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Welcome
As we reflect on 2022, it is clear to us that it has not been all doom and gloom. As in previous times of economic uncertainty, ambitious founders and management teams grasp opportunities that ensure their businesses not only survive, but in many cases, thrive. We are proud to partner with many of these founders.
Pembroke VCT is a £200 million fund with a maturing portfolio of 48 growth-stage companies. The Pembroke team endeavours to help founders at every stage of their companies’ growth, enabling and accelerating their vision. Although there are uncertainties for 2023, our portfolio companies continually evolve their strategies to take advantage of new opportunities. Today we have ten portfolio companies that are individually valued above £50 million, compared to only two companies in 2019.
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In many of our portfolio companies there have been significant wins in acquiring direct customers but also striking up relevant collaborations and B2B deals. In our view, a purely D2C offering vastly limits the growth potential of a business. Many of our founders and management teams are now looking at new ways to acquire consumers, from collaborations with other brands and influencers through to B2B strategies. For example, Dropless was previously a D2C car washing service which has now shifted its focus to a B2B fleet washing service. We also have many portfolio businesses partnering with each other to achieve more robust and scalable income streams.
Pembroke VCT now targets an annual dividend of 5p per share, an increase from 3p per share in 2021/22. We recently announced a 2.5p interim dividend, which will be declared in April and paid in May 2023. This is the second of two dividends connected to the exit of ME+EM in 2022 and is expected to return approximately £5 million to shareholders.
In this issue, we are delighted to tell you about our new investments into Ro&Zo and VIEVE, as well as provide some exciting updates from the portfolio including Peckwater Brands, Smartify, LYMA, OnePlan, Dropless, Hackney Gelato and more.
