Molten Ventures plc
("Molten Ventures", "Molten", or the “Group”)
Full year trading update and notice of results
Strong level of activity throughout the year, including significant realisations
Molten Ventures (LSE: GROW, Euronext Dublin: GRW), a leading venture capital firm investing in and developing high-growth digital technology businesses, today announces an update on its Net Asset Value (“NAV”) per share (unaudited), Gross Portfolio Value (“GPV”) (unaudited) and highlights for the financial year, ahead of announcing full year results for the 12 months ended 31 March 2025 on 11 June 2025.
Highlights:
- NAV per share (unaudited) is expected to be circa 671p (31 March 2024: 662p).
- GPV (unaudited) is expected to be circa £1,367 million (31 March 2024: £1,379 million).
- Excluding foreign exchange, GPV fair value uplift of £72 million (5.22%) for the financial year (H1: £20 million and H2: £52 million), driven by strong performers in the portfolio, notably Ledger, Aircall and Revolut.
- Total cash realisations for the financial year of £135 million, including significant realisations from M-Files, Endomag, Perkbox, Graphcore and a partial realisation of Revolut.
- Secondary transaction in Revolut generated proceeds of circa £7 million at a headline valuation of $45 billion as part of the company-led secondary share sale, 25% above the last reported NAV at 30 September 2024.
- Invested £73 million from own balance sheet (year to 31 March 2024: £65 million) across new, follow-on and secondary investments, with a further £34 million from the managed EIS and VCT strategies.
- Completed £15 million of share buybacks during the financial year and commenced an additional £15 million share buyback programme on 13 March 2025 (of which £3.8 million has been repurchased to date).
- Molten cash balance as at 31 March 2025 of £89 million, with a further £23 million available for investment from the managed EIS/VCT funds. Undrawn Revolving Credit Facility of up to £60 million provides further funding flexibility.
- Molten cash balance as at 23 April 2025 of £110 million, following receipt of Freetrade proceeds post year-end.
Portfolio performance and fair value movements:
- Overall underlying fair value growth (excluding foreign exchange impact) of circa 5% or £72 million during the year, which has been offset by adverse foreign exchange movements of £22 million. Total fair value uplift of circa 4% or £50 million, demonstrates resilience and a strong overall performance on a diversified portfolio. Fair value movement reflects the net of £180 million increases offset by reductions of £108 million.
- Portfolio company cash runway remains robust with 88% of core companies funded for at least 12 months and 71% have over 18 months of runway or are operating profitably.
- Portfolio companies continue to maintain revenue growth momentum, demonstrating the strong underlying value of the portfolio, the underlying resilience of these businesses and the structural demand for their products across their respective end-markets.
- The core portfolio achieved an average value-weighted revenue growth of 51% in FY24. This growth highlights the maturity and scale of these businesses, which now represent 61% of the overall portfolio value.
- In the period following year-end, geopolitical developments, notably the introduction and subsequent pause of tariffs by the US government, have contributed to an increasingly uncertain global trading environment. Our preliminary assessment indicates that our portfolio, being technology and software focused, is less exposed to the direct impact of tariffs.
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Six Months to
30 September 2024
(unaudited)
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% change to opening GPV
|
Six Months to 31 March 2025
(unaudited)
|
% change to opening GPV
|
Year to 31 March 2025
(unaudited)
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% change to opening GPV
|
|
£’million
|
|
£’million
|
|
£’million
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|
Opening Gross Portfolio Value
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1,379
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1,343
|
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1,379
|
|
Investments
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51
|
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22
|
|
73
|
|
Realisations
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(76)
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(59)
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(135)
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Movement in Foreign Exchange (a)
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(31)
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-2.25%
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9
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0.67%
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(22)
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-1.60%
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Movement in Fair Value (b)
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20
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1.45%
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52
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3.87%
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72
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5.22%
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Total Fair Value Movements (a+b)
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(11)
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-0.80%
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61
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4.54%
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50
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3.62%
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Closing Gross Portfolio Value
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1,343
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1,367
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1,367
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Ongoing strategic focuses:
- Continued focus on capital allocation, balancing the pipeline of new investment opportunities with the ability to drive returns to shareholders through share buyback programmes, while maintaining sufficient reserves.
- Focusing on delivering an ongoing pipeline of realisations above reported NAV, starting FY26 with good momentum with a combined circa £30 million of proceeds from Lyst and Freetrade exits.
- Growing the value of the portfolio through support of existing companies and new investments, particularly into Molten's core business of Series A and B investments.
- Driving increased efficiencies, including through building scale and co-investment structures, as well as disciplined management of costs, with announced delisting from Euronext Dublin supporting this.
Ben Wilkinson, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“It is pleasing that the portfolio and NAV have continued to grow, demonstrating the robust performance within the portfolio. We've maintained a strong level of activity this year, with significant realisations that have provided capital to pursue attractive new and follow-on opportunities supporting European tech companies at critical growth stages. Recent macro events serve as a reminder of how quickly market dynamics can change. While these events have added short-term volatility, particularly in the public markets, our portfolio remains focused on capturing long-term opportunities driven by disrupting global industries. Molten’s strong cash position and experienced team ensure we remain resilient and able to course correct when needed. Molten is driven by exceptional people and our unique investment platform. We remain focused on what we can control and continue to invest with discipline, finding opportunities in changing environments, backing businesses that are building for the long term and creating value for our shareholders.”
Notice of Results:
Molten Ventures’ full-year results for the year ended 31 March 2025 will be announced on 11 June 2025.
-ENDS-
Enquiries
Molten Ventures plc
Ben Wilkinson (Chief Executive Officer)
Andrew Zimmermann (Chief Financial Officer)
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+44 (0)20 7931 8800
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Deutsche Numis
Joint Financial Adviser and Corporate Broker
Simon Willis
Jamie Loughborough
Iqra Amin
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+44 (0)20 7260 1000
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Goodbody Stockbrokers
Joint Financial Adviser and Corporate Broker
Don Harrington
Tom Nicholson
William Hall
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+44 (0) 20 3841 6202
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Sodali
Public relations
Elly Williamson
Jane Glover
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+44 (0)7970 246 725/
+44 (0)771 324 6126
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About Molten Ventures
Molten Ventures is a leading venture capital firm in Europe, developing and investing in high growth technology companies.
It invests across four sectors: Enterprise & SaaS; AI, Deeptech & Hardware; Consumer; and Digital Health & Wellness with highly experienced partners constantly looking for new opportunities in each.
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, Molten Ventures provides a unique opportunity for public market investors to access these fast-growing tech businesses, without having to commit to long term investments with limited liquidity. Since the IPO in June 2016, Molten has deployed over £1bn capital into fast growing tech companies and has realised over £600m to 30 September 2024.
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