2015 Highlights
Net assets increased by approximately 50% to £781.9m (2014: 526.2m)
£178.8m (net of expenses) raised through the issue of new equity capital
Acceleration of US activities with four new portfolio companies created bringing the total portfolio to five
Acquisition of a £40.0m strategic holding in Oxford Sciences Innovation plc, broadening the Group's exposure to spin-out companies from the University of Oxford
Modern Biosciences plc reached the first development-related milestones in its agreement with Janssen Biotech, Inc. triggering gross payments of £8.0m
Financial highlights
Net assets excluding intangibles increased to £714.3m (2014: £451.3m)
Adjusted profit before tax of £82.4m (2014: £16.2m), excluding amortisation of intangible assets and reduction in fair value of Oxford Equity Rights asset of £7.3m (2014: £6.7m)
Net cash and deposits at 31 Dec 2015: £178.8m (FY14: £97.3m)
New 8-year £30m debt facility negotiated with European Investment Bank
Portfolio highlights
Fair value of portfolio: £552.2m (2014: £349.9m)
Net increase in fair value of portfolio, excluding net investment, of £86.2m (2014: £22.3m)
Capital provided to portfolio companies* and projects: £75.9m (2014: £46.8m)
Portfolio realisations: £0.6m (2014: £9.7m)
Group's portfolio companies raised approximately £300m of new capital in 2015
Oxford Nanopore completed £70m private financing and its MinION product became fully commercially available
Diurnal Group plc completed £30m AIM admission and began Phase 3 trials for its Infacort® product
Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive of IP Group, said: "2015 saw the Group's strongest financial performance since its formation. During the year, we completed a number of key corporate transactions and secured our financial position for growth with successful equity and debt raisings. These funds will be used to grow both our UK and US operations as we continue to internationalise the business. It was also an extremely productive year for our portfolio companies who recorded some impressive achievements which included raising approximately £300m of new capital. In addition, the Group took a strategic stake in Oxford Sciences Innovation plc, providing access to a much wider range of scientific research from the University of Oxford and broadening its exposure to future Oxford spin-out companies.
Major global economies continue to increase expenditure on research and development in the face of macroeconomic trends that continue to cast significant uncertainty over the pace of the global economic recovery. IP Group remains well-positioned to respond to this environment with a healthy pipeline of opportunities across all of our sectors underpinned by a strong cash position. Against this backdrop, we remain cautiously optimistic about the prospects for the current year and beyond and believe we are well-positioned for future growth."
* in addition to acquisition of £40.0m strategic holding in Oxford Sciences Innovation plc
