Draper Esprit PLC was the top riser in the FTSE 350 on Thursday after a positive update on its investments.
The firm, a venture capital business specialising in digital technology businesses, said its net asset value per share was expected to be not less than 885p at the half year, up from 600p a year ago.
The value of its portfolio is set to jump from GBP702mln to GBP1.345bn.
It said the increase reflected new financing rounds at increased valuations for a number of its investments, including Aircall, Revolut, Ledger, Form3, N26 and Aiven.
It also reflects the closing prices at the 30 September 2021 balance sheet date for its publicly listed investments Cazoo, Trustpilot, and UiPath.
Cazoo achieved a stock market valuation of around US$8bn, making it the most valuable UK outfit ever to list across the pond; Trustpilot bagged a GBP1bn valuation in London; and UiPath’s near-US$30bn IPO was one of the largest in US software history.
Chief executive Martin Davis said: “We’ve continued to make significant progress over the first six months of the year driven by the strength of our portfolio, our investment team and buoyant market conditions. I am pleased to report realisations have remained strong enabling us to increase our deployment of capital across the portfolio; underpinned by our expanded platform. I feel excited by our performance going into the second half of the year.”
