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Augmentum bucks trend as portfolio rises
by cityam
Charlie Conchie
LISTED fintech fund Augmentum yesterday reported a bump in the value of its portfolio as it shrugged off the volatility that has hammered tech and fintech firms globally over the past year.
The London-listed venture capital investor, which has holdings in the likes of Zopa Bank and Monese, said its net asset value per share had risen 2.4 per cent to 158.9p by the end of March.
Augmentum’s top 10 holdings, which represent some 78 per cent of its portfolio value, also notched average revenue growth of 117 per cent in the 12 months to the end of March, the firm said.
The bump in portfolio value comes after a torrid year for tech firms in which investors have soured on highgrowth strategies and startups have been forced into brutal valuation haircuts.
The downturn has prompted many investors to push portfolio firms on the fastest track to profitability. But Augmentum chief Tim Levene [pictured] said its portfolio firms were still angling for growth.
“Despite an increased focus from venture investors on companies displaying a clear path to profitability and reducing cash burn, the growth in our portfolio through the cycle reflects the quality of many of our companies and the unabated advance of digital transformation in the financial services sector,” Levene said. demands from multiple activists at a time,” he added.
Augmentum has also executed a number of exits in the past 12 months.
The firm offloaded its stake in pensions fintech Cushon to Natwest earlier this year and made £42.8m from the sale of Interactive Investor to asset manager Abrdn, a return of over 11 per cent.
Levene added that Augmentum was now “seeing a material increase in the number of compelling investment opportunities at more pragmatic valuations” and expected the trend to continue into next year.
The predicted uptick comes after Augmentum dramatically scaled back its investment over the past year. The fund invested just £19.9m in two new firms and eight of its portfolio companies in the 12-month period, down from £60.8m the previous year.
Shares in Augmentum bounced over three per cent yesterday, though they are down over 16 per cent on the year.
Environmental campaigners have been pushing firms including Shell and BP to back more ambitious climate change policies, with green campaigns accounting for 12 per cent of all activist campaigns in 2023, compared to just four per cent in 2019.
Shell came under fire from pension funds to strengthen its goals for reducing emissions in May, while BP faced a rival climate proposal from agitator Follow This.
