide some relief that the UK’s key financial players wouldn’t cause a disaster if something went very badly wrong,” said Mould.

“It’s important to recognise this test wasn’t carried about because of ‘live’ fears. It is more a case of good practice and guarding against a repeat of the global financial crisis in which some banks got into trouble and had to be bailed out using taxpayers’ money.”

“This isn’t to say the UK banks all have a clean bill of health. There are still places where they could do better, so it’s back to the gym for many of them, including HSBC which has identified areas for further improvement.”

US Inflation smashes 40-year record high at 8.6%

Natasha Doris
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0
US Inflation smashes 40-year record high at 8.6%

US inflation rates hit a 40-year record high of 8.6%, representing a harsh increase from its May level of 8.3%.

The rising inflation was triggered by surging energy prices, with the conflict in Ukraine continuing to drive prices to uncomfortable heights and the benchmark Brent Crude price hovering around $120 per barrel at its peak in May.

Core inflation eased slightly to 6.2% from 6%, although the figure was still higher than expected.

The market had been buzzing with hopes that inflation had reached its peak in April, however the recent figures have sent optimism plummeting.

International markets have felt the nasty shock of the increased inflation, with the NASDAQ down 3% to 11,391.5, the FTSE 100 falling 2.3% to 7,301.2 and the German DAX dropping 3% to 13,773.1.

The reports have all but guaranteed a 0.5% interest rates hike by the US Federal Reserve next week, which will have Fed guidance almost certainly tilting in a more hawkish direction.

Origin Enterprises report 47.3% revenue climb in Q3

Natasha Doris
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0
Origin Enterprises report 47.3% revenue climb in Q3

Origin Enterprises shares were flat in early afternoon trading on Friday, after the company announced a group revenue climb of 47.3% to €880.6 million in Q3 and 50.2% to €1,757.7 million in the year-to-date.

The company announced an underlying revenue at constant currency growth of 45.4% in Q3 and 46.4% year-to-date.

Origin Enterprises noted that high crop prices continued to support positive on-farm sentiment, with generally favourable crop establishment and weather conditions across all three segments.

The group mentioned a 2.3% uptick in underlying volumes year-to-date, excluding crop marketing volumes, despite a reported 8.8% decrease in Q3.

However, Origin Enterprises highlighted that strong volume performance across its seed and crop protection portfolios was offset by lowered fertiliser demand as a result of significantly higher raw material costs.

The company also confirmed that its €40.0 million share buyback programme was 96% completed.

Origin Enterprises said it expected a fully adjusted diluted EPS for FY 2022 between 64% to 68%.

Furthermore, the firm added that Chairman Rose Hynes was scheduled to be succeeded by new Chairman Gary Britton at the 2022 annual general meeting.

Rishi Sunak accused of throwing away £11bn in taxpayer funds

Natasha Doris
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0
Rishi Sunak accused of throwing away £11bn in taxpayer funds

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been accused of throwing away £11 billion in taxpayer funds by overpaying for interest servicing government debt.

Recent comments by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said Sunak failed to insure against interest rate growth on £900 billion in reserves created through the quantitative easing programme.

According to NIESR, the loss exceeds the amount the Conservatives accused former Prime Minister Gordon Brown of losing after he sold UK gold reserves at extremely low prices.

The comments were made to the Financial Times by NIESR director Professor Jagit Chadha, who mentioned that Sunak’s failure had left the UK saddled with “an enormous bill and heavy continuing exposure to interest rate risk.”

The Financial Times reported that the Bank of England created £895 billion in money using its quantitative easing, the major share of which was used to purchase government bonds from pension funds and other investors.

The Bank had to pay interest at its official rate after the investors put the proceeds in commercial bank deposits at the Bank of England.

NIESR confirmed it urged the government to insure the cost of servicing this debt against the risk of rising interest rates by converting it into government bonds with longer maturity, back when interest rates were still at 0.1% last year.

Professor Chadha pointed the finger at Sunak for ignoring their advice and consequently losing the taxpayer £11 billion in avoidable expenses.

The Chancellor has faced heavy scrutiny as inflation hit 9% in May and the cost of living climbs, with UK households turning to food banks and credit card debt at record levels.

“These are astronomical sums for the chancellor to lose, and leaves working people picking up the cheque for his severe wastefulness while he hikes their taxes in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis,” said shadow Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq.

A spokesperson for the treasury commented: “There are longstanding arrangements around the asset purchase facility – to date £120bn has been transferred to HM Treasury and used to reduce our debt, but we have always been aware that at some point the direction of those payments may need to reverse.”

“We have a clear financing strategy to meet the government’s funding needs, which we set independently of the Bank of England’s monetary policy decisions.”

“It is for the monetary policy committee to take decisions on quantitative easing operations to meet the objectives in their remit, and we remain fully committed to their independence.”

AIM movers: Beowulf Kallak project challenge, Renalytix trial success and Camellia’s value

Andrew Hore
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0
AIM movers: Beowulf Kallak project challenge, Renalytix trial success and Camellia’s value

Beowulf Mining (LON: BEM) has been hit by attempts to stop the exploitation of the Gallok / Kallak iron ore project in Northern Sweden. The share price fell from 5.5p to 4.75p, having risen to 15.25p on the day that the Swedish government approval for the project was announced. A nearby Sami village is challenging the Swedish government’s decision to award the exploitation concession. They are concerned about how this will affect reindeer herding and Sami culture. The mine is in the middle of a traditional winter grazing area. The Sami village is holding a press conference on 15 June. Kallak has a measured and indicated mineral resource of 132Mt grading 27.8% Fe, 7.5% FeO, 48.9% SiO2, 4.4% AI2O3, 0.03% P and 0.002% S.

Kidney disease diagnostics company Renalytix (LON: RENX) has been boosted by positive news this week. A study of 1,112 patients with adult diabetic kidney disease has demonstrated clinical utility and care benefits of KidneyIntelX risk stratification in stages one to three of kidney disease. This means that doctors can assess which patients are at high-risk for loss of kidney function. Earlier this week, another study showed that KidneyIntelX can assess risk of heart failure and death in chronic kidney disease patients. The share price has risen 7p to 190p on the day, having started the week at 150p. Even so, the share price is less than one-fifth of its peak in 2021.

Technology focused recruitment and professional services provider Parity (LON: PTY) continues to gain momentum following its AGM statement on Wednesday. The share price has risen from 7.75p to 9p today having been 7p prior to the AGM. Parity has added four new clients in the private sector and been appointed for four local government frameworks. Parity was loss-making last year, but management believes that the performance will improve. Allenby was appointed as broker in May but does not appear to have published any forecasts yet. Previous broker finnCap did not have a 2022 forecast and it was targeting September for relaunching its forecasts. This indicates that it is difficult to assess whether the apparent optimism of investors is warranted.

Agricultural products supplier Camellia (LON: CAM) issued its annual report at the beginning of the week and the share price has risen from £60 to £66.25. This could have something to do with the fact that Camellia has a market capitalisation of £179.5m compared with net assets of £388.6m at the end of 2021. That includes £225m of property and equipment, including £23.1m of investment properties, plus net cash of £54m. Investors can still receive the final dividend of 102p a share until 7 July when the shares go ex-dividend.

Eneraqua Technologies secure two net water neutrality contracts

Natasha Doris
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0
Eneraqua Technologies secure two net water neutrality contracts

Eneraqua Technologies shares were up 0.7% to 270p in late morning trading on Friday, after the company confirmed it had been awarded two English local authority contracts to deliver net water neutrality pilot programmes in the area.

The group announced that the contracts would see its Cenergist subsidiary supply and install Control Flow HL2024 systems in existing homes to improve water efficiency.

Eneraqua Technologies confirmed that the saved water would be used by new homes built in the region, which is set to address local water stress issues.

According to the firm, the contracts would be the first use of Control Flow HL2024 products in a net water neutrality programme. The product reportedly has proven water savings of up to 26% in existing homes.

The company commented that it developed the technology to tackle the growing problem of water stress as climate change begins to affect many areas across the UK, and is expected to worsen over the coming years.

“Control Flow HL2024 is a proven product and we are delighted that it has been chosen for these water neutrality programmes,” said Eneraqua Technologies CEO Mitesh Dhanak.

“This approach provides a cost-effective solution for new build homes in water stress areas.  As well as the UK, water stress affects many areas in Europe and internationally.”

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