TIDMPIRI
RNS Number : 8023K
Pires Investments PLC
02 September 2019
2 September 2019
Pires Investments plc
("Pires" or the "Company")
Proposed amendment to investing policy and
proposed investment
Proposed amendment to investing policy
Pires, an investing company pursuant to the AIM Rules, announces
that it is to seek shareholder approval for an amendment to its
investing policy. The Company's existing investing policy is
principally focused on opportunities in the resources and energy
sectors. Building on the Company's successful investments to date
in these sectors, the Board believes that it is in the best
interests of shareholders to extend the Company's investing policy
to include the technology sector, as it believes that this is an
attractive sector for future investment. The Directors therefore
intend to seek shareholder approval for this amendment at the
Company's forthcoming annual general meeting ("AGM").
In addition to the proposed investment outlined below, the
Company will also seek to make both early and later stage
technology investments in the future should its amended investing
policy be approved by shareholders.
Proposed investment
Pursuant to the proposed amendment of its investing policy, the
Company has identified an initial investment in the technology
sector. It has agreed, in principle, to invest an initial GBP1.1
million into Sure Valley Ventures ("SVV"), a venture capital fund
focused on investing in the software technology sector. SVV
currently has a portfolio of ten investee companies at different
stages of development with specific focus on augmented and virtual
reality ("AR/VR"), artificial intelligence ("AI") and the internet
of things ("IoT").
The investment in SVV is conditional on approval of the
amendment of the Company's investing policy at the forthcoming AGM
which is expected to be held during October 2019.
On the basis that the investment takes place, the Company will
invest up to a further GBP2.1 million into SVV over the life of the
fund thereby resulting in an overall investment of up to GBP3.2
million, subject to, inter alia, regulatory conditions. Further
details will be included in the notice of AGM to be sent to
shareholders in the coming weeks.
The Directors believe that the proposed investment is an
attractive and effective way to develop a core holding of
investments in the technology sector and allow the Company to
access the expertise of the SVV management team to assist with
further investments in this sector. In particular:
-- the Company will be able to access an established portfolio
of investments that have progressed beyond the initial investment
stage, some of which have already established a market position and
are generating revenue.
-- the initial investment to be made by Pires effectively puts
the Company in a similar position as if it had invested at the
inception of the fund alongside the other investors. Pires will
therefore have an interest in 13% of the underlying portfolio at
valuations equivalent to that at which the SVV investments were
originally made. The NAV of the fund as at 30 June 2019 was EUR8.3
million.
-- VR Education Holdings plc (a virtual reality education
platform) is already listed on AIM with a market valuation of
GBP12.6 million. Admix operates in a similar sector to Bidstack
Group plc, a company already listed on AIM. Furthermore, an
approach has been received for one of the other portfolio
companies, valuing it at a multiple of the valuation at the time of
the initial investment.
SVV Fund
SVV, an Alternative Investment Fund ("AIF") is a sub-fund of
Suir Valley Funds ICAV, an Irish Collective Asset Management
Vehicle registered in Ireland. The Alternative Investment Fund
Manager ("AIFM") of SVV is Shard Capital AIFM LLP.
SVV invests in a broad range of software companies but retains a
focus on companies in the AR/VR, AI and IoT sectors. The AIFM will
seek to identify and progress towards exit opportunities from the
time of the SVV's first investment in a portfolio company.
Whilst the fund has a life to March 2027, the proceeds realised
by SVV through any realisations of its investments will be
distributed to investors at the time of the realisation (as is
common with funds of this nature) and therefore the return on this
investment is expected to be received throughout the life of
SVV.
Currently EUR23.5 million (excluding the proposed investment by
Pires) has been committed to be invested in SVV, with circa EUR8.4
million invested in the fund to date. Other investors in SVV
include a governmental institution, financial institutions and
family offices.
SVV Portfolio
The SVV portfolio currently comprises:
Company Description
Admix Limited Fully programmatic monetization platform
for 3D spacial developers (e.g. console,
PC and mobile game developers)
https://admix.in/
-------------------------------------------------
Ambisense Limited AI and IoT platform for real-time environmental
monitoring and protection (e.g. Greenhouse
Gas) through AI prediction
https://ambisense.net/
-------------------------------------------------
Artomatix Limited AI platform that automates 3D content creation
for AR/VR, video games, movies and VFX,
cutting the costs of production for key
processes by up to 80%.
https://artomatix.com/
-------------------------------------------------
Provision Provider of IoT cameramatics for commercial
fleets
https://www.provisioncameramatics.com/
-------------------------------------------------
NDRC Arclabs Fund EU accelerator providing propriety deal
I Limited flow
https://www.ndrc.ie/
-------------------------------------------------
Nova Leah Limited Cyber security assessment and protection
platform for IoT medical devices
https://www.novaleah.com/
-------------------------------------------------
VividQ Limited Software platform for real-time holographic
3D display for AR
https://www.vivid-q.com/
-------------------------------------------------
VR Education Holdings A virtual reality education platform
Plc https://immersivevreducation.com/
-------------------------------------------------
WIA Technologies IoT developer platform with 55,000+ developers
Limited https://www.wia.io/
-------------------------------------------------
Warducks Limited AR games studio with multiple hit titles
https://www.warducks.com/
-------------------------------------------------
More detail on SVV can be found on its website
https://surevalleyventures.com.
Additional board appointment
On the basis that the proposed investment takes place and,
subject to the approval of the Company's Nomad, the Company intends
to appoint Cian Hughes to the board. Cian is a venture partner in
SVV and has extensive experience in the technology sector. Cian has
worked for a number of major technology companies including Lotus
Inc (now part of IBM), Intel Corporation and Palm Inc. Cian also
has significant experience in the fields of venture capital,
accelerators, software solutions and mobile platforms. Going
forward, Cian will provide the relevant expertise to enable the
Company to develop its investment portfolio within the technology
sector.
Peter Redmond, Chairman said:
"I am very pleased that we are able to potentially access an
investment in SVV which we believe has significant potential to
create value for shareholders. Building on our recent successful
investment performance, this will enable us to diversify our
investment risk while taking it into a sector which we believe
currently has potential for significant developments and sizeable
gains. Going forward, while subject to approval of the amendment to
the Company's existing investing policy at the forthcoming AGM, we
are excited to be working with the SVV team with their proven
record and expertise in cutting edge technologies and to seek
further such investments in the future."
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.
For more information please contact:
Pires Investments plc: +44 20 7917 6826
Peter Redmond, Chairman
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Nominated Advisor: +44 20 7213 0880
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Cairn Financial Advisers LLP
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Liam Murray
Tony Rawlinson
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Broker: +44 20 7469 0935
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Peterhouse Capital Limited
-----------------
Duncan Vasey/Lucy Williams
-----------------
Caution regarding forward looking statements
Certain statements in this announcement, are, or may be deemed
to be, forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are
identi ed by their use of terms and phrases such as "believe",
"could", "should" "envisage", "estimate", "intend", "may", "plan",
"potentially", "expect", "will" or the negative of those,
variations or comparable expressions, including references to
assumptions. These forward looking statements are not based on
historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations
and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth, results of
operations, performance, future capital and other expenditures
(including the amount, nature and sources of funding thereof),
competitive advantages, business prospects and opportunities. Such
forward looking statements re ect the Directors' current beliefs
and assumptions and are based on information currently available to
the Directors.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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September 02, 2019 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
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