Company No: 04221489

For the year ended 31 December 2023

Annual Report

and Financial Statements

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Contents

Financial Headlines                                                               

01

Financial Summary 



03

Strategic Report                                                                    

05

Our Strategy                                                                       

06

Chair’s Statement                                                                   

09

Investments 



13

Investment Manager’s Report                                                        

14

Business Review                                                                    

34

Independence, Gender and Diversity                                               

39

Independence, Gender and Diversity                                                 

40

Governance                                                                      

41

Details of Directors                                                                 

42

Directors’ Report                                                                   

43

Corporate Governance                                                              

49

Statutory Reports                                                                

53

Audit Committee Report                                                            

54

Directors’ Remuneration Report and Policy                                           

56

Directors’ Responsibilities Statement                                                 

60

Auditor’s Report 



61

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of Seneca Growth Capital VCT Plc        

62

Financial Statements                                                             

67

Combined Income Statement                                                        

68

Ordinary Share Income Statement (Non-statutory Analysis)                            

69

B Share Income Statement (Non-statutory Analysis)                                   

70

Combined Balance Sheet                                                            

71

Ordinary Share Balance Sheet (Non-statutory Analysis)                                

72

B Share Balance Sheet (Non-statutory Analysis)                                       

73

Combined Statement of Changes in Equity                                            

74

Ordinary Shares Statement of Changes in Equity (Non-statutory Analysis)               

75

B Shares Statement of Changes in Equity (Non-statutory Analysis)                      

76

Combined Statement of Cash Flows                                                  

77

Ordinary Shares Statement of Cash Flows (Non-statutory Analysis)                      

78

B Shares Statement of Cash Flows (Non-statutory Analysis)                             

79

Notes to the Financial Statements                                                    

80

Shareholder Information and Contact Details                                         

95

Directors and Advisers                                                              

97

Notice of Annual General Meeting                                                    

98

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Financial

Headlines

01

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

B Shares

Ordinary Shares

£23m

918p

£24m

185p

857p

20p

707p

30p

Amount raised during the year from the issue of B shares

Ordinary share NAV plus cumulative dividends paid at 31 December 2023 (“Total Return”)

Amount invested during the year into six investments

Ordinary share NAV at 31 December 2023

B share NAV plus cumulative dividends paid at 31 December 2023 (“Total Return”)

Interim capital dividends paid per Ordinary share during year

B share NAV at 31 December 2023

Interim dividends paid per B share during year

02

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Financial Calendar

Financial Summary

The Company’s financial calendar is as follows:

Year to 31 December 2023

Year to 31 December 2022

Ordinary share

pool

B share

pool

Ordinary share

pool

B share

pool

Net assets (£’000s)

1,499

15,393

3,008

15,122

Return on ordinary activities after

tax (£’000s)

(1,347)

(1,324)

13

(2,762)

Earnings per share (p)

(166)

(66)

0.2

(16.5)

Net asset value per share (p)

185

707

37.1

80.7

Dividends paid since inception (p)

733

150

71.3

12.0

Total return (NAV plus

cumulative dividends paid) (p)

918

857

108.4

92.7

15 May 2024

Annual General Meeting will be held at 11.00 a.m.

at 9 The Parks, Haydock, WA12 0JQ

July 2024

Half-Yearly results to 30 June 2024 published

March 2025

Annual results for the year to 31 December 2024

announced and Annual Report and Financial

Statements published

03

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Seneca Growth Capital VCT Plc (“the Company”,

“the VCT” or “Seneca Growth Capital”) is a Venture

Capital Trust, launched in 2001, which aims to

generate returns from a diverse portfolio of both

unquoted and AIM/AQSE quoted growth capital

investments Until 23 August 2018 the Company

was called Hygea vct plc On 9 May 2018, the

Company launched an offer for subscription for

a new B share class and made an initial allotment

of B shares on 23 August 2018, at which point the

Company’s name was changed to Seneca Growth

Capital VCT Plc and Seneca Partners Limited

(“Seneca”) was appointed as the Company’s

Investment Manager

The Company has raised £21 million under the

Company’s B share offers as at 31 December 2023

It launched a new offer of B shares on 24 August

2023 to raise, in aggregate, up to £10 million with

About Seneca Growth Capital

VCT Plc

an over-allotment facility of up to a further £10

million (before issue costs) (the “Offer”) and had

raised £796k under this Offer by the year end

The Company’s Investment Manager, Seneca, is

registered as a full-scope UK Alternative Investment

Fund Manager (AIFM). The Company’s Board is

composed of five non-executive Directors, four of

whom are independent.

As the Company’s Investment Manager, Seneca is

responsible for the management of the Company’s B

share pool investments, whilst responsibility for the

management of the Ordinary share pool investments

has been delegated to those members of the Board of

Directors who served immediately prior to 23 August

2018, which is now solely John Hustler following the

retirement of Richard Roth earlier in the year.

04

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Strategic Report

The Directors are required by the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors’ Report) Regulations 2014

to include a Strategic Report to shareholders.

The following sections form part of the Strategic Report:

Our Strategy

Chair’s Statement

Investment Manager’s Report

Business Review

The Company continues to manage both share

classes in accordance with its investment policy.

The funds raised from the issue of B shares under

the Offer and any subsequent fund raisings are not

limited to being invested in any specific sector.

Instead, the Company’s B share pool targets well

managed businesses with strong leadership that can

demonstrate established and proven propositions

and which are seeking an injection of growth capital

to support their continued development. The B share

pool made two new investments and four follow-

on investments during the year, details of which are

included on pages 14 to 29. The Company intends to

distribute a proportion of the net profits it receives

from realisations of B share pool investments by

way of special tax-free dividends. This is intended to

provide B share investors with an attractive income

stream whilst also maintaining a relatively stable

Net Asset Value (“NAV”) per B share, subject to the

requirements and best interests of the Company.

The Directors continue to seek to return to Ordinary

shareholders over time the proceeds from any

realisations in the form of dividends or by means of a

return of capital.

Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs)

VCTs were introduced by the UK Government in

1995 to encourage individuals to invest in smaller

UK companies. The Government achieved this by

offering VCT investors a series of tax benefits.

The Company has been approved as a VCT by HM

Revenue & Customs (HMRC). In order to maintain

its approval, the Company must comply with certain

requirements on a continuing basis which are

discussed further in the Business Review on pages 34

to 38. The Company has continued its compliance

with these requirements during the year, and both

share classes in the Company are eligible shares as

defined by section 273 ITA 2007.

In 2015, a sunset clause for VCT income tax relief was

introduced which meant that income tax relief would

no longer be given to subscriptions made on or after 6

April 2025, unless the legislation was renewed by HM

Treasury. On 22 November 2023, the Government in

the Autumn Statement announced the extension of

the VCT and EIS sunset clause to April 2035.

05

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Seneca was appointed as the Company’s Investment

Manager in August 2018 and is specifically

responsible for the management of the Company’s

B share pool investments. Responsibility for the

management of the Ordinary share pool investments

has been delegated to the Commercial Advisory

Committee (“CAC”), which is made up of those

remaining members of the Board of Directors who

served immediately prior to 23 August 2018, which is

now solely John Hustler.

There has been no change during the year in the way

either share pool’s assets are managed. John Hustler

does not envisage making any new investments

from the funds in the Ordinary share pool, apart

from any follow-on investment in existing portfolio

companies where the Board believes this will protect

the Ordinary share pool’s existing investment and/

or improve the overall prospects of a timely exit

from the investee company. The Directors have not

made any new Ordinary share pool investments

during the year but will continue to monitor

portfolio companies for any follow-on investment

opportunities that are suitable should they arise and

continue to seek to return to Ordinary shareholders

over time, the proceeds from any realisations in the

form of dividends or by means of a return of capital.

The Company’s latest Offer for new B shares opened

on 24 August 2023 seeking to raise up to £10 million,

with an over-allotment facility of up to a further £10

million (before issue costs). The funds raised from

the issue of B shares will not be limited to being

invested in any specific sector. Instead, in line with

the Company’s investment policy, the Company

is targeting well managed businesses with strong

leadership that can demonstrate established and

proven propositions, and which are seeking an

injection of growth capital to support their continued

development.

The Company fosters a culture of innovation, risk

mitigation and collaboration supported by policies,

practices and behaviours to further our purpose as

an investment company, seeking to provide growth

capital to leading UK SMEs which share our values,

in order to deliver on our investment strategy and

objectives as described below. The Directors will

continually monitor and assess the investment

process and ensure compliance with both the

relevant VCT regulations for qualifying investments,

summarised below, and the Company’s investment

policy, included further below. These robust internal

controls are discussed in the Business Review on

page 38, the Corporate Governance policy on pages

49 to 52 and within the Audit Committee Report on

pages 54 to 55.

Our Strategy

Qualifying Investments

Compliance with VCT tax rules and regulations is

considered with all investment decisions made.

The Company is further monitored on a continual

basis by Shoosmiths LLP to ensure compliance on

an ongoing basis. The main criteria to which the

Company must adhere include:

•

At least 80% of investments must be made in

qualifying shares or securities;

•

At least 70% of qualifying investments must be

invested into ordinary shares with no prohibited

preferential rights (investments made before 6

April 2018, from funds raised before 6 April 2011

are excluded);

•

At least 30% of funds raised after 31 December

2018 must be invested in qualifying investments

by the anniversary of the end of the accounting

period in which those funds were raised;

•

No single investment made can exceed 15% of

the total HMRC company value at the time the

investment is made; and

•

In respect of VCT shares issued on or after 6

April 2014, VCT status will be withdrawn if a

dividend is paid (or other forms of distribution

or payments are made to investors) from the

capital received by the VCT from that issue

within three years of the end of the accounting

period in which shares were issued to investors.

Qualifying investments can only be made in trading

companies which fall within the following limits:

•

Have fewer than 250 full time equivalent

employees (500 if a knowledge intensive

company);

•

Have no more than £15 million of gross assets

at the time of investment and no more than £16

million immediately post investment;

•

Its first commercial sale must be less than seven

years old (or ten years if a knowledge intensive

company) if raising State Aided funds for the first

time subject to certain exceptions;

•

Have raised no more than £5 million of State

Aided funds in the previous 12 months (or £10

million if a knowledge intensive company) and

less than the lifetime limit of £12 million (or £20

million if a knowledge intensive company);

•

Produce a business plan to show that its funds

are being raised for growth and development;

•

Not be in financial difficulty;

•

Be an unquoted company or quoted on AIM;

•

Have a permanent establishment in the United

Kingdom;

•

Not be under the control of any other company,

nor control any company which is not a

qualifying subsidiary of the company; and

•

Are operating a trade which is not an “excluded

activity”.

06

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

The Finance Act 2018 introduced a “risk-to-capital”

condition for qualifying investments, designed to

focus investments towards earlier stage, growing

businesses, and away from investments which could

be regarded as lower risk. The Board is satisfied that

the Company’s investment policy is in line with this

“risk-to-capital” condition.

The investment policy, as approved by shareholders

on 19 January 2018, is set out below and includes

the sections titled Investment Policy, Qualifying

Investments, Non-Qualifying Investments, Risk

Management, Borrowing and Changes to the

Investment Policy:

Investment Policy

The Company’s investment objective is to provide

shareholders with an attractive income and capital

return by investing its funds in a portfolio of both

unquoted and AIM/AQSE quoted UK companies

which meet the relevant criteria under the VCT rules.

The Company will target well managed businesses

with strong leadership that can demonstrate

established and proven propositions and which are

seeking an injection of growth capital to support

their continued development.

At least the minimum required percentage of the

Company’s assets will be invested in qualifying

investments as required by the VCT rules, with the

remainder held in cash and money market securities.

Qualifying Investments

Compliance with required rules and regulations is to

be considered with all investment decisions made.

The Company is further monitored on a continual

basis to ensure compliance.

Non-Qualifying Investments

An active approach is taken to manage any cash held,

both prior to its investment in qualifying companies

and in relation to any remaining cash after expenses

and all investment qualification targets in the VCT

rules have been satisfied. Any cash invested in non-

qualifying investments is done so in accordance

with VCT rules. The majority of cash held pending

investment in VCT-qualifying securities is held in

interest bearing instant access, short-notice bank

accounts and money market funds.

Risk Management

The Directors control the overall risk of the portfolio

by ensuring that the Company has exposure to a

diversified range of unquoted and AIM/AQSE quoted

companies. In order to limit risk in the portfolio that

is derived from any particular investment accounting

for too much of the fund, as per HMRC VCT rules, no

more than 15% of the portfolio by VCT value will be

in any one investment at the point of investment or

when an addition is made to an existing investment.

Further, investments may also be made by way of

loan stock and/or redeemable preference shares as

well as ordinary shares to generate income, whilst

ensuring compliance with whatever VCT rules apply

at the time.

Key Information Document

The EU PRIIPs regulations came into effect in

January 2018. The intent of the regulations is to

increase customer protection by improving the

functioning of financial markets and in this instance

through the Key Information Document (“KID”)

which provides shareholders with more information

about the risks, potential returns and charges within

VCTs. Although well intended, there were widespread

concerns about the application of some aspects of

the prescribed methodologies to VCTs. Specifically,

there were concerns that:

1.

the risk indicator in the KID (a number on a scale

of 1 to 7, with 1 being “lower risk” and 7 being

“higher risk”) may have understated the level of

risk; and

2.

investment performance scenarios included in

the KID may have indicated future returns for

shareholders that were too optimistic.

In what is one of the first examples of the Financial

Conduct Authority (“FCA”) confirming UK divergence

from EU rules following Brexit, revised requirements

for what information should be included in a KID

were published in March 2022 and these came into

full effect on 31 December 2022. Amongst other

changes, these revised requirements addressed both

of the concerns highlighted above by:

1.

stating that a VCT must have a risk indicator of 6

or 7 (on the same scale of 1 to 7); and

2.

replacing the investment performance scenarios

included with text describing:

a)

what the investment risks are and what an

investor could get in return;

b)

what could affect an investor’s return

positively; and

c)

what could affect an investor’s return

negatively.

As before, the Company is required to publish a KID

and retail investors must be directed to this before

buying shares in the Company. The KID is published

on the Company website www.senecavct.co.uk/

current-offer/. The KID has been prepared using the

methodology prescribed in the FCA’s guidance.

The Board is aware of the new regulations regarding

the KID and has produced a revised KID in line with

the new Regulations. The Board recommends that

shareholders continue to classify VCTs as a high-risk

investment.

Borrowing

Whilst the Board does not intend that the Company

will borrow funds (other than to manage short term

cash requirements), the Company is entitled to do

so subject to the aggregate principal amount, at the

time of borrowing, not exceeding 25% of the value

of the adjusted capital and reserves of the Company

(being, in summary, the aggregate of the issued share

capital, plus any amount standing to the credit of

the Company’s reserves, deducting any distributions

declared and intangible assets and adjusting for any

07

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

variations to the above since the date of the relevant

balance sheet). The Company did not borrow any

funds in 2023.

Changes to the Investment Policy

The Company will not make any material changes to

its investment policy without shareholder approval.

Section 172(1) Statement

The Directors discharge their duties under section

172 of the Companies Act 2006 to act in good faith

and to promote the success of the Company for the

benefit of shareholders as a whole as set out in the

Business Review from page 34. As an investment

company, Seneca Growth Capital has no employees.

The Directors assessed the impact of the Company’s

activities on other stakeholders, in particular

shareholders and our third-party advisers, as well as

the portfolio of companies.

The Board’s decision-making process incorporates,

as part of the Company’s investment policy

and investment objectives as set out on page 7,

considerations for supporting the Company’s

business relationships with the Investment Manager,

shareholders, advisers and registrar, independent

financial advisers and the impact of the Company’s

operations on the community and the environment,

which by nature of the business, only extends to the

holdings in portfolio companies.

Key Stakeholders

Investors

Outside of general meetings, the Company engages

with shareholders through regulatory news service

announcements, interim and annual reports as well

as regular correspondence with shareholders and

their advisers to address any queries that arise.

The Company also hosts biannual shareholder

presentations in addition to the AGM in order to

engage directly with shareholders. At the November

2023 Shareholder Update Presentation, the Board

had the opportunity to address three queries put

forward by shareholders, the answers to which are

available on our website www.senecavct.co.uk/

shareholder-update/november-2023/. It was a great

opportunity to engage directly with shareholders and

discuss the current portfolio, investment process and

objectives as well as the wider investment market.

Any shareholder queries that arise throughout

the year are discussed by the Board and factored

into any decision-making and responses are made

available to shareholders as appropriate. The Board

uses a number of measures to assess the Company’s

success in meeting its strategic objectives with

regard to shareholder interests as detailed in the Key

Performance Indicators on page 36.

Investment Manager

The Company’s most important business relationship

is with the Investment Manager. There is regular

contact with the Investment Manager, and members

of the Investment Manager’s Growth Capital

investment team attend all of the Company’s Board

meetings. There is also an annual timetable agreed

between the Investment Manager and the Company

for matters related to the annual timetable which are

discussed at each Board Meeting. The Company and

Investment Manager also work together to maintain

efficient operation of the VCT as detailed in the Key

Performance Indicators on page 36.

Portfolio Companies

The Company holds minority investments in its

portfolio companies and it has appointed the

Investment Manager to manage the B share portfolio,

and responsibility for the management of the

Ordinary share pool investments has been delegated

to those remaining members of the Board of

Directors who served immediately prior to 23 August

2018, which now solely comprises John Hustler.

While the Board has little day-to-day involvement

with the B share and Ordinary share portfolio, the

Investment Manager provides updates on the B share

portfolio at least quarterly and John Hustler also

provide updates on the Ordinary share portfolio at

least quarterly.

There were two investee company additions to the

B share portfolio and four B share pool follow-on

investments during the year. The Company achieved

two full and one partial exit in the year in addition to

receiving deferred consideration for the Company’s

full exit of ADC Biotechnology Limited (“ADC”) from

2021, as detailed in the Chair’s Statement on pages

9 to 12 and the Investment Manager’s Report on

pages 14 to 33. The Board and Investment Manager

believe that the profitable full realisation of the

remaining B share pool shares in quoted company

OptiBiotix Health Plc (“OptiBiotix”) and unquoted

company Qudini Limited (“Qudini”) as well as the

profitable partial realisation of Oxford BioDynamics

Plc (“Oxford BioDynamics”) were in the best interests

of all key stakeholders.

Environment and Community

The Company seeks to ensure that its business is

conducted in a responsible manner with regards

to the environment as far as is practicable given

the nature of the business as an investment

company. The management and administration

of the Company is undertaken by the Investment

Manager, who recognises the importance of its

environmental responsibilities, monitors its impact

on the environment and implements policies to

reduce any damage that might be caused by its

activities. Initiatives of the Investment Manager

designed to minimise its and the Company’s impact

on the environment include recycling and reducing

energy consumption. More details of the work that

the Investment Manager has done in this area are set

out on page 45.

08

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

I am pleased to present the 2023 Annual Report on

behalf of the Board to shareholders.

Overview

Seneca has remained active in the year to 31

December 2023, completing six new investments,

deploying a total £2.4 million into four follow-on

investments and two new investee companies. The

B share pool now comprises twenty-five investee

companies following two full exits achieved in the

period.

Whilst the B share NAV has decreased during the

year to 70.7p per B share (2022: 80.7p), Seneca has

continued to deliver on its investment strategy aimed

at achieving a broadly even split of both AIM/AQSE

quoted investments and unquoted investments

across a diverse spread of sectors to deliver exits and

distributions for shareholders. Whilst 2023 has been

recorded as one of the most challenging years for

venture capital exits, Seneca has remained focused on

securing exits where possible and achieved three full

and partial exits in the year, generating £1.8 million in

gross proceeds resulting in £800k of profits.

Crucially, we have continued to pay B share

dividends of 3p per annum and have now paid a total

of 15p of B share dividends since 2019 which have

been covered by profits on exits.

The carrying value of the Ordinary share pool

unquoted company portfolio has now been reduced

to £nil following the write off of the investment in Fuel

3D Technologies Limited (“Fuel 3D”), previously valued

at £59k. We do not expect to receive any further

distributions from the unquoted company portfolio.

The Ordinary share pool still holds two AIM quoted

Chair’s Statement

investments being Scancell Holdings plc (“Scancell”)

and Arecor Therapeutics plc (“Arecor”), with the

Ordinary share NAV moving in line with the fluctuation

in share price of these two quoted companies. The

NAV per Ordinary share has reduced to 18.5p during

the year (2022: 37.1p per Ordinary share).

Whilst 2023 was another challenging year for AIM,

with a reduction in the FTSE AIM all-share index of

some 7%, we and Seneca, the Company’s Investment

Manager, continue to believe that the benefits

offered by AIM quoted investments, including access

to capital, greater liquidity for harvesting profits and

stronger reporting and governance requirements,

will continue to generate attractive investment

returns for investors over the medium and longer-

term. The reduction in the B share NAV was largely

driven by the movements in the share prices of

AIM quoted investments, but our relatively high

percentage of cash and cash equivalent holdings and

unquoted company portfolio continue to dilute such

impact. Seneca also believe that the B share pool’s

exposure to the AIM market will better position it

to participate more directly in any market recovery.

Financial advisers and UK experts expect the AIM

market to recover as interest rates and inflation

rates decrease, with attractive share prices for

undervalued companies increasing the investment

case for AIM, the largest growth market in Europe.

In August 2023, the Company launched its sixth offer

for B shares and has now raised £20.7 million since

2018. I would like to welcome all new shareholders

and thank both existing and new shareholders for

their support. The share offer will remain open until

16 August 2024 unless the offer is filled or closed

earlier at the discretion of the Directors.

09

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Cash and cash equivalents comprised 33% of the B

share pool’s NAV as at 31 December 2023 leaving

the B share pool well positioned to take advantage

of the expected increase in AIM quoted investment

opportunities and the robust pipeline of unquoted

company investment opportunities currently being

reviewed by Seneca.

I set out below further detail in relation to the

progress made by each of the Company’s share

classes during the year.

B Share Pool

B Shares – Results

The Total Return per B share decreased to 85.7p as

at 31 December 2023 (2022: 92.7p) principally as a

result of the following:

•

An unrealised loss totalling £3.3 million in the

year as a result of the share prices of a number

of B share pool AIM quoted investments

decreasing in value;

•

Offset by the proceeds from three successful

exits plus a final deferred consideration payment

generating £800k of profits;

•

Two dividends paid during the year totalling 3.0p

per B share and amounting to £629k; and

•

The Company’s running costs (capped at 3% of B

share NAV), which amounted to £219k.

B Shares - Investment Portfolio Review

The B share NAV as at 31 December 2023 was 70.7p

per share (2022: 80.7p). The B share unquoted

portfolio at the financial year end was valued above

original investment cost, with 2023 seeing an uplift in

value of two unquoted holdings, offset by a decrease

in one unquoted investment.

Despite the challenging economic conditions faced

by early-stage growth businesses, we are pleased

with the progress being made across the B share

portfolio. We have been impressed by the positive

trading updates and announcements made by

portfolio companies, such as Bright Network (UK)

Limited (“Bright Network”) and quoted company

Arecor. Bright Network completed a £5.3 million

fundraise, which will assist in its further growth and

international expansion into additional European

markets following its 2023 launch in Germany.

Arecor had a successful year of commercialisation

and revenue generating milestones under its licensed

programmes in addition to signing several new

revenue-generating technology partnerships.

In total, the B share pool completed six investments

in the year, four of which were follow-on

investments and achieved two full and one partial

exits at a weighted average return of 1.5x original

investment cost. The B share portfolio consisted of

twenty-five companies at the year end, sixteen of

which are quoted on AIM/AQSE. Further details in

relation to the B share pool’s investment portfolio

are included in the Investment Manager’s Report on

pages 18 to 29.

B Shares – Update and Outlook

B shareholders will be pleased to know the Board

declared an interim B share dividend of 1.5p per B

share on 7 March 2024 to be paid on 17 May 2024 to

shareholders on the B share register on 3 May 2024,

with an ex-dividend date of 2 May 2024.

We previously communicated our ambition to

increase dividends to 5% per annum of the B share

NAV by 2023 (subject to B share pool investment

performance and an intention to also maintain

a relatively stable NAV per B share). Whilst the

aggregate B share dividends of 3p represents a return

of 4.2% when compared to the NAV per B share as

at 31 December 2023 of 70.7p, our ambition remains

to increase dividends to 5% of the B share NAV once

performance and conditions enable us to do so.

Seneca expects to increase the funds raised through

the current B share Offer and add new growth capital

investments to the B share portfolio during the

course of 2024 from, inter alia, the investments they

currently have in the later stages of due diligence.

Ordinary Share Pool

Ordinary Shares - Results

The NAV per Ordinary share was 18.5p as at 31

December 2023 (2022: 37.1p per Ordinary share). The

NAV Total Return inclusive of cumulative dividends

paid to date was 91.8p per Ordinary share (2022:

108.4p per Ordinary share).

This decrease was principally driven by the 13.5p

decrease (56%) in the Scancell share price, 50p

decrease (22%) in the Arecor share price and the 2.0p

per Ordinary share dividend in the year. The Ordinary

share pool also wrote off its investment in Fuel 3D,

previously valued at £59k following notification

from the company in the period that it was formally

entering into creditors’ voluntary liquidation. We do

not expect to receive any shareholder distribution

from Fuel 3D at this time.

The quoted bid price of Scancell shares (the Ordinary

share pool’s largest investment) decreased from

24.0p as at 31 December 2022 to 10.5p at the year

end. The Company’s dividend paid in the period was

a distribution of exit proceeds realised in the prior

financial year. Due to the steady decline in Scancell’s

share price over the financial year, the Company

did not make any further realisation of its Scancell

holding in the year.

As previously reported, the Board remains focused

on identifying appropriate exit opportunities for the

remainder of the AIM quoted holdings.

Ordinary Shares - Investment Portfolio Review

The remaining Ordinary share portfolio now

comprises two AIM quoted holdings valued at £1.5

million, and five unquoted holdings valued at £nil as

at 31 December 2023.

10

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Shareholders will note that the AIM quoted holdings

represented 97% of the Ordinary share pool’s NAV

at the year end, with Scancell comprising 70% and

Arecor 27% of the Ordinary share pool NAV. As a

result, the NAV per Ordinary share now fluctuates

largely in line with the movement in the AIM quoted

investments, particularly the Scancell share price.

Based on the composition of the Ordinary share

pool’s assets as at 31 December 2023, the NAV per

Ordinary share moves by 1.2p for every 1p movement

in Scancell for reference.

Further details in relation to the Ordinary share pool’s

investment portfolio are included in the Investment

Manager’s Report on pages 30 to 33.

Ordinary Shares – Update and Outlook

As shareholders will recall, Richard Roth stayed on as

a member of the CAC for a period of three months

following his retirement from the Board at the last

AGM on 18 May 2023. Since that three-month period

ended in August 2023, I have been the sole member

of the CAC.

The Ordinary share portfolio held £214k in cash

as at 31 December 2023. This cash is available for

expenses relating to the Ordinary share portfolio

and to make follow-on investments into existing

Ordinary share portfolio companies where the

Board believes this will protect the Ordinary share

pool’s existing investment. Scancell completed a

£12 million raise during 2023, however, we did not

consider further investment from the Ordinary share

pool likely to improve the overall prospects for a

timely realisation of our Scancell investment and

therefore no further Ordinary share pool investments

were made in the year.

Ordinary shareholders will recall that, following the

appointment of Seneca as Investment Manager in

August 2018, the Ordinary share pool did not incur

any running costs until July 2021. From July 2021,

the Company’s running costs (exclusive of the B

share pool’s annual management fee) are shared

between the Ordinary and B share pool pro-rata to

their respective NAVs subject to a 3% cost cap. In the

current year, the Ordinary share pool’s proportion of

the running costs was £33k.

Fundraise and Buybacks

During the year the Company has allotted 3,139,061

B shares raising gross proceeds of £2.3 million in the

process.

During the year, the Company repurchased 108k

B shares as part of our B share buyback policy

(representing 0.5% of the net asset value as at 31

December 2023). Further details can be found in

Note 13 of the financial statements. The Board

continued to buy back shares in the period from

shareholders at no greater than a 5% discount to NAV

per B share.

Board of Directors

As shareholders may recall, we are committed

to a policy of Board succession, evident in the

appointment of Mary Anne Cordeiro and Ian Dighé to

the Board during the 2023 financial year.

In view of this policy and the length of my tenure as a

Director of the Company, having originally joined the

Board in September 2001 and subsequently serving

as Chair from July 2015, I have taken the decision

to retire from the Board. Consequently, I will not be

seeking re-election at the upcoming Annual General

Meeting.

It has been a pleasure working with Seneca and

previous Hygea vct plc Board members over the last

twenty-two years, steering the VCT through diverse

growth phases and witnessing its continual progress.

I have agreed with my fellow Board members and

Seneca that I will continue as the member of the CAC

for the foreseeable future in order to manage the

phased transfer of responsibilities for the Ordinary

share pool to the remaining members of the Board.

I am delighted to announce that Ian Dighé has

agreed to assume the role of Chair upon my

retirement at the forthcoming Annual General

Meeting and Mary Anne Cordeiro has also agreed

to be appointed as the Senior Independent Director

at that time. Alex Clarkson and Richard Manley will

continue as Directors of the Company with Alex also

continuing to serve as Chair of the Audit Committee.

I have no doubt that the continuing members

of the Board and the Company’s Fund Manager,

Seneca, have the skills and experience required to

successfully guide the Company as it continues

along its growth journey. I wish them, and all of our

shareholders, the very best for the future.

Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) and

Shareholder Event

The Company’s AGM will be held at 11:00 a.m.

on Wednesday, 15 May 2024 at the Company’s

registered address 9 The Parks, Haydock, WA12 0JQ.

For any shareholders wishing to attend the AGM this

year in person, we request that you please inform

us in advance by e-mailing enquiries@senecavct.

co.uk so that we may register your attendance with

the facilities manager in order to issue you with the

appropriate attendance pass. We will also be hosting

our bi-annual shareholder update presentation with a

question and answer (Q&A) session included, starting

at 11:00 a.m. on 7 May 2024. Shareholders should

note that only the formal business set out in the

notice of AGM will be considered at the AGM and we

encourage shareholders to attend the presentation

and ask questions prior to the AGM. Further details

about the shareholder update presentation can be

found on the Company’s website at www.senecavct.

co.uk/shareholder-update/may-2024/.

11

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

We strongly encourage shareholders to vote on

the matters of business through the completion

of a proxy form, which can be submitted to the

Company’s Registrar. Proxy forms should be

completed and returned in accordance with the

instructions thereon and the latest time for the

receipt of proxy forms is 11:00 a.m. on 13 May 2024.

Proxy votes can also be submitted by CREST where

shares are so held.

The Notice of the AGM includes resolutions

empowering the Directors to issue further B shares

following the date of the AGM, which will primarily

be used for the issue of B shares under a further

Offer which we intend to launch for the 2024/2025

tax year. This requires authorisation for the Directors

to be able to allot up to a further 35,000,000 B

shares. Including these resolutions in the AGM

business will avoid the Company having to convene

a separate general meeting to approve the necessary

increase in share capital for our future fundraising,

which will be announced following the closure of the

current Offer.

A summary of the resolutions to be proposed by the

Company at the AGM is included on pages 47 to 48.

VCT Qualifying Status

Shoosmiths LLP provides the Board with advice

on the ongoing compliance with HMRC rules and

regulations concerning VCTs. They have confirmed

that the Company remains compliant with all the

appropriate VCT qualifying regulations as at 31

December 2023.

Fund Administration

Our administration is conducted by Seneca at the

Company’s registered address. Neville Registrars

Limited (“Neville”) continue to maintain the

shareholder register. All information in respect

of both share classes including Annual Reports

and notices of meetings can be found on our

website www.senecavct.co.uk. We would remind

shareholders who have not opted for electronic

communications that this is more efficient, cost

effective and ecologically friendly than receiving

paper copies by post and we therefore encourage

you to contact Neville, whose details are on page 97,

to advise them of your wish to switch to electronic

communication.

Auditor

As previously announced, Royce Peeling Green

Limited (“RPG”) was appointed as the Company’s

new independent auditor on 29 November 2023 and

has audited the Company’s financial statements for

the year ending 31 December 2023. Shareholders

will be asked to appoint RPG at the AGM for the audit

of the financial statements for the year ending 31

December 2024.

Outlook

Despite some continued headwinds impacting both

the AIM quoted and unquoted UK SME market,

we are hopeful that the overall market outlook

will improve over the course of 2024 as inflation

decreases and interest rates ease. We are seeing

more favourable unquoted company valuations and

increased M&A activity as a result, which for early-

stage investors presents profitable exit opportunities.

We are pleased that Seneca has continued to develop

the portfolio of B share pool investee companies

during the year, having completed six investments in

the period.

Seneca has also completed a total of ten full and

partial exits since 2019 and has over £5.1 million

of cash and cash equivalents on the B share pool

balance sheet at 31 December 2023. As a result,

Seneca believes that it is very well placed to

continue to support the existing B share investment

portfolio as well as adding attractive new growth

capital investments to the B share portfolio from

the strong pipeline of opportunities presented to

it. We therefore look forward to the continued

development of the B share portfolio.

Your Board continues to view the future of our

Company with confidence.

John Hustler

Chair

21 March 2024

12

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Investments

13

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Investment Manager’s Report

We have set out in this section further details in relation to the development of both the B and Ordinary share

pools and their respective investee companies during 2023.

The B Share Pool

Investment Activity and Performance

Seneca is pleased to have added six additional investments to the B share portfolio in the period, across various

sectors and split evenly across AIM quoted and unquoted companies. Following two full exits and one partial

exit in the year there were twenty-five investee companies at the year end. In addition to the three exits in the

year, we secured a further £279k in deferred consideration in relation to the 2021 exit of ADC. We continue to

deliver on our investment strategy of providing a diverse spread of investments for B shareholders across both

AIM/AQSE quoted companies and unquoted companies and believe that this remains the most effective strategy

to deliver our target returns.

B Share Portfolio Split

Unquoted investee companies

54%

AIM/AQSE quoted investee

companies

46%

* Equity split represented by value as at

31 December 2023

54%

46%

Whilst there has been some softening in AIM prices in the year contributing to the decrease in NAV Total Return

per B share to 85.7p as at 31 December 2023 (2022: 92.7p), the benefits offered by AIM quoted investments,

including access to capital markets, improved liquidity, stronger reporting and governance requirements as well

as the ability to participate more directly in any market recovery, mean AIM remains a core part of the B Share

portfolio and our deployment strategy.

The negative revenue return of 1.4p per B share (2022: negative 1.4p per B share) for the year is principally a

result of the impact of the Company’s running costs on the B share pool; however, shareholders will recall

that the Company’s total running expenses are capped at 3% of the B share NAV. As a result, Seneca reduced

its annual management fee for 2023 from £298k to £228k to ensure the Company’s annual running expenses

stayed within this 3% limit.

The negative capital return of 5.2p per B share (2022: negative 15.1p per B share) for the year was principally due

to the decrease in the value of the B share pool’s AIM holdings, offset by the gain on disposals for the year which

totalled £942k.

14

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

New investments made in the year:

Old Street Labs Limited

is a provider of

cloud based, supplier collaboration tools for

large, blue-chip customers, enabling them

to manage key supplier relationships and

strategic project work with integrated ESG

optimisation and decarbonisation planning

and reporting tools.

Oxford BioDynamics

is a global biotech

company advancing personalised healthcare

by developing and commercialising precision

medicine tests for life-changing diseases. It

launched its ground-breaking 94% accurate

EpiSwitch Prostate Screening blood test (PSE)

during the year and completed a c.£6 million

raise to further commercialise its PSE test and

its CiRT (Checkpoint Inhibitor Response) test

for cancer.

Velocity Composites plc

is a Northwest

headquartered manufacturer of advanced

composite material kits for use in the

production of carbon fibre composite parts

for primary aircraft manufacturers and Tier 1

suppliers in the US, UK and Europe.

Engage XR Holdings Plc

is a spatial

computing and metaverse technology

platform business designed for corporate

and commercial training and events.

Bright Network

is a technology platform

which enables blue-chip employers to reach,

identify and recruit high-quality graduates

and young professionals across the UK and in

Europe.

Alderley Lighthouse Labs

is a next

generation UK diagnostic laboratory,

operating from a 3,500 square feet facility

providing first-class office and laboratory

space at Alderley Science Park in the

Northwest of England.

Health & Consumer

Software

Bio-Technology

Manufacturing

VR Technology

HR Technology

The value of the B share pool’s holding in Bright Network was uplifted following its latest funding round,

having successfully raised a total of £5.3 million, which will be used to further develop its recruitment and

technology platform and to assist with further European expansion. The Company has also uplifted the value

of unquoted B share portfolio holding in Alderley Lighthouse Labs, which was driven by the completion of a

material and successful funding round in the year at an increased valuation. The net increase in the unquoted B

share portfolio was £163k, following the £99k decrease in unquoted B share portfolio company Silkfred Limited

(“Silkfred”) as a result of macroeconomic pressures and reduced consumer spending, impacting demand for

independent ladies’ fashion brands.

Seneca completed one follow-on investment into B share AIM quoted company Oxford BioDynamics and

completed three follow-on investments into unquoted B share portfolio companies Old Street Labs Limited,

Alderley Lighthouse Labs Limited and Bright Network during the year. Seneca also completed two new

investments into Engage XR Holdings Plc and Velocity Composites plc. Together, these investments totalled £2.4

million (made up of £1.3 million invested into the existing B share portfolio and £1.1 million into new companies).

The total value of the B share portfolio as at 31 December 2023 is £10.4 million.

AIM Quoted Investments

Unquoted Investments

Dividends

Exits – Total exits to date have built our cumulative exit track record:

The two B share dividends paid during the year

were in line with the Company’s dividend policy to

pay at least 3p per year and it should be noted that

the profits realised through the ten full and partial

B share portfolio exits to date exceeds the total

value of dividends paid. Furthermore, the Company

has sufficient distributable reserves to enable the

continued declaration of B share dividends over the

medium term subject to Board approval, B share

pool investment activity and liquidity levels. The

Company’s distributable reserves were bolstered by

the capital reduction undertaken during the year,

which increased special distributable reserves to

£20.5 million as at 31 December 2023.

5

5

£53m

£29m

18x

£20m

Full exits to date

Partial exits to date

Gross exit proceeds

Profits generated

Average money multiple

Total cost of dividends to date

The AIM market continued to provide opportunities to both invest in new companies and de-risk existing

holdings by harvesting profits. As such we took the opportunity to fully realise our remaining investment in

OptiBiotix and to partially realise our holdings in Oxford BioDynamics.

B share pool AIM quoted investment realisations in the year:

•

In Q3 2023, the Company was able to realise a profitable exit for its remaining holding in OptiBiotix

providing a total return of 1.4x original investment cost.

•

The Company was able to sell 2,260,000 shares in Oxford BioDynamics during the year, which represented

31% of the original holding of 7,327,628 shares, reducing the remaining holding to 5,067,628 shares. These

were sold at an average share price of 39.5p per share providing a return of 2.5x versus average original

investment cost.

B share pool unquoted investment realisations in the year:

•

We successfully exited Qudini in January 2023. This was the result of the sale of the company to US

software business Verint Systems, a leader in workforce engagement management. The consideration

comprised an upfront payment equal to the B share pool’s initial investment and the potential to receive

up to a further 0.44x of the initial investment subject to Qudini’s trading performance in the three years

following the sale.

•

We also received £279k of deferred consideration for the 2021 full exit of B share unquoted portfolio

company ADC as a result of the company successfully achieving MHRA approval, a condition for the

further uplift in exit proceeds.

3p

per annum

15p

in total

from launch to 31 December 2023

16

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Co-investing With Seneca EIS Funds

More generally we continue to develop Seneca’s position in the market as an active growth capital investor and

up to 31 December 2023, Seneca has raised and deployed more than £120 million of EIS and VCT capital into

over 78 SME companies, through over 140 funding rounds, since we undertook our first EIS investment in 2012.

This includes over £17 million raised and deployed to date by the B share pool, a significant proportion of which

has been co-invested with Seneca EIS funds. Seneca has recently made its 43rd exit from its EIS funds and has

now returned more than £70 million of exit proceeds to investors.

The twenty-five investments in the B share portfolio had a value of £10.4 million as at 31 December 2023 and all

but three are co-investments with EIS funds also managed by Seneca. We believe that the opportunity for the

Company’s B share pool to co-invest with EIS funds that are also managed by Seneca provides the B share pool

with a number of advantages including being able to participate in a higher number of investments, of a larger

scale, into more established businesses than would be possible for the B share pool on a standalone basis.

Further, as a result of Seneca’s position in the UK market as an active growth capital investor we maintain a

strong pipeline of investment opportunities, particularly in the North of England, with a focus on well managed

businesses with strong leadership teams that can demonstrate established and proven propositions in addition

to growth potential. We aim to invest in both unquoted and AIM/AQSE quoted companies and are pleased to

have completed three additional AIM/AQSE quoted investments in the year.

Fundraising

Our fifth B share offer concluded in August 2023, bringing total funds raised to £20.7 million. Our fundraising

efforts have since continued under our sixth B share Offer, with a further £796k being raised under this Offer as

at 31 December 2023. We are encouraged by the funds raised and remain focused on increasing the size of the B

share pool, which will in turn allow us to increase the number and diversity of new investments that we make.

Outlook

The diversity and volume of exciting new deals in

the current pipeline is a testament to the investment

management team’s ability to source and secure

opportunities and the strength of our network. We are

encouraged by the quality of new unquoted company

opportunities and continue to believe that there is

excellent value available on AIM. We are seeing initial

indications that the number of IPO opportunities

on AIM will increase in 2024, potentially aided by

improved macroeconomic conditions which should

attract greater inflows of capital to UK small-cap

markets. Despite challenging market conditions,

the majority of our portfolio continue to show good

operational progress and are led by management

teams that we are confident will continue to

successfully navigate current market uncertainties.

In addition to new opportunities, we are committed

to supporting our best B share investee company

opportunities as they continue along their growth

journey. On 14 February 2024, we invested a further

£206k in the existing B share AIM holding, Verici Dx

plc (“Verici”). Verici specialises in advanced clinical

diagnostics for organ transplants, offering three

main products—Clarava, Tutivia, and Protega—each

addressing distinct aspects/stages of the organ

transplant process. While Verici had sufficient

cash runway until 2025, the additional investment

will expedite growth initiatives, enhance risk

diversification, and accelerate value creation.

Supported by investee company exits and our special

distributable reserves following the capital reduction

undertaken in the year, we are optimistic about our

ability to continue to pay B share dividends in line with

our dividend policy. We are happy to have been able

to declare an interim B share dividend of 1.5p per B

share on 7 March 2024, to be paid on 17 May 2024.

We eagerly anticipate the continued growth of

the B share portfolio, with several new investment

opportunities currently in advanced due diligence

stages. Seneca believes that current cash reserves

combined with continued fundraising for the B share

pool under the current Offer sees the Company well

placed to continue to grow the B share portfolio.

17

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Investment Portfolio –

B shares

Equity

held

%

Investment

at cost

£’000

Unrealised

profit/(loss)

£’000

Carrying

value at

31 December

2023

£’000

Movement

in the year to

31 December

2023

£’000

SolasCure Limited

2.7

750

333

1,083

-

Bright Network (UK) Limited

2.5

594

466

1,060

244

Old Street Labs Limited

6.4

1,000

-

1,000

-

Convenient Collect Limited

5.4

716

-

716

-

Fabacus Holdings Limited

1.6

500

202

702

-

Alderley Lighthouse Labs

Limited

22.7

585

20

605

20

Geomiq Limited

1.1

334

-

334

-

Silkfred Limited

<1.0

500

(350)

150

(100)

Ten80 Group Limited

7.5

400

(400)

-

-

Total unquoted investments

5,379

271

5,650

164

Unquoted Investments

18

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Shares

held

Investment

at cost

£’000

Unrealised

profit/(loss)

£’000

Carrying

value at

31 December

2023

£’000

Movement

in the year to

31 December

2023

£’000

Oxford BioDynamics Plc

5,067,628

775

618

1,393

664

Poolbeg Pharma plc

7,550,000

755

(90)

665

219

Velocity Composites plc

1,740,000

696

(87)

609

(87)

Arecor Therapeutics plc

252,947

620

(165)

455

(126)

Celadon Pharmaceuticals Plc

320,956

530

(177)

353

193

SkinBioTherapeutics plc

1,857,107

297

(28)

269

(9)

ProBiotix Health plc

3,722,445

1

777

(554)

223

(485)

Engage XR Holdings Plc

9,391,704

376

(198)

178

(198)

Bidstack Group Plc

32,123,391

916

(755)

161

(723)

Northcoders Group Plc

100,000

300

(170)

130

(170)

Polarean Imaging Plc

1,644,070

986

(887)

99

(807)

Verici DX plc

799,865

280

(204)

76

(12)

Evgen Pharma plc

5,000,000

400

(325)

75

(145)

Gelion plc

250,492

363

(302)

61

(62)

Abingdon Health plc

78,250

75

(67)

8

4

Aptamer Group plc

495,726

580

(575)

5

(242)

Total quoted investments

8,726

(3,966)

4,760

(1,986)

Total investments

14,105

(3,695)

10,410

(1,822)

1

Includes 194,135 shares received as a dividend in specie on 31 March 2022 (“Dividend Shares”) as a result of the spin out

and listing on AQSE of the ProBiotix Health plc (“Probiotix”) division of former B share pool investee company OptiBiotix

Health Plc as a standalone entity in addition to the 3,528,310 shares purchased by the B share pool as part of the same

transaction. These Dividend Shares were received as a result of the B share pool’s shareholding in OptiBiotix Health Plc at

the point of the ProBiotix IPO.

Quoted Investments

Initial

Investment

Date

No of

Shares sold

Investment

at cost

£’000

Sale

Proceeds

£’000

Realised

profit/(loss)

£’000

Exit

Multiple

Oxford BioDynamics Plc*

October 2022

2,260,000

346

847

501

2.5

OptiBiotix Health Plc

April 2020

350,000

103

125

22

1.2

Qudini Limited

April 2019

4,724

500

500

-

1.0

Total

2,614,724

949

1,472

523

16

*Partial exit

Exits for the Year

19

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Oxford BioDynamics is a global biotechnology

company, advancing personalised healthcare by

developing and commercialising precision medicine

tests for life-changing diseases.

Its flagship product is EpiSwitch® CiRT (Checkpoint

Inhibitor Response Test) for cancer, a predictive

immune response profile for immuno-oncology

checkpoint inhibitor treatments which launched in

February 2022.

Oxford BioDynamics Plc

Round 1 investment date:

October 2022

Round 2 investment date:

August 2023

Cost (the portion of the

original investment still

held as at 31 December

2023):

£775k

Valuation:

£1,393k

Equity type:

Quoted

Last statutory accounts:

30 September 2023

Turnover:

£510,000

Loss before tax:

£11.4 million

Net assets:

£16.1 million

Valuation method:

Bid price of 27.5p

per share

B Share Pool –

Investment Portfolio

Listed below are details of the Company’s ten largest B share pool investments

by value as at 31 December 2023

Oxford BioDynamics has participated in more

than 40 partnerships with big pharma and leading

institutions including Pfizer, EMD Serono, Genentech,

Roche, Biogen, Mayo Clinic, Massachusetts General

Hospital and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma.

The company has created a valuable technology

portfolio, including biomarker arrays, molecular

diagnostic tests, bioinformatic tools for 3D genomics

and an expertly curated 3D genome knowledgebase

comprising hundreds of millions of data points

from over 10,000 samples in more than 30 human

diseases.

Progress made by the company in 2023 includes:

The launch of the 94% accurate EpiSwitch Prostate

Screening blood test (PSE) for men in September

ahead of schedule. The current blood screening test

(the PSA test) is only 55% accurate and is considered

unreliable by many doctors, the PSE test is designed

to run alongside the PSA test to boost the accuracy

of the standard PSA test from 55% to 94%.

Successfully raising £5.6 million gross proceeds

to support the commercial development through

investment in sales and marketing to grow the

adoption of the EpiSwitch CiRT and to launch and

support initial sales of the PSE test.

Oxford BioDynamics receiving a reimbursement

code for EpiSwitch Prostate Screening Test (PSE)

which aids the billing process, reinforces physician

confidence in the test and will help drive adoption of

the test.

A strategic agreement between Bupa and Oxford

BioDynamics, meaning that Bupa UK health

insurance customers are to be considered for the

smart blood test and enhances access to the CiRT

test in the UK.

20

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Solascure Limited

Round 1 investment date:

January 2021

Round 2 investment date:

November 2021

Cost:

£750k

Valuation:

£1,083k

Equity type:

Unquoted

Last statutory accounts:

30 June 2023

Turnover:

Not Disclosed

Profit/loss before tax:

Not Disclosed

Net assets:

£6.5 million

Valuation method:

Price of last

fundraise (reviewed

for any fair value

adjustment)

Solascure is an early stage wound care specialist,

originally spun out of and working alongside BRAIN

(world leading German biotech company), to

develop a new-to-market wound care product.

Solascure’s Aurase product is a gel-based product

that efficiently and gently cleans wounds, making

the healing process much more straightforward. Pre-

clinical work has been extremely positive and the

clinical trial is now underway.

Chronic wounds are a growing global problem,

and alternative methods of treatment for hard to

heal wounds are extremely expensive, ineffective,

impractical and slow. Solascure’s proprietary

technology utilises “maggot theory” debridement

without the cost or labour input of live maggots. In

simple terms, it uses maggot enzymes to facilitate

and also promote the body’s own wound cleansing

processes. Core benefits of the product are the clear

practical elements, as well as the reduced time scale

to full debridement without delaying wound healing.

Progress made by the company in 2023 includes:

A successful fundraise of £2.3 million to finalise the

company’s Series B funding round (£10.9 million

in total) to support the continued development of

Aurase Wound Gel and Phase II clinical trials of the

innovative wound debriding enzyme.

Being selected to receive European Innovation

Council (EIC) funding, enabling the team to further

develop its groundbreaking technology. The receipt

of this grant is a significant recognition of the

company’s technology and will propel the ongoing

development of Aurase Wound Gel.

Demonstrating proof of concept in Phase IIa safety

trial of Aurase Wound Gel. With the positive safety

data obtained from the Phase IIa trial, Solascure are

now able to explore higher concentrations of the gel

through further trials.

Continuing to attract serious attention from

major players in the space and initial partnership

discussions are underway.

21

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Bright Network is a media technology platform

which enables blue-chip employers to reach,

identify and recruit high-quality graduates and

young professionals. London-based Bright Network

is led by serial entrepreneur James Uffindell, who

previously established, grew, and successfully exited

from another business in the education sector.

Its platform uses advanced data analytics and

cutting-edge technology to pre-screen candidates

and ensure that its membership contains only the

top 20% of graduate talent. The quality of Bright

Network’s membership helps drive efficiencies in

the recruitment process and improved candidate

shortlisting outcomes for employers. As a result, the

business has established a strong client base of over

250 employers, which includes global blue-chip

organisations such as Bloomberg, Deloitte, Goldman

Sachs, Morgan Stanley, PwC, P&G, SkyScanner and

Vodafone.

Progress made by the company in 2023 includes:

Successful expansion into Europe, with the service

launched in Germany.

Completing a £5 million fundraise to further develop

the platform, reinforce the position in Germany and

to continue to grow the technology academy.

Continued growth of the platform, which now

includes over 850k graduates and c.300 blue chip

employers.

Bright Network (UK) Limited

Round 1 investment date:

March 2020

Round 2 investment date:

July 2023

Cost:

£594k

Valuation:

£1,060k

Equity type:

Unquoted

Last statutory accounts:

31 March 2023

Turnover:

£11.6 million

Loss before tax:

£597,000

Net assets:

£4.1 million

Valuation method:

Price of last

fundraise (reviewed

for any fair value

adjustment)

22

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Old St Labs is a provider of cloud based, supplier

collaboration tools for large, blue chip customers,

enabling them to manage key supplier relationships

and strategic project work. The core product, Vizibl,

seeks to make supplier collaboration much more

straight forward, with key focus on compliance,

savings / efficiency and driving growth across the

business.

Vizibl is the only SaaS workspace that supports

collaborative supplier relationships, bringing all

points of contact together in one place, providing

visibility across the company and eliminating

duplication of efforts. Vizibl’s real-time reporting

speeds up decision making, drawing on and sharing

the expertise of the community in the process.

The offering taps into a growing trend in supplier

collaboration, having moved on from the initial focus

on compliance, to an increased emphasis on savings

/ efficiency, and recent developments highlighting

the benefits in terms of wider growth strategy for

large customers.

Progress made by the company in 2023 includes:

Continuing to onboard new customers as regulatory

requirements drive growing interest in supplier

sustainability and ESG modules.

Successful launch of a new sustainability programme

helping large organisations to accelerate their

decarbonisation initiatives.

Being shortlisted for the Procurement Technology

Provider Award at the 2023 World Procurement

Awards. The award celebrates technology providers

that demonstrate the most impactful and valuable

solutions for procurement functions.

Old Street Labs Limited (t/a “Vizibl”)

Round 1 investment date:

March 2019

Round 2 investment date:

April 2023

Cost:

£1,000k

Valuation:

£1,000k

Equity type:

Unquoted

Last statutory accounts:

31 March 2023

Turnover:

Not Disclosed

Profit/loss before tax:

Not Disclosed

Net liabilities:

£5 million

Valuation method:

Price of last

fundraise (reviewed

for any fair value

adjustment)

23

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

HubBox has developed plug-and-play software

that gives shoppers a choice between home

delivery and local pickup when they check-out on

a retailer’s website. This software has been created

in conjunction with the largest global delivery

network providers (including UPS and DPD) and is

compatible with major ecommerce platforms like

Shopify. Couriers are facing eroding margins on

home deliveries as costs associated with the ‘last

mile’ problem rise, and retailers are suffering from

lost deliveries and failed delivery charges.

HubBox provides ecommerce software that integrates

with both the retailer and the courier, enabling the

retailer to offer shoppers the option to Click & Collect

from the courier’s network of Pick-Up Points. The

software turns what would otherwise be a complex,

costly and lengthy piece of custom development

work for retailers into a simple integration that can be

completed in a matter of hours.

Progress made by the company in 2023 includes:

Strong revenue growth despite challenging

macroeconomic and retail environments and a solid

pipeline of international and domestic customers

ready to convert. Recent wins include global retailers

Birkenstock, GoPro, StockX and Selfridges.

Strengthening of the senior management and

technology teams.

Further integration with major carrier networks

including two significant new commercial contracts

with UPS in the USA and DPD in the UK.

Convenient Collect Limited

(t/a HubBox)

Initial investment date:

December 2022

Cost:

£716k

Valuation:

£716k

Equity type:

Unquoted

Last statutory accounts:

31 December 2022

Turnover:

Not Disclosed

Profit/loss before tax:

Not Disclosed

Net Assets:

£1.8 million

Valuation method:

Price of last

fundraise (reviewed

for any fair value

adjustment)

24

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Fabacus Holdings Limited is an independent software

company that has developed a complete product

lifecycle solution, Xelacore, aimed at bringing

transparency to supply chain networks, with an initial

focus on resolving the interaction and information

flow between global licensors and their licensees.

Xelacore is a modular, Software as a Service solution

with an intuitive interface and proprietary data

aggregation and management engine that allows

all stakeholders to operate on a single unified

and collaborative platform. It bridges the gaps

in an inefficient process within the current retail

ecosystem by creating authenticated, enriched

universal records that unlock opportunities, reduce

risk and drive performance for both licensors and

licensees.

Progress made by the company in 2023 includes:

Completing a successful fundraise of £5 million to

support the continued growth in the business.

Launch of new key products from the evolving

technology suite.

Further contracts signed with global licensor brands

to underpin the core proposition licensee model.

Fabacus Holdings Limited

Initial investment date:

February 2019

Cost:

£500k

Valuation:

£702k

Equity type:

Unquoted

Last statutory accounts:

31 August 2022

Turnover:

Not Disclosed

Profit/loss before tax:

Not Disclosed

Net assets:

£12.4 million

Valuation method:

Price of last

fundraise (reviewed

for any fair value

adjustment)

25

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Poolbeg Pharma is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical

company focused on the development and

commercialisation of therapies to treat and prevent

infectious diseases. Headquartered in London, the

business is a spin out from Open Orphan plc and

the management team has proven capabilities

in identifying, acquiring and accelerating assets

through development to commercialisation.

It has adopted a capital-light model which enables

it to develop multiple products faster and more cost

effectively than the traditional biotech model, and

the company aspires to become a “one-stop shop”

for big pharma to find Phase II ready products for

development and commercialisation. The company’s

lead asset is POLB 001, a drug with the potential to

treat serious unmet needs in patients suffering from

severe influenza.

Progress made by the company in 2023 includes:

Positive initial data analysis in the POLB 001

challenge trial which showed a marked reduction

in both systemic and localised inflammation. This

was further supported with positive results from its

human challenge trial which showed a reduction

in inflammation with an expected utility in severe

influenza and other inflammatory conditions.

A significant breakthrough in its influenza Artificial

Intelligence programme, leading to the discovery

of multiple novel drug targets for the treatment of

influenza.

Positive outputs from lab based analysis of RSV

(Respiratory Syncytial Virus) drug candidates

identified as part of its Artificial Intelligence led

programme. This is a testament to the power of

the AI led programme and supports the partnering

discussions that the company engages in.

Poolbeg Pharma plc

Initial investment date:

July 2021

Cost:

£755k

Valuation:

£665k

Equity type:

Quoted

Last statutory accounts:

31 December 2022

Turnover:

£nil

Loss before tax:

£4.7 million

Net assets:

£18.3 million

Valuation method:

Bid price of 8.8p

per share

26

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Velocity Composites plc

Initial investment date:

October 2023

Cost:

£696k

Valuation:

£609k

Equity type:

Quoted

Last statutory accounts:

31 October 2023

Turnover:

£16.4 million

Loss before tax:

£16.4 million

Net assets:

£3.1 million

Valuation method:

Bid price of 35p per

share

Velocity Composites plc (“Velocity”) is the leading

supplier of composite material kits to aerospace and

other high-performance manufacturers, that reduce

costs and improve sustainability. Customers include

Airbus, Boeing, and GKN.

By using Velocity’s proprietary technology,

manufacturers can also free up internal resources to

focus on their core business. Velocity has significant

potential for expansion, both in the UK and abroad,

including into new market areas, such as wind energy,

urban air mobility and electric vehicles, where the

demand for composites is expected to grow.

In December 2022, the company signed a work

package agreement worth $100 million over 5-years

with US Tier 1 manufacturer GKN Aerospace to be

fulfilled from Velocity’s new manufacturing plant in

Alabama.

Progress made by the company in 2023 includes:

Successful completion of a £6.6 million funding

round to enable the company to accelerate its

growth in the UK and overseas.

Successful site opening and production ramp up in

Alabama with maiden revenue of £2 million derived

from the new Alabama facility built to support the $100

million 5-year Work Package Agreement with GKN.

A robust pipeline, with a large Tier 1 customer

at the live bid stage under a Memorandum of

Understanding, and a third business development

plan with another large Tier 1 customer.

Strengthening the board with the appointment of

Kevin Hickey as Group Chief Operating Officer.

27

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023