Draper Esprit posted a more than 50 per cent profit hike after the fintech fund saw a rise in the value of its start-up portfolio and made partial exits from some firms.
The London-based firm – which owns stakes in Revolute, N26 and TransferWise – said its profit after tax lifted to £59m in the six months to the end of September, compared to £39m a year ago.
The fund, which invests in early-stage European tech firms, said the value of its portfolio of 57 companies grew by £70m to £683m over six months due to a strong performance among its core holdings.
It made partial exits from foreign exchange platform TransferWise, software firm UiPath, the, and technology recruitment fintech Codility, during the period, raising £22.7m.
Portfolio strength
Draper Esprit chief investment officer Simon Cook (pictured, centre) said: “The strength of our balance sheet means that we have retained the necessary firepower to invest in the right businesses at the right valuations. Furthermore, our portfolio provides us with a natural hedge against the weakness of sterling given that many of our core assets, due to their global reach, trade in euros and dollars.”
The firm fund invested £42m in five new firms and nine start-ups already in its portfolio during the period. It injected a further £15m into the portfolio from its Enterprise Investor Scheme and Venture Capital Trust funds.
Draper Esprit said it remained on course to hit a 20 per cent return on its portfolio for the full year. Shares lifted 3 per cent in early trading.
