NetScientific doubles income in FY23, portfolio size grows to £100m
() , a deep tech and life sciences venture capital investment group, announced its preliminary results for the year ended December 31, 2023 (FY23). 'Group' performance metrics below include the core of NetScientific and its wholly-owned VC and corporate finance firm EMV Capital, as well as portfolio companies where the group has over 50% shareholding.
NetScientific's group income more than doubled to £3.8m from £1.8m in FY22. Portfolio realisations of £1.4m resulted in cash gain of £0.5m. Group loss narrowed significantly to £2.9m from £3.7m last year. EMV Capital's revenue increased by 40% to £1.6m, including a profit of £0.2m covering 50% of core costs. Group assets stood at £22.5m and net assets at £17.1m. Cash was £0.8m with a further £2.6m held as securities as of May 31, 2024.
The group's assets under management (AUM) were estimated at £74m at year-end, up from £68.9 at the end of FY22. Post-period, AUM has increased to over £100m following the takeover of Martlet Capital's portfolio. While the fair value of direct holdings decreased by 15% to £35.6m (primarily driven by the decline in value of PDS Biotech), the fair value of managed and 3rd party holdings increased by 42% to £38.4m.
In terms of portfolio size and performance, 13 of 's portfolio companies raised an aggregate £53.9m through equity and debt, including EMV Capital syndicated investments of £6.2m. As of time of release, 's portfolio featured over 70 companies.
View from Vox
NetScientific reports excellent group and portfolio performance in FY23, despite multiple headwinds in the venture capital and broader market during the year. The group made good progress on consolidating its position and developing its portfolio with some notable valuation and operational successes, including Ventive, DeepTech Recycling, Glycotest, and ProAxsis among others. Group income more than doubled and losses narrowed significantly.
Over the past 3 years, has grown its footprint from £8m in fair value across 8 companies to over £100m across 70 companies. Most recently, the size of its portfolio received a significant boost following the takeover of Martlet Capital's £23m deep tech portfolio, which added over 50 early-stage tech companies worth £23.3m to 's EMV Capital. Through Martlet's portfolio, EMV gained significant exposure to the Cambridge high-tech cluster, known for generating high-value technology businesses in the deep tech and life sciences space.
The group's strategy so far has been to generate profitable exits of selected portfolio companies, and targeted growth of a curated portfolio. Going forward, aims to move toward a more 'evergreen' model, offering returns from a maturing portfolio. 's capital-efficient model has kept momentum going, and the company remains well-positioned for further growth, eyeing £200m in fair value within the next few years.
has been effective so far in consistently funding, defending, and developing the value of its assets within its rapidly growing sector, therefore we expect the group to easily reach its medium-term goal of £200m in fair value through continued organic growth of its existing portfolio, especially if higher liquidity and corporate fundraising return to financial markets.
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