Venture capital firm Draper Esprit eyes €30.6m profit

Venture capital firm Draper Esprit made an after-tax profit of £26.1 million (€30.6 million) for the six months up to September 30th.

The UK-based company was floated on Dublin and London's junior markets in June, and recently bought a 30.8 per cent stake in Elderstreet Holdings, a UK venture capital trust with more than £25 million in assets.

Interim results published on Monday show the value of Draper Esprit’s gross primary portfolio has increased by 36 per cent to £106.9 million. It was valued at £78.7 million at the time of the flotation.

Its net assets, including goodwill, increased by 11 per cent to £143.3 million (€168.7 million) from £128.7 million at the flotation. The company said it has current net cash and deposits of £48 million (€56.5 million) available for investment.

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Esprit chief executive Simon Cook called 2016 "a transformational year".

“As we report on our first set of interim results, it is pleasing to demonstrate that we are successfully working towards our goals,” he said. “We have continued to experience strong deal-flow and have invested over £17 million in the year to date into new and existing technology companies across the UK and Europe.

“Our plc portfolio companies now have a combined turnover in excess of $710 million, growing nearly 30 per cent [from €667 million] on 2015.

“We had a wider mission when we listed Draper Esprit early this year: not just to create value for shareholders, but to offer investors a stake in our vision.”

Capital model

Mr Cook said the move to float the company earlier this year was partly motivated by a desire to “democratise” the venture capital model and bring expertise to a broader market.

“We invest in high margin, innovative businesses and similarly we hold ourselves to the same standard – as we continue to break new ground in our marketplace,” he said.

“We have an experienced management team, which we will continue to grow and develop. Our acquisition of Elderstreet is just one example of our growth strategy in action, developing Draper Esprit into a significant European venture capital leader.

“We believe that we are well positioned to capitalise further on opportunities in the second half of the year, and look forward to the next financial year with confidence and optimism.”