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27 Feb 2023 07:00
Forward Partners Group plc
("Forward Partners" or "the Group")
Full Year Trading Update
Forward Partners Group plc (LSE: FWD), the London-based investment firm specialising in supporting high-growth, early-stage technology businesses, provides an update on trading for the year to 31 December 2022 ahead of its full-year results.
Forward's portfolio performed well in 2022, but as previously communicated and in common with other VC funds, it experienced a significant decline in NAV. The decline was largely due to valuation headwinds due to public market and macroeconomic pressures.
Highlights
● | Portfolio Fair Value (unaudited) slightly ahead of expectations at not less than £79.0m (31 December 2021 £117.1m). This represents a year-on-year decrease of 39.9% exclusive of new and follow-on investments. |
● | Portfolio demonstrates momentum. Companies continue to raise, albeit at a slower rate than 2021. Good news in the year included Koyo expanding their credit facility to £100m and completing £5m equity raise; Outthink completing a seed-stage $10m raise; Makers completing a £7m raise; Spoke raising £5m from over 1,500 investors in the most successful Seedrs campaign of 2022 and Gravity Sketch raising a $33m Series A led by Accel. |
● | Strong portfolio revenue growth revenue. Top 15* holdings generated weighted average revenue growth of 77% for the full year, ahead of 40-60% growth expectations outlined at the half-year. |
● | Portfolio companies have strong balance sheets. 84% of the Top 15* portfolio investments have 18 months or more cash runway, are anticipated to be on the path to break-even without the need for further fundraising or are profitable.** |
● | Cash position of £17.2m which enables the Group to continue to support its portfolio and maintain its investment rate of at least four new companies per year for the foreseeable future. |
● | NAV per share is expected to be not less than 71.0 pence per share. Cash per share is 12.8 pence. |
Nic Brisbourne, CEO at Forward Partners, commented: "2022 has been a year of challenge and change for tech firms and their investors across the globe and the companies within our portfolio faced significant headwinds. Despite the pressure on valuations many of them still grew rapidly. The recovery remains fragile, but we are encouraged by the signs of improvement in the market, with investors becoming more active and increased optimism amongst our CEOs. We remain confident in our portfolio and the potential for value creation within the UK's technology sector."
NOTES
* Top 15 portfolio investments denote the most valuable companies held in Forward's Venture portfolio by Fair Value. For ease of reference, we refer to the Top 15 on 31 December 2021. At that time, the Top 15 comprised Ably, Gravity Sketch, Makers, Spoke, Patch, Snaptrip, Robin AI, Apexx, Juno, KoruKids, Cherryz, Koyo Loans, Lexoo and Counting Up. Cazoo is no longer counted, following the realisation of Forward's holding in 2022. The Top 15 will be updated at the publication of the full-year results.
** Management estimates as of 31 January 2023. These are based on portfolio company forecasts and assume no further material deterioration in the economy. Revenue growth average weighted by the Fair Value of portfolio companies at 31 December 2021.
ENDS
Enquiries
Forward Partners Group plc Nic Brisbourne, Chief Executive Officer | via H/Advisors Maitland |
Liberum Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser and Broker) Chris Clarke Lauren Kettle Cara Murphy | Tel: +44 20 3100 2222 |
H/Advisors Maitland (Financial PR) Sam Turvey Alistair de Kare-Silver
| forwardpartners@h-advisors.global Tel: +44 (0) 207 379 5151 |
About Forward Partners
Founded in 2013, Forward Partners is an established and respected London-based venture capital firm, specialising in supporting high growth, early-stage technology businesses in the UK.
The Group brings together venture capital provider Forward Ventures and highly specialised growth support from Forward Studio. This model supports founders to build stronger businesses faster to provide better outcomes for companies and investors alike.
The Group makes equity investments in early-stage, high-growth UK companies, and from inception to its admission to London's AIM market in July 2021 had made over 60 unique investments and built a portfolio with an Initial Portfolio NAV in excess of £100m. It holds a nine-year track record of making venture capital investments, and targets underlying NAV growth of 20% per annum over the cycle.
The management team brings together highly experienced venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and expert consultants. Since 2015, Forward Partners has been backed by BlackRock, one of the largest institutional investors in the world. The Group receives over 4,000 start-up funding applications every year.
For more information, visit https://forwardpartners.com.
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