Molten Ventures (LSE: GROW)

Currency in GBP

Last close As at 28/11/2023

GBP2.67

8.80 (3.40%)

Market capitalisation

GBP382m

Molten Ventures is a London-based venture capital (VC) firm that invests in the European technology sector. It has a portfolio of c 70 investee companies and includes a range of funds (seed, EIS and VCT) within the group, as well as its flagship balance sheet VC fund.

After a strong run in 2021, the technology sector faced a challenging macroeconomic environment, which triggered market rotation towards value and out of growth (impacting valuations of listed high-growth tech companies). In Europe, Q223 VC deal volumes were €12.3bn from €30.5bn in Q222 (VC exit volumes fell to €0.9bn vs €15.0bn in Q222), according to PitchBook. At the same time, the market downturn is likely to create opportunities for long-term investors. Moreover, public equities (especially large-cap tech stocks) have rallied so far in 2023 and Molten remains cautiously optimistic.

Latest Insights

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Financials | Flash note

Molten Ventures — NAV down c 6% in the first half of FY24

Investment Companies | Review

Molten Ventures — Cash is king

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Molten Ventures – FY23 results discussion with CEO

Financials | Flash note

Molten Ventures — Initial signs of stabilisation in H223

molten03

Sector

Financials

Equity Analyst

Milosz Papst

Milosz Papst

Director, Financials

Key Management

  • Ben Wilkinson

    CFO

  • Martin Davis

    CEO

Balance Sheet

Forecast net debt (£m)

N/A

Forecast gearing ratio (%)

N/A

Share Price Performance

Price Performance
% 1M 3M 12M
Actual 21.6 10.0 (35.0)
Relative 17.6 8.3 (34.3)
52 week high/low 421.2p/208.8p

Financials

Molten Ventures released its H124 trading update (to end-September 2023), with management expecting its NAV per share at c 735p, a c 5.7% decline from the end-March 2023 level as a result of a 3.6% negative fair value movement (excluding fx) across its portfolio. That said, management highlighted that the valuation environment is stabilising and that Molten’s portfolio performance remains resilient, with a good balance between growth (even if at a slower pace) and capital efficiency (with very limited exceptions). Molten’s shares currently trade at a 66% discount to NAV.

Y/E Mar Revenue (£m) EBITDA (£m) PBT (£m) EPS (fd) (p) P/E (x) P/CF (x)
2022A 351.2 N/A 331.1 201.7 1.3 1.3
2023A (217.4) N/A (242.3) (156.2) N/A N/A
2024E N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
2025E N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

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