Molten Ventures (LSE: GROW)

Currency in GBP

Last close As at 27/09/2023

GBP2.21

−2.60 (−1.16%)

Market capitalisation

GBP339m

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 triggering market rotation towards value and out of growth (impacting valuations of listed high-growth tech companies). In Europe, Q223 venture capital (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.

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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 (8.9) (4.7) (28.8)
Relative (12.0) (6.8) (33.9)
52 week high/low 471.4p/219.4p

Financials

Molten Ventures has recently faced pressure on tech valuations and muted deal activity from macroeconomic headwinds. That said, management reflected the lower public multiples in Molten’s H123 valuations, with greater stabilisation occurring in H223 (gross portfolio value was down 19% excluding FX in FY23 but only 2% in H223). Molten now offers exposure to a curated portfolio of 70+ assets at a significant discount to NAV. Management remains confident the portfolio is well funded, with 80% of the Core portfolio having a cash runway of more than 18 months on current projections, and expects weighted average top-line growth of over 65% in 2023 across the Core portfolio.

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 1.1 1.1
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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