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Draper Esprit's primary potfolio strengthened in 'active year'
AIM-quoted venture capital firm Draper Esprit saw another active year leading to an anticipated 50% increase in the value of its gross primary portfolio to £244m.
In a pre-close trading update, the company said the main drivers behind the increased value of its portfolio of investments were improved revenues, financing rounds, and exits from its investment at higher valuations.
During the year ending on 31 March the company invested £71m, £27m of which came during the first half, and a fair value increase of £51m from the six months ended 31 March, which was on top of the £24m increase reported in the six months ending 30 September 2017.
In total, the fair value growth for the year represented a 66% increase in the gross primary portfolio.
Draper Esprit also achieved a number of successful exits throughout the year, with over £15m in cash realisations made during the period as a result of its exits from group's such as Clavis Insight, Aveillant and Moviepilot, the company said in a statement.
Simon Cook, chief executive of Draper Esprit, said, "This year we have continued to deploy increased capital to add further impressive new portfolio companies to our holdings, such as Ledger, Evonetix and Transferwise and have a strong pipeline of further potential world-leading technology companies. Our portfolio is growing and scaling with our hands-on help and global network and, as our results show, we are firmly on track to deliver continued and sustainable growth."
As of 1100 BST, shares had collected 2.90% to 461p.