Primorus Investments PLC Investment Update for Fresho (8462D)
May 02 2017 - 2:02AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMPRIM
RNS Number : 8462D
Primorus Investments PLC
02 May 2017
Primorus Investments
INVESTMENT UPDATE - FRESHO
Primorus Investments ("Primorus" or "The Company") (PRIM.L) is
pleased to provide the following update on Fresho Pty Ltd, a
company in which it invested GBP175,000 in September 2016, in line
with its investment mandate.
Highlight:
- Fresho has informed the Company that annualised platform
volume growth has risen circa fivefold to nearly A$100m in little
over 6 months is a hugely impressive performance that has far
exceeded our expectations
FRESHO PTY LTD
Following a meeting with management in Melbourne, Australia, the
Board is pleased to report significant progress has been made by
Fresho which has the potential to positively affect the value of
our investment in it.
As set out in the announcement of 22 September 2016, Fresho
provides a cloud-based software solution to the food service
industry in Australia by standardising and streamlining what has
historically been an ad hoc product bulk ordering process. The
Fresho platform allows large wholesalers and national suppliers to
interface with restaurants, hospitals, hotels, independent
supermarkets, schools, cafes, pubs and clubs in an efficient and
data-analysable manner.
Fresho continues to attract a large number of both suppliers and
end users and this is being reflected in the order volumes through
the platform as measured by annualised sales growth per month.
Primorus invested GBP175,000 at A$0.27 in September 2016 as part
of an over-subscribed $3.1m issue. We are pleased to note that,
since then, Fresho has informed the Company that the smoothed
(allowing for Christmas) annualised volumes through the platform
have accelerated circa fivefold to nearly A$100m from the time of
investment.
Significantly, work regarding automating the on-boarding process
for all suppliers and customers continues at pace, as does
expanding the platform offering to new and existing customers. We
expect the automation process to enhance potential gross margins
around the core product and drive profitability hand-in-hand with
platform volume over time.
We expect Fresho to launch a further round of funding in early
2018 to significantly expand its sales and software development
activities both in Australia and potentially overseas and this may
be a good time to reassess the value of our investment. Given the
very impressive performance of the Fresho business since the date
of our investment, we are confident a significant pricing uplift
from our investment level is entirely possible.
We look forward to updating shareholders on future developments
regarding both operational performance and funding milestones
achieved by Fresho.
Alastair Clayton, Executive Director commented - "Having met
with management some 7 months after having participated in a
heavily backed funding round, with the main investor being one of
Australia's largest venture capital funds, we came away very
impressed with the progress made as measured by user numbers and,
most importantly, orders as measured by annualised monthly order
volumes.
Management remains focused and well supported financially and by
an exceptional advisory Board of leading banking and food industry
leaders."
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.
About Primorus
Primorus aims to be the leading early-stage investor in pre-IPO
and listed companies with a particular focus on natural resources
(primarily energy), consumer services and technology. Through its
listed structure Primorus may provide individual investors a route
to access a range of private and pre-IPO opportunities that are
usually the preserve of family offices, VC and private equity
funders.
For further information, please contact:
Primorus Investments
plc: +44 (0) 20 7440 0640
Alastair Clayton
Nominated Adviser: +44 (0) 20 7148 7900
Cairn Financial Advisers
LLP
James Caithie / Sandy
Jamieson
Broker: +44 (0) 20 3137 1902
Optiva Securities Limited
Christian Dennis / Jeremy
King
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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