Shareholder Update webinar: July 18th 2025

00:45:24
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzdM4HcGYYg

Resumen

TLDRIn this shareholder update, Jackie Chan and Noel Porter discuss the company's recent equity fundraising efforts, highlighting an £8 million investment from a Monaco-based investor for a 40% stake. This investment is viewed as a strong vote of confidence in the company's future growth. The funds will be used to stabilize operations, refinance existing debt, and support growth initiatives. The executives emphasize the importance of shareholder support for the equity transaction and outline plans for future growth in the lending market, despite concerns about dilution for existing shareholders. They also address questions regarding the company's valuation, debt management, and growth strategy.

Para llevar

  • 💰 £8 million investment secured for growth.
  • 📈 New investor brings strategic support and market experience.
  • 🔄 Funds will stabilize operations and refinance debt.
  • 📊 Expected runway of over two years with new funding.
  • 📉 Dilution concerns for existing shareholders addressed.
  • 📝 Shareholder approval required for equity transaction.
  • 🚀 Focus on growth in the lending market.
  • 🤝 Partnerships being strengthened for future success.
  • 📉 Valuation set at £20 million post-investment.
  • 🔍 Company plans to operate methodically to ensure stability.

Cronología

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The meeting begins with introductions, highlighting the presence of Jackie Chan and Noel Porter. Jackie expresses gratitude for shareholder support during the recent equity fundraising efforts, which began in early February. He hands over to Jack for updates on the fundraising progress.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Jack discusses the initial fundraising target of £5 million, which has now been increased to £8 million due to a new investor from Monaco. This investor is offering a 40% stake in the company, which is seen as a strategic fit due to their experience in the lending market. The new deal is expected to provide significant benefits without milestone-based dilution for existing shareholders.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    Jack explains the structure of the investment, including immediate cash support and the process for releasing funds in tranches. The first tranche of £500k has already been provided as a convertible loan, with further funds contingent on shareholder approval. The investor will have a board seat and certain veto rights but will not hinder the company's growth plans.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    The documentation for the investment is being finalized, and shareholders will receive new articles and agreements for approval. The investor's preferential rights on recovery of their investment are outlined, emphasizing the potential for significant company growth and exit strategies in the future.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    Jackie emphasizes the importance of the £8 million investment for stabilizing and accelerating growth, noting that while dilution is a concern, a smaller share of a larger company is preferable. He encourages shareholders to consider the long-term benefits of the investment and the necessity of capital injection for business stability.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:30:00

    Noel discusses the operational plans for utilizing the £8 million, focusing on stabilizing the business, investing in teams, and refinancing existing debt. He highlights the importance of maintaining a capital buffer and aligning the company for future growth opportunities.

  • 00:30:00 - 00:35:00

    Jack reiterates the need for careful management of the new equity and debt, emphasizing the importance of generating cash flow and reducing costs. He outlines the company's strategy for refinancing existing debt and the potential for lower interest rates moving forward.

  • 00:35:00 - 00:40:00

    During the Q&A session, shareholders ask about the company's balance sheet, valuation concerns, and the impact of dilution. Jack and Noel provide insights into the company's financial position, expected growth trajectory, and the rationale behind the current valuation, emphasizing the importance of the new investment for future success.

  • 00:40:00 - 00:45:24

    The meeting concludes with a call for shareholder support for the equity transaction, highlighting the need for over 75% approval for the deal to proceed. Jackie thanks everyone for their participation and encourages them to reach out with any further questions.

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Mapa mental

Vídeo de preguntas y respuestas

  • What is the purpose of the £8 million investment?

    The £8 million investment will stabilize operations, refinance debt, and support growth initiatives.

  • How will the new investor impact the company?

    The new investor will provide strategic support and has a strong presence in the lending market.

  • What is the expected runway with the new funding?

    The £8 million provides over two years of runway based on current burn rates.

  • What is the company's plan if growth does not materialize?

    The company will continue to operate methodically, focusing on writing new deals and generating revenue.

  • How will the equity dilution affect existing shareholders?

    Existing shareholders will experience dilution, but the investment is expected to increase the overall value of the company.

  • What is the expected valuation after the investment?

    The investment implies a post-money valuation of £20 million.

  • What are the plans for refinancing existing debt?

    The company plans to refinance existing debt at lower rates as cash flow improves.

  • How can shareholders vote on the equity transaction?

    Shareholders will receive documents via DocuSign to approve the deal, requiring over 75% approval.

  • What is the company's growth strategy moving forward?

    The company aims to grow by leveraging the new investment to expand its lending operations and improve its platform.

  • What are the risks associated with the business model?

    The business model involves risks typical of development lending, but the company has been building partnerships to mitigate these risks.

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Desplazamiento automático:
  • 00:00:00
    [Music]
  • 00:00:09
    Okay. So, hi everybody. Thank you very
  • 00:00:11
    much for joining us today. Um, and uh,
  • 00:00:14
    I'll firstly just introduce everyone.
  • 00:00:16
    There's Jackie Chan, head of investment
  • 00:00:18
    and Noel Porter, CFO. Jackie, over to
  • 00:00:22
    you.
  • 00:00:24
    Uh thank you everyone for joining
  • 00:00:26
    today's uh shareholder update. Um I
  • 00:00:30
    believe a lot of uh shareholders have
  • 00:00:34
    have been aware of our uh equity fund
  • 00:00:36
    raise uh situation in the last six
  • 00:00:38
    months that we have la we launched it in
  • 00:00:41
    earlier this year in uh end in February
  • 00:00:44
    basically end of end end of January
  • 00:00:46
    early February launched a new round of
  • 00:00:48
    fundraising in terms of equity we
  • 00:00:51
    reached out to shareholders for support
  • 00:00:53
    as well like during those period and we
  • 00:00:56
    are grateful for all the support that
  • 00:00:58
    shareholders have given us uh during
  • 00:01:01
    that period and uh which helped us to
  • 00:01:03
    this day. So we are actually we've got
  • 00:01:05
    some exciting update to actually uh
  • 00:01:08
    present to shareholders right now. Um
  • 00:01:11
    and we wanted to present this to you um
  • 00:01:14
    uh uh today and I'll hand the time over
  • 00:01:17
    to uh Jack uh to walk you through on
  • 00:01:20
    some latest updates on the equity
  • 00:01:23
    fundraising.
  • 00:01:24
    Brilliant. Thank you very much Jackie.
  • 00:01:26
    Right. So, um you guys will have all
  • 00:01:28
    seen the email. Uh you know, previously
  • 00:01:30
    we did have an offer on uh the equity
  • 00:01:34
    that we needed. We needed around 5
  • 00:01:36
    million uh and we had that um and that's
  • 00:01:39
    what we were planning to proceed with
  • 00:01:42
    because at that time it was the only
  • 00:01:44
    offer on the table. We know there was a
  • 00:01:46
    couple of concerns from some investors
  • 00:01:48
    about that particular uh equity
  • 00:01:50
    investment in terms of the way it was
  • 00:01:51
    structured. Um it had its good and and
  • 00:01:53
    bad points. Um but uh since then we've
  • 00:01:56
    had another uh investor that's come
  • 00:01:59
    through and we decided to proceed with
  • 00:02:01
    the second one because it presents a
  • 00:02:03
    much better deal for our investors. So
  • 00:02:07
    so the the new transaction it's it's
  • 00:02:10
    happening with a Monaco based investor.
  • 00:02:12
    So they have a very strong existing
  • 00:02:14
    presence in the UK market in the lending
  • 00:02:16
    market. Um but they have over 25 years
  • 00:02:19
    experience in the lending market and the
  • 00:02:23
    way that they are planning to come in is
  • 00:02:25
    they are providing 8 million pounds not
  • 00:02:27
    5 million 8 million for a 40% stake. Now
  • 00:02:30
    that was something very specific they
  • 00:02:33
    wanted. Obviously there's an element of
  • 00:02:35
    control that comes with that but it was
  • 00:02:37
    also um you know to to for them to
  • 00:02:39
    achieve 40% we insisted that it had to
  • 00:02:42
    be at least 8 million. um these this
  • 00:02:45
    party pres uh presents a much much
  • 00:02:48
    stronger strategic fit because they are
  • 00:02:52
    in the lending business. They have a
  • 00:02:54
    access to a lot of funding lines. They
  • 00:02:56
    understand exactly what we do. They
  • 00:02:57
    understand the risks that we uh you know
  • 00:03:00
    we take on. They understand how we
  • 00:03:01
    manage those risks. They will have a lot
  • 00:03:04
    of synergies uh to there will be a lot
  • 00:03:06
    of synergies to kind of bring into the
  • 00:03:08
    mix with what they are doing. A lot of
  • 00:03:10
    cross-pollination in business as well.
  • 00:03:12
    There is absolutely no milestone-based
  • 00:03:14
    dilution. So, they know what we're
  • 00:03:16
    doing. They they're willing to simply
  • 00:03:19
    back us and let us get on with it. That
  • 00:03:21
    is their approach. They will have a seat
  • 00:03:23
    on the board and they will have certain
  • 00:03:26
    veto rights in terms of the strategic
  • 00:03:28
    direction of the business, but nothing
  • 00:03:30
    that will prevent us from growing and
  • 00:03:32
    building out the business in accordance
  • 00:03:33
    with our uh kind of business plan and
  • 00:03:36
    everything that we've presented to you
  • 00:03:38
    earlier. for example, going into whole
  • 00:03:40
    loans. Obviously, development finances
  • 00:03:42
    are specialism um and also the
  • 00:03:45
    fractional investment uh on a global
  • 00:03:47
    basis into private credit. They also
  • 00:03:50
    recognize private credit is one of the
  • 00:03:51
    fastest growing sectors in the uh
  • 00:03:54
    alternative investment market.
  • 00:03:57
    So, so with this you know they would
  • 00:03:59
    come on board uh obviously the getting
  • 00:04:01
    the full equity done takes time and they
  • 00:04:04
    also allowed uh or or they were willing
  • 00:04:07
    to provide some immediate cash support
  • 00:04:09
    which they already did and um that's
  • 00:04:12
    highlighted in the investment timeline
  • 00:04:14
    that you see here. So they did the first
  • 00:04:16
    branch of 500k. They did that as a
  • 00:04:19
    convertible loan which would convert as
  • 00:04:22
    soon as the full equity documentation
  • 00:04:25
    was done. The documentation is now
  • 00:04:28
    pretty much done and that will be coming
  • 00:04:30
    out to all our shareholders. Once 75% of
  • 00:04:34
    our existing shareholders sign that
  • 00:04:36
    documentation, tranch 2 will be
  • 00:04:38
    released. Now they would happily release
  • 00:04:40
    more in tranch 2 except that they are
  • 00:04:42
    prohibited from doing so because once
  • 00:04:45
    they get over 10% um ownership they have
  • 00:04:49
    to uh they can't take more than 10%
  • 00:04:52
    without FCA approval. So immediately we
  • 00:04:55
    will be applying for the FCA approval
  • 00:04:58
    for them to release the third tranch
  • 00:05:00
    which will be another6.7 million.
  • 00:05:03
    So the whole process is well underway.
  • 00:05:05
    Um all the documentation has been worked
  • 00:05:07
    on uh pretty fast. They are willing to
  • 00:05:10
    move forward. They were willing to move
  • 00:05:12
    fast and they have uh stood by that. The
  • 00:05:15
    so all the um article changes that are
  • 00:05:18
    required as a result of them coming in
  • 00:05:20
    have now been done. And so what
  • 00:05:22
    investors are about to be sent is the
  • 00:05:25
    the new articles and the shareholder uh
  • 00:05:29
    the the the shareholder agreement which
  • 00:05:31
    basically allows them to firstly invest
  • 00:05:35
    £8 million
  • 00:05:37
    um in obviously this can be offered to
  • 00:05:40
    everyone under preeemption rights. What
  • 00:05:42
    the articles are basically saying is
  • 00:05:44
    none of our shareholders want to come in
  • 00:05:45
    with that 8 million so you're happy for
  • 00:05:47
    them to come in instead. The second
  • 00:05:49
    thing the shareholder approval, the um
  • 00:05:51
    the new articles does is it allows us to
  • 00:05:54
    uh create the additional shares to be
  • 00:05:56
    able to sell to this new investor the 8
  • 00:05:58
    million worth of shares. And the third
  • 00:06:01
    thing is this is the only um uh the the
  • 00:06:05
    only kind of preference if you like they
  • 00:06:07
    asked for and that was preferential
  • 00:06:09
    rights on recovery of the 8 million. So
  • 00:06:12
    what that means is if we end up exiting
  • 00:06:15
    the business, we end up selling the
  • 00:06:17
    business and anything less than 20
  • 00:06:19
    million, then they get their £8 million
  • 00:06:22
    out first and then everything else else
  • 00:06:24
    is pratt with all the other
  • 00:06:26
    shareholders. As long as we sell the
  • 00:06:28
    business for more than 20 million, then
  • 00:06:31
    there is no preferential right. Then
  • 00:06:32
    everybody comes out prorata.
  • 00:06:35
    Now, simply by the fact that this party
  • 00:06:38
    is willing to put in £8 million into the
  • 00:06:40
    business is is a a stamp of or or a vote
  • 00:06:44
    of confidence in what the business is
  • 00:06:45
    doing both today and where we're looking
  • 00:06:48
    to grow. They're not doing this because
  • 00:06:50
    they expect the company only to be worth
  • 00:06:52
    20 million. They're doing this because
  • 00:06:53
    they expect the company to be worth £500
  • 00:06:56
    million in due course. Right? So, that's
  • 00:06:59
    that's what they're gunning for as well.
  • 00:07:01
    That's what they're going to support us
  • 00:07:02
    to do and and that's where we see the
  • 00:07:04
    exit now coming. Um a while back, you
  • 00:07:08
    know, we were looking at an exit in 26
  • 00:07:10
    27. We're still looking at around 2
  • 00:07:13
    years. You know, might slip out to 3
  • 00:07:14
    years, but hopefully in around a couple
  • 00:07:16
    of years time, the value will have grown
  • 00:07:18
    enough to at least get over the 100
  • 00:07:21
    million mark, if not closer to that 500
  • 00:07:23
    million for us to then find that exit
  • 00:07:26
    route. And as I've always said, the exit
  • 00:07:28
    route is most likely not going to be an
  • 00:07:30
    IPO. It's more likely to be a complete
  • 00:07:33
    buyout of the firm. And it could well be
  • 00:07:35
    that this particular investor chooses to
  • 00:07:37
    buy out the rest of the firm or uh a new
  • 00:07:40
    investor comes in, a private equity firm
  • 00:07:42
    comes in that wants to take out the
  • 00:07:44
    entire firm. So what this 8 million
  • 00:07:47
    allows us to do is it's the fuel to
  • 00:07:49
    really accelerate our growth. It's it's
  • 00:07:52
    the fuel to keep us stable right now and
  • 00:07:54
    also accelerate our growth in line with
  • 00:07:57
    our uh business plan that we've always
  • 00:07:59
    been working towards.
  • 00:08:02
    So the the the um the documents that you
  • 00:08:06
    will be receiving which should hopefully
  • 00:08:08
    come out later today uh you will need to
  • 00:08:11
    sign using docysine. Basically it's it's
  • 00:08:14
    approval of the deal. It's it's approval
  • 00:08:16
    of changing the articles. Um, and as
  • 00:08:18
    I've said, you know, we'll require 75%
  • 00:08:22
    of shareholders to vote in favor of
  • 00:08:26
    doing this deal. Now, last time I know
  • 00:08:28
    some people voted against that deal. And
  • 00:08:32
    while that is absolutely your
  • 00:08:33
    prerogative to do, I would remind you
  • 00:08:36
    that it's not as if we have other
  • 00:08:38
    options on the table. And it is
  • 00:08:41
    imperative that we do get this injection
  • 00:08:44
    of capital as quickly as possible to
  • 00:08:47
    stabilize the business and continue the
  • 00:08:50
    growth of the business. So hopefully
  • 00:08:53
    this deal is a lot more attractive than
  • 00:08:55
    last time. Last time we did get 75%
  • 00:08:57
    approval by the way, but it's just I
  • 00:08:59
    know I know some of you weren't too keen
  • 00:09:01
    on it. I just wanted you to think
  • 00:09:03
    carefully about whether you are or are
  • 00:09:05
    not keen on it, but also consider what
  • 00:09:07
    other options we have at this stage. I
  • 00:09:09
    know this is a big um dilution for all
  • 00:09:11
    shareholders including myself. Uh you
  • 00:09:14
    know bearing in mind you know a lot of
  • 00:09:15
    blood, sweat and tears has gone into
  • 00:09:17
    this business over the last 15 years and
  • 00:09:19
    over the last decade in particular. So
  • 00:09:22
    I'm not keen to um dilute my position.
  • 00:09:25
    However, what I do recognize is that a
  • 00:09:28
    smaller piece of a much bigger pie is
  • 00:09:31
    way better than a bigger piece of a pie
  • 00:09:34
    that doesn't exist. And and really
  • 00:09:36
    that's what we're looking at here. So
  • 00:09:39
    it's this capital you know why why are
  • 00:09:41
    they being so dilutive because they can
  • 00:09:45
    in the current environment and it has
  • 00:09:47
    been like this for for a while now
  • 00:09:49
    anyone coming in with that level of
  • 00:09:51
    equity is going to take their pound of
  • 00:09:53
    flesh they could ask for a lot more
  • 00:09:56
    harsher terms but actually I think what
  • 00:09:58
    we've got here is is a pretty good deal
  • 00:10:00
    now um especially because there's no
  • 00:10:03
    cliff edge there's no you know they come
  • 00:10:05
    in and then that's it the the equity
  • 00:10:07
    body they take now is that's what they
  • 00:10:09
    get and then and then it's all about
  • 00:10:11
    growth.
  • 00:10:12
    So and and don't forget that they are
  • 00:10:14
    fully aligned with us, you know, they
  • 00:10:16
    want us to grow the value of the
  • 00:10:18
    business. So they will support the
  • 00:10:19
    business uh by bringing in all of their
  • 00:10:22
    connections as well, their funding lines
  • 00:10:23
    and and so on uh to really make sure we
  • 00:10:26
    get to that that much much higher
  • 00:10:28
    valuation that would allow both them and
  • 00:10:31
    our existing shareholders to exit at at
  • 00:10:34
    a at a really good price.
  • 00:10:36
    So, so look, that's that's pretty much
  • 00:10:38
    the the nuts and bolts of this new
  • 00:10:40
    equity offer we've gotten. The I didn't
  • 00:10:42
    want to make this a very long webinar,
  • 00:10:44
    so I'm going to move to questions in a
  • 00:10:45
    minute. Actually, before I move to that,
  • 00:10:47
    I'm going to let No come in and just
  • 00:10:49
    talk very briefly because it's a natural
  • 00:10:51
    question. What are we going to do with 8
  • 00:10:52
    million pounds? So, no, do you want to
  • 00:10:54
    talk about that?
  • 00:10:58
    Um, no, you're on mute.
  • 00:11:03
    Hi, good afternoon everyone. Um so
  • 00:11:06
    obviously we've been due to the period
  • 00:11:09
    of um the business cycle that we've been
  • 00:11:11
    going through. I think the key thing to
  • 00:11:14
    for us to do when the funding does
  • 00:11:16
    eventually come through in its entirety
  • 00:11:18
    is to obviously stabilize the
  • 00:11:20
    operational environment. Um we'll be
  • 00:11:22
    looking to invest into the business and
  • 00:11:25
    into the various teams once we've um
  • 00:11:28
    established um positive operating cash
  • 00:11:31
    flow. Um so we're looking to obviously
  • 00:11:35
    maintain maintain the current kind of
  • 00:11:37
    burn at the current level with the
  • 00:11:39
    improved equity base that the funding
  • 00:11:41
    will give us. We will be looking to
  • 00:11:44
    refinance our current kind of debt pile
  • 00:11:47
    so that we will actually utilize those
  • 00:11:49
    resources to invest back into the team.
  • 00:11:52
    Um the funding will also allow us to
  • 00:11:54
    ensure we have a sufficient capital
  • 00:11:56
    buffer moving forward and I think the
  • 00:11:59
    certainty of funding that we will
  • 00:12:01
    achieve will in a way realign ourselves
  • 00:12:05
    to be thinking forward rather than
  • 00:12:08
    looking at looking backwards which we've
  • 00:12:10
    been uh you know under for the last like
  • 00:12:12
    6 to 8 months. So I think you know we
  • 00:12:15
    have um we've been re revising all our
  • 00:12:18
    strategic plans and our business plans
  • 00:12:20
    in anticipation of this funding to come
  • 00:12:22
    through. So
  • 00:12:25
    due to the FCA approval, we we have a
  • 00:12:27
    period of um of 2 to 3 months to ensure
  • 00:12:30
    that we're perfectly in line with once
  • 00:12:33
    the the the bulk of the funding to come
  • 00:12:35
    through so that we can deploy that back
  • 00:12:37
    into into the team and into our
  • 00:12:40
    initiatives which we which will drive
  • 00:12:42
    our growth moving forward.
  • 00:12:45
    Yeah, absolutely. and and and just just
  • 00:12:47
    one last thing to touch upon here. The
  • 00:12:50
    um as you know, we've always grown with
  • 00:12:52
    a mixture of debt and equity. And um
  • 00:12:54
    that's always a good way to do it.
  • 00:12:56
    Generally, when the market's going up,
  • 00:12:57
    you know, the equity valuation's going
  • 00:12:59
    up, uh debt is generally cheaper than
  • 00:13:01
    equity. Now, where we are today, we
  • 00:13:04
    don't want to and we can't really use
  • 00:13:06
    all the equity coming in just to pay
  • 00:13:08
    down debt because then there'll be no
  • 00:13:09
    growth capital. So we what we will be
  • 00:13:12
    looking to do is refinance a lot of
  • 00:13:14
    existing debt especially as it comes up
  • 00:13:16
    to maturity. Now, a lot of existing
  • 00:13:18
    debt. Remember, we consciously did not
  • 00:13:20
    take institutional financing for our
  • 00:13:22
    debt because if we're going to pay
  • 00:13:24
    someone at a high rate, we I'd rather we
  • 00:13:25
    just pay some of our existing
  • 00:13:26
    shareholders or existing investors and
  • 00:13:29
    you know, especially when we're paying,
  • 00:13:30
    you know, 13 14% peranom, 15% peranom.
  • 00:13:34
    But now with this new kind of quantum of
  • 00:13:36
    debt coming in, uh, sorry, new quantum
  • 00:13:38
    of equity coming in, the business is a
  • 00:13:41
    lot more stable. So rather than just
  • 00:13:43
    using that money coming in to pay off
  • 00:13:45
    debt, what we're now going to start
  • 00:13:46
    doing is start uh reducing the cost of
  • 00:13:49
    the debt we've got um and bit by bit we
  • 00:13:52
    will start reducing that debt but we
  • 00:13:54
    don't need to do that immediately. So we
  • 00:13:56
    have obviously debt due for maturity
  • 00:13:58
    over the coming months and um well we
  • 00:14:01
    have uh some debt maturing now and over
  • 00:14:03
    the coming months and what we're now
  • 00:14:04
    looking to do is start issuing that out
  • 00:14:06
    at a at a lower rate. So we're now going
  • 00:14:08
    to be offering 12% on that debt.
  • 00:14:10
    Obviously, they they they could be a
  • 00:14:12
    slightly higher rate for for longer
  • 00:14:14
    lockin periods. Um but previously you
  • 00:14:17
    will have seen uh we were offering um
  • 00:14:19
    one-year loans at 14%. That is now
  • 00:14:22
    dropping to 12% effective immediately.
  • 00:14:24
    Um and then there'll be uh uh the rates
  • 00:14:27
    for the longerterm debt will also come
  • 00:14:29
    down. So if anybody is interested in
  • 00:14:32
    taking a debt position, you are welcome
  • 00:14:35
    to get in touch with us. We will send an
  • 00:14:37
    email out um separately to this equity
  • 00:14:40
    just to see who might want to come in.
  • 00:14:42
    We'll offer the the new rates that we'll
  • 00:14:45
    we'll highlight the new rates that we're
  • 00:14:46
    going to be offering. And if you do want
  • 00:14:48
    to come in to to to replace the existing
  • 00:14:51
    debt. Remember, we're not going to uh
  • 00:14:53
    take new debt. Uh we're simply going to
  • 00:14:55
    replace it. And then as we start uh
  • 00:14:57
    generating more cash flow from uh
  • 00:14:59
    exiting projects, that's when we will
  • 00:15:01
    start paying down that debt. In the
  • 00:15:03
    meantime, the equity will be used for
  • 00:15:04
    growth capital purposes. So, we will let
  • 00:15:07
    you know if you are interested in taking
  • 00:15:09
    on a debt position. Um, do let us know
  • 00:15:11
    and then we'll get in touch as soon as
  • 00:15:13
    there is something available uh that you
  • 00:15:16
    can come into.
  • 00:15:18
    Now, that's shall we move into Q&A?
  • 00:15:22
    Yes, please. Yeah.
  • 00:15:23
    Yeah. Thank So, thank you everyone. So,
  • 00:15:25
    and thank you J and thank you no for for
  • 00:15:27
    the brief view because I've already
  • 00:15:29
    start seeing some questions flying in.
  • 00:15:31
    So uh I I think we'll start moving into
  • 00:15:34
    Q&A. Just to remind everyone uh the chat
  • 00:15:37
    uh o is open on the webinar. Please type
  • 00:15:40
    in your questions and we will see it and
  • 00:15:42
    I'll read out the questions so that you
  • 00:15:43
    can see what hear what other people are
  • 00:15:46
    are are asking as well. Um and then uh
  • 00:15:49
    I'll I'll hand it over to J to answer
  • 00:15:51
    them. So the first question I had uh
  • 00:15:54
    from investors is that um it's probably
  • 00:15:57
    for no. So what was our balance sheet
  • 00:16:00
    like previously before this uh this
  • 00:16:02
    equity injection uh in terms of equity
  • 00:16:06
    debt and what what will it look like
  • 00:16:08
    going forward?
  • 00:16:09
    Yeah. So um our current asset value
  • 00:16:13
    position of the group is just just over
  • 00:16:16
    2.7 million. Uh we had a we had a debt
  • 00:16:20
    pile within the balance sheet of uh
  • 00:16:23
    approximately 7.5 million. So the equity
  • 00:16:27
    base uh the net asset value of the
  • 00:16:30
    business will increase towards 11
  • 00:16:32
    million which will mean we will have a
  • 00:16:34
    debt to equity ratio of just over 0.6
  • 00:16:37
    six, which will again just to um when
  • 00:16:41
    we're talking about refinancing our loan
  • 00:16:43
    book and also um any other type of
  • 00:16:47
    refinancing we embark on uh with that
  • 00:16:50
    level of um cash position as well as
  • 00:16:53
    obviously the debt to equity ratio that
  • 00:16:56
    allows us to get much more favorable
  • 00:16:58
    terms with institutions. Hence why um we
  • 00:17:02
    will be looking to refinance some of the
  • 00:17:04
    debt pile at a much lower rate to
  • 00:17:07
    current what we are experiencing
  • 00:17:09
    currently
  • 00:17:11
    and and I would just add to that you
  • 00:17:12
    know and and I would just reiterate
  • 00:17:14
    actually the debt itself isn't too much
  • 00:17:17
    of a concern and you'll notice even with
  • 00:17:18
    the 8 million coming in we haven't been
  • 00:17:20
    told that we have to reduce the debt
  • 00:17:22
    pile and the simple reason is the
  • 00:17:24
    company will grow itself out of that
  • 00:17:26
    debt anyway. The debt sounds big today
  • 00:17:29
    because of um where we are as a
  • 00:17:31
    business. The last couple of years has
  • 00:17:32
    obviously slowed down the rate of monies
  • 00:17:34
    coming in from uh exiting projects, but
  • 00:17:37
    it's also slowed down because we've
  • 00:17:39
    consciously written less transactions
  • 00:17:42
    uh because of the market backdrop. Now,
  • 00:17:44
    as we're seeing the market kind of wake
  • 00:17:46
    up again after this kind of slumber
  • 00:17:49
    period, if you like, there's a lot more
  • 00:17:51
    opportunities coming through. We're also
  • 00:17:53
    starting to do whole loans, which we've
  • 00:17:54
    spoken about before. We've now got
  • 00:17:56
    funding lines and we're about to test
  • 00:17:57
    drive that on uh two key well we've
  • 00:18:00
    already done some but we're about to
  • 00:18:01
    test drive on on a couple of key
  • 00:18:03
    transactions right now. So what what
  • 00:18:05
    should happen if everything goes
  • 00:18:07
    according to plan what should happen is
  • 00:18:09
    the company should start throwing off a
  • 00:18:11
    lot more cash as it starts throwing off
  • 00:18:14
    more cash. Um we we we can obviously
  • 00:18:18
    continue to grow the business but we can
  • 00:18:20
    start reducing that that debt part or we
  • 00:18:22
    can just leave the debt as it is and
  • 00:18:24
    just bit by bit as it comes to maturity
  • 00:18:26
    start kind of reducing the cost of that
  • 00:18:28
    debt because naturally the reason we've
  • 00:18:30
    had to pay much higher rates for debt in
  • 00:18:32
    the last couple of years is because of
  • 00:18:34
    that market backdrop because of the
  • 00:18:36
    increased risk in the market u less
  • 00:18:38
    liquidity in the market and so on. So,
  • 00:18:41
    so you know, it's not, you know, in
  • 00:18:43
    terms of our ratios, we're we're pretty
  • 00:18:45
    much where we should be. The incoming
  • 00:18:47
    investor is very confident about where
  • 00:18:48
    we're going and we're under no pressure
  • 00:18:50
    to reduce that debt.
  • 00:18:54
    Great. Thank you. So, the next question
  • 00:18:56
    is on valuation. So, um the
  • 00:19:00
    8 million for 40% implies a 20 million
  • 00:19:03
    valuation. That's way below the 65.8
  • 00:19:05
    million valuation of our Shojun series
  • 00:19:08
    B. So how did they arrive at the number
  • 00:19:11
    one how did they arrive at the set
  • 00:19:12
    valuation um and how is the dillusion
  • 00:19:15
    impact going to be what is the expected
  • 00:19:19
    trajectory over the next one to two
  • 00:19:20
    years
  • 00:19:22
    um can I can I take this sorry no I'm
  • 00:19:24
    sure you'll have more to say on it but
  • 00:19:25
    just just very quickly only because I've
  • 00:19:27
    been obviously deeply involved in in
  • 00:19:29
    some of this and and obviously very
  • 00:19:31
    conscious from my own perspective as
  • 00:19:32
    well um you know so you know dilution is
  • 00:19:35
    is tough um but I see so many questions
  • 00:19:38
    on dilution and that seems to be a
  • 00:19:40
    massive concern to people. Dilution is
  • 00:19:42
    concerning and I get why it's concerning
  • 00:19:45
    but um you know again if the pie is
  • 00:19:48
    going to get much much bigger the
  • 00:19:51
    dilution is always worth it. You know
  • 00:19:52
    we've had a we you know we've had a
  • 00:19:54
    multiple number of issues affecting the
  • 00:19:57
    market generally in the last couple of
  • 00:19:59
    years and that's why we're in the
  • 00:20:00
    position we're in. So as this new
  • 00:20:01
    investor comes in, they are coming in
  • 00:20:04
    obviously they're going to own 40% uh
  • 00:20:06
    for 8 million which gives it a a post
  • 00:20:08
    money valuation of 20 million. Now a
  • 00:20:11
    couple of people have asked well what
  • 00:20:12
    does that mean in actual share price
  • 00:20:13
    terms the share price is about 215 no
  • 00:20:16
    from memory that's within
  • 00:20:18
    um with the what at the the issue price
  • 00:20:21
    is just over 200 201
  • 00:20:24
    okay there you go. So it's it's it's
  • 00:20:26
    unus 200 something so around the 200
  • 00:20:29
    mark. Now, our earliest investors had
  • 00:20:31
    come in at £500 a share and our later
  • 00:20:34
    investors came in at just under around
  • 00:20:36
    £1,000 a share. So, this is a a massive
  • 00:20:40
    dilution.
  • 00:20:41
    However,
  • 00:20:43
    don't forget that someone's coming in
  • 00:20:46
    and putting £8 million in and they're
  • 00:20:48
    doing that not because they think the
  • 00:20:50
    company is worth 20 million. They're
  • 00:20:51
    doing it they they're doing it at 20
  • 00:20:53
    million. You know, somebody's asked,
  • 00:20:55
    "Well, how do they arrive at that
  • 00:20:56
    price?" Well, they could arrive at that
  • 00:20:57
    price in a number of different ways, but
  • 00:20:59
    frankly, it's what can they get away
  • 00:21:01
    with? You know, if you apply all the
  • 00:21:03
    usual metrics to it, our company should
  • 00:21:05
    be worth at least around 60 65 million
  • 00:21:07
    right now. But the reason they were able
  • 00:21:10
    to come in with such a low price is
  • 00:21:12
    simply because they can. There's not
  • 00:21:15
    many people out there who are willing to
  • 00:21:16
    do uh an equity transaction of that size
  • 00:21:19
    right now in this kind of business. the
  • 00:21:22
    ones that are will take a long time to
  • 00:21:25
    transact. Um, in fact, we were told this
  • 00:21:27
    by by several uh equity brokers as well
  • 00:21:31
    that look, we can get you a better
  • 00:21:33
    price, but you could be waiting for six
  • 00:21:35
    maybe 12 months and the problem is we
  • 00:21:39
    don't have 6 to 12 months. Also, there's
  • 00:21:41
    no there's no guarantee that they will
  • 00:21:43
    come in at a better price because the
  • 00:21:46
    people that have the money are getting
  • 00:21:48
    bargains today. So, is this new incoming
  • 00:21:51
    investor getting a bargain? Absolutely.
  • 00:21:54
    Does it really kind of kill me that
  • 00:21:56
    they're getting such a deep discount?
  • 00:21:58
    Yes, it does. But do I also acknowledge
  • 00:22:01
    that with their money, we'll we'll get
  • 00:22:04
    back to 60 million, we'll get to 100
  • 00:22:05
    million, we'll get to 500 million. Yes.
  • 00:22:08
    So, we'll get back onto the growth path
  • 00:22:10
    that we were always on. And that's why
  • 00:22:14
    as much as it's painful and and like I
  • 00:22:17
    say a few people have spoken about this
  • 00:22:19
    uh in the questions as much as it's
  • 00:22:22
    painful don't look at what price they're
  • 00:22:25
    coming in at. Look at what we can do
  • 00:22:28
    with that £8 million
  • 00:22:30
    right and and that puts us back onto the
  • 00:22:33
    right growth path. Um, which means, you
  • 00:22:36
    know, if people have said, well, you
  • 00:22:37
    know, when I invested, I thought it was
  • 00:22:39
    going to be at 10x. You know, I still
  • 00:22:41
    believe we're going to be on that same
  • 00:22:43
    exact same growth trajectory,
  • 00:22:46
    but these guys coming in today are
  • 00:22:47
    coming in at a much lower price that
  • 00:22:49
    because they're putting in 8 million.
  • 00:22:51
    So, you know, we we we're going to have
  • 00:22:54
    to accept that they are going to be able
  • 00:22:56
    to negotiate a much much deeper
  • 00:22:58
    discount. Another question I had was uh
  • 00:23:02
    the 8 million pounds, what kind of
  • 00:23:04
    runway does it give us? Uh how does that
  • 00:23:07
    put into perspective from a cash flow
  • 00:23:09
    perspective? That's probably a loyal
  • 00:23:11
    question.
  • 00:23:11
    Um yeah, I mean based on our current
  • 00:23:14
    burn, I mean that gives us over two
  • 00:23:16
    years runway. Um so but as I alluded to
  • 00:23:21
    earlier the the the with the cash
  • 00:23:25
    balance that we would have it gives us
  • 00:23:27
    it gives us the ability to actually
  • 00:23:29
    ensure that we have capital buffers in
  • 00:23:31
    place ensure that we've got with the
  • 00:23:33
    certainty of funding that we can
  • 00:23:35
    actually think about looking forward to
  • 00:23:38
    grow the business and invest back into
  • 00:23:39
    the business. So I think what we're
  • 00:23:42
    always looking to do now is to ensure
  • 00:23:44
    that you know any investment we're
  • 00:23:46
    making into various areas of the
  • 00:23:48
    business that's um you know we can see
  • 00:23:52
    the outcome of the of that investment
  • 00:23:55
    before we embark on any other kind of
  • 00:23:57
    initiatives and investments. So I think
  • 00:24:00
    um with this two two-year runway I think
  • 00:24:03
    it it falls in line with our strategic
  • 00:24:05
    plans to to get to where we would like
  • 00:24:07
    to be. So although of course um it's
  • 00:24:12
    quite perverse without the 8 million
  • 00:24:14
    it's very hard to see that trajectory
  • 00:24:16
    but actually you know with this 8
  • 00:24:18
    million it almost gives us certainty to
  • 00:24:20
    get there I think that's the way we kind
  • 00:24:23
    of view this now
  • 00:24:25
    I'll just add two points to what Jack
  • 00:24:27
    and just mentioned number one is like
  • 00:24:29
    the two years is basically assuming that
  • 00:24:32
    there's no cash inflow
  • 00:24:33
    so which we will have cash inflow
  • 00:24:36
    so two that like so this says put it the
  • 00:24:38
    perspective how big a quantum this is is
  • 00:24:41
    that we sit there do nothing like for
  • 00:24:43
    two years. Uh that's the that's that's
  • 00:24:45
    the quantum of size we're talking about.
  • 00:24:48
    Uh secondly on valuation that Jack just
  • 00:24:51
    mentioned I I just want to supplement a
  • 00:24:53
    little bit. I agree with Jack what I was
  • 00:24:54
    saying. It's because while the dilution
  • 00:24:57
    sounds painful, but that's if we do
  • 00:25:00
    nothing with the 8 million like and you
  • 00:25:02
    burn that 8 million through and do
  • 00:25:04
    nothing like yes, then that's a 40%
  • 00:25:06
    dilution. But because this 8 million is
  • 00:25:10
    where we can invest into your business
  • 00:25:12
    and grow it and generate that ROE return
  • 00:25:15
    on the 8 million and that's what I think
  • 00:25:18
    Jack mentioned about how we could get to
  • 00:25:20
    like our 10x growth back basically. So,
  • 00:25:23
    so we just need to invest that money
  • 00:25:25
    wisely and generate the returns that
  • 00:25:27
    that that that is needed and and this is
  • 00:25:30
    where supplements were no mentioned
  • 00:25:32
    about like the use of proceeds earlier
  • 00:25:34
    in the presentation.
  • 00:25:36
    So, um I will ask the next question. Um
  • 00:25:39
    will the oh that's about the debt. Will
  • 00:25:41
    the debt possession be available on the
  • 00:25:44
    portal uh the corporate loan uh or do we
  • 00:25:47
    need to contact you separately?
  • 00:25:49
    Yeah, I think I think you'll have to
  • 00:25:51
    contact us directly. So um for many
  • 00:25:53
    years the FCA hasn't liked the idea of
  • 00:25:56
    of firms raising debt for their own firm
  • 00:25:58
    through their own platform. So uh so so
  • 00:26:01
    please do reach out to us directly. So
  • 00:26:03
    how it will work is that my team will be
  • 00:26:06
    sending out an email next week uh to all
  • 00:26:08
    shareholders like on the back after this
  • 00:26:10
    like so we don't don't want to mix the
  • 00:26:12
    message. So it will be a separate
  • 00:26:13
    independent email simply for this
  • 00:26:15
    corporate loan. So please watch out for
  • 00:26:17
    that and there will be instructions in
  • 00:26:19
    there on how to uh how to invest in this
  • 00:26:22
    corporate loan position
  • 00:26:24
    and and just preempting the the question
  • 00:26:26
    that will probably come up is can people
  • 00:26:28
    invest through an ISA into the corporate
  • 00:26:30
    debt and unfortunately the answer is no
  • 00:26:32
    because we can't do it through the
  • 00:26:33
    platform uh it's it's like a direct
  • 00:26:36
    corporate loan so uh unfortunately we
  • 00:26:38
    can't do it within an ISIS rapper.
  • 00:26:42
    Okay. So like uh follow on to the
  • 00:26:44
    dilution question is an investor say if
  • 00:26:46
    I invested 10 grand uh 10k uh does it
  • 00:26:50
    does it mean that it's worth 2k uh 2k
  • 00:26:53
    now or what does it what is it worth now
  • 00:26:55
    assuming let's assume it's a series B uh
  • 00:26:58
    65.8 million.
  • 00:27:00
    Yeah. Exactly. So I think series B uh
  • 00:27:03
    the it was around the uh just over the
  • 00:27:06
    thousand per share. So yes it's about a
  • 00:27:08
    fifth of that value. Um and again you
  • 00:27:11
    know the the the the question is is
  • 00:27:13
    slightly loaded as well right is does
  • 00:27:16
    that mean my shares are worth2 pound
  • 00:27:18
    today yes in the strictest sense yes
  • 00:27:20
    it's worth2 today but as I say it's
  • 00:27:23
    worth2 today but is it going to be
  • 00:27:25
    worth2 tomorrow once the 8 million has
  • 00:27:27
    dropped in well
  • 00:27:30
    that's where you've got to look at well
  • 00:27:31
    are we going to grow are we going to do
  • 00:27:33
    something with the 8 million and if
  • 00:27:35
    would the next person coming in say well
  • 00:27:37
    hang on if they've got 8 million to pro
  • 00:27:40
    surely it's not worth 20 million because
  • 00:27:41
    based on what they were doing and if
  • 00:27:43
    they're going back onto that path surely
  • 00:27:45
    it's worth a lot more money. So you know
  • 00:27:49
    it yes it's strictly it's it's strictly
  • 00:27:52
    it is worth2
  • 00:27:54
    uh or you know 2k if you put 10k in but
  • 00:27:57
    as we go forward it should hopefully
  • 00:27:59
    blast through what it was worth as well.
  • 00:28:03
    Okay so thank you. So uh given given
  • 00:28:06
    that the next question given that the
  • 00:28:08
    previous expected growth has not quite
  • 00:28:10
    materialized as planned uh and I've
  • 00:28:13
    invested in series A uh so what makes
  • 00:28:17
    you so confident of future growth? What
  • 00:28:19
    is the plan B if the growth uh does not
  • 00:28:21
    materialize as planned?
  • 00:28:23
    So so anyone that's been following us
  • 00:28:25
    for a while will be familiar with what
  • 00:28:28
    I'm about to say. Um but the the last
  • 00:28:30
    two to three years have been probably
  • 00:28:32
    the worst
  • 00:28:34
    in our entire business lifetime. Um
  • 00:28:37
    certainly you know the worst since the
  • 00:28:39
    financial crisis
  • 00:28:41
    the the the market in the last two to
  • 00:28:43
    three years. You know so many things
  • 00:28:46
    have happened from massive inflation in
  • 00:28:49
    terms of building you know building
  • 00:28:50
    materials you know postcoid uh inflation
  • 00:28:54
    uh generally kind of kicked in around
  • 00:28:55
    the world but you know obviously in
  • 00:28:57
    building materials that was even worse
  • 00:28:59
    obviously labor shortages led to further
  • 00:29:01
    inflation in building costs um exits
  • 00:29:04
    dried up first-time buyer uh market
  • 00:29:06
    dried up because of interest rates
  • 00:29:08
    shooting up obviously had instability in
  • 00:29:10
    the market so foreign capital dried up
  • 00:29:12
    coming into the UK market um you know
  • 00:29:15
    there's a whole host of things that have
  • 00:29:18
    happened and I won't go through all of
  • 00:29:20
    them again just you know in a lot of our
  • 00:29:21
    previous webinars we've spoken about
  • 00:29:23
    this but in short it you know the entire
  • 00:29:26
    lending market has been absolutely
  • 00:29:29
    clobbered with this same issues and it's
  • 00:29:31
    not just us it's pretty much any lender
  • 00:29:33
    you can think of so as a result of that
  • 00:29:36
    a lot of our exits didn't happen in the
  • 00:29:38
    timelines they were supposed to happen
  • 00:29:39
    we didn't we we were slightly more risk
  • 00:29:42
    off in terms of making new loans because
  • 00:29:44
    again making loans in a bad market you
  • 00:29:47
    know obviously that's not something you
  • 00:29:49
    want to do. So so where we are today uh
  • 00:29:53
    based on the last couple of years is not
  • 00:29:55
    where we should be say 2 years from now.
  • 00:29:57
    A lot of things are different. The
  • 00:29:59
    market is shifting. Money is flowing
  • 00:30:01
    back in. People are now used to higher
  • 00:30:04
    interest rates. You know they're not
  • 00:30:05
    going to be close to zero now ever
  • 00:30:07
    again. Um you know first-time buyer
  • 00:30:09
    markets are coming back. The government
  • 00:30:11
    is also guiding towards the first time
  • 00:30:12
    buyer market by relaxing mortgage rules.
  • 00:30:14
    International capital flows are coming
  • 00:30:16
    back. Um you know the inflationary
  • 00:30:18
    environment has now settled. So so today
  • 00:30:23
    if I was to grow today or if I was to
  • 00:30:26
    kind of look at the business today it's
  • 00:30:27
    a very different world to two years ago.
  • 00:30:29
    Where we see this this happening now you
  • 00:30:31
    know with the 8 million coming in is
  • 00:30:32
    really looking at how do we grow the
  • 00:30:34
    business? How do you how do we take
  • 00:30:36
    advantage of the current market and also
  • 00:30:38
    where the market is moving to over the
  • 00:30:40
    next uh two to three years? I've already
  • 00:30:42
    spoken several times about the whole
  • 00:30:45
    loans that we're planning to do. That's
  • 00:30:47
    definitely happening. It's already
  • 00:30:48
    started happening. And the reason it's
  • 00:30:50
    happening now, which couldn't happen
  • 00:30:52
    before, was because the private equity
  • 00:30:54
    firms that needed to provide the the
  • 00:30:56
    backing for these senior lending uh
  • 00:30:58
    funding lines, they weren't comfortable
  • 00:31:01
    enough over the last couple of years to
  • 00:31:02
    plow more money into the midm market.
  • 00:31:04
    They are now, you know, last couple of
  • 00:31:06
    years, everyone had frozen because
  • 00:31:08
    everyone was taking hits from the the
  • 00:31:11
    state the market was in. Now that money
  • 00:31:13
    is flooding back in. So we we are in the
  • 00:31:16
    right place at the right time to grow
  • 00:31:18
    this business to do what we always
  • 00:31:21
    wanted to do. Um time will tell
  • 00:31:24
    obviously there is no guarantee. Uh you
  • 00:31:27
    know tomorrow we could be hit by
  • 00:31:28
    something else unexpected but based on
  • 00:31:31
    what we know as of today we are well
  • 00:31:33
    positioned to grow the market and
  • 00:31:36
    deliver on what we always said was our
  • 00:31:39
    business plan. Um you know we are
  • 00:31:41
    already one of the key junior lenders in
  • 00:31:44
    the market. We are soon about to become
  • 00:31:46
    one of the key whole loan lenders in the
  • 00:31:48
    market which in itself is attracting new
  • 00:31:50
    funding lines to come in and approach us
  • 00:31:53
    to deploy money into that market which
  • 00:31:55
    will bring in more fees, more profit
  • 00:31:57
    shares which will continue almost that
  • 00:32:00
    cycle of growing the business and
  • 00:32:01
    growing the platform because in every
  • 00:32:03
    deal we want to create a slice which we
  • 00:32:06
    can put onto the platform. Even though
  • 00:32:07
    we're taking institutional money now and
  • 00:32:10
    family office money, we always want to
  • 00:32:12
    create a slice for the retail investment
  • 00:32:14
    platform which continues to grow the
  • 00:32:16
    value of the investment platform. So
  • 00:32:19
    again, no guarantee, but we believe now
  • 00:32:22
    is the time it will happen.
  • 00:32:29
    Jackie, you're on mute.
  • 00:32:32
    Thank you. Thank you, J. Um I think the
  • 00:32:35
    we've answered most of the questions if
  • 00:32:38
    not all like I think we pretty much have
  • 00:32:40
    answered all the questions. It's a lot
  • 00:32:41
    of repeats a lot of a lot of uh
  • 00:32:44
    questions is on uh the valuation. Oh
  • 00:32:47
    there's one question coming up. Uh I
  • 00:32:49
    don't understand your business extremely
  • 00:32:51
    well. So the question I have is if the
  • 00:32:53
    business model itself is robust and will
  • 00:32:56
    last.
  • 00:32:58
    So whether like whether our business
  • 00:33:00
    model is solid and robust enough and it
  • 00:33:02
    will last.
  • 00:33:03
    So so so remember our business was
  • 00:33:06
    always focused on uh development lending
  • 00:33:09
    in the middle market. So projects
  • 00:33:11
    between 10 and 60 10 and 70 million
  • 00:33:13
    pounds. Um it is also um you know
  • 00:33:18
    distributing those loans through a
  • 00:33:20
    mixture of institutional investors,
  • 00:33:22
    family offices and most importantly a
  • 00:33:24
    retail a global retail investment
  • 00:33:26
    platform. So, so it's not it's not like
  • 00:33:31
    I don't know a a tried and tested
  • 00:33:33
    business like I don't know I don't know
  • 00:33:36
    a coffee shop or something right it's we
  • 00:33:38
    we we've almost created a market that
  • 00:33:41
    never existed by opening this up to
  • 00:33:43
    global investors so yes it has its own
  • 00:33:46
    risks but remember last few years this
  • 00:33:49
    is what we've been building through um
  • 00:33:51
    you know we've been learning what works
  • 00:33:53
    what doesn't work we've been building
  • 00:33:54
    more partnerships in the market both
  • 00:33:56
    here and internationally
  • 00:33:58
    We are at a position where I believe we
  • 00:34:00
    are set for growth. Um, as part of that
  • 00:34:04
    process, remember it's not just us doing
  • 00:34:06
    it. You know, we've been surrounding
  • 00:34:08
    ourselves with with further kind of
  • 00:34:11
    market professionals. So, no, perhaps
  • 00:34:14
    you can talk about how we've been
  • 00:34:15
    strengthening our board and or the
  • 00:34:17
    advisory board that sits around us.
  • 00:34:20
    Um, yeah, so we've obviously had two new
  • 00:34:22
    additions to our board. Um Graeme
  • 00:34:26
    Russling who joined us in April uh this
  • 00:34:29
    year he's come with a wealth of
  • 00:34:30
    experience from Barclays. Um he headed
  • 00:34:33
    up the Barclay's global recovery book
  • 00:34:36
    which was you know $60 billion book for
  • 00:34:39
    for Barclays and he's a specialist in
  • 00:34:42
    credit risk management. So he's shaping
  • 00:34:45
    our credit risk framework within the
  • 00:34:47
    business and our generally our corporate
  • 00:34:49
    risk framework uh across uh the platform
  • 00:34:52
    side of the business as well. Um one of
  • 00:34:55
    one of the key kind of outputs from that
  • 00:34:58
    will be the creation of a credit risk
  • 00:35:00
    function which we're uh taking out from
  • 00:35:03
    the lending division. There an
  • 00:35:05
    independent risk function which again
  • 00:35:08
    will um you know allow us to manage uh
  • 00:35:11
    the portfolio risk u far tighter as we
  • 00:35:14
    start to embark on doing whole loans um
  • 00:35:17
    and lending lending larger amounts into
  • 00:35:20
    into the market. So I think that's one
  • 00:35:22
    key key key kind of hire which is
  • 00:35:25
    strengthening the kind of risk um and
  • 00:35:28
    governance side of the business. Uh
  • 00:35:30
    Wayne Healey who joined us back in
  • 00:35:32
    November now and he's been working he's
  • 00:35:34
    been quite instrumental in working with
  • 00:35:36
    the lending division as well as on the
  • 00:35:38
    investment side and he's um he's ex
  • 00:35:41
    Barlay's corporate banking uh debt
  • 00:35:44
    specialist who's run syndication desk
  • 00:35:46
    for over 10 years. though is helping to
  • 00:35:49
    shape our uh lending division looking
  • 00:35:53
    for institutional funding lines and um
  • 00:35:56
    larger liquidity pools to tap into which
  • 00:35:59
    will allow us to deploy into our whole
  • 00:36:01
    learn product. So I think um those two
  • 00:36:04
    eyes now are helping the board to steer
  • 00:36:07
    our strategy as well as um starting to
  • 00:36:11
    uh bring the right individuals on board
  • 00:36:14
    to strengthen our teams to obviously um
  • 00:36:17
    you know allow us to execute on our on
  • 00:36:20
    our plans.
  • 00:36:23
    Thank you Noel. Um thank you. So the
  • 00:36:26
    next question is, is there any
  • 00:36:28
    opportunity for me to buy more shares at
  • 00:36:30
    the current valuation of £200 per share?
  • 00:36:33
    Um, can I just combine that with another
  • 00:36:35
    question that came up about whether
  • 00:36:37
    somebody could sell their shares, um,
  • 00:36:39
    and I'm assuming it means at the same
  • 00:36:41
    value. So while while we can't issue
  • 00:36:43
    more shares at the same valuation
  • 00:36:45
    because remember the valuation is based
  • 00:36:47
    on an8 million pound injection what then
  • 00:36:51
    has to happen is if we're going to issue
  • 00:36:52
    new shares we have to go back and get
  • 00:36:53
    board approval from the new investor as
  • 00:36:55
    well. New investor would be part of that
  • 00:36:57
    and then we'd issue new shares but it
  • 00:36:58
    wouldn't necessarily be at the 200. The
  • 00:37:00
    200 is what it is because someone's
  • 00:37:02
    putting in £8 million.
  • 00:37:04
    So so now if you wanted to come in with
  • 00:37:07
    £8 million that's a different story
  • 00:37:09
    because that's where the preeemption
  • 00:37:10
    comes in. But without that um the the
  • 00:37:13
    short answer would be no. But the longer
  • 00:37:16
    answer would be if there are people that
  • 00:37:18
    do want to buy more shares and it could
  • 00:37:20
    be at any price from the £200 a share
  • 00:37:23
    that this investor is coming in at up to
  • 00:37:25
    whatever price right up to the the 1,000
  • 00:37:28
    that were paid on the last uh series B.
  • 00:37:31
    um if they're willing to pay anything
  • 00:37:33
    between those numbers, the existing
  • 00:37:36
    investors who might want to sell because
  • 00:37:39
    one person I know is quite keen to sell
  • 00:37:41
    because they need some liquidity,
  • 00:37:43
    we we can help match those two things up
  • 00:37:46
    in the sense that we can connect. We we
  • 00:37:50
    can't transact on the platform where
  • 00:37:52
    we're not allowed to do that anymore uh
  • 00:37:54
    in terms of matching buyers and sellers.
  • 00:37:56
    But what we can do is if the person that
  • 00:37:59
    wants to sell their shares lets us know
  • 00:38:01
    what price the minimum price they'll be
  • 00:38:03
    willing to sell their shares would be,
  • 00:38:05
    we can then connect that up with the
  • 00:38:07
    buyer who who wants to buy more shares
  • 00:38:10
    and if the price works then we can help
  • 00:38:12
    the transaction go through if that makes
  • 00:38:14
    sense. So if you want to buy or sell
  • 00:38:16
    shares get in touch with us and we'll
  • 00:38:18
    see if we can connect up the two
  • 00:38:19
    parties.
  • 00:38:24
    Thank you. Uh thank you J for answering
  • 00:38:26
    that question. So there there was
  • 00:38:28
    another question that uh came through.
  • 00:38:30
    What is plan B in the event that there
  • 00:38:33
    are still problems with growth going
  • 00:38:34
    forward?
  • 00:38:36
    So so look we are anyone that knows us
  • 00:38:40
    knows that we run a very very tight ship
  • 00:38:42
    in that we're not we're not just
  • 00:38:45
    spending money for the sake of it. We we
  • 00:38:47
    will
  • 00:38:49
    a everything is like going to be sorry
  • 00:38:52
    everything is going to be very
  • 00:38:54
    methodically be done in terms of how we
  • 00:38:57
    continue growing the the business. Now
  • 00:39:00
    you can look at the business having
  • 00:39:01
    various parts to it. But if we look at
  • 00:39:03
    the platform side as a good example, the
  • 00:39:06
    platform side has been starved of
  • 00:39:08
    investment for many years because we've
  • 00:39:10
    just not had money. But we do know that
  • 00:39:13
    that's the thing that gives the company
  • 00:39:14
    value, right? We can do loans. We can
  • 00:39:17
    generate revenue and cash flow that
  • 00:39:20
    enables us to stay alive. Obviously, you
  • 00:39:22
    know, everyone can get paid very well,
  • 00:39:24
    of course, but that doesn't really
  • 00:39:26
    create enough corporate value. So, how
  • 00:39:28
    do you create corporate value? Well, you
  • 00:39:30
    continue to grow the platform. So,
  • 00:39:33
    everything is going to be very
  • 00:39:34
    methodically done. We're not planning to
  • 00:39:35
    spend loads of money. It will be very
  • 00:39:37
    small amounts will be spent on trial and
  • 00:39:39
    error to see what's working, what isn't
  • 00:39:41
    before we then go and spend more money
  • 00:39:42
    to bring in more platform investors.
  • 00:39:45
    Meanwhile, on the lending side, we will
  • 00:39:47
    continue writing transactions, but
  • 00:39:50
    again, we're not going nuts to hire a
  • 00:39:52
    ton of people. We're we're we're doing
  • 00:39:54
    it very methodically by um utilizing the
  • 00:39:58
    team that we have and then adding on uh
  • 00:40:01
    technology where technology can be
  • 00:40:04
    utilized to optimize that early stage
  • 00:40:07
    for example origination due diligence
  • 00:40:09
    process. So while our team for example
  • 00:40:11
    will grow, we're not just going to go
  • 00:40:14
    and hire a ton of people. We will be
  • 00:40:16
    spending very very carefully in
  • 00:40:18
    appropriate areas to grow the business
  • 00:40:20
    with minimal additional cost. I think no
  • 00:40:24
    mentioned earlier that our current burn
  • 00:40:25
    rate is around was it around 300 per
  • 00:40:28
    month?
  • 00:40:29
    Um just over 300 including interest but
  • 00:40:32
    excluding interest is about 260.
  • 00:40:36
    Right. So, so you know, we're not
  • 00:40:38
    looking to increase that dramatically.
  • 00:40:41
    Um, we might just move some resources
  • 00:40:43
    around and then like I said, if
  • 00:40:45
    anything, we're going to be utilizing
  • 00:40:46
    technology to try and grow. So, um, so
  • 00:40:50
    that's the first thing I would say. So,
  • 00:40:52
    you know, when you when you talk about a
  • 00:40:53
    plan B, a plan, the plan B
  • 00:40:56
    is really, you know, what brings in
  • 00:41:00
    what enables a company to to to stay
  • 00:41:03
    alive for the longest. Well, what
  • 00:41:05
    enables a company to do that will be
  • 00:41:07
    writing new deals and generating
  • 00:41:10
    revenue. So that's the core focus and
  • 00:41:14
    the idea is write new deals, bring in
  • 00:41:17
    additional revenue, meanwhile continue
  • 00:41:19
    to grow the platform by putting money
  • 00:41:22
    into that growth, you know, the
  • 00:41:23
    marketing and so on to continue growing
  • 00:41:25
    it. But even on that side, for example,
  • 00:41:28
    we're looking at a lot of partnerships
  • 00:41:29
    with international partners um to look
  • 00:41:32
    at how we can grow the platform without
  • 00:41:35
    having to throw lots of money in just
  • 00:41:37
    ourselves. And you know some of you may
  • 00:41:40
    be familiar but you know we have been
  • 00:41:41
    looking at um merging the platform side
  • 00:41:45
    with some other parties. Some you know
  • 00:41:47
    we were looking at a European trading
  • 00:41:49
    platform which would then give us um you
  • 00:41:52
    know while the the UK FCA has pulled
  • 00:41:54
    back on our ability to or investors
  • 00:41:57
    ability to actually trade these
  • 00:41:58
    positions. The European ones do allow
  • 00:42:01
    trading. So it it might make sense to
  • 00:42:03
    merge with one of those so that we can
  • 00:42:05
    then allow our investors to buy and sell
  • 00:42:08
    their bonds whenever they want to.
  • 00:42:13
    Got it. Um a question I have from
  • 00:42:15
    Asholder is like I supported the company
  • 00:42:19
    uh like at 65.8 million valuation before
  • 00:42:22
    the equity launch in early this year. Um
  • 00:42:26
    and uh because the company needed the
  • 00:42:28
    funds to to survive and extend the
  • 00:42:32
    runway. Um so what will happen to my
  • 00:42:35
    shares right now in in in the short
  • 00:42:37
    term?
  • 00:42:38
    So so unfortunately we did look at this
  • 00:42:40
    last time um about whether we could do
  • 00:42:44
    anything with those and we've been told
  • 00:42:46
    we can't really do anything but what it
  • 00:42:47
    does mean is remember that's probably
  • 00:42:50
    the last time retail investors are ever
  • 00:42:52
    going to get access to these shares.
  • 00:42:54
    anything in the future is always going
  • 00:42:55
    to be institutional now. So, so while I
  • 00:42:58
    appreciate you, you feel like you kind
  • 00:43:00
    of overpaid for those shares given where
  • 00:43:02
    we're coming in now, remember normal
  • 00:43:04
    investors can't come in for this round
  • 00:43:07
    because the the preeemption is based on
  • 00:43:09
    £8 million coming in. So that so so
  • 00:43:12
    while on on the one hand I I totally
  • 00:43:15
    understand you might think well hang on
  • 00:43:16
    that was a bit rubbish because I stepped
  • 00:43:18
    in to help the company but at the same
  • 00:43:21
    time the shares you bought hopefully
  • 00:43:23
    will be shooting past that valuation
  • 00:43:26
    very soon with this influx of capital
  • 00:43:28
    and then the growth plans that we will
  • 00:43:30
    be implementing. So I I understand that
  • 00:43:32
    you might not be happy but at the same
  • 00:43:34
    time please do be happy because that
  • 00:43:37
    will have been the last time you could
  • 00:43:39
    have actually bought shares as it turns
  • 00:43:41
    out. So going forward remember our next
  • 00:43:45
    exit or our next kind of transaction
  • 00:43:47
    will be with a larger um institutional
  • 00:43:50
    investor like a private equity firm.
  • 00:43:55
    Thank you. And another question came in.
  • 00:43:58
    Oh, it's about our operations like uh
  • 00:44:01
    what what what public uh platform what
  • 00:44:04
    cloud platform does we sit on and how
  • 00:44:06
    does it you and you can make an
  • 00:44:08
    introduction. So uh I'll reach out to
  • 00:44:10
    you uh uh uh shortly. Um thank you very
  • 00:44:13
    much for for that about about the cloud
  • 00:44:16
    platform and how you can make an intro
  • 00:44:17
    introduction to help help us on it.
  • 00:44:19
    Thank you. Um if there are no more
  • 00:44:22
    questions I'll wrap up today's uh uh
  • 00:44:25
    shoulders update here. I want to thank
  • 00:44:27
    all our shareholders your time and
  • 00:44:30
    please do vote to support uh this equity
  • 00:44:33
    transaction to go through uh uh so that
  • 00:44:36
    we can uh get on with uh helping the
  • 00:44:39
    company grow. Um and uh we would really
  • 00:44:42
    appreciate your support. And if you've
  • 00:44:44
    got any further questions, please don't
  • 00:44:46
    hesitate to reach out to me or my team
  • 00:44:49
    at invest.co.uk.
  • 00:44:52
    investshon.co.uk.
  • 00:44:55
    Um, so thank you J and Noy for your time
  • 00:44:57
    as well. Thank you very much everybody.
  • 00:44:59
    Sorry, can I just just final reminder?
  • 00:45:01
    So you'll get a docky sign. It's not a
  • 00:45:03
    voting button. You'll get a docu sign.
  • 00:45:05
    Please just docuign those documents and
  • 00:45:08
    then that will count as your your vote.
  • 00:45:10
    We need over 75% signed.
  • 00:45:13
    Thank you very much.
  • 00:45:14
    Thank you. See you later. Byebye.
  • 00:45:16
    Bye.
  • 00:45:22
    [Music]
Etiquetas
  • equity fundraising
  • investment
  • shareholder update
  • business growth
  • debt refinancing
  • lending market
  • dilution
  • Monaco investor
  • financial strategy
  • company valuation