Agronomics

LN: ANIC

Market Cap£183m

Last Close 18.7p

ANIC’s objective is to create value for shareholders by investing in companies that operate in the field of cellular agriculture, which derives conventional agricultural products directly from cell culture and fermentation, without the need for animals. It encompasses the concept of cultivated meat, precision fermentation and the use of microorganisms to grow valuable, formerly animal-derived ingredients and materials.

Investment summary

Agronomics (ANIC) invests in cellular agriculture companies. This note provides an update on our January 2022 initiation note, following the release of ANIC’s interim results and the announcement of several new and follow-on portfolio investments. Two of these investments have resulted in uplifts to the valuation of ANIC’s initial investments, which will add to the steady rise in its NAV since inception, as will ‘further significant developments’ in a number of portfolio holdings, foreshadowed in the latest interim report. Recent share price weakness, driven by broad market developments unrelated to ANIC’s portfolio holdings, has seen its substantial premium to NAV narrow sharply. However, several factors should provide underlying support for the share price, including the company’s conservative valuation policy, its scarcity value as the only UK-listed investment vehicle targeting cellular agriculture and this industry’s very favourable outlook. This suggests ANIC’s current relatively low share price and narrow premium provide investors with the opportunity to gain exposure to this growing, game-changing sector at an attractive level.