EIS Industry Report 2018/19

69 68 DEEPBRIDGE DEEPBRIDGE TECHNOLOGY GROWTH ABOUT THE PROVIDER Deepbridge was founded with the aim of building an investment team that could redefine tax- incentivised growth-focused risk capital. Our purpose is to provide reassurance to investors by enabling them to invest alongside our team of passionate and experienced domain specialists. A genuine blend of skillsets from a cohesive team that know what it is like to run a business and who have a balanced approach between strong management, practical experience, and demonstrable governance. Deepbridge believes in supporting, mentoring, and investing alongside energetic, committed, and highly performing management teams. Our ambition is to help these businesses achieve their full potential and thereby provide the best possible outcomes for our investors. We promote a culture of professional excellence and integrity which characterises all that we do. We aim to bring incremental value to investee companies through our experience of building growth businesses, involving our technology advisors and industry partners. OUR DEEPBRIDGE TECHNOLOGY GROWTH EIS OFFER The Deepbridge Technology Growth EIS provides an opportunity for investors to participate in a portfolio of actively-managed growth- focused technology companies, taking advantage of the potential EIS tax reliefs available. With a diversi ed portfolio of companies seeking commercialisation and expansion funding, the Deepbridge Technology Growth EIS invests in growth companies that possess a technology that is post-proof of concept, with robust intellectual property, and which are operating in a high growth market sector. The Deepbridge Technology Growth EIS is focused on investing in growth-focused companies that are seeking to commercialise and expand, speci cally in three sectors: • Energy & resource innovation; • Medical technology; • IT-based technology. Deepbridge takes an active role (not just a non-executive Board seat) to guide, mentor and counsel the management team of the investee company. The provision of hands-on operational experience, combined with nancial expertise can seek to materially mitigate the investment risk borne by the Investor. CASE STUDY: ARBNCO LTD Arbnco Ltd is a technology innovator operating in the competitive field of real estate energy efficiency analysis and improvement modelling, and has developed a suite of proprietary software that provides in-depth analysis of energy consumption, along with recommendations for improving energy efficiency for commercial real estate of all kinds. With this information, end- users are able to take positive steps to improve the energy performance of their estate holdings, increasing its value and ensuring compliance with UK and EU regulations on building energy efficiency and emissions. The Company has a suite of solutions, all related to its core activity of real estate energy performance analysis and reporting: • Arbn Consult provides Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (‘MEES’) compliance software to the UK real estate consultant market. This cloud-based solution is available to UK consultants; • Arbn Estates offers MEES risk management software for commercial real estate property investors, managers and subsequent stakeholders; • Arbn Energy aims to deliver better prediction of energy use in existing buildings using the learnings from the Company’s involvement in the Strathclyde University Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP); and • Arbn Well examines ways to assess and enhance the health and wellbeing of employees working in buildings in conjunction with Strathclyde University. Deepbridge has invested £3.5m to date, assisting the Company’s product development and client acquisition activities, such as with M&G Real Estate and TH Real Estate. Deepbridge is now working with the Company to facilitate a Series A fundraising to continue the growth of the Company and to facilitate a future exit opportunity. DOWNING DOWNING VENTURES EIS ABOUT THE PROVIDER Downing is a leading investment management firm, established in 1986. Since then we have raised some £1.7 billion from more than 35,000 investors to support smaller UK businesses that may struggle to find traditional finance. We currently manage over £1 billion of funds, of which over £200 million is in EIS-qualifying investments. Our 50-strong investment team have extensive expertise and a network of connections in a variety of sectors. We believe this gives us a competitive advantage in terms of deal flow and allows us to build lasting partnerships with excellent management teams. We seek to manage risk and provide some diversification across our products and services by investing in a variety of opportunities. Our due diligence process ensures we understand the companies we’re investing in and that the management teams’ interests are aligned with our investors’. We believe these core values set us apart from our peers in the alternative investment market. OUR EIS OFFER Downing Ventures EIS invests in high-risk, high potential return opportunities, focusing on early- stage UK technology companies in a broad range of sectors, including enterprise software, healthcare technology and special situations technology. In return, investors can access attractive tax reliefs, including 30% income tax relief in the current and previous tax year (via carryback). As is the nature of early-stage companies, some may succeed while others fail. To manage risk, we aim to spread investment across a portfolio of 10 - 15 companies, where possible, across a variety of sectors. We analyse a high number of opportunities and conduct thorough due diligence before making an investment. In 2017, our team analysed around 100 new investment opportunities every month – proving there’s no shortage of talent, creativity and entrepreneurship in the UK. We seek to provide an opportunity to exit between four and eight years from the date shares were originally acquired (please note that this is a target and is not guaranteed). HUMMINGBIRD TECHNOLOGIES Hummingbird is an artificial intelligence business that uses imagery and data analytics from drone and satellite technology to provide farmers with precise maps of their crops. It uses advanced machine learning and computer vision techniques to deliver insights on crop health directly to the field. This analysis enables farmers to predict yield, detect diseases and analyse farmland health, and can help them achieve better yields and profits. There’s an increasing demand for agricultural production to meet the needs of the world’s growing population, which provides agritech businesses like Hummingbird with excellent growth opportunities. Downing Ventures invested in Hummingbird in April 2018, following the company’s £3 million fundraise from investors including the European Space Agency and Sir James Dyson. The funding will allow Hummingbird to expand across the UK and move into key markets in Russia, Ukraine, Brazil and Australia. Capital is at risk and investors may not get back the full amount invested. Tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each investor and may be subject to change. The availability of tax reliefs depends on investee companies maintaining their qualifying status. Investments in unlisted smaller companies will involve greater risk or volatility than those in larger, more established companies. Downing LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (firm reference no. 545025). Registered in England and Wales (No. OC341575). Registered Office: 6th Floor, St Magnus House, 3 Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6HD. DIGITAL HEALTH E-COMMERCE EDUCATION LIFE SCIENCES CONSUMER ENTERPRISE SAAS MARKETING TECH DOWNING VENTURES EIS PORTFOLIO BY SECTOR