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FY2020 Annual Report · Draper Esprit PLC
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Venture Capital
Reinvented.

Draper Esprit plc Annual Report 2020
Year ended 31 March 2020

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Registration number 09799594

 
 
 
 
 
 
The future.  
Built by entrepreneurs.

We back Europe’s best entrepreneurs. As one of the most active 
venture capital firms in Europe, Draper Esprit invests in high growth 
technology companies with global ambitions. We fuel their growth 
with long-term capital, access to international networks, decades of 
experience building businesses and the knowledge that a better future 
requires new thinking. 

We reinvented venture capital. We don’t just invest in entrepreneurs,  
we are entrepreneurs. Our public listing and multifund model allow 
us to provide entrepreneurs with a more flexible approach to funding, 
to back the best teams for longer, and give investors access to a new 
asset class.

We are global. The best entrepreneurs will take their companies 
beyond Europe. To help them, we are part of the Draper Venture 
Network, a global community of 24 independent funds. We have 
collectively backed businesses such as Baidu, Tesla, Cambridge  
Silicon Radio, Graphcore and Revolut.

In This Report

02  
03 
04 
07 

Performance Highlights 2020
Chair’s Introduction 
CEO’s Statement 
Case Study: Experience Matters 

Strategic Report

10 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
26 
29 
33 
41 
44 
45 
48 
52 

Market Context
The Investment Opportunity
Our Investment Strategy
Supporting Companies for Growth
Case Study: Pod Point
Our Investment Criteria
Seed Funds Update
Our People
Our Pools of Capital
Our Portfolio
What’s in a Share?
Our Partnership with Earlybird
Activity in the Year
Case Studies: Fintech
Portfolio Review
Core Company Updates
Financial Review
Key Performance Indicators
Sustainability
Section 172 Statement 
Principle Risks

Governance

58 
61 
65 
67 
72 
74 

Board of Directors
Chair’s Corporate Governance Report
Audit, Risk and Valuations Committee Report
Remuneration and Nomination Committee Report
Directors’ Report
Directors’ Responsibility Statement

Financials

78 
84 
85 
86 
87 
88 
117 
118 
119 
126 
127 
131 

Independent Auditors’ Report
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Company Statements of Financial Position
Company Statement of Changes in Equity
Notes to the Company Financial Statements
Directors, Secretary and Advisers
Notice of Annual General Meeting
Glossary 

The Strategic Report comprising the inside cover to page 55 has been 
approved by the Board and signed on its behalf by 

B.D. Wilkinson  
26 June 2020

Highlights

Annual Report 2020

“Now more than ever, technology plays an integral role 
in all our lives and has enabled us to adapt to rapidly 
changing circumstances and challenges.”

Karen Slatford 
Non-Executive Chair

Performance Highlights 2020

555p

£703m

£90m

£660m

£40m

NAV per share increase  
by 6% to 555 pence  
(year to 31 March 2019:  
524 pence).

Gross Portfolio Value 
increased by 18% to 
£703m (31 March 2019: 
increase of 144% to 
£594m).

£90m invested by the 
Group (year to 31 March 
2019: £226m including 
£106m via Earlybird), 
and a further £38m was 
invested by EIS/VCT (year 
to 31 March 2019: £35m).

Net Assets of £660m  
(31 March 2019: £619m).

Profit after tax of £40m 
(year to 31 March 2019: 
£111m).

£40m

10%

US$1.8bn

<1%

Cash realisations of £40m 
(year to 31 March 2019: 
£16m), with further  
exits amounting to 
approx. £80m announced 
post year-end.

Gross Portfolio Fair 
Value increase of 10% 
with a £59m fair value 
movement in the year  
(31 March 2019:  
£140m, 58%).

US$1.8bn raised by the core 
portfolio in the year 
(year ending 31 March  
2019: US$1.6bn).

Operating costs (net of 
fee income) continue to 
be less than the targeted 
1% of year-end NAV.

£34m

£34m available cash 
resources at year-end 
and undrawn debt 
facilities of £5m, further 
complemented by c.£50m 
from EIS and VCT funds  
(31 March 2019: £150m+). 

Operational highlights
 - The value of the core portfolio companies has increased to £471m 

Post period-end
 - Extended the term of the revolving credit facility with Silicon Valley 

from £415m as at 31 March 2019.

 - Invested in 9 new companies (including 4 via Earlybird VI*) and 19 
existing portfolio companies (including 4 via Earlybird VI*) during 
the year.

 - Committed to 4 new seed funds, bringing the total seed fund 

of funds portfolio to 20 with total commitments of £39m. £13m 
drawn down at year-end, of which £7m was drawn during FY2020.

 - Acquired the remaining interest in Encore Ventures LLP, the 

partnership which manages Draper Esprit’s EIS funds.

 - Appointment of Martin Davis as Chief Executive Officer in 

November 2019.

 - A focus on scaling our investment capability and building out the 

infrastructure to support the next stage of our journey.
 - Reacted quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic to safeguard 

employees, our investments and monitor the liquidity of the 
Company.

Some of the above measures are Alternative Performance Measures (“APMs”) - see note 30 to 
the consolidated financial statements for further details.  
*Reporting threshold – companies with a NAV of £1 million or more. 

Bank and Investec by 1 year to 2023 and increased its size by £10m to 
£60m in line with Draper Esprit’s growing portfolio. 

 - Zynga Inc. announced their agreement to acquire Peak Games for 

$1.8bn, which will, subject to closing, indicate a fair value holding for 
Draper Esprit of approximately £80m, representing a fair value uplift 
of £26m in the year ending 31 March 2020 and a further approx. £12m 
anticipated post year-end (actual returns are subject to completion 
conditions, including FX movements, and acquirer share price 
movement with respect to the stock component).

 - Simon Cook will be stepping down from the Board from 1 July 2020. 
Simon will remain with the Company as founding partner and focus 
on generating new deals and will continue as a board member for a 
number of portfolio companies.

 - Actively appraising dealflow opportunities and making selective 

investments in high quality companies in markets that benefit from the 
accelerated transition to digital such as Cazoo (online car retailer).
 - Portfolio companies continue to raise financing rounds (some after 

the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted the economy), such as Aircall 
and others as yet unannounced.

2
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2

draperesprit.com

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.com 
 
Chair’s Introduction

Annual Report 2020

Chair’s Introduction

In parallel with our continued focussed 
portfolio approach and our vision to 
democratise venture capital we have also 
made some investments in our own business 
to build the infrastructure that will enable 
us to broaden our appeal to a wider pool 
of investors who would not usually have 
access to private high growth technology 
companies.

Martin Davis joined us in the latter part 
of 2019 as Chief Executive Officer. Martin 
brings with him experience of working in both 
technology businesses and in senior roles 
in financial services. Simon Cook remains 
with the firm and will focus on what he 
loves best, working with entrepreneurs in our 
existing portfolio and identifying new exciting 
investments as Founding Partner of Draper 
Esprit. Stuart Chapman continues to bring his 
experience as a critical member of the Board 
and senior Executive team. As well as these 
changes to our senior leadership team, we 
expanded our HR, IT and legal functions and 
welcomed new members to the Partnership 
team, including two internal Partner 
promotions, one new Investment Director 
hire, and a new Senior Partner appointment 
post year-end. 

We believe the combination of Martin’s 
experience with Simon and Stuart’s deep 
sector commitment and long standing 
expertise in working with start-up and scale-
up businesses, combined with a team of 
talented investment professionals position 
us well to compete for and invest in Europe’s 
most exciting technology companies. 

To reinforce our commitment to entrepreneurs 
we also acquired the remaining interest 
in Encore Ventures LLP in March 2020, the 
partnership which manages Draper Esprit’s 
EIS funds. During the year we supported our 

existing portfolio with follow-on capital while 
also backing new firms, including making 
investments in an exciting fintech business 
and a pioneering IoT start up through to 
a digital analytics firm and a graphene 
technology company.

The end of this financial year saw an 
increasingly challenging environment 
resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.  
We took early steps to implement measures 
to safeguard employees, in our business, 
and to ensure increased dialogue with our 
portfolio companies by providing advice and 
support throughout this difficult time. 

Although a small number of our portfolio 
companies operate in industries which 
are more directly affected, such as travel, 
leisure and hospitality, the vast majority 
of our portfolio remains optimistic and are 
preparing for a faster transition to digital 
and stronger growth when the economic 
environment starts to improve. We remain 
one of a small number of companies with 
the resources to provide growth and support 
to businesses which will benefit from the 
key trends which are likely to accelerate as 
part of the post COVID-19 recovery. We 
are continuing to see a strong pipeline of 
exciting opportunities and look forward to 
maintaining our outstanding investment 
track record.

Once again, I would like to thank the team 
at Draper Esprit for their enthusiasm and 
flexibility during this difficult period and for 
their continued commitment to our portfolio 
companies. We look forward to the future 
with confidence with a more experienced 
operational team, an exciting portfolio 
of existing companies and a pipeline of 
ambitious potential investments.

See more at: draperesprit.com

3
3

Karen Slatford  
Non-Executive Chair

Following another strong year of financial and 
operational performance, I am delighted with 
the progress that Draper Esprit has made to 
invest and support Europe’s highest growth 
technology businesses especially as we face 
the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. 

Now more than ever, technology plays an 
integral role in all our lives and has enabled us 
to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances 
and challenges.

Draper Esprit has always been focused on 
investing in the technology of the future and 
this will be even more critical to help kickstart 
the global economy. 

During the year, we have continued to  
make investments in four key sectors of:  
(i) consumer technology; (ii) enterprise 
technology; (iii) digital health & wellness; 
and (iv) hardware & deeptech. The majority 
of the portfolio is well positioned to benefit 
from historic trends, some of which 
have been accelerated by the impact of 
COVID-19. Companies focused on secure 
cloud, automation, online financial services, 
gaming/entertainment, and digitalisation 
are continuing to trade well with minimal 
disruption and there are indications of strong 
market growth for high quality companies 
operating in these areas. 

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.com 
CEO’s Statement

Annual Report 2020

CEO’s Statement

£40m

Cash realisations in plc

£90m

Cash invested in next 
generation companies

£660m

Net Assets 

restrictions imposed by Governments 
on businesses and employees in order to 
contain the spread of the virus significantly 
curtailed the operations of many businesses 
across the wider economy, however our 
portfolio remains overall very well positioned, 
in particular given the expected acceleration 
in the transition to digital. 

Over the medium to long term, we 
believe the recovery from the pandemic 
will sharply accelerate the trends which 
Draper Esprit’s portfolio businesses focus 
on. Transformations such as secure cloud 
infrastructure, remote financial services, 
online gaming and entertainment, and 
digital health all stand to benefit from 
the societal shifts which the crisis has 
engendered. These dynamic businesses 
are weathering the current environment 
well and we are confident they will emerge 
stronger when economic activity normalises.

Prior to the pandemic, the Group was on 
track to achieve its targeted annual 20% 
portfolio growth through the cycle and, 
despite the current market backdrop, has 
still delivered strong growth across the 
business. During the year, our Gross Portfolio 
Value grew from £594.0 million to £702.9 
million with a gross fair value movement of 
£58.5 million (year to 31 March 2019: £140.1 
million), a 10% Gross Portfolio fair value 
increase in the year. 

Our focus now is to build on this strong 
financial performance by continuing to hire 
the best deal-making talent in the sector 
and, as our deal team grows, to ensure that 
the infrastructure is in place to support it. 
We are committed to building best-in-class 
processes and capabilities that will enable 
us to maintain the integrity and agility of 
our investment process as we support high 
quality and exciting businesses successfully 
navigate this challenging time. 

Draper Esprit’s position as one of Europe’s 
most active VCs, and our long and 
deep understanding of the needs of this 
community, put us in an excellent position 
to play a leading role in helping European 
technology entrepreneurs build the future.

Operating review
Our structure as a publicly listed company 
investing alongside co-investment funds 
differentiates us from our competitors and 
helps us in our aim of providing European 
entrepreneurs with the capital they need 
to become global leaders. Being publicly 
listed means that we have the flexibility, 
and access to different sources of capital, to 
provide teams with the backing they need at 
the time they need it most. 

We also believe that the high standards of 
governance, oversight, and transparency to 
which we are held as a result of our listing is 
fundamental to our success at a time when 
the companies we invest in are increasingly 
mindful of who they choose to partner with.

Over the last decade we have witnessed a 
historic shift in the capital markets from 
public to private with companies staying 
private for longer, raising more capital and 
reaching greater levels of maturity before 
exit. This has led to a rapid expansion of 
both new VC funds and the total level 
of fundraising. We have also witnessed 
Europe starting to realise its potential as a 
technology powerhouse. Given the flexibility 
in our structure and the experience and 
expertise within our team, Draper Esprit 
is in an excellent position to benefit from 
opportunities that these trends provide. 

Leveraging our co-investment model 
provides improved access to the best deals, 
as well as managing third-party funds. On 
10 March 2020, we acquired the remaining 
interest in Encore Ventures LLP, the 
partnership which manages Draper Esprit's 

Martin Davis 
CEO

I have been deeply 
impressed with the 
quality of our team 
and our investment 
expertise, the 
strength of our 
existing portfolio 
and the depth of 
our pipeline.

Overview
Having joined the business in November 
2019, I have been deeply impressed with 
the quality of our team and our investment 
expertise, the strength of our existing 
portfolio and the depth of our pipeline.

The Group has had an active year of 
investing and further building the portfolio. 
We have remained focused on providing 
European entrepreneurs with the capital 
they need to become global leaders while 
continuing on our mission to democratise 
venture capital and provide our investors 
with access to high growth, privately owned 
technology companies. 

At the end of our financial year, the 
COVID-19 virus led to a global pandemic, 
the impact of which is clearly profound, 
both from the perspective of public health 
and the economic outlook. The necessary 

4
4

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.com 
CEO’s Statement

Annual Report 2020

EIS funds, better aligning our group structure 
to support the continued scale-up of our 
business whilst simultaneously increasing our 
fee revenue. The Group also holds a 30.77% 
stake in leading VCT manager Elderstreet 
Holdings Limited, which manages Draper 
Esprit VCT plc (LSE:EDV), with an option to 
acquire the remaining interest. 

Our disciplined approach to investment 
remains central to our overarching strategy; 
while we continue to review thousands 
of potential portfolio companies, we only 
invest in those with strong technology and 
capital-efficient business models, visionary 
management teams and robust gross 
margins. As we scale our business, we will 
maintain this discipline, which is particularly 
relevant in the current downturn.

We continue to invest at strong rates, 
investing £89.9 million in new and existing 
portfolio companies (year to 31 March 
2019: £226.4 million), which included our 
continued investing through our partnership 
with Earlybird in Germany and seed funds 
strategy, to give us more breadth and scale. 

The £89.9 million included funding to 19 
scale-up companies from our existing 
portfolio as well as to 9 new portfolio 
companies (including 4 follow-on and 4 
new investments via our partnership with 
Earlybird*). During the year, we generated 
£39.5 million of cash through exits including 
amounts held in escrow. The value of our 
gross portfolio grew by 18%.

Successful exits
During the year, we announced the sale of 
our full stake in Pod Point, the UK's largest 
independent provider of electric vehicle 
charging, to EDF Energy, representing a 
return of 2.3x, with an IRR of 39% over 3 
years.

Having backed Pod Point through a critical 
stage in the company's development and 
supported it through its journey, their 
new partnership with EDF is an exciting 
development for the business and a prime 
example of how Draper Esprit is able to 
help portfolio companies secure important 
backing from strategic partners.

We also received proceeds from the partial 
sales of our stakes in Transferwise, UiPath, 
and Codility, and the sale of our full stake in 
Finnish DevOps company, Bitbar, alongside 
proceeds from amounts previously held in 
escrow relating to past disposals. 

Post year-end, Zynga Inc. announced their 
agreement to acquire Peak for $1.8 billion, 

which will, subject to closing, indicate 
a fair value holding for Draper Esprit of 
approximately £80.0 million via Earlybird IV 
(actual returns are subject to completion 
conditions, including FX movements, and 
acquirer share price movement with respect 
to the stock component).

Since IPO, as at year-end we have exited 
22 companies, realising over £105.0 million 
in cash, with further proceeds expected 
subject to closing, as referenced above, 
from the sale of Peak of approximately £80.0 
million post year-end. An advantage of our 
model is that we have the ability to build a 
portfolio with assets of varying maturity, for 
example through secondary deals, providing 
us with a strong cycle of realisations across 
the breadth of the portfolio. 

Investments
Our unique structure enables us to offer 
funding options to entrepreneurs at all 
stages of their growth. We have the 
flexibility to back companies through the 
lifecycle, from seed via our seed funds 
strategy to scale-up, through to IPO or 
acquisition.

New portfolio company investments
We partnered with a range of high growth, 
ambitious technology start-ups during the 
period through our investments in new 
portfolio companies: Thought Machine, 
Sweepr, Decibel, Freetrade, and Paragraf. 
We have also invested in new portfolio 
companies via our partnership with 
Earlybird, including GetSafe, Instamotion, 
Aiven, and Isar Aerospace.

Seed fund strategy
Our seed fund strategy continues to give us 
access to the best early stage deals across 
the markets where we operate, while also 
ensuring that early stage opportunities 
across Europe are well funded with capital.

Building a community of seed funds gives 
us access to high quality deal flow and 
allows us to work alongside a network of 
funds from across Europe to fuel the next 
generation of visionaries, the best of whom 
we help when they need later stage funding 
to grow.

In the year, we have committed a further 
£5.3 million to 4 new funds, FRST Ventures, 
Change Ventures, 7 Percent Ventures, and 
LDV Capital.

To 31 March 2020, the Group has made a 
total commitment of £39.1 million to 20 
funds, with £13.3 million invested at the 
year-end, of which £7.2 million occurred 

*Reporting threshold - companies with a NAV of £1.0 million or more. 

during the financial year. The remaining 
commitments will be drawn down over 
approximately a 5-year period.

Follow on investments
During the year, we continued to support 
our portfolio companies by participating in 
later funding rounds, as well as by providing 
hands-on support to help them scale in their 
respective markets. Our portfolio companies 
continued to capitalise on their position 
as global companies able to compete on 
the international stage in their respective 
markets. The core alone raised US$1.8 billion 
capital in the year. 

Sustainability
Building on our existing business culture, 
committed to positive change and 
sustainability, we continued to enhance 
our Environmental, Social and Governance 
(“ESG”) practices during this financial 
year, both in our own business and within 
our investment process. The Board is 
committed to the importance of ESG, 
including through our investment practices 
as signatory to the UN Principles of 
Responsible Investment. During the year we 
have established an ESG committee, which 
is mandated to implement a 12-month 
roadmap to progress our ESG journey, 
with actions including the adoption of 
an evolved responsible investment policy, 
enhancements to our investment checklists, 
a portfolio benchmarking exercise, and the 
development of monitoring tools for internal 
and external deployment. More details of our 
notable achievements during the year and 
plans for the future can be found on pages 
45 to 47.

Summary
The priority over the coming weeks and 
months is for us, as an industry, to support 
businesses in this difficult period and to 
identify those with strong business models, 
who will continue to succeed and indeed in 
some cases play an important role in the 
recovery of the world from this crisis. 

We will continue to focus on being active 
board members and building stakes over the 
long term through primary and secondary 
investments to generate strong cash 
realisations on exit with a long-term aim to 
be self-financing. We will continue to evolve 
our model, recognising the opportunity 
of bringing in third party investors and 
reducing the net cost base of our operations 
with fee income, as is demonstrated through 
our acquisition of the remaining interest 
in Encore Ventures LLP during the year, as 
well as the option to acquire the remaining 
interest in Elderstreet Holdings Limited.

5

draperesprit.comCEO’s Statement
CEO’s Statement

Annual Report 2020
Annual Report 2020

At the start of the new financial year, we 
further enhanced our investment and 
platform team and we will continue to build 
the infrastructure to support the long-term 
growth of the business, whilst maintaining 
the integrity of our investment process. 

We remain passionate about democratising 
entrepreneurship and creating jobs across 
the UK and Europe and, whilst we are 
mindful of the continued impact on the 
global economy following the COVID-19 
pandemic, ongoing uncertainty caused by 
Brexit, and the broader political climate, we 
believe our dual listing in London and Dublin, 
as well as strong cash reserves and access 
to a broad suite of funding sources including 
our existing revolving debt facility (extended 
and increased post year-end), will enable us 
to continue to access the best deals across 
the UK and Europe. 

We continue to see a strong pipeline of 
deal flow and will continue to leverage our 
networks, including from our seed funds 
strategy, to source the best companies 
through the stages. Recent portfolio funding 
rounds, for example cloud-based voice 
platform, Aircall’s, Series C post year-end, 
demonstrates the strength of the portfolio 
and highlights the focus on sectors which 
will benefit from an accelerated transition 
to digital. 

Outlook
We have entered the new financial year 
with a well-positioned portfolio and in a 
strong position to capitalise on our growing 
reputation as one of Europe’s leading 
venture capital business. At the same time, 
we must be cognisant of the wider market 
uncertainty and increased pressures on the 
global economy, which have the potential 

to impact our portfolio companies and, by 
extension, our own business.

Our growth target for the coming financial 
year is 15%, with an expectation of returning 
to 20% through the cycle whilst recognising 
the volatile environment in which we are 
currently operating.

Our mission to empower Europe to invent 
the future remains central to our ongoing 
strategy and this, alongside our progress in 
building the infrastructure required to scale 
the Group, means that we are well placed to 
drive long-term, sustainable returns for all of 
our stakeholders.

Valuations
An appraisal of valuation metrics has been 
adopted to reflect the rapid shift in the 
economic environment, and lower growth 
forecasts for 2020 and 2021 have been 
assumed for companies whose business 
sector or model have been directly impacted 
by COVID-19. The Group consistently applies 
multiples lower than those prevailing for 
comparable quoted companies to mitigate 
stock market volatility. The long-term 
potential of the portfolio remains positive and 
we expect the value of the portfolio to grow 
post COVID-19 particularly in light of the 
accelerated transition to digital, however we 
are mindful of the uncertainties surrounding 
the pace of the anticipated recovery of the 
broader economies.

COVID-19

The ongoing spread of the COVID-19 virus 
continues to be, first and foremost, a public 
health crisis, but the impact on the economy 
and businesses is clearly also very significant. 
We took early steps and have continued 
to put in place measures to safeguard 
our employees, manage our business and 
support our portfolio companies. 

Keeping our team safe
We quickly put in place robust measures 
to protect staff via travel and face to face 
meeting restrictions, flexible working plans 
and remote working, alongside regular 
virtual communication within teams and 
across all staff. Given the nature of the 
business and our role in the technology 
sector, we were well placed to mitigate the 
impact of social distancing on our team’s 
day to day operations. Our broader team 
includes the management of the portfolio 
companies who also acted swiftly to protect 
their people. 

Supporting our portfolio companies
We have maintained high levels of dialogue 
with our portfolio companies throughout the 
crisis, many of them receiving operational 
support and advice. Our team has worked 
to guide our portfolio companies and assist 
them to access various elements of the 

Government’s financial assistance packages 
as these have developed. Our investments 
are guided by a strong syndicate of 
investors and we remain well financed with 
cash resources to provide support where 
necessary.

Strong balance sheet
The Group has implemented bi-weekly Audit, 
Risk and Valuations Committee meetings 
with an enhanced focus on liquidity, both of 
our business and of the portfolio companies, 
including an ongoing assessment of their 
funding requirements. The Group reports 
net assets of £659.6 million, with available 
cash resources at year-end of £34.1 million 
(including restricted cash) and £5.0 million 
of undrawn debt, complemented by £50.9 
million from EIS/VCT. This was enhanced 
post year-end as we extended the term 
and increased the size of our revolving 
credit facility by £10.0 million in June 2020. 
In addition, post year-end Zynga Inc. 
announced their agreement to acquire Peak 
Games for $1.8 billion, which will, subject 
to closing, indicate a fair value holding for 
us of approximately £80.0 million (actual 
returns are subject to completion conditions, 
including FX movements, and acquirer share 
price movement with respect to the stock 
component).

6

draperesprit.comCase Study: Experience Matters

Annual Report 2020

Case Study: Experience Matters

Written by Stuart Chapman 
Chief Portfolio Officer

Venture capital investing relies on the 
potential of combining youthful energy 
and ideas with wisdom and experience. 
There’s no set rule as to whether it is the 
entrepreneur or the investor who possesses 
these qualities. But if it is the investor who 
brings experience to the equation, precisely 
what type of experience can make a big 
difference. In a buoyant market, experience 
can take a back seat to energy and ideas. 
But when storms arise, having experienced 
previous cycles as an investor can make all 
the difference. It is this experience that is 
key to surviving difficult periods positioning 
a company to grow as the economy 
recovers.

Living the Cycle
The venture capital industry in Europe has 
come a very long way in the last decade, 
with ever greater amounts of money raised 
and new funds being created. This has 
been a boon for entrepreneurs looking to 
raise capital but it brings with it problems 
in investor experience. The long boom since 
the trough of 2008-09 means that most VC 
funds today lack experience of completed 
cycles, even from their most senior investors. 
Also, the move towards investors having 
a background as entrepreneurs means 
that those who have some experience of 
recessions, but in a down cycle, having 
experience of your own company is different 
to managing a portfolio of companies. 
Perspective matters.

Where Experience Counts
When facing these circumstances, 
having experienced investors is vital. 
Some investment funds respond to these 
challenges simply by allocating funds to 
less risky areas. But venture capital is based 
upon having a working knowledge of how to 
knuckle down and work constructively with 
portfolio companies as they rework business 
plans under tight deadlines and substantial 
pressure. Experienced investors become 
the sounding board for entrepreneurs 
and can prove the difference between 
businesses surviving, thriving or failing. To be 
a venture capitalist in a crisis is more than 
just about wise capital allocation, it is a 
specific combination of experience, energy, 
pragmatism and empathy. 

What Are We Facing Here?
Most investors in our industry today have 
only been doing so for the last 5-10 years. 
If you’ve been in the tech industry for at 
least 15 years, your frame of reference for 
economic challenge will be the financial 
crisis of 2008. Superficially this is appealing 
– a recession that affected the wider 
economy at a very deep level. However, to 
get a better understanding of the impact 
on the tech industry, you need to go back 
almost 20 years to the dotcom bust. The 
characteristic impact of the dotcom bust 
was a sharp demand shock – unlike 2008, 
liquidity is available, but portfolio companies  
are rapidly forced to respond to new 
circumstances.

The Draper Esprit Advantage
This perspective, and younger experience, 
is alive within Draper Esprit, and younger 
investors can tap this experience. It is the 
difference between what we at Draper 
Esprit offer versus our competitors, whether 
listed asset managers or private VC fund 
managers. Today, as with every day, we 
work closely with our portfolio companies 
to deliver their visions and achieve outsized 
growth, whatever the cycle brings. We do 
this because we know that benefitting from 
an economic recovery requires patience and 
Draper Esprit plc is a fund structure that 
provides the flexibility to wait out the bad 
and deliver in the good.

draperesprit.com

77

draperesprit.com 
Strategic Report

Annual Report 2020

“Draper Esprit has always been  
focused on investing in the  
technology of the future and  
this will be even more critical  
to help kickstart the global  
economy.”

Karen Slatford  
Non-Executive Chair

8

draperesprit.com

Strategic Report

Annual Report 2020

Strategic  
Report

draperesprit.com

9

Market Context

Annual Report 2020

Market Context

The decade to 2020 witnessed a historic shift impacting the venture capital markets, and despite (or perhaps 
because of) the range of political uncertainties that have challenged the UK – Europe’s largest market for 
technology and venture capital – it has continued to show the direction of travel across the region.  
The following are trends we have observed shaping the technology investment environment:

Public to Private
Part of a wider global trend, the last decade and especially the 
last 5 years have witnessed a shift in capital markets from public 
to private. This has in turn seen a ramping of VC fundraising in 
major markets such as the US and Europe, as well as a concurrent 
shift in asset allocation and increase in private market allocation 
by crossover investors. We see, with increasing frequency, these 
investors making direct private investments.

Staying Private Longer
The shift from public to private is deeply entwined with the trend for 
companies to stay private longer, raising more capital and reaching 
greater levels of maturity. The growing ubiquity of “Unicorn” 
technology companies is one such outcome of this trend. 

More Funds, More Funding, Winners at the Top
This increase in private capital has led to a rapid expansion of both 
new VC funds and the total level of fundraising. But it is the top end 
of the market that has shifted most. In 2010, a single fund of US$1 
billion or more was rare; today, such funds are increasingly common. 
Two consequences of this trend are of great interest to Draper 
Esprit: firstly, the opportunity to make secondary investments into 
technology companies as they outgrow the capabilities of their early 
private investors. Secondly, the potential value of raising specific 

growth funds which follow the growth of companies through their 
lifecycles. The flexibility of the Draper Esprit model combining a listed 
evergreen fund with other funding structures allows shareholders to 
benefit from participation in these historic shifts.

Europe’s Growing Influence
In the last decade, Europe found its technological feet. Historically 
underweighted at a global level, Europe has begun to realise its 
potential as a technology powerhouse, with a rapidly growing 
market share of technology investment deals compared to the US. 
In sectors such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), European companies 
are considered a match for US competitors; in sectors like fintech, 
they are widely considered as superior. European companies are 
considered more capital-efficient than US competitors, which goes 
some way to explaining why Europe still underperforms the US in 
value of technology deals. However, the growing number of inbound 
deals from the US into Europe has made Europe an increasingly 
competitive market opportunity.

European VC Funds Raised 
Data source: Dealroom

VC Investment into EU Tech 
Data source: Dealroom

180

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

€40

€35

€30

€25

€20

€15

€10

€5

€0

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Number of VC funds raised

Amount of VC funds raised (Bn)

Number of funding rounds >$2M

Amount funded (Bn)

€14

€12

€10

€8

€6

€4

€2

€0

10
10

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.com 
Market Context

Annual Report 2020

“The flexibility of the 
Draper Esprit model 
combining a listed 
evergreen fund with 
other funding structures 
allows shareholders 
to benefit from 
participation in  
these historic shifts."

COVID-19 Impacts
After an initial shock caused to the business environment by COVID-19, the 
technology industry is rapidly moving towards a new mode of operation with 
mixed, medium term implications for historic trends. On 20 April 2020, Numis 
published a detailed snapshot of European technology investor opinions*, noting:

 - Investors are becoming more selective
 - Greater emphasis on follow-on investments
 - Historically buoyant valuation will compress, but greater competition for 

quality deals

 - Focus on revenue generating businesses in sectors such as fintech and SaaS

The report looks to experience of past shocks – 2001 dotcom crash and 2008 
global financial crisis – demonstrating advantages provided to investors with deep 
experience of technology investment across multiple cycles.

*Source: speakerdeck.com/dkelnar/whats-next-for-private-markets

Investments in Europe by round size 
Data source: Dealroom

s
n
o

i
l
l
i

B
€

€12

€10

€8

€6

€4

€2

€0

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

2016

2017

Number of EU Unicorns (Cumulative) 
Number of EU Unicorns (Cumulative) 
Data source: Dealroom

€0-10M

€10-25M

€25-50M

2018
€50-100M

€100M+

2019

2020

200

180

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

United Kingdom

Germany

Netherlands

Denmark

Norway

Finland

Sweden

Russia

France

Italy

Switzerland

Belgium

Spain

Austria

11

draperesprit.com 
The Investment Opportunity

Annual Report 2020

“We find the most promising private 
technology companies in Europe, with  
the potential to become global leaders.”

The Investment Opportunity:  
Access high growth private technology companies

We are guided by years of experience in scaling high-growth technology companies. 
We invest incrementally, with a long-term outlook, to build value over time. 

Invest in Europe’s most ambitious tech 
companies 
We find the most promising private 
technology companies in Europe, with 
the potential to become global leaders. 
We meet thousands of companies a year 
and invest in approximately 15-30 a year, 
including follow-on. Our brand, access to 
the Draper Venture Network (see page 
14), and seed fund strategy (see page 17), 
mean we have a large pipeline of deals in 
the ecosystem to ensure we can take a 
market-wide view before investing. In order 
to identify, attract and originate the most 
exciting technology prospects in Europe, the 
Group has worked to establish an internal 
dual-platform investment process that 
facilitates early targeted engagement whilst 
retaining a focus on price discipline.

Within the dual-platform process, the 
Partnership team focuses on deals, our 
portfolio companies and their founders while 
the Platform team focuses on supporting 
deal flow and collaborating with the 
entrepreneur community, other investors 
and the wider ecosystem.

Sustainable investment in growing 
companies 
As part of our strategy for sustainable 
growth, we invest small amounts early, and 
reserve more capital for later stage rounds. 
This type of investment is not a “win or lose” 
game: we invest incrementally, building 
value over time. 

The portfolio we have is diversified across 
sectors and geographies, and our core 
portfolio holdings are held at conservative 
valuations based on growth projections and 
captive market size.

Experience drives our success 
Our team is highly experienced: we have 
been investing in technology for over 20 
years. We typically take a seat on the board 
of our portfolio companies, with significant 
investor rights. Many of the team also 
offer specific domain expertise and have 
experience as technology entrepreneurs, 
which aids our decision-making and ability 
to give the companies the right connections 
and best advice. 

As a Group we have a track record of 
delivering 20% growth through the cycle, 
driven by the revenue growth of the 
underlying portfolio companies. To date, 
we have exceeded this target with strategic 
acquisitions of portfolio companies and by 
increasing our stakes in our core holdings. 
Prior to the pandemic, the Group was 
on track to achieve its targeted portfolio 
growth and, despite the current market 
backdrop, has still delivered strong growth 
of a 10% Gross Portfolio fair value increase in 
the year.

12

draperesprit.comOur Investment Strategy

Annual Report 2020

“We source the best deals from thousands 
of companies and provide them with the 
capital, expertise and networks to fuel 
their growth.” 

Our Investment Strategy 
How we back businesses

We invest in growing technology companies from across Europe. We source the best deals from thousands of 
companies and provide them with the capital, expertise and networks to fuel their growth. 

Growth investing from Series A onwards is our core business, with the majority of our capital allocated to later 
stage investment rounds. We recognise the needs of the entrepreneur and are dynamic in finding the best capital 
solutions to fit their requirements. 

Series A 
Businesses scale up and raise their Series A 
usually at the point that companies have 
found product-market fit and need to scale 
their operations quickly.

Series B, C & onwards 
As businesses look to expand internationally 
and dominate globally, we invest the 
majority of our capital in the Series B+ part 
of the funding cycle. With the maturing of 
the European venture capital ecosystem we 
are seeing companies raising larger rounds 
to capture markets and fuel growth, which 
is enabling companies to remain private 
for longer. We are increasingly leading and 
investing in later stage growth rounds.

Secondaries 
Whether it is helping companies find liquidity 
for their early backers, or a fund that has 
timed out looking to sell a whole portfolio, 
we look at the best opportunities in the 
market. We look for the same characteristics 
as our primary investment operations: 
ambitious tech businesses looking to grow. 

Follow on
We can back businesses at all stages of 
their growth until exit – often right up to 
acquisition or IPO.

Fund of funds 
While we do not make direct seed 
investments, we support companies  
from their inception and by partnering 
with funds from across Europe investing 
in earlier stage businesses. Through these 
partnerships we can identify the most 
promising opportunities and can support 
their business through our broader plc and 
co-investment strategy as they scale.

13

draperesprit.comSupporting Companies for Growth

Annual Report 2020

Supporting Companies for Growth

Long term capital  
Our structure as a growth-focused 
technology venture capital firm dual-
listed on the London and Euronext Dublin 
stock markets means we are not tied 
to a specific time period of investment; 
we have the flexibility to find the best 
opportunities for entrepreneurs – and to 
back companies from scale-up all the 
way to IPO or acquisition. With a public 
balance sheet, we can take a longer view, 
allowing shareholders to capture value as 
companies reach their full potential.

Hands-on support  
When we invest, we offer a lot more than 
money. We typically take a seat on the 
board of the company, to offer support 
and guidance as it grows and scales. 
This means we can actively manage our 
investments and put valuable experience 
to good use, right where it matters. 

We also run events and offer specific 
training for portfolio companies, including 
trend spotting, panel discussions, and 
focused networking to help our companies 
get ahead.

Global firepower  
As the European arm of the Draper Venture 
Network (DVN), we help companies with 
rapid and international growth. Founded 
by Tim Draper, the network reaches from 
Silicon Valley to China, Brazil to Japan. The 
network allows us to gather like-minded 
funds from around the world to invest in the 
brightest companies. 

The network helps us support companies 
as they grow – providing the sort of 
international introductions that can spark 
years of growth or put companies in touch 
with potential acquirers. 

It is also a chance to share expertise on 
markets and hear from the world’s brightest 
entrepreneurs and investors in the world. 
Each year, the DVN hosts its annual CEO 
Day, where CEOs from across the globe 
gather to gain fresh insight, speed date with 
corporates and get a grasp of technology 
trends shaping the globe. This year, in light 
of COVID-19, the annual CEO day is taking 
place virtually.

Raising Seed

Series A

Series B

Series C

Pre IPO

Fund of Funds

PLC

PLC

Our Shareholders

PLC

EUR

Earlybird

UK

EIS

VCT

14

draperesprit.com

Case Study: Pod Point

Annual Report 2020

“We’re incredibly proud of the 
progress Pod Point has made 
in building the most advanced 
intelligent charging network 
in the UK and we look forward 
to watching their continued 
momentum as part of  
EDF Energy.” 

Martin Davis 
CEO

Case Study
Pod Point

£5.4m

Total invested

£12.4m

Total proceeds*

Pod Point was founded in 2009 in the aftermath 
of the financial crisis by Erik Fairbairn who 
saw electric cars as the next major mode of 
transportation. The UK’s largest independent 
provider of electric vehicle charging, Pod Point 
has manufactured and sold over 69,000 charging 
points across the UK and Norway. Aside from 
establishing an extensive public charging network 
connecting EV drivers with 3,000+ charging bays 
at locations including Tesco, Lidl, and Center 
Parcs, they also install home smart charging 
ports for customers of major automotive brands; 
Audi, Nissan, Volkswagen, and Hyundai. Pod 
Point has already powered over 158 million miles 
of electric driving. 

After 3 years of working closely with Erik and his 
team, helping them navigate through critical 
development points in their business, we sold our 
shares in Pod Point to EDF Energy. Draper Esprit 
received a return of 2.3x with an IRR of 39% over 
3 years. EDF, which is part of the EDF group, the 
world’s biggest electricity generator, acquired 
majority shares in Pod Point and a joint venture 
with Legal & General Capital. We believe that 
EDF is the best partner to support Pod Point as 
they roll out more charging points and become 
leaders in their space. 

*Including the maximum £0.3m of amounts held  
in escrow.

Draper Esprit invests £3.4 million  
in Pod Point.

Draper Esprit invests £2.0 million in  
Pod Point from PLC.

Total of £5.4 million invested overall in 
Pod Point to date.

Draper Esprit sells shares in Pod Point  
to EDF Energy.

2017

2018

2019

2020

Sold over 27,000 charging points.

Sold over 50,000 charging points.

44 million miles of electric driving.

Sold over 69,000 charging points, 158 
million miles of electric driving.

15

draperesprit.com 
Our Investment Criteria

Annual Report 2020

Our Investment Criteria

The investment process

Together with Earlybird, we screen thousands of businesses every 
year in order to find the best opportunities. 

Screen thousands  
Across our investment platform, we look at 
thousands of businesses a year – searching for 
the brightest opportunities, and the clearest 
visions. We do not start from nothing:  
our fund of funds strategy helps us spot  
the best ideas to back.

Talk to 1,000+  
We talk to the most promising 
businesses that clear our screening 
process, getting to know the teams, 
their ways of thinking and their 
ambitions.

Invest in 15-30  
We make 15-30 investments a year, 
including follow on investments, 
bringing the most ambitious tech 
companies into our portfolio. 

Facilitate growth and build stakes  
We put cash in for rapid scale-ups, to help bring 
a team’s vision to life. We make introductions, 
and fuel global ambitions. 

Exit  
We are not confined to 5-year cycles. Whether 
to a strategic buyer or as an IPO, companies 
exit when they reach maturity or when they 
have established a strategic  
position in their ecosystem. 

1616

We invest in high-growth technology companies 
We look for high-growth companies with strong 
technology products and business models with 
experienced and visionary management teams 
that have the ability to be a category leader. They 
operate in new markets, with serious potential for 
global expansion. Significantly, they have strong 
gross margins and capital-efficient business 
models to enable sustainable growth and future 
profitability. We look for businesses that will be 
attractive candidates for eventual acquisition or 
IPO, with valuations from US$50.0 million to US$1.0 
billion and beyond. 

We invest in companies as they grow 
Companies are remaining private for longer and 
therefore public market investors have reduced 
access to the value generated by early-stage 
growth companies. Private equity and mutual 
funds are becoming an increasingly attractive 
option for late-stage funding, compared to the 
time-consuming and costly process of going public. 
As many start-ups are prioritising growth over 
profits in an effort to gain market share, they may 
not prosper in a public market environment which 
values profitability. Draper Esprit enables investors 
to access such companies. By investing at the 
high-growth phase of a company’s lifecycle, before 
companies consider an exit strategy via acquisition 
or IPO, we give our shareholders access to the value 
this phase generates.

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.com  
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
Seed Funds Update

Annual Report 2020

Seed Funds Update

In October 2017, we launched our seed fund of funds programme. Since then, we have invested in 20 seed funds 
from across Europe, commiting £39.1 million, which will be invested over approximately 5-10 years. Those funds 
already have over 300 portfolio companies and have raised £1.1 billion in total. To 31 March 2020, £13.3 million of 
commitments have been drawn down, of which £7.2 million was in the current financial year.

The strategy is simple: by seeding the early stage ecosystem, we can 
source the best companies for Series A and B, pool expertise from 
sector specific funds, and benefit from scouts based in every corner 
of Europe. Whether hunting for a company looking to change the 
way we eat in France, manufacture products in Berlin, or develop 
novel hardware in Cambridge, the seed funds in which we invest 
always have one eye on the next trend. 

2.5 years after launch, our seed fund programme has committed 
over £39.1 million to 20 early stage funds, with a further 4 approved 
by the Investment Committee. These funds have invested in over 
300 companies and have raised an aggregate amount of capital of 
£1.1 billion. The programme has a healthy pipeline of opportunities 
and by 2022 we expect to invest in a total of 40-45 funds getting 
exposure to 1,200-1,500 companies. 

In return, we ensure that the early stage market is well funded and 
able to help their most promising companies scale up when they 
need later stage funding to grow. 

US based fund manager 
investing across Europe

V E N T U R E   C A P I T A L
D I G I T A L   E A S T   I I

17
17

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.com 
Our People

Annual Report 2020

Our People

Partnership team

Our Partnership team is made up of experienced 
investors - founders, CEOs, start-up advisors, private 
equity and investment bankers, and even a doctor, in 
their past lives. The point is we recruit the very best to 
work at Draper Esprit, and to us, the best come with 
years of knowledge and real-life experience. They know 
how to support start-ups because they have been 
through it themselves. They’re here to bring hands-on 
support and advice to every team we back, helping 
them to grow and scale. 

Our mission is to empower Europe to invent the future. 
Success depends on genuine collaboration, so when we 
meet teams that share our way of thinking, we back 
them all the way. As a group, we’ve been doing this for 
over 20 years – experienced investors bringing global 
firepower and a long-term view. We believe in Europe’s 
potential to grow the companies that will shape the 
future. We’re here to help make that happen, by 
growing our community of extraordinary teams – a 
team of teams. And by reinventing European venture 
capital – long-sighted, flexible and global.

Our companies use new technology to create better 
ways of doing things. We focus on 4 sectors; enterprise 
technology, digital health & wellness, hardware & 
deeptech, and consumer technology. We also look at 
areas where these sectors overlap like fintech, which 
operates between consumer technology and enterprise 
technology.

We’re constantly imagining better ways we can build 
up and support our portfolio companies and to do that 
we need to have a strong infrastructure. To strengthen 
that infrastructure, we’ve recently added a new senior 
partner to our investment team. In the period, we 
internally promoted two members of the investment 
team, Nicola McClafferty and Vinoth Jayakumar, 
to join the partnership group. The promotions of 
Nicola and Vinoth significantly strengthen Draper 
Esprit’s leadership team and enhance the investment 
committee. Draper Esprit recognises that the 
most important investment is in people and these 
appointments support the company’s continued 
leadership expansion and growth across Europe, while 
Nicola’s experience in Consumer Tech and Vinoth’s deep 
knowledge of Fintech further deepen our sector focus.

Our Partnership team works hard to make sure we find 
and offer the best opportunities to the founders of 
tomorrow as well as support the companies already in 
our portfolio. With the support of the Platform team, 
they’re here to engage, support, and invest in the 
entrepreneurs of the future.

18
18

Simon Cook
Founding Partner

Stuart Chapman
Chief Portfolio Officer

I focus on the team and the problem they 
are trying to solve. Ambition matters. 
The wildest, craziest, biggest ideas 
usually turn into the best companies, 
as our partner Tim Draper has shown us 
many times.

AI and machine learning will force 
dramatic step-changes in technology. 
Not just in terms of the early applications 
we see now, but the pressures on 
infrastructure and hardware. We haven’t 
seen even a fraction of the uses yet – and 
that’s an exciting vortex to be in.

Jonathan Silbia
Partner,  
Fund of Funds

I need to share your passion, not your 
sector. I’m thesis-driven, looking for 
entrepreneurs with a bold vision, 
ambition to challenge a market, and 
the potential to create big, sustainable 
businesses. That’s the beauty of our 
model: we can support you all the way, 
to create long-term category market 
leaders.

Will Turner
Senior Partner 

I’m passionate about Growth and 
enabling the best entrepreneurs to 
scale their companies to become global 
winners. 

Richard Marsh
Partner, EIS & VCT,  
Enterprise & SaaS

Nicola McClafferty
Partner,  
Consumer

I’m an entrepreneur turned VC, with the 
first 10 years of my career spent building 
companies hands-on. I’ve been a founder 
and CEO and created Datanomic which 
we sold to Oracle.

The rules are changing. From consumer 
behaviour to workforce expectations and 
the impact of automation on our lives, 
retail brands face a huge challenge, and 
an even bigger opportunity in the next 
decades.

Vinoth Jayakumar
Partner,  
Fintech

Vishal Gulati
Venture Partner,  
Digital Health

I’m excited for the future of finance. 
Insurance. Fintech. Proptech. 
Cybersecurity. I’m interested in it all – but 
especially in companies that see ways 
to challenge a whole stack of financial 
products and services, not just the easy 
pickings.

Training as a doctor was my comfort 
zone. I stepped out of it. Venture capital 
gives me a way to help people make real 
advances in healthtech – and support 
companies that will shape the future for 
us all. When I invest, I look for founders 
who are just as excited about their teams 
as they are about their idea.

Christoph Hornung Investment Director, Deep Tech
The best entrepreneurs are persistent, analytical and great leaders. Having 
been a founder and start-up advisor myself, I lived through the highs and lows 
of our industry. Following a thesis-based investment approach and identifying 
teams with the right skill set are essential to create big success stories.

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.com 
Our People

Annual Report 2020

“By having a closely integrated team, we’ve 
become better at identifying prospective 
companies and initiating conversations.”

Platform team

Making smart investments is key to succeeding in 
venture capital and so is an investing firm’s ability to 
engage, support and collaborate with the entrepreneur 
community, other investors and the wider ecosystem.

This starts from early seed stage while companies are developing their 
propositions, through to when companies are seeking and preparing for 
the most optimal route to exit. Our Platform team has been established 
and developed to enable Draper Esprit to take the lead across each of 
these functions.

Marketing, Comms and  
Proposition Management

Deal flow & Lead Generation

Deal Delivery & Research

Draper Esprit  
Content and Events

Community &  
Network Events

Portfolio/Start-up 
Engagement & Support

Operations & Reporting

Over the last year we have grown and developed our marketing 
capability, including a new Marketing Director and the establishment 
of a new role of Community Manager. This expertise has allowed us 
to take a flexible and broad-ranging approach to marketing in the 
UK and Europe. In an industry which typically relies on conferences 
and events, during the COVID-19 period Draper Esprit has adapted 
towards online projects, content development and media 
engagement to improve our connections with entrepreneurs and 
communities that best align with our strategic interests today and 
tomorrow. By having a closely integrated team, we’ve become better 
at identifying prospective companies to partner with and initiating 
conversations at the correct stage in their journey in order to offer 
them our relevant experience and guidance.

Also key is our support programme for core portfolio companies – 
we directly engage with their marketing leadership to ensure the 
highest standards are shared and maintained across the portfolio. 
We produce content and host events that are designed around 
specific C-suite functions, for example finance, marketing and 
business development, to ensure that the events are relevant and 
highly targeted to our portfolio and wider community. We have 
also been utilising our new and improved office space and digital 
properties to host events for support and social networking, providing 
entrepreneurs with a forum of peers to help deal with the challenges 
they face in scaling their businesses.

1

2

3

4

Develop and maintain close 
collaborative partnerships 
with prospective and existing 
portfolio companies and 
ensure they are professionally 
supported at the point they are 
looking for Series A+ funding so 
they can benefit from Draper 
Esprit’s expertise in scaling 
tech start-ups and helping 
them expand to international 
markets.

Research, identify, engage and 
support tech start-ups as they 
develop their businesses and 
look to scale their operations.

Work closely with the 
Partnership team to support 
ongoing deals, providing 
founders with guidance on 
growing business operations 
and, where appropriate, 
advising on their marketing 
communications.

Lead marketing for Draper 
Esprit in order to raise its brand 
awareness and community 
engagement across the UK 
and broader European tech 
entrepreneur and investor 
communities.

19
19

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.comOur Pools of Capital

Annual Report 2020

Our Pools of Capital

Plc co-investment structure 

A multiplatform strategy
In the past 4 years, we have scaled our platform to 
enable our investors to to access the best deal flow 
across Europe. Our co-investment partners bring 
third-party capital, enabling the plc to build a more 
material stake in companies, while also increasing 
our reach into the best companies. Meanwhile, the 
management and performance fees received from 
the third-party funds offset management costs for 
plc shareholders.

The plc balance sheet forms the core investment 
vehicle for the Group. 30% of the Group investment 
capital goes towards smaller and early stage 
investments. In the UK, Draper Esprit EIS and Draper 
Esprit VCT invest alongside the plc. In Europe, these 
deals are done either directly through or alongside 
Earlybird Digital West via our strategic partnership.

70% of the deals we do are invested in larger and 
growth stage deals (either follow-on from our 
emerging portfolio or new companies), these deals 
are done, predominantly, through the plc balance 
sheet. As the European market matures, there is an 
increasing market for these growth deals, in which 
we recognise the opportunity to build external 
third-party assets. The permanent capital model of 
a listed vehicle also provides additional flexibility to 
build stakes in the top performing investments over 
time as opportunities arise.

Draper Esprit VCT
In 2016, Draper Esprit acquired a 30.77% 
stake in leading VCT manager Elderstreet 
Holdings Limited, which manages Draper 
Esprit VCT plc (LSE:EDV). At the 30 
September 2019 half-year report, it had AUM 
of £45.9 million. Since then it has received 
further subscriptions of £11.3 million. The 
funds co-invest with the plc in UK deals. 

Draper Esprit EIS 
On 10 March 2020, the Group acquired 
the interest it did not already own in 
Encore Ventures LLP, an FCA-regulated 
management vehicle and the partnership 
which manages Draper Esprit’s EIS funds. 
Following the acquisition, the Group now 
owns 100% of Encore Ventures. With 6 co-
investment funds, it has raised over £146.5 
million to 31 March 2020. 

The Encore Funds have been independently 
reviewed for 6 years in a row as the highest 
ranked growth EIS fund. They scored 89/100 
in the Tax Efficient Review, the highest 
ranked growth EIS fund as of April 2020. 
Since 2019, they are the top rated EIS 
provider in the Allenbridge review. The funds 
co-invest with the plc in UK deals. 

Earlybird Digital West
In July 2018, Draper Esprit announced a 
strategic partnership with Earlybird Digital 
West to share deal flow and resources to co-
invest in high growth technology companies 
across Europe, in particular the German-
speaking market. As a part of this, Draper 
Esprit has a 50% stake in Earlybird’s Digital 
West Early Stage Fund VI (“Earlybird Fund 
VI”), commitment of €87.5 million of which 
€60.0 million has been invested. 

For more information on the partnership 
with Earlybird, please see page 23.

20
20
20

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draperesprit.comdraperesprit.com 
Our Portfolio

Annual Report 2020

Our Portfolio

We invest across 4 sectors in high growth European technology companies*:

Consumer technology
New consumer-facing products, 
innovative business models, and 
proven execution capabilities 
that bring exceptional 
opportunities enabled by 
technology.

Enterprise technology 
The software infrastructure, 
applications and services 
that make enterprises more 
productive, cost-efficient, and 
smoother to run. 

Hardware & deeptech
The deeper technologies that will 
spark advances in computing, 
consumer electronics and other 
industries.

Digital health & wellness
Using digital and genomic 
technologies to create new 
products and services for the 
health and wellness market.

*Reporting threshold – companies with a NAV of £1 million or more.

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What’s in a Share?

Annual Report 2020

What’s in a Share?

~33%
Emerging
Companies

~5%
Cash
-
~-5%
Other assets 
and liabilities

~67%
Core
Holdings

“A share in Draper Esprit gives 
investors access to Europe’s 
technology innovators,  
years of investor expertise, 
and a sustainable  
investment model.”
As our companies grow, we provide follow-on capital to 
build our stake. 67% of Gross Portfolio Value and 67% of 
our Net Asset Value is distributed in the top 16 companies, 
representing our core holdings. By doubling down on the 
winners in our portfolio, we manage the risk exposure of 
the portfolio and generate improved upside. 

Equally, our more flexible approach to capital enables 
the companies themselves to grow over a longer period, 
creating value to the benefit of our shareholders. When the 
companies exit, the cash is returned to the balance sheet, 
so we can re-invest it in new opportunities. 

~67%

~33%

~5%

~-5%

Core holdings 
The companies in the portfolio 
representing 67% of Gross 
Portfolio Value, which is 67% 
of the Net Asset Value (NAV). 
Draper Esprit provides follow-
on capital, developing a more 
significant stake in the business 
once it has proven its business 
model. 

Emerging companies 
The Group invests in 
entrepreneurial and fast-
growing tech businesses.

Cash
When companies exit, the cash 
generated is returned to the 
balance sheet and re-invested 
into new opportunities in the 
market.

Other assets and liabilities 
Other assets and liabilties of the 
Group.

Benefits of this approach 

Gain access to private technology 
companies
As companies stay private for longer, it 
is getting harder for investors to access 
high growth technology companies in the 
public markets. Our listed evergreen vehicle 
provides investors with ongoing liquidity that 
private limited partnership models do not 
allow.

22
22

It is not a blind pool
Investors can see the assets upfront and 
gain exposure to a range of companies 
across a range of maturities.

Build stakes
The permanent capital model of a listed 
vehicle provides the flexibility to build stakes 
in the top performing investments over time, 
as opportunities arise.

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.com 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Earlybird Partnership

Annual Report 2020

The last few years have seen a number of start-up hubs emerge or mature across Europe. Entrepreneurs don’t 
need to move to Silicon Valley to access capital and build their businesses; unicorns are popping up in London, 
Berlin, Paris and Stockholm. Since 2001, the UK alone has recognised 18 unicorns. 

Our ambition is to support entrepreneurs building global businesses, 
no matter where they base themselves across the continent.  
To do that well, it requires local connections to build long-lasting 
relationships with entrepreneurs in the cities they live and work in. 

Our partnership with Earlybird
In July 2018, Draper Esprit signed a strategic partnership with 
Earlybird Digital West to share deal flow, talent, and resources. When 
thinking of a new partner, “fit” is everything. We focus on Series A, 
B, and beyond. The name is on the tin for Earlybird: they invest early, 
from seed to Series A. We invest from offices in the UK and Ireland. 
They, from Berlin, Munich and Istanbul. 

The partnership with Earlybird not only gives Draper Esprit a 
platform of further scale, a larger pipeline of deals, and a larger pool 
of expertise, it also gives Draper Esprit shareholders greater exposure 
to some of Europe’s best companies. As European venture capital 
markets mature, we have scaled our platform to ensure we provide 
our shareholders with the best opportunities. 

To date, we have invested £131.4 million into Earlybird, valued at 
£187.3 million.

Secondaries 
By investing in opportunities like EB IV Fund we are able to further 
diversify our investment strategy, investing in secondaries which 
allow us to blend the maturity of our assets. Secondaries typically 
span across a smaller period of time or about 2-3 a year, at which 
point in time they mature and become a realisable asset. The capital 
provided from those investments following maturity can then be 
reinvested and used to accelerate our broader investment activities. 
We’re all about investing smarter not harder. 

Investing in secondaries like Earlybird or through our fund of 
funds strategy gives us access to the best early stage companies 
and allows us to develop a deeper knowledge of early stage 
companies. When we partner with funds like Earlybird that have 
deep geographical links we effectively increase the range of our 
investment teams, to drive efficiencies and expand our exposure  
to a broader range of geographies.

"We believe there will be many new successes yet and the European video games 
industry will continue to attract the smartest entrepreneurs in the world, and 
we look forward to meeting them and backing them with the right amount of 
capital for the long term, in any kind of transaction as necessary."

Simon Cook, Founding Partner

Peak Games 
In January 2019, Draper Esprit announced that it had furthered its strategic partnership  
with Earlybird Digital West (“Earlybird”), a German Venture Capital firm with a focus on early  
stage investments in Europe. We strengthened our relationship with Earlybird by acquiring a 27% interest in 
Earlybird’s EB IV fund for approximately €63 million (approximately £55 million). 

As a result of our investment in the EB IV fund, Draper Esprit 
acquired underlying holdings in nine high growth technology 
companies including Istanbul-headquartered Peak Games. 

Peak Games has successfully built a global user base for its 
community-based, multiplayer board and card games as well as 
its innovative casual puzzle games. Over 275 million users around 
the world have now installed at least one of the company’s 
products with the US, UK and Japan representing almost three 
quarters of the Group’s total revenue. Its most popular game to 
date is Toy Blast, a matching puzzle.

Post year end it was announced that Peak entered into a sale 
agreement with Zynga Inc for $1.8 billion, comprised of approx. 
$900 million cash and $900 million of Zynga common stock. Upon 
completion the acquisition would represent a fair value holding 
for Draper Esprit in Peak of approx. £80 million (actual returns 
are subject to completion conditions, including FX movements, 
and acquirer share price movement in respect of the stock 
component), which is approx. an anticipated further £12 million 
increase on the fair value holding of Peak at 31 March 2020. 
The acquisition is subject to customary closing condition and is 
expected to close in the third quarter of 2020.

draperesprit.com

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23

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.comActivity in the Year

Annual Report 2020

Activity in the Year*

April

May

June

July

August

September

**

**

**

Deal Sourcing Strategy

Initial investments

Follow-on investments

Exits

Via Earlybird

2424
24

draperesprit.com

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.com 
 
 
 
 
Activity in the Year

Annual Report 2020

£89.9 million investment in new and existing companies 
from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 

£44m

Initial investments  

£39m

Follow-on investments  

£40m

Exits 

£7m

Seed funds 

October

November

December

January

February

March

* All companies listed represent investments of over £1.0 million. 
** Partial sale of shares, remains a holding.

draperesprit.com

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25

draperesprit.comCase Studies: Fintech

Annual Report 2020

Case Studies: Fintech

At Draper Esprit we have been building a thesis on the future of financial services.  
This has been broadly split into B2C and B2B propositions. 

Working through the thesis of how fintechs can create value for 
consumers by sitting in the flow of funds; in either capturing income 
or capturing spend and building on the future of the user experience 
designed around best-in-class products. This has typically happened 
with a card-based or an app-based interface.

The first wave of companies built on the thesis of “unbundling” a 
bank; innovating on one specific vertical or product, with a better, 
faster and cheaper alternative. This was quickly followed by a second 
wave of “rebundling” a bank; adding on further products and 
services that replicate a full alternative banking offer.

Revolut
Launched in July 2015, the app-based bank allows users to create an 
account in 60 seconds, spend abroad in over 150 currencies with no 
fees, hold and exchange 25 currencies in-app and send free domestic 
and international money transfers at the real exchange rate.

Building on top of their FX product, Revolut has “rebundled” parts 
of a bank and developed various other products to add onto its 
platform including insurance, commission free stock trading, and 
cryptocurrencies. The platform is live in 36 countries globally, including 
in Europe, Asia, and the US, and with 12 million users they continue to 
expand internationally. 

Draper Esprit invested in the Series C in 2018 at a company valuation 
of $1.7bn. Revolut subsequently raised a $500m round at a valuation of 
$5.5bn in February 2020.

We believe that the neo-bank markets are not ‘winner takes all’ and are large enough for multiple ventures to 
succeed. N26 is another break-out player in the space. 

N26 (backed via Earlybird) 
Mobile banking app, N26 helps users 
simplify and manage their savings in real 
time and provides benefits like fee-free atm 
withdrawals, payments in foreign currencies, 
and travel insurance coverage. 

Today N26 has more than 5 million customers 
in 25 countries across Europe and the US 
(250k customers). 

26
26

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£7minvested by plc in FY19£11minvested by plc in FY19/FY20 
 
Case Studies: Fintech
Case Studies: Fintech

Annual Report 2020
Annual Report 2020

Following Draper Esprit’s own IPO, democratising access to the venture capital asset class, we have invested in 
companies like Freetrade and CrowdCube who are on a similar mission.

Freetrade
With over 150,000 customers Freetrade is on a mission to open up 
stock market investing to all segments of the population with a 
commission-free product that enables people to buy shares in UK 
and US companies as well as access ETFs in a variety of segments. 

Their product pipeline includes products such as fractional shares, 
which would make Freetrade the first stockbroker in the world to 
offer this in connection with UK and EU shares. 

FCA-regulated, FSCS scheme protected and a member of the 
London Stock Exchange (LSE), Freetrade is changing the way 
investing has always been done by democratizing the process and 
bringing access and control to users though their mobile devices.

In 2020 post period-end, Freetrade fund raised £7m via community 
fundraising platform CrowdCube from more than 8,000 investors in 
just a few short days. Now with over 150,000 customers, Freetrade’s 
community is at the heart of its success. Freetrade now has nearly 
8,000 shareholders following six crowdfunding campaigns with 
Crowdcube.

Crowdcube
Fundraising over £800 million and funding 3 UK born 
unicorns (Revolut, Monzo, and Brewdog) since 2011, 
leading crowdfunding company Crowdcube has also 
undertaken some record-breaking fundraisers like 
Freetrade (fastest ever to reach £1m, in 77 seconds), Curve 
(fastest ever to reach £4m, in 42 mins) and Monzo (£20 
million in two days). 

In the past, technology has been a private affair, 
with companies taking longer than ever to go public, 
crowdfunding (using a portfolio approach) opens up an 
asset class to everyone, so that investors can benefit from 
exposure to high growth tech companies. It’s why we went 
public ourselves – we wanted to open up VC and provide 
entrepreneurs with long term patient capital. 

draperesprit.com

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£4minvested by plc in FY19£4minvested by plc in FY20draperesprit.comCase Studies: Fintech
Case Studies: Fintech

Annual Report 2020
Annual Report 2020

Fintech: Recent Investments
  continued

As we increasingly delve deeper into B2C propositions, 
Draper Esprit has also been exploring the technology 
stack that will enable the financial services products 
of the future. These ‘backbone’ technologies have 
historically been seen and utilised as systems of record 
but are seeing a paradigm shift towards systems of 
intelligence. Three key areas of interest have been in 
fraud, payments and core banking systems.

Draper Esprit has a long history of investing into banking 
technology, backing companies like Red Kite (acquired 
by NASDAQ traded NICE Systems) and Neteconomy 
(acquired by Fiserv). Recent investments in this space 
include Form3 and Thought Machine.

Form3
Form3 provides real-time cloud-native end-to-end payments-as-a-
service to combat the ever-evolving regulated payments sector, by 
making payments faster, easier and more cost effective for banks, 
fintechs, financial institutions. By removing the need to manage 
and focus solely on the complexities of the evolving payments 
infrastructure, Form3 enables banks and fintechs to focus on 
building better customer propositions and growing their businesses. 
The company’s infrastructure significantly reduces downtime and 
allows for system upgrades to be achieved more seamlessly. Working 
with companies like N26, Ebury, and Prepay Solutions, Form3 is 
helping to improve efficiency, issuing customers real bank account 
numbers for their clients, and decreasing the amount of time 
needed to complete and manage real time payments.

£3m

invested by plc 
in FY19

Cloud-native core banking is becoming 
the most common and desired target 
architecture for the world’s banks, Thought 
Machine’s technology is at the forefront of this 
revolution, enabling innovation for incumbent 
banks and fintechs alike. 

Draper Esprit led Thought Machine’s recent 
Series B funding round where they raised £63.8 
million to drive expansion into Asia and North 
America and to continue investing in their core 
engine. 

Thought Machine
Thought Machine enables banks from Tier 1 
to challengers to revolutionise themselves by 
providing access to their cloud-native, next 
generation, core banking engine technology 
– Vault. Incumbent banks have historically 
seen Cost/Income ratios that are typically in 
the 60-70% range, which makes it incredibly 
difficult and unprofitable to launch new 
propositions as they are built on legacy 
technology. 

Cloud-native, modern core banking systems 
will enable banks such as Lloyds Banking 
Group to re-platform legacy brands such 
as Intelligent Finance in order to build 
propositions that can compete with emerging 
challenger banks. The adoption of cloud-
based core banking software will also lead to 
a significant reduction in technology costs – in 
the case of Lloyds, it is expected to save in 
excess of £100m.

draperesprit.com

£16m

invested by plc 
in FY20

28

 
Portfolio Review

Annual Report 2020

Portfolio Review

Overview
As we build the infrastructure required to scale our operations, we continue to back new and existing portfolio 
companies whilst maintaining the integrity of our investment and valuations process. 

At the end of the financial year, we were all 
faced with an evolving environment as a 
result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have 
reviewed the current impact and modelled 
the potential future impact of COVID-19 
on our portfolio. While we anticipate a 
period of trading slowdown, we also remain 
very positive about the long term areas of 
growth in the markets that our companies 
address such as artificial intelligence, 
cloud computing for remote working 
and digital health. Many of our portfolio 
companies generate recurring revenues and 
the geographic diversity of our portfolio, 
combined with the broad cross section of 
areas in which they operate, means that 
we are not overly exposed to any individual 
market or sector. 

Portfolio
Our portfolio is balanced across four sectors; 
(i) consumer technology; (ii) enterprise 
technology; (iii) digital health & wellness; 
and (iv) hardware & deeptech.

We have continued our focus on finding the 
most exciting new technology companies 
and have invested in 9 new companies 
during the year (including 4 via Earlybird).
Thanks to our evergreen strategy, we have 
been able to increase our stakes in our 
existing portfolio companies and have 
invested in 19 existing portfolio companies 
during the year (including 4 via Earlybird). 
Realisations in the year have increased from 
£16.0 million in the year ending 31 March 
2019 to £39.5 million from partial and full 
disposals, including amounts which were 
held in escrow. 

There are 16 core portfolio companies 
accounting for c.70% of the Gross Portfolio 
Value. They comprise Graphcore, Trustpilot, 
Peak Games (acquisition agreement 
announced post year-end), Transferwise, 
Smava, Perkbox, M-files, Ledger, Ravenpack, 
UiPath, Revolut (included in FY2020 
interims), Aircall, Thought Machine 
(new entrant), ICEYE (new entrant), 
FinalCad, and Aiven (new entrant). Pollen, 

SportPursuit, N26 and Lyst are constituents 
of the emerging portfolio. Pod Point was 
part of the core in the year ending 31 March 
2019 and was fully realised in the year ending 
31 March 2020.

Investments
During the year ending 31 March 2020, 
£89.9 million (31 March 2019: £226.4 million) 
was deployed from the plc, with a further 
£38.1 million (31 March 2019: £35.1 million) 
deployed from EIS/VCT. 

New investments
In the year, the Group invested in new 
companies, including:

 - £16.5 million into Thought Machine, 

the cloud native core banking 
technology firm, leading a Series B 
funding round of US$83.0 million 
to drive global growth and banking 
transformation mission, with a further 
£7.4 million from EIS/VCT; 

 - £10.1 million in Decibel, a London-
based software company focused 
on digital experience analytics to 
improve user interface on company 
websites, leading its US$17.0 million 
Series B round; 

 - £4.0 million into stock investing app, 
Freetrade, with £3.0 million from EIS 
and VCT funds, as part of its Series A 
round; 

 - £2.7 million from plc leading an €8.0 

million Series A funding round in 
Sweepr, the Dublin-based customer 
experience platform for smart devices 
in the connected home; 

 - £0.9 million from plc and a further 

£1.7 million from EIS/VCT into 
Cambridge-based graphene 
electronics technology company, 
Paragraf, as part of a £16.2 million 
round; and 

 - A range of new investments via our 
strategic partnership with Earlybird 
Digital West*, including: 

 - £4.4 million into Helsinki-based 

software company Aiven, 

which combines the best open 
source technologies with cloud 
infrastructure, and raised US$40.0 
million in Series B funding round led 
by IVP;

 - £2.5 million in Getsafe, a Heidelberg-
based company which uses AI to 
manage insurance via smartphones; 

 - £1.9 million into Instamotion, an 

online transaction platform for used 
cars; and 

 - £1.1 million into space tech company, 

Isar Aerospace.

Follow-on investments
As part of our strategy to provide companies 
with continued support throughout their 
lifecycle, the plc participated in a number of 
follow-on investments, including:

 - £3.8 million into ICEYE, the Finnish 

microsatellite manufacturer;

 - £2.5 million bridging loan into Pollen, 
formerly known as Verve, an invite-
only marketplace that enables people 
to bring their friends to the best 
experiences and share rewards;

 - £2.2 million into Realeyes, the machine 

learning platform which measures 
emotions through facial recognition;
 - £2.1 million into Roomex, the corporate 

travel software company;

 - £2.0 million into IESO Digital Health, the 

mental health app;

 - £1.4 million into the online medical 
consultation service, PushDoctor;

 - £1.0 million into a Series C round for the 

menstrual cycle tracker app, Clue;

 - £1.0 million in the intelligent information 
management solution provider, M-Files;

 - A range of follow-on investments via 

our strategic partnership with Earlybird 
Digital West*, including:
 - £6.3 million in Berlin-headquartered 

digital banking company N26 as part 
of a US$170.0 million round;

 - £1.7 million into eHealth Medidate, 
the vertically integrated digital 
services platform for selective medical 
treatments; 

29
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Portfolio Review

Annual Report 2020

Portfolio Review continued

Core Holdings % of GPV — March 2020

Number of Companies — split by sector
Number of Companies — 
split by sector

33%

Hardware &
Deeptech
17%

Enterprise 
Tech
38%

67%

Core

Emerging

Digital Health
 & Wellness
12%

Consumer 
Tech
33%

 - £1.2 million into Movinga, a fixed-priced personal moving 

 - 7 Percent Ventures – London-based tech start-up VC with £2.0 

services platform; and

million commitment; and

 - £1.1 million in Allthings Technologies, a digital tenant 

 - LDV Capital – A US-based deep tech early stage venture fund 

management platform.

investing in Europe with US$0.75 million commitment.

Seed funds
Our seed fund investment strategy gives us access to the best 
deals across Europe to fuel the next generation of investors and 
visionaries. We are then well positioned to support the best of them 
when they need later stage funding to grow. 

During the year, we have made commitments to an additional 4 
seed funds meaning that to date 20 seed fund deals have closed 
across various sectors and locations in Europe. This amounts to 
commitments of £39.1 million with £13.3 million invested at the year-
end, of which £7.2 million occurred during the financial year. Through 
this strategy, as at 31 March 2020, we have invested indirectly 
in over 300 companies via these seed funds. New seed funds 
committed to this year, include:

 - FRST Ventures – A France-based venture fund with a €1.5 million 

plc commitment;

 - Change Ventures – Latvia-based seed stage fund investing in the 

Baltic states with €1.5 million commitment;

Realisations
During the year, the plc realised £39.5 million from partial and full 
disposals of investments, including receipts of escrow amounts. Key 
partial and full realisations during the year include:

 - £12.1 million, as well as £0.3 million amounts held in escrow, from 
the full disposal of Pod Point to EDF Energy for a transaction value 
ahead of September 2019 held fair value and representing 2.3x, 
with an IRR of 39% over three years;

 - £15.3 million gross proceeds were received for the part realisation 

of Transferwise (£15.0 million net proceeds); and

 - £4.6 million from the partial disposal of our stake in UiPath.

Post period-end, Zynga Inc. announced their agreement to acquire 
Peak Games for $1.8 billion, which will, subject to closing, indicate 
a fair value holding for Draper Esprit of approximately £80.0 million 
via Earlybird IV (actual returns are subject to completion conditions, 
including FX movements, and acquirer share price movement with 
respect to the stock component).

Some of the above measures are Alternative Performance Measures (“APMs”) - see note 30 to the consolidated financial statements for further details. 
*Reporting threshold – companies with a NAV of £1 million or more. 

30

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Portfolio Review

Annual Report 2020

Number of Companies

Average Revenues — Core

$200m

$180m

$160m

$140m

$120m

$100m

$80m

$60m

$40m

$20m

$0m

$187m

55%

45%

$121m

$83m

FY18A

FY19A

FY20B

70

65

60

55

50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

21

10

50

39

15

16

FY18

FY19

FY20

Core

Emerging

Gross Portfolio Value Progression (£ millions)

£90m

£59m

£703m

£594m

£40m

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

£354m

£244m

31 March
2018

30 September
2018

31 March 
2019

Invested

Realised

Fair value
movement

31 March 
2020

31
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Portfolio Review

Annual Report 2020

Portfolio Review continued

Gross Portfolio Progression — by Portfolio Company   
(£ millions)

£87m

£68m

£65m

£31m

£28m

£24m

Realised

Invested

Fair value movement

Fair value decrease

31st March 2019

31st March 2020

£22m

£20m

£20m

£18m

£17m

£17m

£15m

£14m

£13m

£12m

£0m £50m £100m £150m £200m £250m £300m £350m £400m £450m £500m £550m £600m £650m

£700m

£750m

£232m

£703m

Remaining
Portfolio

Total

32

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Core Company Updates

Annual Report 2020

Core Company Updates

Cloud-based call centre system, Aircall, has launched a new partner 
program to help agents and resellers sell their phone solution to their 
server message block customers. The new channel partnerships will 
enable further growth as it helps companies reach new audiences. 
Aircall also launched its App Marketplace featuring +60 integrations 
with best-in-class technology partners, creating a truly connected 
ecosystem for voice.

In the post Covid-19 climate, demonstrating the value of the product 
to provide its customers with integrations, flexibility, productivity 
tools, Aircall has raised US$65 million in Series C. Funding was 
led by DTCP with participation from new investors Swisscom and 
Adam Street, existing investors including eFounders, Draper Esprit, 
Balderton Capial and NextWorld participated in the round. This most 
recent funding round brings the company’s total funding to date to 
over US$100 million. Aircall is headquartered in Paris and New York. 
It has more than 300 employees and has acquired 5000+ clients in 
over 1500+ companies. The company also hired Sandrine Meunier 
as Chief People Officer. Aircall founders, Pierre-Baptiste Bechu and 
Xavier Durand, were named on Forbes 30 under 30 in tech 2019. 

The global pandemic has caused a rise companies working from 
home. Aircall’s cloud-based software connects remote teams and 
enables them to stay productive and provide a work life balance. 
With features like ‘Live feed’ managers are able to monitor 
productivity, seeing which employees are on shift, on calls, and a full 
view of the connected workstream. The Live feed integration also 
eases the process of remote onboarding of new staff, being able to 
track their onboarding status and add them to the system remotely. 
Aircall unifies information by providing a singular inbox allowing 
for ease in information sharing with tracking tags and comments. 
Aircall has also created online resources for managers and staff to 
help with productivity, remote working and working from home. 

The data infrastructure management platform, Aiven, allows 
developers to focus on application building while the platform 
manages open-source databases and messaging systems for 
business clients on all major cloud platforms. The company 
possesses 8 open-source products, 6 Clouds, and covers 87 regions 
with headquarters in Boston, Berlin, Sydney, and Helsinki. 

Aiven achieved SOC 2 compliance and became the first cloud service 
to provide hosted PostgreSQL, in October 2019. In December 2019, 
the company announced it had tripled its revenue run rate and 
added former Amazon Head of Business Development Olaf Schmitz 
to the company’s Board. 

In February 2020 Aiven raised US$40 million in its Series B fund 
raise led by Silicon-Valley-based IVP. Existing investors Earlybird VC 
and Lifeline Ventures, as well as family offices of Risto Siilasmaa, 
chairman of Nokia, and Olivier Pomel, founder of Datadog, were 
also involved in the round.

Post period end the company announced two executive hires, VP of 
marketing and VP of sales EMEA to fuel Aiven’s global expansion. 

Aiven’s operational capability is secured by a globally distributed 
team that is able to work remotely in order to provide support for 
its service, which is a self-hosting, fully automated platform that 
requires little human support. Remote work is a normal part of 
everyday life at Aiven, so COVID-19 has had minimal impact for the 
company. 

£9.9m

Invested

£24.3m

£5.0m

Investment valuation

Invested

£12.8m

Investment valuation

33
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Core Company Updates

Annual Report 2020

Portfolio Review continued

Finalcad is a construction management application that allows 
architects, field workers and contractors to run synchronised project 
builds and risk management solutions that provide progress reports, 
defect management, quality controls and analytics. The company 
launched Finalcad Live, “Slack” for construction, enabling real-time 
defect-tracking connected to the daily site log on to the platform. 
Several strategic hires were made across the business including; 
Franck Le Tendre, former Industry Director EMEA at Dropbox, as CEO. 

Since 2012, Finalcad has delivered more than 20,000 projects in 35 
countries and has raised over US$55 million in funding from Draper 
Esprit, Cathay Innovation, Salesforce Ventures, Serena, Aster, and 
CapHorn. In September 2019, the company was selected to be part 
of the Next 40, a collection of France’s most promising start-ups, an 
initiative run by Cédric O, France’s Secretary of State for the Digital 
Sector.

By digitizing processes, allowing companies to capture relevant data 
and share it in a paperless process, and creating permanent digital 
records of health, safety, and environment information Finalcad is 
helping companies adjust to COVID-19 workplace restrictions and to 
keep employees safe. 

Graphcore, the machine intelligence semi-conductor company, 
has developed IPUs (Intelligent Processing Units) which enable 
unprecedented levels of compute. In May 2019, the company 
announced that Dell was one of the first customers to build an IPU-
based Dell platform combined with Graphcore’s Poplar software stack. 

The company also announced its collaboration with Microsoft Azure 
in mid-November 2019. Microsoft is the first major public cloud 
vendor to offer Graphcore IPUs to support next generation machine 
learning. The partnership development is a testament of the 
maturity of Graphcore’s patented IPU technology. 

In February 2020, Graphcore raised a US$150 million Series D 
extension round for research and development including investments 
from new investors; Baillie Gifford, Mayfair Equity Partners and M&G 
Investments as well as participation from previous investors Merian 
Chrysalis, Ahren Innovation Capital, Amadeus Capital Partners and 
Sofina. Other existing shareholders include BMW, Microsoft, Atomico 
and Demis Hassabis of DeepMind. 

In April 2020, Graphcore launched its new Poplar Analysis Tool, part 
of Graphcore’s PopVision family of analysis tools that help users gain 
a deeper understanding of how their applications are preforming 
and utilising the IPU. 

Graphcore has +200 employees with plans to hire additional staff, Iin 
light of Coivid-19 the company has opted to conduct their hiring online in 
order to keep up with their goal of 500 employees. Graphcore has offices 
in Bristol, London, Cambridge, Palo alto, Oslos, Bejing, Hsinchu, Seoul, 
New York, Seattle and Austin. In a demonstration conducted by Microsoft 
machine learning scientist, Sujeeth Bharadwaj, a Graphcore IPU was used 
to recognize Covid-19 in chest x-rays. Bharadwaj’s demonstration showed 
that the Graphcore chip could speed up the process to 30 minutes as 
opposed to the 5 hours a conventual chip might take, foreshadowing the 
future success and breakthroughs Graphcore’s chip could accomplish. 

£12.4m

£12.4m

£13.7m

Invested

Investment valuation

Invested

£86.8m

Investment valuation

34
34

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.com 
Core Company Updates

Annual Report 2020

ICEYE empowers others to make better decisions in Governmental 
and commercial settings by providing access to timely and reliable 
satellite imagery.

The company’s radar satellite imaging service, with coverage of 
selected areas every few hours, both day and night, helps clients 
resolve challenges across a variety of sectors such as maritime, 
disaster management, insurance, finance, security and intelligence. 
Founded in 2014, ICEYE is the first organisation in the world to 
successfully launch synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellites with 
a launch mass under 100 kg. ICEYE currently has three satellites in 
orbit with plans to launch several new units over the next few years. 

The company hired Dr. Mark Matossian, an aerospace industry 
expert, as CEO of ICEYE US, Inc indicating plans to expand to the US 
market. Dr. Matossian most recently served for more than a decade 
in program management at Google, including manufacturing and 
launching the Terra Bella imaging constellation. 

In the midst of COVID-19 ICEYE SAR satellite constellation is 
monitoring the world under lockdown, tracking significant pattern-
of-life changes like the significant impacts being had on theme 
parks and cruise ships. 

Ledger, the cryptocurrency and blockchain hardware security 
wallet successfully launched the Nano X product and Ledger 
live companion software. The Nano X received CSPN (First Level 
Security Certificate) certification issued by the National Agency for 
Information Systems Security (ANSSI). The Ledger Vault continues to 
be sold across Europe, Asia, and the US as an enterprise solution. 

The company continues to pursue partnerships like the one with 
Engie, the French multinational electric utility business, to augment 
the ways in which its technology can support IOT applications. The 
company is also working with Veolia subsidiary, Birdz, a pioneer 
in remote water consumption metering, to ensure authenticity of 
the drinkable water collection data as well as Bitstamp, the world’s 
longest-standing and largest European cryptocurrency exchange (by 
trade volume) and Shapeshift, the cryptocurrency trading platform. 

The company now has 200 global employees working in its Paris, 
New York, Hong Kong, and Vierzon bases and 1 million users in over 
165 countries with1.5 million units sold.

£7.5m

Invested

£13.9m

£17.7m

Investment valuation

Invested

£17.7m

Investment valuation

35

draperesprit.comCore Company Updates

Annual Report 2020

Portfolio Review continued

M-Files is an intelligent information management platform, that 
organises customers’ content with the ability to connect to existing 
network folders and systems to enhance them with the help of AI 
to categorise and protect information. In the period, the company 
announced that its platform is now linked to Microsoft Office 
365, Microsoft Teams, and Salesforce Customer 360, and has also 
publicised attainment of SOC 2 compliance. 

M-files grew subscription based annual recurring revenue by over 
100% in 2019. In addition to hiring a new CMO, the company has 
won a number of awards, including the European Investment Bank’s 
2019 Innovation Award and Best Overall Document Management 
software of 2020 by Business.com.

The information management platform allows businesses to enable 
secure access to documents and information while minimizing risk 
as well as connects existing business systems and data archives 
without the need for immediate data migration. M-Files offering 
has helped businesses as they shift to remote working to digitise, 
organise, and work more effectively during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Peak, the mobile games developer, continues to grow at pace, 
surpassing US$1 billion in player spend led by its 2015 release Toy 
Blast. 

Over 275 million users world-wide have installed at least one of the 
company’s products. Its most popular games, Toon Blast and Toy 
Blast, have more than 12 million average mobile DAUs (Daily Active 
Users). 

The UK is the publisher’s second largest market at 4.2% of player 
spend, followed by Japan at 4%. The company’s titles are most 
popular in the United States accounting for c.68% of revenue.

Post year end it was announced that Peak entered into a sale 
agreement with Zynga Inc for $1.8 billion, comprised of approx. 
$900 million cash and $900 million of Zynga common stock. Upon 
completion the acquisition would represent a fair value holding 
for Draper Esprit in Peak of approx. £80 million (actual returns 
are subject to completion conditions, including FX movements, 
and acquirer share price movement with respect to the stock 
component), which is approx. an anticipated further £12 million 
increase on the fair value holding of Peak at 31 March 2020. The 
acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is 
expected to close in the third quarter of 2020. 

£5.0m

Invested

£20.0m

£25.4m

Investment valuation

Invested

£67.8m

Investment valuation

36

draperesprit.com 
Core Company Updates

Annual Report 2020

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Perkbox is an employee wellbeing platform that provides a unique 
employee experience, enriching the personal and working life of 
employees. It offers a suite of products including a platform with 
access to best-in-class Perks, Perkbox Recognition, Perkbox Insights 
and Perkbox Medical. It serves organisations of all sizes from SMEs to 
large companies in the UK such as Nando’s, OpenTable, Rentalcars, 
and Purplebricks.

In March 2019 the company raised £13.5 million in a round led by 
Draper Esprit, alongside several previous angel investors. Since then 
the company has signed up a series of new partners including Krispy 
Kreme, Café Nero, Wasabi, Café Rouge, Bella Italia, ASDA, Dune, 
Philips, Sainsbury’s and H&M. The company continues its global 
expansion with 113 perks live on its Australian platform and their 
France team being awarded the “Innovation Award” at the SalonCE 
Fair.

Perkbox offers resources that have become particularly useful in 
light of COVID-19, the platform offers online GPs on-demand, online 
employee recognition, real-time feedback, and perks like online 
shopping discounts, free online fitness classes and 24/7 online 
learning.

The company has made several key new hires to support its future 
growth plans including Marissa White as Revenue Operations 
Director and Ed Ellis as Organisational Readiness Director. Perkbox 
ranked 25th in 2019 as one of FT’s ‘Europe’s Fastest Growing 
Businesses’.

RavenPack is a leading big data analytics provider for financial 
services. The company’s products allow clients to enhance returns, 
reduce risk and increase efficiency by systematically incorporating 
the effects of public information in their models or workflows. 
RavenPack’s clients include some of the most successful hedge 
funds, banks, and asset managers in the world.

The ‘Ravenpack Connections’ tool has been introduced as the 
company’s latest innovation to reveal business relationships 
and interconnections among thousands of entities including 
organisations, lead businesspeople and political figures affecting 
capital markets. The tool allows researchers to discover interesting 
themes, actionable ideas, and develop unique investment strategies. 

In October 2019 the business raised a Series B Round of US$10 million 
from the technology advisory and investment firm GP Bullhound. 
Ravenpack intends to use these fund to expand into Asia, and 
diversify their product offering in order to better target corporate 
customers. 

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ravenpack created a free 
coronavirus news monitor. The monitor is a live and interactive 
website built to track the latest news and trending topics 
surrounding the pandemic. The tracker provides real-time media 
analytics, COVID-19 case tracking, and a live news feed. Ravenpack 
released the tracker in response to client requests for data-driven 
insights to support their decision making during the current 
uncertain market conditions.

£14.0m

£19.9m

£7.5m

Invested

Investment valuation

Invested

£30.9m

Investment valuation

37

draperesprit.comCore Company Updates

Annual Report 2020

Portfolio Review continued

Launched in 2007, Smava, the online lending platform provides easy 
access to the best conditions for consumer loans from more than 25 
banks. The company is the largest specialised loan market place in 
Germany, providing access to over €3 billion a year in loans. Smava 
was also the first German company to offer negative interest rates. 
In 2019 Smava announced plans to IPO, after achieving a consistent 
growth Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 90% from 2012. 
In May 2020, it was announced that Smava raised €57 million in 
debt and equity financing. 

Smava’s early 2020 partnership with S-Kreditpartner GmbH part 
of Landesbank Berlin AG has facilitated consumers to consumers 
obtaining cheap loans with Smava.

Revolut, a global challenger bank and currently Europe’s joint-
top most valuable fintech bank supports 140 currencies, with no 
international transaction fees, boasts 10+ million customers and 
oversees 350m+ transactions.

In February 2020, Revolut raised a US$500 million Series D round 
led by TCV valuing the company at a post-money valuation of 
US$5.5 billion The company plans to use the funding to build new 
products and grow into new markets, enhance its existing products 
for existing users, launch new lending services for both retail and 
corporate customers and to enhance its operational infrastructure 
to support its continued growth.

The company currently has over 2,000 employees and its service 
is operational in the UK, Europe, Singapore and Australia with 
plans to launch in the US and Japan in upcoming months. In 2019, 
Revolut rolled out a product called Revolut Junior in the UK for 
under 17s to help teach financial literacy and teach children about 
money management from a young age. Revolut also announced 
integrations with Paymo, a productivity and time management 
app, Adzooma, an online marketing optimizing AI platform, and 
Invoiceexpress, an online invoicing software solution. 

Former Standard Life Aberdeen co-Chief Executive, Martin Gilbert, 
joined as executive chairman post year end and Revolut appointed 
Pierre Decote as the new group chief risk officer in 2019.

£7.4m

Invested

38

£21.7m

£14.5m

Investment valuation

Invested

£16.7m

Investment valuation

draperesprit.com 
Core Company Updates

Annual Report 2020

Leading UK fintech company, Thought Machine, offers cloud native 
core banking infrastructure to both incumbent and challenger 
banks. The company’s technology provides an alternative more 
flexible cloud-based solution. Thought Machine offers a single 
software solution that banks can configure to provide any product, 
user experience, operating model or data analysis capability. Vault, 
the company’s core offering provides a next generation core banking 
platform that enables banks, both established and challenger, to 
compete in a cloud-based era. 

The money transfer service, TransferWise, is used by over 7 million 
people and allows individuals and businesses to send money 
internationally without hidden fees. It sends on average of over 
£4 billion a month. TransferWise continues to pursue its mission of 
money without borders with its platform launching in Singapore, 
Poland, and the Ukraine with new currency lines being introduced 
in several countries in Africa and South America. The company 
appointed two non-Executive Directors to the board, the CFO of 
Adyen, Ingo Uytdehaage, and David Wells, former CFO of Netflix.

The Fintech 50-ranked company was founded in 2014 by former 
Google engineer, Paul Taylor. Thought Machine has employed over 
300 employees in London with plans to continue to scale to 500 
employees.

Thought Machine launched its Google Cloud Partnership in 
November 2019. The company also recently announced a new 
project, Vault Rare, intended to harness Vault’s full core capability 
to allow the customers of Thought Machine’s client banks to edit, 
adjust and even visually style banking products themselves. Lloyds 
bank, Atom bank, SEB and Standard Chartered are all customers.

TransferWise continuously works towards immediate money transfers 
and direct debits, currently launched in the UK and EU, with plans 
to roll out with more currencies. TransferWise also announced 
integrations with Xero, to help accountants with bookkeeping 
for business payments, GoCardless, to bring low-cost currency 
conversion to recurring payments, and Alipay, allowing users to send 
Chinese Yuan instantly.

£16.5m

£17.4m

£5.9m

Invested

Investment valuation

Invested

£15.0m

Investment valuation

39

draperesprit.comCore Company Updates

Annual Report 2020

Portfolio Review continued

Online global review site, Trustpilot, raised its Series E round of 
US$55.0 million in March 2019. The company’s website has tracked 
over 77 million reviews, with over 344,000 web domains reviewed 
since it launched in 2007, is ranked in the top 1% of websites 
(Alexa ranking). Trustpilot has also made several significant hires 
adding a new Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Human Resources 
Officer, and Chief Legal & Policy Officer to its team, promoting 
strategic members of its leadership team and adding to its Board of 
Directors. Trustpilot has over 800 employees in its 8 office locations 
in Copenhagen, London, Edinburgh, New York, Denver, Berlin, 
Melbourne, and Vilnius.

In its latest drive towards trust and transparency, Trustpilot launched 
‘transparency reviews’ which provides detailed information on how 
every company invites, receives and responds to reviews across over 
345,000 domains globally.

April 2019, Uipath, a Robotic process automation (RPA) software 
company, raised its Series D investment round of US$568 million at 
a post-money valuation of US$7 billion making Uipath the highest-
valued AI enterprise software companies in the world. The round was 
led by Coatue Management with participation from Earlybird VC 
Dragoneer, Wellington, Sands Capital, Accel, funds and accounts 
managed by T. Rowe Price Associates, CapitalG, and Sequoia.

During the period between 2017 and 2019, the software company 
has increased its annual recurring revenue (ARR) from US$8 million 
to US$360 million, exceeded 6,000 customers and increased its 
operating revenue by 37,463% making it one of the fastest growing 
companies in the world. During the year, UiPath has been ranked in 
Deloitte’s 2019 Technology Fast 500 number two spot and post-
period-end, was recognised as the fastest growing technology 
company in the Americas and overall number two in FT America’s 
Fastest Growing Companies 2020 list. 

UiPath boasts 50% of the top 50 Fortune Global 500 as customers, 
including American Fidelity, BankUnited, Duracell, Google, Ricoh, 
Shinsei Bank, Uber, Virgin Media and World Fuel Services. The RPA 
enterprise software provider has been working with healthcare 
providers during the COVID-19 outbreak, automating processes to 
free up frontline health care staff providing immediate benefits to 
patients and giving long term ability to reduce appointment booking 
administration time.

£29.7m

£65.3m

£11.0m

Invested

Investment valuation

Invested

£28.0m

Investment valuation

40

draperesprit.com 
Financial Review

Annual Report 2020

Financial Review

“The pace of change 
is accelerating and 
our portfolio is well 
positioned to lead 
and benefit from 
the transitioning 
economies.”

Ben Wilkinson 
CFO

Summary
The year ending 31 March 2020 has been 
another active year during which we 
have been building the infrastructure 
required to scale the Group. During the 
year, we invested £89.9 million from the 
plc, alongside a further £38.1 million from 
EIS/VCT. We secured a £50.0 million debt 
facility (with an extension and increase 
to £60.0 million post year-end), adding 
further investable capital, and completed 
the acquisition of the remaining interest 
in Encore Ventures LLP, to better align 
the Group structure to support continued 
growth. The progress in the year has built on 
the strategy of scaling our operations while 
providing investors with access to the best 
private technology companies in Europe. 

The end of this financial year saw a rapidly 
evolving environment resulting from the 
COVID-19 pandemic. We were quick to 
take necessary measures to safeguard our 
employees, our investments and monitor the 
liquidity of the Group. We took early steps to 
prudently manage our business and remain 
well financed. 

Prior to the pandemic, the Group was on 
track to achieve its targeted 20% portfolio 
growth through the cycle and despite the 
current market backdrop, has still delivered 
strong growth across the business. In light 
of the volatility that we have seen in the 
markets in relation to asset valuations and 
the shifting picture in the real economy, we 
have re-appraised the valuation measures 
for each of the portfolio companies 
during our year-end process. With the 
stark business interruption created by a 
lockdown across the global economies being 
somewhat softened by rapid Government 
intervention, the picture of the recovery 
is still unclear. What has been a clear 
trend over these past few months is the 
accelerated transition to digital and the 
infrastructure required for remote working, 
automated processes and e-commerce 
- with the concomitant trends for online 
payments and digital banking.

We have been very pleased with the 
robustness of the portfolio during this 
period and with the flexibility demonstrated 
by the portfolio company management 
teams to rapidly adapt their strategies and 
models. We have taken an appropriately 
prudent approach to the valuation process 
to reflect reduced expectations of revenue 
growth in the coming year but have also 
seen valuation increases supported by third 
party funding rounds. The pace of change 
is accelerating and our portfolio is well 
positioned to lead and benefit from the 
transitioning economies. 

Portfolio Valuation
The Gross Portfolio Value of £702.9 million 
has grown by £108.9 million from prior year 
(31 March 2019: £594.0 million). Growth is a 
result of £89.9 million (2019: £226.4 million) 
invested during the year and £58.5 million 
(2019: £140.1 million) of fair value growth, 
net of realisations of £39.5 million (2019: 
£16.0 million). The Gross Portfolio is subject 
to deductions for the fair value of the carry 
liabilities and deferred tax to generate the 
net investment value of £657.3 million (2019: 
£562.1 million), which is reflected in the 
consolidated statement of financial position 
as a financial asset held at fair value 
through the profit or loss. The Gross Portfolio 
Value Table below has been generated to 
reflect the gross and net movement in value 
of the portfolio during the period.

The net fair value gain on investments of 
£40.8 million is reflected in the consolidated 
statement of comprehensive income. A 
deferred tax provision of £5.3 million is 
accrued against the gains in the portfolio 
to reflect those portfolio companies where 
the Company owns less than 5% of the 
equity holding. This amount is netted off 
against the investments in the consolidated 
statement of financial position. Carry 
balances of £40.6 million are accrued to 
management teams, including previous and 
current employees of the Group based on 
the current fair value at the period-end and 
deducted from the Gross Portfolio Value. 

Some of the measures are Alternative Performance Measures (“APMs”). Please see note 30 to the consolidated financial statements for further details.

41
41

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.com 
Financial Review

Annual Report 2020

Financial Review continued

For valuations as at 31 March 2020, lower 
growth forecasts for 2020 and 2021 have 
been assumed for companies impacted by 
COVID-19. The Group consistently applied 
multiples lower than those prevailing for 
comparable quoted companies to mitigate 
stock market volatility. Companies within 
our core portfolio holdings which have 
valuations based on revenue-multiples have 
an average multiple of 3.2x.

Our pre-COVID-19 expectations were in 
line with our 20% growth target through 
the cycle and, despite the impact of the 
pandemic, we have achieved a Gross Fair 
Value increase in the year of £58.5 million, 
which represents Gross Portfolio fair value 
growth of 10% (2019: £140.1 million, 58%). 

Post period end it was announced that Peak 
Games had entered into a sale agreement 
with Zynga Inc, subject to closing, for $1.8 
billion, comprised of approx. $900 million 
cash and $900 million of Zynga common 
stock. Upon completion the acquisition 
would represent a fair value holding for 
Draper Esprit in Peak of approx. £80 million 
(actual returns are subject to completion 
conditions, including FX movements, and 
acquirer share price movement in respect of 
the stock component), a fair value uplift of 
£26 million in the year ending 31 March 2020 
and a further approx. £12 million anticipated 
increase post year-end. The acquisition is 
subject to customary closing condition and 
is expected to close in the third quarter of 
2020.

Consolidated statement of  
financial position 
On 10 March 2020, the Group acquired 
the legal and beneficial interest it did not 
already own in Encore Ventures LLP, the 
partnership which manages Draper Esprit’s 
EIS funds. Following the acquisition and as 
at 31 March 2020, the Group owns 100% of 
the interest in Encore Ventures LLP. Going 
forward, the acquisition will eliminate the 
non-controlling interest line in the Group’s 
financial statements. During the current 
financial year, profit attributable to non-

controlling interest to 10 March 2020 
amounted to £0.7 million. This transaction 
results in a change in ownership interest 
accounted for under IFRS 10 as an equity 
transaction. 

Net assets have increased £41.0 million to 
£659.6 million at 31 March 2020 (31 March 
2019: £618.6 million). 

The increase in net assets reflects positive 
performance of investments, as well as 
increases in trade and other receivables (see 
below).

A loan liability is recognised in respect of 
the amount drawn down at year-end of 
£45.0 million (undrawn £5.0 million at 31 
March 2020). In June 2019, the Company 
entered into a new revolving credit facility 
agreement with Silicon Valley Bank and 
Investec raising £50.0 million of debt capital. 
Post year-end the facility has been increased 
by £10.0 million to £60.0 million reflecting 
growth in the balance sheet, which is 
supported by an independent valuations 
process. The facility reduces the overall cost 
of capital of the Company and provides 
financial flexibility to fund the future growth 
plans of the Group’s portfolio companies. 
As a revolving credit facility, draw downs 
and pay downs are driven by portfolio 
investments and realisations. (see note 21 
for further details). 

From 1 April 2019, the Group applied IFRS 
16 Leases using the modified retrospective 
approach. See further details in significant 
accounting policies – note 4. The impact 
on the consolidated statement of financial 
position has been the recognition of right-
to-use assets of £1.3 million at 31 March 
2020 (recognised under property, plant 
and equipment) as well as the introduction 
of corresponding lease liabilities of £1.3 
million. In the consolidated statement 
of comprehensive income, during the 
year, depreciation charges of £0.3m were 
recognised in respect of the right-of-use 
assets and interest of £0.09 million was 
recognised in respect of the lease liabilities. 

These balances reflect the lease of offices at 
20 Garrick Street, London.

The largest items in trade and other 
receivables at year-end relate to accrued 
income in respect of management fees 
for the period between 1 January 2020 and 
31 March 2020 of £2.2 million and a loan 
from the Company of £3.7 million to Esprit 
Capital I Fund No.1 & No.2 LP (see note 
31) as well as associated accrued interest 
of £0.2 million. Further amounts include 
overhead recharges, timing differences on 
investment proceeds, prepayments and 
other receivables.

Year-end cash balance reflects the opening 
cash balance of £50.4 million at 31 March 
2019, the subsequent drawdown on the debt 
facility of £45.0 million (net of repayments), 
investments of £89.9 million, realisations 
of £39.5 million, £8.5 million of net loans to 
group and related companies, net proceeds 
for the issue of shares during the year, and 
the operating costs of the business. At year-
end, the Group has available cash resources 
of £34.1 million (including £1.9 million of 
restricted cash - see note 21) at the plc, 
£50.9 million within our EIS/VCT funds and 
£5.0 million undrawn under our revolving 
credit facility (with a further £10.0 made 
available post year-end). 

Consolidated Statement of 
Comprehensive Income
Investment income for the year comprises 
£40.8 million of unrealised investment 
gains (31 March 2019: £114.7 million) and 
fee income of £11.3 million (31 March 2019: 
£6.1 million), which is generated from 
management fees and director fees. General 
& administration costs of £9.8 million in 
the period reflect the changes to our team 
as we build the infrastructure to grow 
(including associated recruitment fees), as 
well as increases in marketing costs and 
professional fees. Net operating costs (net of 
fee income) as a % of NAV are substantially 
less than 1% and targeted to remain below 
this level.

42

draperesprit.com 
Financial Review

Annual Report 2020

Post-balance sheet events
 - Extended the term and increased the size of the revolving credit 
facility, provided by Silicon Valley Bank and Investec, by £10.0 
million to £60.0 million 

 - Zynga Inc. announced their agreement to acquire Peak Games 

for $1.8 billion, which will, subject to closing, indicate a fair value 
holding for Draper Esprit of approximately £80.0 million via 
Earlybird IV (actual returns are subject to completion conditions, 
including FX movements, and acquirer share price movement with 
respect to the stock component).

The financial year to 31 March 2020 has seen further growth in the 
Group and we continue to scale the platform to deliver further 
growth for our shareholders.

Gross Portfolio Value Table 

Investments

Graphcore
Peak Games
Trustpilot
Ravenpack
Ui Path 
Aircall
Revolut
M-files
Perkbox
Ledger
ThoughtMachine 
Smava
Transferwise
ICEYE
Aiven
FinalCad
Remaining Portfolio

Total 
Co-invest assigned to plc

Gross Portfolio Value 
Carry external 
Portfolio deferred tax 
Trading carry & co-invest 
Draper Esprit (Ireland) Limited

Net portfolio value 

Fair Value of 
Investments 
31st March 
2019  
£m

Investments
£m

Realisations
£m

Draper Esprit 
(Ireland) Limited 
£m

Movement 
in Fair
Value  
£m

Fair Value of 
Investments 
31st March 
2020  
£m

Interest 
FD category * 
at reporting  
date

78.6
41.7
62.0
15.6
33.0
9.9
7.4
17.2
23.7
17.7
0.0
23.5
27.7
3.7
 -   
12.4
217.9

592.0
2.0

594.0
(27.6)
(5.4)
1.1
 -   

562.1

 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 1.0 
 -   
 -   
 16.5 
 -   
 -   
 3.8 
 5.0 
 -   
 63.6 

89.9
 -   

89.9
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   

89.9

 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
(4.6)
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
(15.0)
 -   
 -   
 -   
(19.9)

(39.5)
 -   

(39.5)
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   

(39.5)

 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   

 -   
 -   

 -   
 -   
 -   
 -   
 4.0 

 4.0 

8.2
26.1
3.3
15.3
(0.4)
14.4
14.3
1.8
(3.8)
0.0
0.9
(6.8)
2.3
6.4
7.8
0.0
(31.1)

58.7
(0.2)

58.5
(13.0)
0.1
(0.8)
(4.0)

40.8

86.8
67.8
65.3
30.9
28.0
24.3
21.7
20.0
19.9
17.7
17.4
16.7
15.0
13.9
12.8
12.4
230.5

701.1
1.8

702.9
(40.6)
(5.3)
0.3
0.0

657.3

*Fully diluted interest shares categorised as follows: Cat A: 0-5%, Cat B: 6-10%, Cat C: 11-15%, Cat D: 16-25%, Cat E: >25%.

B
B
C
D
A
B
A
B
C
B
B
B
A
B
B
C
 - 

43

draperesprit.comKey Performance Indicators

Annual Report 2020

Key Performance Indicators

KPI

How measured

Progress

1. Growth in value of 
the portfolio

Fair value determined using International Private Equity and Venture 
Capital Valuation Guidelines for the year-end and interim reporting 
periods.

2.

Realising cash

Cash generated from portfolio company exits against original cost. 

3. New investments

Deploying funds for investments into new portfolio companies, follow-
on investments into existing companies, stake building into existing 
companies and secondary investments.

Gross Portfolio Value has
increased to £702.9 million,
reflecting an increase of
18.3% (FY19: £594.0 million).

£39.5 million (FY19: £16.0 million) 
realised in the period.

£89.9 million (FY19: £226.4 million) 
invested in the period from plc, 
with a further £38.1 million across 
EIS/VCT (FY19: £35.1 million).

4. Deal flow

Tracking private company financing rounds across Europe and analysing 
against the Group’s internal CRM database to determine if the 
opportunity was known to the Group.

Through our brand and network, 
we continue to access high quality 
deal flow across Europe.

5. Cash balances

Maintaining sufficient liquidity to meet operational requirements, take 
advantage of investment opportunities and support the growth of 
portfolio companies.

£34.1 million (FY19: £50.4 million) 
at year-end (including restricted 
cash). 

Undrawn balance from our 
revolving credit facility at year-end 
was £5.0 million (£50.0 million 
facility, extended and increased to 
£60.0 million post year-end).

44
44

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.com 
Sustainability

Annual Report 2020

Sustainability

“Our ESG ambitions 
are an ongoing  
and evolving 
process that we  
are committed to 
build and develop 
over time.”

Following a year that encompassed devastating forest fires in Australia, 
rising ocean temperatures, continued stories of racial and gender 
inequality across every walk of life and some of the largest fines in history 
for corporate data protection failures, the importance of environmental, 
social and governance issues have never been as acute or necessary as 
they are now. The business community has work to do around ESG, and 
Draper Esprit is firmly committed to playing its part.

During the previous financial year, the Board 
of Directors approved the formalisation of 
Draper Esprit’s ESG strategy to build upon 
the existing positive practices undertaken 
by the business. This financial year, we 
have continued that journey and taken 
steps towards the overarching ambition of 
embedding ESG considerations into all of our 
investment and business decision-making 
processes.

Notable milestones have been achieved 
during the past 12 months, which should 
be considered against the backdrop of an 
embedded business culture committed 
to positive change and the principles of 
ESG, both in our own business and in the 
companies that we invest.

Tasked with the day-to-day management 
and oversight of the Group’s ESG 
implementation strategy is a core steering 
committee that was established earlier in 
the year by appointment of the Executive 
team, and comprises representatives from 
each of the legal/compliance, finance, 
investment, HR, and marketing functions, 
under executive sponsorship of CFO Ben 
Wilkinson. 

The steering committee is mandated to 
implement a 12-month ESG roadmap 
prepared in early 2020 in consultation 
with external ESG specialists which 
sets out a pathway for adoption of an 
evolved ESG investment policy; updated 
investment checklists with enhancements 
to include ESG/RI considerations; a 
portfolio benchmarking exercise; and the 
development of ESG monitoring tools for 
internal and external deployment.

It is our intention to operate in line with the 
UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the 

BVCA Responsible Investment Management 
System and our own obligations as 
signatories to the UN’s Principles of 
Responsible Investment.

Our ESG ambitions are an ongoing and 
evolving process that we are committed 
to build and develop over time. Whilst we 
acknowledge that there is a long way to go 
on this journey, meaningful steps have been 
taken during the year across multiple areas 
within our business.

Environment
Through our investment activities, we 
have helped businesses like Pod Point 
(exit in February 2020) to rapidly scale 
up their award-winning electronic vehicle 
charge point solution; Everoad (post year-
end merged with Sennder) to leverage 
technology solutions to build efficiencies 
and carbon reductions into the global 
freight management industry; and Aircall 
to facilitate cloud-based calling solutions 
reducing the need for travel. We will 
continue to look for environmentally minded 
investment opportunities and have adapted 
our internal due diligence questionnaire 
accordingly.

Within the plc, we have invested heavily 
in Zoom video conferencing solutions to 
encourage video calls in lieu of domestic or 
international travel. We have also continued 
the push towards a paperless working 
environment with the adoption of improved 
internal IT and document sharing solutions. 

During the year, we commissioned a full 
carbon footprint report and balancing 
programme, which was completed post 
year-end in May 2020 with certified 
B-Corp, C-Level Earth Limited, allowing us 
to compensate for our 260 tonnes of CO2 

45
45

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.com 
Sustainability

Sustainability

Sustainability

Annual Report 2020

CommuniTree  
Monitoring the success of C-Level carbon balancing through reforestation

through investment in two Plan Vivo accredited projects, namely 
(i) forest restoration and protection with Hadza Hunter Gatherers 
in Tanzania and (ii) reforestation with The CommuniTree Carbon 
Program in Nicaragua. 

We propose to build upon the steps taken in the coming year with 
input from external specialists to determine how we can best 
engage our portfolio companies to help reduce and counteract 
carbon emissions.

Social
Our existing portfolio is full of companies doing remarkable things to 
enhance health and wellbeing (e.g. Endomag, Push Doctor, Ieso 
Digital Heath, Lifesum, Fluidic Analytics and Miracor Medical 
Systems), encourage social engagement (e.g. Perkbox, Aircall and 
Resolver), and improve pro-consumer compliance (Kaptivo and 
GetSafe).

“We see our differences as one 
of our greatest strengths, and 
only have to look at the range 
of participation in panel events 
that our team undertake in 
multiple languages across 
different continents, to see the 
clear benefits of embracing 
all backgrounds into the 
workforce.”

We have also been making adjustments within our own business 
to drive social change by hiring a dedicated Human Resources 
Manager; engaging with entrepreneurs in hosted themed events, 
including a ‘Women in VC’ event; and continuing to offer highly 
competitive remuneration and benefits packages to all of our 
personnel. Various policies are in place within the Group designed 
to protect and empower personnel, including Anti-bribery and 
corruption, Whistleblowing and Health and Safety, all of which are 
reviewed annually and, where relevant, amended or supplemented 
to accommodate the evolving risk profile of the business.

We are an equal opportunities employer and very proud of our 
diverse workforce, which is built to reward people on ability, 
regardless of gender, age, race or sexuality. We see our differences 

46

as one of our greatest strengths, and only have to look at the range 
of participation in panel events that our team undertake in multiple 
languages across different continents, to see the clear benefits of 
embracing all backgrounds into the workforce.

For the year ahead, we will be continuing our inclusive recruitment 
policy and engaging further with our community of entrepreneurs 
and portfolio companies in the UK and Europe to promote 
awareness of social issues and encourage action where possible.

draperesprit.comSustainability

Annual Report 2020

Hadza Hunter Gatherers 
C-Level carbon balancing with communities protecting forests

Governance
Draper Esprit has a strong track record of investing in businesses 
that either enhance the state of the art in digital security technology 
(e.g. Ledger’s crypto security solutions or Fraugster’s Ai technology 
focused on eliminating payment fraud), or facilitate greater 
transparency, accountability and/or protection in existing systems 
(e.g. the technological security advances being driven in the banking 
industry by Form 3, Revolut, N26, and TransferWise, or the crowd-
generated consumer confidence platform provided by TrustPilot).

Good governance and cyber resilience are also critical to our own 
operations. By virtue of the FCA-regulated investment activities 
undertaken within the broader Group, and the status of the 
Company as a publicly traded entity subscribed to the Quoted 
Companies Alliance (QCA) Corporate Governance Code, we are the 
subject of robust risk management and governance arrangements, 
and have this year further bolstered our internal systems and 
processes in a number of ways.

A dedicated IT Manager has been hired to implement various security 
enhancements into our IT environment including the introduction of 
Mimecast cloud-based email security and archiving; investment in 
Microsoft Office 365 cloud computing; bit locker device encryption 
and remote wiping functionality; and Cyber Essentials accreditation. 
Post year-end, external penetration testing was performed against 
our internal infrastructure, to assess the overall security posture of 
our IT environment, with zero critical or high risk areas identified. 

Complementing the technological changes is the addition of our 
first Legal Counsel who has been working with our internal and 
external IT and compliance advisors to build policy and systems 
designed to protect our data and redouble our commitment to 
minimising compliance risk and preventing bribery and corruption.

Responsibility for governance within the Group ultimately sits with 
the Board (comprised of 4 Executive and 3 Non-executive Directors 
to ensure a suitable level of independent thought and challenge), 
but is also permeated throughout the Group by regularised training 
and internal processes designed to ensure observance of good 
governance at every stage of investment.

Remuneration policies are regularly reviewed by the Board’s 
Remuneration & Nomination Committee and are designed to ensure 
that all reward and recognition structures are aligned with the 
broader goals of the Company’s stakeholders by dissuading risk-
taking practices that are inconsistent with the goals and parameters 
established by the Board.

47

draperesprit.com 
 
S172 statement

Annual Report 2020

Section 172 statement

Under Section 172(1) of the Companies Act 2006, a director of a 
company must act in the way he or she considers, in good faith, 
would be most likely to promote the success of the company for 
the benefit of its members as a whole, and in doing so have regard 
(amongst other matters) to:

Key stakeholders
The Board considers its key stakeholders to be its employees, its 
portfolio companies, its investment partners, the community in 
which it operates (and broader community), the environment, its 
suppliers and advisors, and its shareholders.

 - the likely consequence of any decision in the long-term;
 - the interests of the company’s employees;
 - the need to foster the company’s business relationships with 

suppliers, customers and others;

 - the impact of the company’s operations on the community and 

the environment; 

 - the desirability of the company maintaining a reputation for high 

standards of business conduct; and

 - the need to act fairly as between members of the company.

The following disclosures describe how the Directors have had regard 
to the matters set out in Section 172(1)(a) to (f) of the Companies 
Act 2006 and forms the Directors’ statement under section 414CZA 
of the Companies Act 2006. Examples have been included both of 
the routine application of such considerations in the ordinary course 
of business, and their role in certain key Board decisions during the 
course of the year.

How does the Company engage with its key stakeholders? 

Employees

Having regard to this divergent range of interests is a key part of the 
Board decision-making process, noting that it is not always possible 
to balance those different interests to deliver the desired outcome 
for each interested party.

How does the Company engage with its key stakeholders? 
The Company, under the direction of the Board, is committed to 
engaging with all of its key stakeholders to understand the wider 
impact of the Company’s operations. As set out below, the Board 
directly and indirectly engages with stakeholders in a variety of 
ways, and factors these considerations into its long-term strategic, 
operational and financial goals. For more details on how our Board 
operates, and the way in which it reaches decisions, please see the 
Chair’s Corporate Governance Report on pages 61 to 64.

Why we engage
Engagement with employees by the Executive and Non-Executive teams promotes a strong business-wide corporate culture of 
governance, which facilitates the ability of decision makers to appropriately discharge their duties and reduce or remove Group exposure to 
unacceptable levels of risk.

How we engage
Due to the Group’s relatively small employee base, the Directors engage directly with employees on a day-to-day basis. The Non-Executive 
Directors have an open invitation to attend weekly Investment Committee meetings and speak with employees in person, both during the 
investment decision-making process and in informal social settings. 

All employees have clear reporting lines which facilitate and encourage direct access to the Executive team. Regular fitness and proprietary reviews 
are undertaken in line with regulatory requirements, which forms part of the culture of the business.

HR undertakes regular anonymous employee surveys to provide people-centric insights to the Board. 

In its decision-making process, the Board regularly considers the impact of its decisions upon the Company’s staff and affiliated personnel as well 
as the surrounding business culture.

48
48

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.com 
S172 statement

Annual Report 2020

Portfolio companies

Why we engage
Our open and inclusive approach is key to the hands-on way in which our team supports the growth of our portfolio companies. Engagement 
with portfolio companies through all stages of growth allows us to better support those businesses and their management teams via access 
to our expertise, capital and wider network. Our approach to portfolio engagement also provides us with more regular and better visibility on 
portfolio company practices, progress and culture, which in turn informs the way in which we are able to provide support. 

How we engage
We have regular contact with our portfolio companies by taking a board directorship or attending meetings as an observer, as well as through 
informal channels by building strong relationships with entrepreneurs and their leadership teams.

Many of our team offer specific domain expertise relevant to the particular business of our portfolio companies and also bring operational 
experience as technology entrepreneurs in their own right, which enables us to provide companies with tailored connections and advice. 

We run regular events and training sessions including trend spotting, panel discussions, focused networking and breakfast briefings to support 
our portfolio teams with best practice guidance and knowledge sharing. Events during the current year have included our annual investor day, 
a Women in VC event, and dedicated roundtable forums for portfolio CFOs and CMOs.

Consideration of portfolio company performance is a standing agenda item at each Board Meeting. 

Please see the Portfolio Review and Core Portfolio Updates section on pages 29-40 as well as the case studies on pages 15, 23, and 26-28 for 
more information on the work we do with our portfolio companies. 

Investment partners

Why we engage
Leveraging our co-investment model offers improved access to the best deals and, by extension, the best returns for all of our stakeholders. 
Through active collaboration with likeminded investment partners, we achieve cultural alignments and can provide a broader range of 
collaborative investment optionality to our prospective and existing portfolio companies.

How we engage
The Group works closely with its investment partners, Draper Esprit EIS (Encore Ventures LLP), Draper Esprit VCT (Elderstreet Investments 
Limited), Earlybird, and across Draper Esprit’s fund of funds strategy. As strategic partners, we share deal flow and resources to co-invest in 
high growth technology companies across the UK and Europe. Representatives of our investment partners are invited to attend Investment 
Committee meetings, and the Executive team engage directly with our investment collaborators on a regular basis. 

We work closely with our investment partners to ensure an alignment of culture and long-term goals that allow for sustainable growth and 
positive returns and outcomes for all our key stakeholders. Board consideration is regularly given to the strategic positioning and relationship 
between the Group and its investment partners. 

The community

Why we engage
As part of our longstanding aim of democratising venture capital (as evidenced by our decision to IPO in 2016), we are committed to building 
engagement with the community, particularly in the context of our continued focus on sustainability, environment, social and corporate 
governance issues. 

How we engage
We regularly hold thematic events across the regions and sectors we focus upon which are open to members of the entrepreneurial ecosystem 
and others within the broader community. 

In addition to enabling our portfolio companies and wider partners to meet and gain valuable insight, these events also give us regular 
opportunities to engage with these communities and strengthen our relationships and influence within them. As signatories to the UN Principles 
of Responsible Investment we are committed to encouraging dialogue around ESG themes, as further considered in pages 45 to 47.

49

draperesprit.comS172 statement

Annual Report 2020

Section 172 statement continued

Shareholders

Why we engage
The Board recognises the critical importance of understanding, and aligning to, the expectations of our shareholders. Regular dialogue with 
shareholders through a range of different channels helps us to understand their short and long-term views; engage with their ambitions; 
and address their concerns.

How we engage
Regular communication with institutional shareholders is maintained through individual meetings hosted by members of the Executive team, 
particularly following the publication of interim and full-year results. The Chair of the board of Draper Esprit plc also maintains direct contact with 
the Company’s largest investors both in writing and through attendance at meetings. 

The Company’s shareholders are invited to attend our annual Investor Day at which a selection of portfolio companies are invited to present, 
allowing for direct engagement between Draper Esprit, its shareholders and our portfolio companies.

The Board encourages shareholders to attend and vote at the Company’s Annual General Meetings, at which members of the Board are in 
attendance and available for shareholder questions. Investor relations are a standing item on the Board’s agenda. 

Suppliers and advisors

Why we engage
Our suppliers work with the Draper Esprit plc and broader Group to ensure that we can provide an appropriate level of service and regulatory 
compliance function. 

By being selective in our choice of suppliers and fostering robust relationships with those that we choose to work with, we ensure that the 
Group efficiently and sustainably engages the right services for our business in line with applicable laws, regulations and best practice.

How we engage
The Group engages its suppliers (locally, and where appropriate, globally) on the basis of proven track record with observance of minimum 
levels of performance, ethics and governance in order to create value and mitigate risk.

A variety of independent professional advisors are utilised by the business to assist with our regulatory and legal compliance, including by 
way of example: banks, lawyers, accountants, auditors, brokers, compliance specialists, branding and publishing sector specialists.

The Group has a positive and open relationship with all of its advisors. These relationships are typically owned at Director level within, or 
where necessary, by an appropriately skilled manager. Regular contact is maintained to ensure alignment of expectations and interests.

The environment

Why we engage
Concerns around Environmental Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) issues have become increasingly important to the Company and to 
the wider business community, particularly in respect of climate change and carbon emissions.

Engagement with ESG-focussed strategies is of ever-growing significance, both from a broad planetary/societal perspective, but also in the 
context of evolving investor expectations within the VC community. 

How we engage
The Company and broader Group is committed to positively engaging with sustainability and ESG issues. The Company is a signatory to the 
UN Principles of Responsible Investment and is in the process of developing and implementing its environment-focussed strategy applicable 
to the Group and to our portfolio companies. A core steering committee has been established by the Board and mandated to deliver an ESG 
roadmap during the coming financial year. More detail is provided on pages 45 to 47. 

Steps that have already been taken include a full carbon footprint analysis and offsetting programme, allowing us to balance 100% of our 
direct CO2 equivalent greenhouse gas emissions through investment in accredited projects; investment in Zoom video conferencing solutions 
to discourage unnecessary travel; and a push towards a paperless working environment with the adoption of improved internal IT and 
document sharing solutions.

50
50

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.com 
S172 statement

Annual Report 2020

Examples of stakeholder considerations in certain key Board decisions during the year
In discharging its duties, the Board considers the views of its stakeholders alongside information pertaining to key areas such as principal risk 
and legal and regulatory compliance. Information is channelled to the Board in the form of reports circulated in advance of each meeting, 
regular director dialogue, and in-person presentations.

This information informs our short and long-term strategy, and financial and operational performance. The below are a few examples of the 
application of such information in certain key decisions made during the year to 31 March 2020.

Board decision

Considerations

The Board considered and agreed the 
appointment of a new CEO.

 - The need to recruit a talented individual who was the right fit and who both understands, 

and can develop, the short and long-term culture and ethos of the business.

 - The requirements of the shareholders and market. 
 - The need to consider long-term succession planning in all Board appointments.

The Board considered and approved the 
entry into a £50m debt facility with Silicon 
Valley Bank and Investec.

 - The Group’s access to additional financing flexibility. 
 - The ability of the Group to invest in new investment opportunities and continue backing 

our existing portfolio. 

 - The ability for employees in the investment team, and the broader Group, to undertake 
investment activity at scale with the opportunity to participate in upside of successful 
capital deployment.

 - The quality of the counterparties. 

The Board approved the adoption and 
implementation of a Group ESG Strategy.

 - Engagement with critical issues relating to community and the environment.
 - The ESG demands and expectations of shareholders.
 - Please see pages 45 to 47 for further information in this regard.

The Board considered and approved the 
acquisition of the outstanding interest in 
Encore Ventures LLP, bringing Encore’s EIS-
focussed activities 100% within the Group.

 - The ability of the Group to continue to offer an array of investment opportunities to its 

shareholders including access to EIS-focussed funds. 

 - The requirements of portfolio companies for growth capital whilst they scale.
 - Consideration of the long-term growth and sustainability of the business. 

The Board considered the structures required 
to scale the business whilst maintaining the 
integrity of the investment process.

 - The means by which to achieve the best returns for shareholders in the short and  

long-term.

 - The strategic positioning of the Company with its investment partners.
 - The opportunities for key personnel within the business to be given greater  

responsibility and opportunity.

The Board reviewed the results of employee 
pulse surveys and agreed a number of 
employee related initiatives to be carried out 
by the senior leadership team.

 - The need to focus upon business culture within the employees under the stewardship of 

the HR Manager appointed in late 2019.

 - The approval of further regular shortened anonymous surveys to gauge areas for 

development.

51

draperesprit.comPrincipal Risks

Annual Report 2020

Principal Risks

The Board considers the following to be the principal key business 
risks faced by the Group. The Group’s strategy is aligned to mitigate 
these risks as outlined below. 

The Board regularly reviews the risks faced by the Group and 
functions to ensure that effective and appropriate mitigation 
strategies are established, maintained and updated where needed. 
There may be additional risks and uncertainties, which are not 
known to the Board, as well as risks and uncertainties, which are 
currently deemed to be less material, but may also adversely impact 
performance. 

It is possible that several adverse events could occur simultaneously 
which could collectively compound the possible impact on the 
Group. Any number of the below risks could have a material adverse 
impact on the Group’s business, financial condition, results of 
operations and/or the market price of the ordinary shares.

Of the principal risks detailed below, #1 and #16 are new in the year. 
The Board considers #1 and #2 to be emerging risks and that #6, #7, 
and #14 also contain emerging elements.

#

Risk

Possible consequences

Mitigation strategies

1. Coronavirus 
(direct and 
indirect impact 
of COVID-19)

The activities of the Group and of its portfolio 
companies are likely to be negatively impacted in the 
short to mid term by the direct and indirect impact 
of the global spread of COVID-19 coronavirus, 
including (without limitation) risks connected to 
market instability; macro-economic disruption; 
share price volatility; reduced investor activity; 
disrupted cross-border trade; impaired supply chains; 
reforecast asset valuations; and the strong possibility 
of a global recession. The Group’s operations 
may also be adversely affected by associated 
commercial, legal and practical risks outside the 
control of the Group such as widespread sickness 
across the workforce, quarantine restrictions, labour 
unrest or civil disorder.

These risks will be shared across all businesses globally 
including the Group’s competitors, whether public or 
private. Due to the Group’s industry, structure and 
relative size, the impact of COVID-19 are likely to be felt 
less acutely by Draper Esprit than in other more directly 
affected sectors, for example those in retail or travel, or 
those businesses which cannot be structured to allow for 
remote working. 

In order to mitigate direct risks, a variety of measures 
have been taken by the Group to ensure that the 
business can continue operating safely, effectively, and 
in line with its legal and regulatory obligations. Such 
measures include a fully engaged business continuity 
plan involving homeworking across the workforce; 
a cloud-based IT infrastructure with suitable access 
to data, core systems and virtual meeting facilities; 
rapid-deployment internal and external communication 
channels; internal escalation processes to assist 
the Group in fulfilling its operational and regulatory 
requirements; and contingency planning at an executive 
level for different outcome trajectories. 

With respect to those portfolio companies whose 
business is more acutely exposed to the immediate 
impact of COVID-19 (for example those in travel), the 
Company is able to help mitigate such risks by the 
provision of support, information and guidance to 
founder teams to assist with, for example, applications 
for available state loan schemes and strategic advice 
on market opportunities. Funding can also be advanced 
by way of investment or debt where there is a suitable 
business case to do so. 

The Company will continue to be informed by reliable 
data sources in connection with the spread and impact 
of COVID-19, including government advice; regulatory 
guidance; and best practice trends as these emerge. 
Strategically, our focus on promising technology 
companies means that we are also well placed to 
continue to spot new investment opportunities in 
emergent areas, for example in digital health and 
remote working.

52
52

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.com 
Principal Risks

Annual Report 2020

#

Risk

Possible consequences

Mitigation strategies

2.

The UK’s exit 
from the EU 
may impact 
negatively upon 
the Group

The terms of the UK’s eventual transition out of the 
EU are currently largely unknown, but could result in 
economic instability or the withdrawal of certain EU-
driven frameworks within the financial environment, 
which could affect investor confidence and limit 
access to capital for the Group and/or its portfolio 
companies. Brexit may also affect the Group’s ability 
to make investments into Europe, and expose the 
Group and its portfolio companies to currency risk; 
recruitment challenges; and regulatory adjustments.

The Board has taken legal and regulatory advice on the 
Group’s exposure to Brexit-related risk and continues to 
monitor the impact of transitional negotiations as the 
UK leaves the EU. 

The Company is dual-listed on AIM in London and 
Euronext Growth in Dublin, thereby providing flexibility to 
participate in European investments going forward. 

The Group’s strategic partnership and investments with 
Earlybird Digital West, part of the German-originated 
Earlybird VC firm ensure continued access to investment 
opportunities in continental Europe.

3.

The investment 
portfolio 
businesses are 
at an early 
stage and carry 
inherent risk

The technologies, services or business models 
developed by these businesses may fail and/or 
these businesses may not be able to develop their 
offering into commercially viable products.

The investment team, comprised of experts in their 
particular sector, undertake rigorous due diligence 
prior to any investment and thereafter provide active 
guidance and management capabilities to businesses 
that are invested in.

4.

5.

6.

Portfolio 
value may be 
dominated by 
single or limited 
number of 
companies

If one or more of the core portfolio companies 
experience significant difficulties or suffer poor 
market conditions (whether related to COVID-19 
or otherwise) such that their value is adversely 
affected, this could have a material adverse 
impact on the overall value of the Group’s 
portfolio of investee companies. 

Non-controlling interests may lead to a limited 
ability to protect the Group’s position in such 
investments.

The timing of portfolio company realisations 
is uncertain and cash returns to the Group are 
therefore not predictable.

The Group will 
hold non-
controlling 
interests in the 
investment 
portfolio 
businesses

Proceeds from 
the sale of 
investments 
may vary 
substantially 
from year to 
year

The Group typically secures a significant minority stake 
in portfolio companies with board participation and 
consent rights allowing a level of visibility and control. 

The financial structure of investments provide downside 
protection. Technology solutions are also used by the 
team to assess and track progress once an investment 
has been made.

The Group adopts a spread sector approach with a focus 
on 4 core areas. Risk is diversified within the portfolio by 
not focusing on any one sector and by deploying capital 
across early and growth stage businesses.

By leveraging the Group’s fund of funds capability, new 
seed-stage investment opportunities are identified early 
to ensure a broad array of investments in a way that 
spreads risk.

The Group is an active manager of its investments and 
usually takes a board or observer position on portfolio 
companies. Investments are made with suitable minority 
protections, typically including preferential share 
rights on distributions and consent/veto rights on key 
decisions. Furthermore, investments are often made in 
businesses in which other institutional investors are also 
shareholders, affording a greater degree of collective 
protection. 

The Group maintains sufficient cash resources to manage 
its ongoing operational and investment commitments. 
Regular working capital reviews are undertaken using 
cash flow projections, and the financial performance of 
the Group is a standing agenda item at meetings of the 
executive management team and the Board.

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#

Risk

Possible consequences

Mitigation strategies

7.

Fluctuations in 
foreign exchange 
rates may 
adversely affect 
the performance 
of the Group’s 
portfolio

Certain investments of the Group are made or 
operate in currencies other than Sterling and 
the Group may make certain future investments 
in other currencies and in companies that use 
other currencies as their functional currency. 
Accordingly, changes in exchange rates may 
have an adverse effect on the valuations and/or 
revenues of the Group’s investments, and on its 
investments’ ability to make debt payments, pay 
dividends or make other distributions.

The Board regularly reviews and considers the possible 
impacts of currency movements on the Group’s 
portfolio. Portfolio companies generate revenues across 
a range of currencies, predominantly US Dollars, Sterling 
and Euro, and a degree of natural hedge therefore exists. 

The Group does not currently operate hedging 
arrangements to mitigate its exposure to fluctuations 
in exchange rates but relationships with forex service 
providers are in place in the event that the Board decides 
to make such arrangements.

8.

Portfolio 
company 
valuations 
are subject to 
change

9.

The Group is 
dependent on 
a relatively 
small number 
of shareholders 
who hold a large 
proportion of 
the total share 
capital of the 
Group

10. As a publicly 
listed entity, 
any group or 
individual can 
acquire shares in 
the Company

The valuations of the Group’s underlying portfolio 
of investments are substantially based on the 
revenue generated by these businesses. 

The Group invests across a spread of geographies and 
sub-sectors, which provide diversification in revenue 
sources, macroeconomic risks and peer groups.

Each of these businesses, and therefore their 
ability to generate revenue, are subject to the 
macroeconomic environment in the sectors and 
territories in which they operate, some of which 
have been particularly impacted by the spread of 
COVID-19 since January 2020. 

The Group has established an enhanced Audit, Risk, 
& Valuation Committee chaired by a non-executive 
director, with responsibility for, amongst other things, 
valuing portfolio companies and scrutinising such 
valuations. Valuations are carried out in line with BVCA 
and IPEV guidelines and are audited annually.

Similarly, where comparable peer groups are used 
as a benchmark to determine valuations based on 
revenue multiples, the performance of the peer 
group will impact portfolio valuations.

The Group also has an internal Portfolio & Exits 
Committee chaired by the Chief Portfolio Officer and 
reporting into the Board, which meets regularly to 
monitor portfolio performance and strategy.

The decision by a major shareholder to dispose 
of their holding in the Group might have an 
adverse effect on the Group’s share price and/or 
operations.

During the period, the Board has engaged with 
the market to attempt to diversify the shareholder 
composition of Draper Esprit plc, resulting in a more 
balanced share register.

The Directors seek to communicate and build a mutual 
understanding of objectives between the Group and its 
shareholders through regular announcements, annual 
/ half-yearly reports, and periodic presentations and 
meetings.

The actions or reputations of shareholders in 
Draper Esprit plc are outside the control of the 
Company but can impact on the reputation of 
the Group by association.

The Board and wider public relations function within 
the Group clearly communicate the culture and ideals 
of the Group and actively seeks to work with likeminded 
partners who share the Group’s broad approach to 
investment.

11.

The Group and 
its portfolio 
companies 
are subject to 
competition risk

The execution of the Group’s investment strategy 
depends primarily on the ability of the Group to 
identify and capitalise on investment opportunities. 
A number of other players in the market compete 
with the Group for investment opportunities.

The competitive pressures faced by the Group 
may prevent it from identifying investments that 
are consistent with its investment objectives or 
that generate attractive returns for shareholders. 
The Group may lose investment opportunities in 
the future if it does not match investment prices, 
structures and terms offered by competitors, but 
conversely may experience decreased rates of return 
and increased risks of loss if matching unfavourable 
terms.

Competition for investment opportunities is based 
primarily on pricing, terms and structure of a proposed 
investment, certainty of execution and, in some cases, 
brand or reputational presence. 

The Group seeks to mitigate competition risks through 
diversified sources of opportunities, creation of a strong 
brand based on a reputation of successful experiences 
with entrepreneurs, and by demonstrating ongoing 
financial discipline in its investment decision process.

To further distinguish itself from its competitors, the 
Group operates a patient capital co-investment strategy 
that allows for access to the public market as well as 
collaboration with EIS and VCT-driven investments.

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#

Risk

Possible consequences

Mitigation strategies

12.

13.

The Group 
may not be 
able to retain 
and attract 
investment 
team members 
and support 
staff with the 
right skills and 
experience

Esprit Capital 
Partners LLP or 
Encore Ventures 
LLP cease to be 
authorised as 
fund managers 
by the FCA

14. Cyber security 
incidents may 
affect the 
operations and 
reputation of 
the Group

The industry in which the Group operates is a 
specialised area and the Group requires highly 
qualified and experienced management and 
personnel. If the Group does not succeed in 
recruiting or retaining the skilled personnel 
necessary for the development and operation 
of its business, it may not be able to grow as 
anticipated or meet its financial objectives.

The Group carries out regular market comparisons for 
staff and executive remuneration and offers highly 
competitive packages to its personnel. Senior executives 
are shareholders in the business and the Group operates 
appropriate incentive programmes to align individuals 
with the Group’s strategy over the long term.

The Group encourages staff development and inclusion 
through coaching and mentoring.

Should Esprit Capital Partners and/or Encore 
Ventures cease to be authorised and regulated 
by the FCA as AIFM’s then they would no longer 
be permitted to perform the role of investment 
manager.

The Group ensures that Esprit Capital Partners and Encore 
Ventures fulfil their ongoing requirements under FCA 
rules. External compliance and legal advisors are engaged 
to ensure that the Group is continuously monitoring 
and improving systems and processes to navigate the 
changing legal and regulatory landscape.

A significant cyber/information security breach 
could result in financial liabilities, reputational 
damage, severe business disruption or the loss 
of business critical or commercially sensitive 
information.

To ensure operational resilience and minimise the risk 
and impact of the occurrence of cyber security incidents, 
the Group utilises reliable software and hardware and 
operates firewalls, anti-virus protection systems, email risk 
management software and backup procedures. 

15.

Inadequate 
governance 
could expose the 
Group to risk of 
mismanagement

An inadequate culture of governance could allow 
situations to occur where decision makers fail to 
adequately discharge their duties or expose the 
Group to unacceptable levels of risk. 

16. Default or 

breach of terms 
of the debt 
facility

The Company has an existing debt facility in place 
with Investec and Silicon Valley Bank for £50m, 
which post year-end was extended and increased 
to £60m. In the event of default or material 
breach of the terms of the loan agreement, 
including debt covenants, the Company may be 
unable to draw further funds and/or could the 
repayment of the loan and any unpaid accrued 
interest could be triggered.

During the period, the Group attained Cyber Essentials 
accreditation and hired a Head of IT and Legal Counsel 
with data protection expertise to manage and advise the 
business on the mitigation of cyber security risk.

The Group will continue to review its cyber security and 
information security systems, policies and procedures with the 
continued oversight and support of outsourced IT providers.

All senior managers or personnel within the business whose 
function involves investment-related risk are internally 
vetted, assessed and appraised on an ongoing basis to 
ensure that they are fit and proper to perform their duties 
and competent to meet the highest standards of integrity 
and performance in line with regulatory guidance.

Robust governance processes and procedures are 
operated at a Group-wide level, including 3 non-executive 
directors on the Board of Draper Esprit plc to ensure 
that the executive team are subject to discussion and 
challenge on all important business decisions.

The Group continues to fully engage with the requirements 
of the Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SM&CR). 
Lines of accountability and responsibility for senior 
management functions are clear and monitored on an 
ongoing basis. 

The debt facility is a 3-year structure including a 24-month 
repayment period, which the Board believe is sufficient 
relative to the liquidity of the underlying assets

There is substantial headroom within the agreed debt 
covenants to mitigate any likelihood of a breach or default 
by the Company. 

Observance of the terms of the facility agreement, 
including the debt covenants, is closely monitored on an 
ongoing basis, and regular contact with the lenders is 
maintained to ensure the smooth operation of the facility.

55

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Governance

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“The portfolio investments that we 
have undertaken during the year, 
together with the revolving credit 
facility agreed in June 2019 and  
the completion of our acquisition  
of Encore Ventures, demonstrate  
how we have continued to execute 
against our strategy and deliver 
growth and scale in our portfolio,  
as well as our own business, which  
we believe will continue to drive  
long-term, sustainable returns for  
our shareholders. ”

Karen Slatford  
Non-Executive Chair

draperesprit.com

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Governance

Annual Report 2020

Board of Directors

Karen Slatford 
Non-Executive Chair
Age 63

Martin Michael Arthur Davis  
Chief Executive Officer
Age 57

Karen is non-executive Chair of Draper Esprit plc. She is also a 
non-executive director of AIM-quoted Accesso Technology Group 
plc and Softcat plc, a FTSE 250 IT infrastructure provider, and senior 
independent non-executive director of LSE and NYSE listed Micro 
Focus. Karen began her career at ICL before spending 20 years 
at Hewlett-Packard Company, where in 2000 she became Vice 
President and General Manager Worldwide Sales & Marketing for the 
Business Customer Organisation, responsible for sales of all Hewlett-
Packard products, services and software to business customers 
globally. Karen holds a BA Honours degree in European Studies from 
Bath University and a Diploma in Marketing.

Martin was appointed as CEO of Draper Esprit in November 2019. He 
has more than 20 years of experience in financial services and joined 
Draper from Aegon Asset Management where he was the Head of 
Europe, Aegon Asset Management & CEO Kames Capital. Prior to 
Aegon Asset Management, Martin served as CEO at Cofunds, spent 
8 years at Zurich Insurance Group, and was also CEO of Zurich’s joint 
venture, Openwork, the largest network of financial advice firms in 
the UK. Prior to this, Martin held senior management roles at Misys, 
Corillian, and Reuters. Martin also served for 11 years in the British 
Army. Martin has an MBA from London City Business School (CASS) 
and Diplomas from the Institute of Marketing and the Market 
Research Society.

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Board skills matrix

Equity Capital Markets

Venture Capital

Healthcare/Biotech

Corporate Finance and M&A

  Proportion of directors with strong competency 

  Proportion of directors with experience

Strategy

Tech/Software

Finance & Accounting

Governance & Compliance

Benjamin David Wilkinson  
Chief Financial Officer
Age 39

Stuart Malcolm Chapman  
Chief Portfolio Officer
Age 50

Simon Christopher Cook  
Founding Partner
Age 51

Prior to establishing the Group with Simon 
in 2006, Stuart was a Director of 3i Ventures 
in London. Having joined 3i in 1992, he has 
over 25 years’ venture capital experience in 
Europe and the US. He was a founding
partner of 3i US, based in Menlo Park, CA 
from 1999 until 2003. Stuart was responsible 
for Esprit’s investments in Lagan Technology 
(sold to Verint), Redkite (sold to Nice) and 
Kiadis (IPO). Stuart serves as a director with
Netronome, DisplayData, Resolver, Realeyes, 
Crate and Conversocial; and as observer 
with Graphcore. Prior to 3i, Stuart was 
involved in software and systems implemen-
tations for Midland Bank. He is a graduate 
of Loughborough University and currently 
serves on the Strategic Advisory Board for 
the Loughborough School of Business and 
Economics.

Ben was appointed to the Board on 4 June 
2019, having joined the Group as CFO in 
2016. In addition to his responsibilities for 
the Group’s finance and investor relations 
functions, Ben serves as a member of the In-
vestment Committee. Ben has led on recent 
equity and debt raises totalling over £350.0 
million. Ben is an experienced leader of pub-
lic company finance teams having previously 
served for 5 years as CFO of AIM-listed Pres-
ident Energy PLC where he was responsible 
for all financial aspects of the group. During 
his time at President, Ben was a key part of 
the Board that undertook investments into 
Argentina and Paraguay and raised US$175 
million across several equity issuances with 
shareholders such as IFC/World Bank and 
significant UK institutional investors. Ben is a 
Chartered Accountant, FCA, with a back-
ground in M&A investment banking from 
ABN Amro/RBS where he was involved with 
multiple cross border transactions and cor-
porate financings, both debt and equity. Ben 
is a graduate of Royal Holloway, University 
of London with a BSc in Economics. 

Simon has been active in the UK venture 
capital industry since 1995. Previously, Simon 
was a partner with Cazenove and with 
Elderstreet Investments and a director at 3i in 
Cambridge. In 2006, he led the management 
buy-out of Cazenove Private Equity and 
acquisition of Prelude Ventures, and he 
negotiated the Group’s partnership with the 
Draper Venture Network in 2007 and led the 
fund partnerships with Seedcamp in 2017 
and Earlybird in 2018. Simon has invested in 
a number of successful technology start-ups, 
including Cambridge Silicon Radio (IPO), 
Virata (IPO), Horizon Discovery (IPO), nCipher 
(IPO), Lovefilm (sold to Amazon), Zeus (sold 
to Riverbed), Podpoint (sold to EDF) and KVS 
(sold to Veritas). Simon currently serves as a 
director or observer with Freetrade, Ledger 
and Trustpilot. Prior to venture capital, Simon 
worked as a strategy and IT consultant at 
KPMG, where he established the Digital 
Media strategy consulting practice, and 
as a computer games developer, running 
his own development company started 
at age 19. Simon is a graduate of the 
University of Manchester Institute of Science 
and Technology (“UMIST”) with a BSc in 
Computation. He is a former member of the 
EVCA Venture Platform group and was voted 
VC Personality of the Year 2008.

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Board of Directors continued

Grahame David Cook  
Non-Executive Director
Age 62

Richard Fowler Pelly OBE  
Non-Executive Director
Age 65

Grahame Cook is an experienced FTSE and 
AIM non-executive director, with extensive 
experience as an audit committee chairman. 
Grahame’s background is in banking, where 
he specialised in healthcare. He has over 
20 years’ experience of M&A, equity capital 
markets, and investor relations. Grahame 
started his career at Arthur Andersen, where 
he qualified as a chartered accountant. He 
was a Director of Corporate Finance at BZW, 
and then joined UBS as a member of the 
global investment banking management 
committee and global head of equity 
advisory. He then became joint chief 
executive officer at WestLB Panmure where 
he built a pan European Tech team and ran 
a €100m technology fund. Grahame now sits 
on a number of boards, including Horizon 
Discovery Plc, a genomics company and 
Attraqt plc, an AI SaaS company. Grahame 
holds a Double First Class Honours degree 
from the University of Oxford.

Richard is a non-executive director and 
advisor in the area of micro, small and 
medium-sized businesses. Up until April 
2014, Richard was the chief executive of the 
European Investment Fund (‘‘EIF’’), Europe’s 
largest investor in venture capital funds. 
Before joining EIF in April 2008, Richard 
was managing director of structured asset 
finance at Lloyds TSB Bank in London from 
2005 to 2007. From 1998 to 2005, he worked 
for GE Capital, first as chairman and CEO 
of Budapest Bank in Hungary and then 
as CEO of UK Business Finance within GE 
Commercial Finance. Prior to his career at 
GE, Richard worked for Barclays Bank in 
various functions in the UK and in France 
from 1977 to 1997.

Richard holds an honours degree in 
Psychology from Durham University and 
an MBA with distinction from INSEAD 
Fontainebleau. In 2003, he was awarded an 
OBE in the Queen’s Honours List for Services 
to the Community in Hungary.

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Annual Report 2020

Chair’s Corporate Governance
Report

As Chair, I am responsible for leading the Board and upholding high 
standards of corporate governance throughout the Group, and particularly 
at Board level. I am therefore pleased to introduce our Corporate 
Governance Report.

My colleagues share the view that sound 
governance is fundamental to the successful 
growth of the business. We continue 
to apply the principles of the corporate 
governance code for small and mid-size 
quoted companies published by the Quoted 
Companies Alliance (the “QCA Code”). 
This Corporate Governance Report sets out 
how we apply the QCA Code principles, 
and summarises both how our Board and 
Committees operate, and their key activities 
during the year.

Compliance with the QCA Code
The Board believes that it applies the ten 
principles of the QCA Code, but recognises 
the need to continue to review and develop 
our governance practices and disclosures 
in order to ensure they support the growth 
and strategic progress of the business and 
the effective application of the principles 
going forwards. Our governance structure 
provides a framework of established and 
clearly articulated roles, authority limits and 
controls, which allows the Executive team to 
focus on delivering the investment strategy 
of the Group. These systems are designed 
to support our compliance with the QCA 
Code, the AIM Rules, the Euronext Growth 
Rules, the Full Scope AIFM regulations and 
other legal, regulatory and compliance 
requirements, which apply to us.

Deliver growth
The Board has collective responsibility for 
setting the strategic aims and objectives 
of the Group. Our strategy is articulated in 
the Strategic Report on pages 3 to 55 and 
on our website. The portfolio investments 
that we have undertaken during the year, 
together with the revolving credit facility 
agreed in June 2019 and the completion 
of our acquisition of Encore Ventures LLP, 
demonstrate how we have continued to 
execute against our strategy and deliver 
growth and scale in our portfolio, as well 
as our own business, which we believe will 

continue to drive long-term, sustainable 
returns for our shareholders. The Board 
reviews the Group’s strategy each year, 
which takes into account the expectations 
of the Company’s shareholder base and its 
wider stakeholders and social responsibilities.

The Board also has responsibility for 
the Group’s internal control and risk 
management systems. The Board regularly 
reviews the risks faced and ensures the 
mitigation strategies in place are effective 
and appropriate to the Group’s operations. 
More information on the principal risks faced 
by the Group is set out on pages 52 to 55.

Dynamic management 
framework
As Chair, I consider the operation of the 
Board as a whole, and the individual 
performance of the Directors. During 
the year, we conducted a detailed Board 
performance evaluation process, as 
described in further detail on page 64. The 
results of the evaluation indicated that the 
Board and its Committees are operating 
effectively, and highlighted some areas for 
continued improvement to ensure that our 
processes continue to support strong and 
effective governance.

The Company operates an open and 
inclusive culture, and this is reflected in 
the way that the Board conducts itself. We 
believe this makes a valuable contribution 
to our ability to execute our strategy and 
deliver value for our shareholders and other 
stakeholders. The Non-Executive Directors 
and I regularly attend the Company’s offices 
and other Company events, and I frequently 
attend the Company’s weekly Investment 
Committee meeting. With a relatively small 
employee base, such interactions mean it 
is fairly straightforward for the Board to 
promote and assess the desired corporate 
culture. Our open and inclusive approach is 
important not just in the way we operate as 

61
61

“Recognising the 
increasing focus on 
environmental, social 
and governance (“ESG”) 
issues in the investment 
community, and 
following the Board’s 
approval of the Group’s 
ESG strategy in the 
previous year, the  
Group signed up to 
the UN Principles of 
Responsible Investment 
during the year.”

Karen Slatford 
Chair

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Annual Report 2020

Chair’s Corporate Governance
Report continued

an internal team, but also in the hands-on 
way in which our team supports the growth 
of our investee companies. The Board 
recognises the importance of retaining a 
proactive focus on culture as the Company 
grows, and in line with the outcomes of the 
Board evaluation detailed on page 64, will 
be continuing our focus on this area during 
the coming year.

Build trust
The Board recognises the importance of 
understanding the expectations of our 
shareholders, and a description of our 
activity in this area is set out on page 64 
and within the s172 Statement on pages 48-
51. Investor relations is a standing item on 
the Board’s agenda and we receive regular 
feedback from the Executive team on their 
discussions with shareholders and potential 
investors. Recognising the increasing focus 
on environmental, social and governance 
(“ESG”) issues in the investment community, 
and following the Board’s approval of the 
Group’s ESG strategy in the previous year, 
the Group signed up to the UN Principles 
of Responsible Investment during the year. 
More detail is provided on pages 45-47. 

The Board will continue to monitor its 
application of the QCA Code principles 
and ensure that our corporate governance 
framework continues to evolve in line with 
the strategic development of the Group.

Composition of the Board
Including the Chair, as at 31 March 2020 the 
Board comprised seven Directors, of whom 
four were Executive Directors and three were 
Non-Executive Directors. 

During the year and following a period of 
significant development since the Group’s 
IPO in 2016, the Group announced the 
expansion of the management team. Martin 
Davis was appointed as Chief Executive 
Officer, whilst Simon Cook, the previous 
CEO and co-Founder, was appointed as 
Chief Investment Officer. This additional 
appointment to the Board enhanced the 
senior leadership team and together with 
the other Executive Directors, the team 

will continue to implement the Company’s 
strategy. 

On 28 May 2020, it was announced that 
Simon Cook would step down from the 
Board on 1 July 2020. Simon will remain with 
the Company as founding partner and focus 
on generating new deals and will continue as 
a board member for a number of portfolio 
companies. 

The Board has determined that each of the 
Non-Executive Directors are independent, 
and the Company therefore complies 
with the QCA Code with respect to the 
independence of the Board. The skills and 
experience of the Board are set out in their 
biographies and the Board skills matrix on 
pages 58-60.

Collectively, the Non-Executive Directors 
bring an appropriate balance of functional 
and sector skills and experience such that 
they are able to provide constructive support 
and challenge to the Executive Directors. The 
Directors believe that between them, the 
Board as a whole possesses the necessary 
mix of experience, skills, personal qualities 
and capabilities to deliver the strategy of the 
Company for the benefit of its shareholders 
over the medium to long-term.

The combined Remuneration and 
Nomination Committee has responsibility 
for succession planning at Board and Senior 
Executive level. The Committee intends to 
increase its focus on developing formal long 
term executive management and Board 
succession plans during the financial year to 
31 March 2021.

The Board recognises the benefits of 
diversity, including as to gender, whilst 
ultimately seeking to appoint the best 
candidate for the role based on objective 
criteria when considering new Board and 
Senior Executive appointments. The Board 
currently consists of 1 female and 6 male 
Directors.

The Non-Executive Directors each attend 
external events and seminars to receive 
updates on matters such as financial 

reporting requirements and corporate 
governance. The Company Secretary also 
ensures that the Board is updated as to 
developments to corporate governance 
practice and forthcoming changes to 
legislation or regulation, which may impact 
the Company.

How the Board operates
The Directors are responsible for the 
determination of the Company’s investment 
policy and strategy and have overall 
responsibility for the Company’s activities, 
including the review of investment activity 
and performance. The operation of the 
Board is documented in a formal schedule 
of matters reserved for its approval. This 
is reviewed annually, and includes matters 
relating to:

 - The Group’s strategic aims, objectives and 

investment strategy;

 - The approval of any single investment 

greater than £10.0 million or the sale of 
any assets where the proceeds will be 
greater than 10% of market capitalisation;

 - The approval of any investment decision 

where a conflict of interest exists;
 - Structure and capital of the Group;
 - Financial reporting, financial controls and 
dividend policy and approving annual 
budgets;

 - Internal control and risk management 

(including the Group’s appetite for risk).
 - The approval of significant contracts and 

expenditure; and

 - Appointments to the Board and its 

Committees.

Day-to-day management of the Group 
during the year to 31 March 2020 was the 
responsibility of the CEO, Founding Partner, 
CPO, CFO and the Executive Management 
team.

Board meetings
The Board met formally 6 times during 
the year. Board meetings may also be 
convened on an ad-hoc basis from time to 
time in order to consider specific corporate 
activity, and a number of unscheduled 
Board and Committee conference calls 

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have taken place to consider the impact of 
the COVID-19 epidemic on the Company’s 
business and operations.

The Directors are expected to attend all 
meetings of the Board and the Committees 
on which they sit. The Executive Directors 
are required to devote their full time and 
attention to the business of the Company 
and the Non-Executive Directors are 
expected to devote sufficient time to the 
Company to enable them to fulfil their 
duties as Directors. The Board is satisfied 
that the Chair and each of the Non- 
Executive Directors devote sufficient time to 
the business, in accordance with the time 
commitment requirements set out in their 
individual Letters of Appointment, and they 
each maintain open communication with 
the Executive Directors and the Executive 
Management team between the formal 
Board meetings.

The table below shows Directors’ attendance 
at formal scheduled Board and Committee 
meetings during the year.

Audit, 
Risk and 
Valuations 
Committee 
(out of 3 
meetings)

Remuneration 
and 
Nomination 
Committee 
(out of 5 
meetings)

Board 
(out of 6 
meetings)

6

3

6

6

5

6

6

3

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

3

3

5

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

5

5

Director

Karen Slatford

Martin Davis1

Simon Cook

Stuart Chapman

Ben Wilkinson2

Grahame Cook

Richard Pelly

1  Martin Davis was appointed as a Director on 4 November 

2019 and attended all Board meetings held after that date.

2  Although Ben Wilkinson attended all Board meetings held 
during the year in his capacity as CFO, the table above 
reflects his formal attendance record as a Director having 
been appointed to that role on 4 June 2019.

Board activity during the year
The Board has an agreed schedule of 
activity covering regular business updates 
and financial, operational and governance 
matters. Each Board Committee has also 
compiled a schedule of work to ensure 
that all areas for which the Board has 

overall responsibility are addressed and 
reviewed during the course of the year. 
These schedules of activity are reviewed at 
least annually to ensure that key matters 
and developments are discussed at the 
appropriate time.

Board and Committee papers are distributed 
to Directors in advance of the meetings, and 
each meeting is minuted by the Company 
Secretary. Every Director is aware of their 
right to have any concerns minuted.

Board Committees
The Board has delegated specific 
responsibilities to the Audit, Risk and 
Valuations Committee and the combined 
Remuneration and Nomination Committee, 
details of which are set out in the respective 
reports of the Committees below.

Each Committee has written terms of 
reference setting out its duties, authority 
and reporting responsibilities. The terms of 
reference of each Committee were reviewed 
by the Committees and the Board during 
the year, and these will continue to be 
reviewed on an annual basis going forward 
to ensure they remain appropriate and 
reflect any changes in legislation, regulation 
or best practice. The terms of reference are 
available on the Company’s website: 
https://draperesprit.com/investors/plc.

External advisers
The Board seeks advice and guidance on 
various matters from its Nomad (Numis 
Securities), Euronext Growth adviser 
(Goodbody Stockbrokers), and its lawyers 
Gowling WLG (UK law) and Maples and 
Calder (Irish law). The Board also uses the 
services of an external provider, Prism Cosec, 
for company secretarial support, Mercer 
for remuneration advice, and is advised on 
compliance matters by IQ-EQ.

Conflicts of interest
At each meeting of the Board or its 
Committees, the Directors are required to 
declare any interests in the matters to be 
discussed and are regularly reminded of 
their duty to notify any actual or potential 

conflicts of interest. The Company’s Articles 
of Association provide for the Board to 
authorise actual or potential conflicts 
of interest where lawful and deemed 
appropriate to do so.

The Group also has a long established 
conflicts of interest policy, under which 
employees and Executive Directors are 
prohibited from investing in companies that 
fall within the target investment focus of the 
Group, and which requires Non-Executive 
Directors to seek approval from the Group 
Compliance Officer, Stuart Chapman, if 
they wish to invest in companies falling 
within the mandate of the Group.

Internal controls
The Board has ultimate responsibility for the 
Group’s system of internal controls and for 
the ongoing review of their effectiveness. 
Systems of internal control can only identify 
and manage risks and not eliminate them 
entirely. As a result, such controls cannot 
provide an absolute assurance against 
misstatement or loss. The Board considers 
that the internal controls, which have 
been established and implemented, are 
appropriate for the size, complexity and risk 
profile of the Group.

The main elements of the Group’s internal 
control system include:

 - Close management of the day-to-day 
activities of the Group by the Executive 
Directors;

 - An organisational structure with defined 

levels of responsibility;

 - Specified investment approval levels and 

financial authority limits;

 - An annual budgeting process, which is 

approved by the Board;

 - Monthly management reporting against 
agreed KPIs (KPIs are further outlined on 
page 44 of the Strategic Report); and
 - Financial controls to ensure that the 

assets of the Group are safeguarded and 
that appropriate accounting records are 
maintained.

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Annual Report 2020

Chair’s Corporate Governance
Report continued

The Board continues to review the system of 
internal controls to ensure it is fit for purpose 
and appropriate for the size and nature of 
the Company’s operations and resources.

Board evaluation
The Board conducted a formal performance 
evaluation process during the year, building 
on the previous Board evaluation, which 
took place in February 2019. The process was 
carried out by way of detailed questionnaires 
completed by each member of the Board, 
covering topics such as the composition 
of the Board, the quality and timeliness of 
information provided, relationships between 
the Board, shareholders, employees and 
other stakeholders, and succession planning. 
The responses were collated by the Company 
Secretary, and discussed by the Board at its 
meeting in March 2020.

The Board has agreed a number of specific 
actions to take forward during 2020 in order 
to improve its efficiency and effectiveness. 
These included improvements to the Board 
process, increasing the oversight of risk 
(principally through the Audit, Risk and 
Valuations Committee), and focus on 
the development and communication of 
corporate culture (to be led by the CEO).

Relations with shareholders and 
stakeholders
Regular communication with institutional 
shareholders is maintained through 
individual meetings with the Executive 
Directors, particularly following the 
publication of interim and full-year results. 
During the year, the Chair also wrote to the 
Company’s largest investors, and attended 
meetings with significant shareholders. 
The Board also encourages shareholders 
to attend and vote at the Company’s 
General Meetings, at which the Board 
is also in attendance and available for 
shareholder questions. Investor relations 
are a standing item on the Board’s agenda, 
and the executive team routinely updates 
the Board as to outcomes of their meetings 
with shareholders and potential investors. 
These initiatives help us to understand 
shareholders’ views and to address their 
concerns.

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64

Due to the Company’s relatively small 
employee base, the Directors are able to 
engage directly with employees, and the 
Non-Executive Directors have an open 
invitation to attend the Company’s weekly 
Investment Committee meetings.

and/or employee shareholders. Under the 
circumstances, members are encouraged 
to submit their proxy form to ensure that 
their votes are registered. The Board strongly 
advises members to appoint the chairman 
of the meeting as proxy for all votes. 

Karen Slatford 
Chair

The Company’s other key stakeholders are 
our investee companies, with which we have 
regular contact, in particular where we 
have a seat as a director or Board observer 
of that company. We host an annual CEO 
day for our investee companies, to which 
our Directors, shareholders and key advisers 
are also invited. This forms part of a wider 
events programme targeted towards 
our investee companies and early stage 
companies. For our portfolio companies, we 
participate in an annual CEO conference 
in Silicon Valley via the Draper Venture 
Network to connect them to corporates, 
partners and investors globally. For the wider 
community, we regularly hold thematic 
events across the regions and sectors we 
focus on. In addition to enabling our investee 
companies and wider partners to meet 
each other and gain valuable insight, these 
events also give us regular opportunities to 
engage with these communities and thereby 
strengthen our relationships with them. 
For more information on our stakeholder 
considerations please see our section 172 
Companies Act 2006 disclosures found on 
pages 48 to 51.

Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting will take  
place at 11.00 a.m on Monday 27 July 2020  
at 20 Garrick Street, London WC2E 9BT.  
The Notice of the Annual General Meeting 
and the ordinary and special resolutions to 
be put to the meeting are included at the 
end of this Annual Report.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, 
and the stay at home measures put in 
place by the UK Government, the Board 
has decided to run the 2020 AGM as a 
closed meeting. As a result, members will 
not be permitted to attend the meeting in 
person and access will be refused. Quorum 
will be achieved through the attendance 
of two Company director shareholders 

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.comGovernance

Annual Report 2020

Audit, Risk and Valuations
Committee Report

Grahame Cook  
Chair of the Committee

On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to 
present the Audit, Risk and Valuations 
Committee Report for the year ended 31 
March 2020.

During the year, it was agreed that the 
Committee’s name would formally be 
changed to the Audit, Risk and Valuations 
Committee to reflect the specific focused 
valuations work undertaken to review 
the Group’s investment valuations, and 
appropriate changes to its terms of 
reference were approved by the Board at its 
meeting in March 2020.

The Audit, Risk and Valuations Committee 
is responsible for ensuring that the financial 
performance of the Group is properly 
reported on and monitored. Its role includes 
monitoring the integrity of the Group’s 
financial statements, reviewing significant 
financial reporting issues, reviewing the 
effectiveness of the Company’s internal 
control and risk management systems 
and overseeing the relationship with the 
external auditors (including advising on their 
appointment, agreeing the scope of the 
audit and reviewing the audit findings). It is 
also responsible for establishing, monitoring 
and reviewing procedures and controls for 
ensuring compliance with the AIM Rules 
and Euronext Growth Rules. The Committee 
reports regularly to the Board on its 
activities and makes recommendations, all 
of which have been accepted during  
the year.

Members of the Audit, Risk and 
Valuations Committee
The Committee consists of 3 independent 
Non-Executive Directors: Grahame Cook 
(as Chair of the Committee), Karen Slatford 
and Richard Pelly. The Board is satisfied that 
Grahame Cook, who is a qualified Chartered 
Accountant and an experienced Non-
Executive Director and audit committee 
chair, has recent and relevant financial 
experience.

The Audit, Risk and Valuations Committee 
met formally 3 times during the year (and 
on 5 occasions since the year-end – 2 
formally scheduled meetings and a further 
3 to monitor liquidity and funding options as 
a result of COVID-19) and going forward will 
continue to meet at least 3 times per year 
at appropriate times in the reporting cycle 
and otherwise as required. A program of 
regular conference calls of the Committee 
was established in March 2020 in response 
to the COVID-19 epidemic to monitor the 
Company’s liquidity and scenario planning 
for FY2021. The Committee also meets 
frequently with the Company’s external 
auditors.

Duties
The duties of the Audit, Risk and Valuations 
Committee are set out in its terms of 
reference, which are available on request 
from the Company Secretary or on the 
Company’s website:  
https://draperesprit.com/investors /plc.

The main items of business considered by 
the Committee during the year included:

 - Review of the risk management and 

internal control systems;

 - Review and approval of the interim 

financial statements and the external 
auditors’ report thereon;

 - Detailed review of investment valuations 
and supporting information including 
COVID-19-specific considerations where 
relevant;

 - Review of the year-end audit plan, and 
consideration of the scope of the audit 
and the external auditors’ fees;

 - Review of the Annual Report and financial 
statements, including consideration of the 
significant accounting issues relating to 
the financial statements and the going 
concern review;

 - Consideration of the external audit report 
and management representation letter.
 - Meeting with the external auditor without 

management present;

 - Assessment of the need for an internal 

audit function;

 - Review of whistleblowing arrangements; 

and

 - Review of terms of reference.

Role of the external auditor
The Audit, Risk and Valuations Committee is 
responsible for monitoring the relationship 
with the external auditor, PwC, in order to 
ensure that the auditor’s independence and 
objectivity are maintained. As part of this 
responsibility, the Audit, Risk and Valuations 
Committee reviews the provision of non-
audit services by the external auditor and 
the Audit, Risk and Valuations Committee 
Chair is consulted by management prior 
to the external auditor being engaged to 
provide any such non-audit services. The 
breakdown of fees between audit and non- 
audit services is provided in Note 8 to the 
consolidated financial statements.

Having reviewed the auditors’ independence 
and performance, including partner rotation 
requirements, the Audit, Risk and Valuations 
Committee has recommended to the Board 
that a resolution to re-appoint PwC as the 
Company’s auditor be proposed at the 
forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Audit process
The external auditor prepares an audit 
plan for its review of the full-year financial 
statements, and the audit plan is reviewed 
and agreed in advance by the Audit, Risk 
and Valuations Committee. Prior to approval 
of the financial statements, the external 
auditor presents its findings to the Audit, 
Risk and Valuations Committee, highlighting 
areas of significant financial judgement for 
discussion.

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Annual Report 2020

Audit, Risk and Valuations
Committee Report continued

Internal audit
The Audit, Risk and Valuations Committee has again considered the 
need for an internal audit function during the year and continues 
to be of the view that, given the size and nature of the Group’s 
operations and finance team, there is no current requirement 
to establish a separate internal audit function. As part of that 
consideration, the Committee noted the additional assurance 
provided to it and the Board through regular externally facilitated 
compliance checks, internal legal counsel, and through assessments 
of the Company’s compliance with AIFM regulatory requirements, 
for example via the role of the depositary, Aztec Financial Services (UK) 
Limited.

Significant issues considered in relation to the 
Financial Statements
Significant issues and accounting judgements are identified by the 
finance team and the external audit process and then reviewed by 
the Audit, Risk and Valuations Committee. The significant issues 
considered by the Audit, Risk and Valuations Committee in respect 
of the year ended 31 March 2020 are set out below:

Significant issue/
accounting 
judgement identified 

Fair value of 
investments in 
unlisted securities

Impact of COVID-19 
on the Group and its 
financial statements

66
66

How it was addressed

The Audit, Risk and Valuations Committee 
reviewed the fair value of unlisted 
securities established with reference to the 
International Private Equity and Venture 
Capital Valuation Guidelines as well as the 
IPEV Board, Special Valuation Guidance 
issued on 31 March 2020 in response to 
the COVID-19 crisis (“IPEV Guidelines”) 
by management. Management’s 
methodologies and assumptions were 
reviewed and challenged over a number 
of meetings. The Committee agreed that 
management’s approach was appropriate 
and was satisfied with the fair value 
recognised as at 31 March 2020 in respect 
of these unlisted securities.

The Committee has held regular meetings 
to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on 
the Group, including liquidity, and have 
reviewed the Annual Report and financial 
statements. Following challenge and 
review, it has been deemed appropriate 
to prepare the financial statements on a 
going concern basis taking into account 
the impact of COVID-19. For further 
details, please see the Directors’ Report - 
page 73. 

Risk management and internal controls
As described in the Corporate Governance Report on pages 61 
to 64, the Group has established a system of risk management 
and internal controls. The Audit, Risk and Valuations Committee 
is responsible for reviewing the systems of risk management and 
internal controls and has reviewed both the risk register and 
management’s progress in implementing and maintaining such 
control systems during the year. The Committee is satisfied that the 
internal control systems, which have been established, are operating 
effectively.

During the year, the Committee reviewed a detailed analysis of the 
Group’s internal governance and control systems and is satisfied 
that the systems in place are appropriate in the context of the 
Company’s size and operations. The Committee has also reviewed 
the Company’s risk register, with particular focus on the principal 
risks and uncertainties for the Company. We are satisfied that 
these risks are appropriately identified, and that the approach 
to addressing and mitigating those risks is within the defined risk 
appetite levels agreed by the Board.

Going concern
The Committee has acknowledged its duty to review the Annual 
Report and financial statements, including the going concern 
assessment. The assessment of going concern is overseen by the 
CFO and subject to review and challenge by the Committee and 
subject to approval by the Board. Following review and challenge, it 
has been deemed appropriate to prepare the financial statements 
on a going concern basis, having taken into account the impact of 
COVID-19 on the Group and the principal risks and uncertainties 
facing the Group including those relating to liquidity and solvency. 
For further details, please see the Directors’ Report - page 73.

Share dealing, anti-bribery and whistleblowing
The Group has adopted a share dealing code in conformity with the 
requirements of Rule 21 of the AIM Rules. All employees, including 
new joiners, are required to agree to comply with the code. The 
Group has also adopted anti-bribery and whistleblowing policies, 
which are included in every employee’s staff handbook, as well as 
systems and controls to ensure compliance with those policies.

The Group operates an open and inclusive culture and employees are 
encouraged to speak up if they have any concerns. The aim of such 
policies is to ensure that all employees observe ethical behaviours 
and bring matters which cause them concern to the attention of 
either the Executive or Non-Executive Directors.

Grahame Cook 
Chair of the Audit, Risk and  
Valuations Committee  
26 June 2020

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Annual Report 2020

Remuneration and Nomination
Committee Report

has also agreed that the maximum annual 
bonus opportunity for Executive Directors 
will be 100% of salary. 2020/2021 will be 
a year of transition to a full LTIP scheme 
such that in financial year 2021/2022 the 
Executive Directors will cease to participate 
in any new carried interest scheme. 

In response to the impact of COVID-19 on 
the Company, Executive Director salaries 
have not been increased for 2020/21. The 
Committee reviewed the Chair’s fee, and 
the Board reviewed Non-Executive Director 
fees during the year, and although changes 
were approved because fees had not been 
reviewed for four years since AIM admission 
and benchmarking indicated that they had 
fallen behind market, it was agreed with the 
Chair and Non-Executive Directors that they 
would defer 20% of those increased fees 
from 1 May 2020 in line with similar salary 
deferrals agreed by the Executive Directors. 
The Executive Directors have elected to 
defer 20% of their salaries for three months 
and will use these deferred balances when 
paid to purchase Draper Esprit shares in the 
market.

In respect of its Nomination responsibilities 
and following the results of recent Board 
performance evaluations, the Board’s 
composition and succession planning 
have become a key area of focus for the 
Committee. During the year, the Committee 
appointed Russell Reynolds, a leadership 
advisory firm, to carry out a review of 
succession. As part of this project, Russell 
Reynolds carried out psychometric testing 
of the Executive Directors and held one 
to one interviews with each of the Board 
members. Russell Reynolds also assisted 
with the search process for the role of CEO. 
Following a formal interview process and 
discussions by the Committee Martin Davis 
was appointed as CEO.

During the year the Committee appointed 
Mercer as external consultants to advise on 
remuneration matters on an ongoing basis. 

The Committee met formally on five 
occasions during the year under review 
and has met once since the year-end. The 
Committee will meet at least twice per year 
going forward.

The activity of the Committee during 
the year was predominately focused on 
remuneration matters, including approving 
the remuneration package for the new Chief 
Executive, Executive Director allocations 
under the Carried Interest plan and awards 
of options under the Company Share Option 
Plan. It also approved bonus payments 
to the Executive Directors following the 
assessment of performance against agreed 
financial Key Performance Indicators, and 
approved the performance measures for the 
2020/21 annual bonus. The bonus amounts 
paid in respect of the year ended 31 March 
2020 are set out in the table on page 70.

The Committee, working closely with 
the new CEO, has also fully reviewed 
remuneration structures of the Company 
and has approved a number of changes, 
including to the Remuneration Policy 
for Executive Directors, to apply from 
the 2020/21 financial year onwards. The 
principal reason for the changes is to align 
the Company’s executive remuneration 
structure with the typical structures 
adopted by larger AIM and Main Market 
listed companies, while ensuring that the 
staff are appropriately incentivised in the 
roles that they carry out. The key change 
to the Remuneration Policy for Executive 
Directors is that their long-term incentive 
will move from the previous combination of 
participation in the Carried Interest Plan and 
Company Share Option Plan, to a new Long-
Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) which will operate 
as an extension of the existing Company 
Share Option Plan (CSOP) (see below). 
Changes to the CSOP rules to facilitate the 
new LTIP arrangements were approved by 
the Board in June 2020. The Company’s 
investment team will continue to participate 
in the Carried Interest Plan. The Committee 

67
67

Karen Slatford  
Chair of the Committee

I am pleased to present our Remuneration 
and Nomination Committee Report, which 
summarises the work of the Remuneration 
and Nomination Committee, as well as the 
remuneration policy and remuneration paid 
to Directors during the year. This report 
is developed in accordance with the QCA 
Code.

Remuneration and Nomination 
Committee
The members of the Remuneration and 
Nomination Committee (the “Committee”) 
are Karen Slatford (Chair of the 
Committee), Grahame Cook and Richard 
Pelly, all of whom are independent Non-
Executive Directors of the Company.

The Committee operates under terms of 
reference, which are reviewed annually and 
approved by the Board. The Committee’s 
core responsibilities include:

 - determining the policy for the 
remuneration of the Executive 
Directors and recommending the total 
remuneration packages (including 
bonuses, incentive payments and share 
options or other awards) for those 
individuals; 

 - determining the remuneration of the Chair 

of the Board (Karen Slatford does not 
Chair or attend the Committee’s meetings 
when the remuneration of the Chair is 
discussed); and

 - identifying and nominating members 
of the Board and recommending the 
composition of each Committee of 
the Board (including the Chair of each 
Committee).

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Governance

Annual Report 2020

A grant of options under the CSOP was 
made to Martin Davis following his 
appointment as CEO in November 2019. 
More details of this grant can be found 
in the Share Options table on page 71. A 
further grant of 200,000 options under the  
CSOP will be made in July 2020 following 
publication of the Annual Report.

No further grants were made to Executive 
Directors under the CSOP during the year.

Long-Term Incentive Plan 
(“LTIP”)
The Committee will also be responsible 
for granting awards of options under the 
LTIP, which was adopted by the Board in 
June 2020.  All employees will be eligible to 
participate in the LTIP. The LTIP will consist 
of options granted under part 2 of the CSOP 
with a nominal value exercise price.

Remuneration and Nomination
Committee Report continued

Remuneration policy
The objective of the Company’s 
remuneration policy is to attract, motivate 
and retain high calibre, qualified executives 
with the necessary skills and experience 
in order for the Company to achieve its 
strategic objectives. The Directors also 
recognise the importance of ensuring that 
employees are incentivised and identify 
closely with the success of the Company’s 
strategy. Accordingly, the Committee’s aim 
is to provide a framework for remuneration, 
which creates an appropriate balance 
between fixed and performance-related 
elements.

It is the Committee’s intention that 
performance-related remuneration is linked 
to the achievement of objectives, which are 
closely aligned with shareholders’ interests 
over the medium term.

During the year, the Committee has 
approved amendments to the Company’s 
remuneration policy for Executive Directors 
such that the main elements of the 
remuneration package for Executive 
Directors from 2020/21 onwards will be:

 - Base salary.
 - Performance-related annual bonus.
 - Other benefits (including life and health 

insurance).

 - Participation in the Company’s Long-
Term Incentive Plan (fully replacing 
participation in the Carried Interest Plan 
in 2021/22).

Executive Directors’ service 
contracts
The Executive Directors are appointed 
under service contracts, which are not for a 
fixed duration and are terminable upon six 
months’ notice by either party.

Non-Executive Directors
Each of the Non-Executive Directors is 
appointed under a letter of appointment 
with the Company. Subject to their re- 
election by shareholders, the initial term 
of appointment for each Non-Executive 

Director is three years from Admission to 
AIM, and their appointments are terminable 
upon three months’ notice by either party. 
The Non-Executive Directors’ fees are 
determined by the Board, subject to the 
limit set out in the Company’s Articles of 
Association. There have been no changes 
to Non-Executive Directors’ fees during the 
year.

The Draper Esprit plc Share 
Option Plan (“CSOP”)
The Committee is responsible for granting 
awards of options under the CSOP, 
which was adopted by the Company on 
1 August 2016. All employees are eligible 
to participate in the CSOP. The Executive 
Directors have outstanding awards 
previously granted under the CSOP, but 
following Board approval of the LTIP (see 
below) will not be eligible for future CSOP 
awards, other than the further CSOP grant 
to be made to the CEO following publication 
of the Annual Report described below. 
Instead the Executive Directors (in addition 
to other employees) may be granted awards 
under the LTIP.

The CSOP comprises two parts. Options 
granted under the first part are intended to 
be qualifying CSOP Options under the CSOP 
Code set out in Schedule 4 to the Income 
Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003. This 
means that options granted under that part 
are subject to capital gains tax treatment. 
Options granted under the second part are 
not tax-favoured options. 

The CSOP Rules specify that no options may 
be granted more than ten years after its 
adoption, and that the number of ordinary 
shares in the Company over which options 
may be granted on any date is limited so 
that the total number of ordinary shares 
issued and issuable in respect of options 
granted in any ten-year period under the 
CSOP and any other employees’ share 
scheme of the Company will be restricted to 
5% of the issued ordinary shares from time 
to time. 

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Annual Report 2020

The following performance share awards will be granted to the Executive Directors:

Description  
of award

An award of options, with a nominal value exercise price, exercisable subject to the satisfaction of the  
performance targets.

Chief Executive Officer - 100% of salary

Face value

Chief Portfolio Officer - 100% of salary

Chief Financial Officer - 100% of salary.

Performance 
period

1 April 2020 to 31 March 2023

Stretching performance targets have been set to achieve maximum award potential, with no additional stretch 
performance opportunity in recognition of the current environment of increased volatility.

Performance 
targets

40% of the award is based on absolute total shareholder return (“TSR”) measured over the performance period and 
vests 50% at threshold, increasing on a straight line basis to 100% for achieving target performance.

40% of the award is based on group realisations during the performance period and vests against both annual and 
aggregate realisations over the period.

20% of the award is based on new third party assets under management (“AUM”) measured over the performance 
period and vests 50% at threshold, increasing on a straight line basis to 100% for achieving target performance.

Lock-up

Vested and exercised awards will be subject to a one year lock-up from the end of the performance period.

Under the Company’s malus and clawback 
policy, any LTIP award may be forfeited 
or reduced prior to vesting in exceptional 
circumstances on such basis as the 
Committee considers fair, reasonable and 
proportionate. This would include material 
misstatement of Group financial statements, 
or cases where an individual is deemed to 
have caused a material loss for the Group as a 
result of reckless, negligent or wilful actions or 
inappropriate values or behaviour.

In developing the rules of the new LTIP, 
the Committee and the Board have taken 
the opportunity to enhance the terms 
and conditions (for example malus and 
clawback, and the introduction of a post-
vesting holding period) with the intention 
of moving towards an LTIP structure in line 
with the typical approach adopted by Main 
Market listed companies. 

Carried interest plan
The Company has established carried 
interest plans for the Executive Directors (see 
below), other members of the investment 
team and certain other employees (together 
the “Plan Participants”) in respect of any 
investments and follow-on investments 
made from Admission. To 31 March 2020 
each carried interest plan operates in 
respect of investments made during a 
24-month period and related follow-on 
investments made for a further 36-month 
period. From 1 April 2020 the carried interest 
plan will operate for a five year period in 
respect of any investments.

Subject to certain exceptions, Plan 
Participants will receive, in aggregate, 15% 
of the net realised cash profits from the 
investments and follow-on investments 
made over the relevant period once the 
Company has received an aggregate 
annualised 10% realised return on 

investments and follow-on investments 
made during the relevant period. The 
carried interest plan from 1 April 2020 has 
an aggregate annualised 8% realised return 
on investments and follow-on investments 
made during the relevant period, to bring 
the plans more in line with market.

The Plan Participants’ return is subject 
to a “catch- up” in their favour. Plan 
Participants’ carried interests vest over five 
years for each carried interest plan and are 
subject to good and bad leaver provisions. 
Any unvested carried interest resulting from 
a Plan Participant becoming a leaver can 
be reallocated by the Remuneration and 
Nomination Committee.

As noted above, from 2021/22 onwards, 
the Executive Directors will not be eligible 
to participate in new carried interest plans, 
and instead will participate in the Long-Term 
Incentive Plan.

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Annual Report 2020

Remuneration and Nomination
Committee Report continued

Annual bonus
The 2020/21 annual bonus for Executive Directors will be assessed against financial KPIs and personal objectives, with 75% of the bonus 
opportunity assessed against the corporate financial measures and 25% against personal measures. Challenging targets have been set, with 
a maximum of 100% of the annual bonus potential earned for achieving target performance. Actual performance targets are not disclosed 
as they are considered to be commercially sensitive at this time.

The remuneration policy for 2020/21 will operate as follows:

Executive
Martin Davis
Stuart Chapman
Ben Wilkinson
Non-Executive
Karen Slatford
Grahame Cook
Richard Pelly

Role

Chief Executive Officer
Chief Portfolio Officer
Chief Financial Officer

Chair of Board, Chair of Remuneration & Nomination Committee
Chair of Audit, Risk and Valuations Committee
Non-Executive Director

Basic salary/fee
£’000s

Maximum bonus
potential

420

289

274

–

–

–

100%

100%

100%

–

–

–

Statutory information
The following information includes disclosures required by the AIM Rules and UK company law in respect of Directors who served during the 
year to 31 March 2020.

Directors’ remuneration (audited)
The following table summarises the gross aggregate remuneration of the Directors who served during the year to 31 March 2020:

Basic salary/fees
£’000s

Pension 
contributions
£’000s

Taxable benefits
£’000s

Performance– 
related bonus
£’000s

Year ending 31 
March 2020
Total
£’000s

Year ending 31 
March 2019 
Total
£’000s

175

348

289

226

80

40

40

26

52

43

34

0

0

0

1,198

155

4

11

1

1

0

0

0

17

300

134

111

103

0

0

0

505

545

444

364

80

40

40

0

503

415

0

80

40

40

648

2,018

1,078

Executive Directors
Martin Davis
Simon Cook
Stuart Chapman
Ben Wilkinson
Non-Executive Directors
Karen Slatford
Grahame Cook
Richard Pelly
Total

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Annual Report 2020

Share options (audited)
The individual interests of the Executive Directors who served during the year under the CSOP are as follows:

Martin Davis
Simon Cook

Stuart Chapman

Ben Wilkinson

26/11/19

28/11/16

28/11/17

30/07/18

12/02/19

28/11/16

28/11/17

30/07/18

12/02/19

28/11/2016

28/11/2017

30/07/2018

12/02/2019

Date of grant

Number of CSOP
options

First exercise
date

Exercise price

Number of 
unapproved
options

193,576*

226,385

234,835

178,100*

178,434 *

226,385

234,835

178,100*

178,434*

6,424

8,450

–

–

–

8,450

–

–

–

26/11/22

28/11/19

28/11/20

30/07/21

12/02/22

28/11/19

28/11/20

30/07/21

12/02/22

8,450

166,198

28/11/2019

-

-

-

174,648

28/11/2020

178,100*

30/07/2021

178,434*

12/02/2022

£4.67

£3.55

£3.87

£4.92

£5.30

£3.55

£3.87

£4.92

£5.30

£3.55

£3.87

£4.92

£5.30

* Options subject to a performance condition of an 8% per annum share price hurdle.
The details of the CSOP are set out in Note 13 to the consolidated financial statements.

Directors’ share interests (audited)
The interests of the Directors who served in the year and who held an interest in the ordinary shares of the Company are as follows:

Martin Davis
Simon Cook
Stuart Chapman
Ben Wilkinson

None of the Non-Executive Directors currently holds shares in the Company.

Karen Slatford 
Chair of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee  
26 June 2020

Number of ordinary shares as at  
31 March 2019

Number of ordinary shares as at  
31 March 2018

–

1,344,306

1,344,306

5,604

–

1,619,306

1,619,306

–

71
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Annual Report 2020

Directors’ Report

The Directors present their report together 
with the audited consolidated financial 
statements for the year ended 31 March 
2020.

Results and dividends
The Group’s profit for the year was £40.4 
million (year ended 31 March 2019: £111.2 
million). In accordance with our dividend 
policy as stated in our Admission document, 
the Directors do not recommend the 
payment of a dividend.

Future developments
Details of future developments and events 
that have occurred after the balance sheet 
date can be found in the Strategic Report 
comprising the inside cover to page 55.

Review of business
The Chair’s Introduction on page 3 and the 
Strategic Report, comprising the inside cover 
page to page 55, provide a review of the 
business, the Group’s performance for the 
year ended 31 March 2020, key performance 
indicators and an indication of future 
developments and risks, and form part of 
this Directors’ Report.

Directors
The Directors of the Company who held 
office during the year were:

Political donations
The Company made no political donations 
during the year up to 31 March 2020.

Stuart Chapman  
Grahame Cook  
Simon Cook (stepping down from 1 July 2020) 
Martin Davis (appointed 4 November 2019) 
Richard Pelly  
Karen Slatford 
Ben Wilkinson (appointed 4 June 2019)

Brief biographical details for each of the 
Directors are given on pages 58-60.

Directors’ interests
A table showing the interests of the Directors 
in the share capital of Draper Esprit plc is set 
out in the Remuneration and Nomination 
Committee Report on page 71.

Directors’ indemnity provisions
As permitted by the Articles of Association, 
the Directors have the benefit of an 
indemnity, which is a qualifying third-
party indemnity provision as defined by 
Section 234 of the Companies Act 2006. 
The indemnity was in force throughout the 
financial period and at the date of approval 
of the financial statements.

The Company has purchased and 
maintained throughout the financial period 
Directors’ and Officers’ liability insurance in 
respect of itself and its Directors.

Financial instruments
The financial risk management objectives of 
the Group, including details of the exposure 
of the Company and its subsidiaries to 
financial risks including credit risk, interest 
rate risk and currency risk, are provided 
in Note 29 of the consolidated financial 
statements.

Share capital structure
At 31 March 2020, the Company’s issued 
share capital was £1,189,181.52 (2019: 
£1,179,254.70) divided into 118,918,124 (2019: 
117,925,470) ordinary shares of £0.01 each. 
Details of the movements in issued share 
capital in the year are set out in Note 24 to 
the consolidated financial statements.

The holders of ordinary shares are entitled 
to 1 vote per share at meetings of the 
Company. There are no restrictions on the 
transfer of shares.

Substantial shareholdings
As at 31 March 2020, the Group had been 
notified, in accordance with Chapter 5 of the 
Disclosure and Transparency Rules, of the 
following holdings of significant shareholders 
in the Company:

Invesco Asset Management
National Treasury Management Agency
Merian Global Investors
British Business Bank
Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management
T Rowe Price Global Investments
Brunei Investment Agency
Armor Advisors LLC
Baillie Gifford
Blackrock

72
72

Number of 
ordinary shares

% of total 
voting rights

15,425,308

14,004,502

10,725,050

7,142,857

6,875,065

6,722,000

4,761,904

4,993,750

4,462,879

3,878,343

12.97

11.88

9.09

6.06

5.83

5.70

4.04

4.00

3.78

3.29

draperesprit.comdraperesprit.com 
Governance

Annual Report 2020

and economic factors affecting the Group’s 
performance, through team meetings, 
updates from the Chief Executive Officer 
and via an open and inclusive culture.

Applications for employment by disabled 
persons are always fully considered, bearing 
in mind the aptitudes of the applicant 
concerned. In the event of a member of 
staff becoming disabled, every effort is 
made to ensure that their employment 
within the Group continue and that 
workspace and other modifications are 
made as appropriate. It is the policy of the 
Group that the training, career development 
and promotion of a disabled person should, 
as far as possible, be identical to that of a 
person who does not suffer from a disability.

The Directors’ Report was approved by the 
Board on 26 June 2020 and is signed on its 
behalf by:

Ben Wilkinson  
Chief Financial Officer  
26 June 2020

Disclosure of information to 
auditors
As far as the Directors are aware, there is 
no relevant audit information of which the 
Group’s auditors are unaware, and each 
Director has taken all reasonable steps that 
he or she ought to have taken as a Director 
in order to make himself or herself aware of 
any relevant audit information to establish 
that the Group’s auditors are aware of that 
information.

Going concern
The Directors have assessed going concern, 
considering both the Group’s current 
performance and future outlook, including:

 - An assessment of the Group’s liquidity 

and solvency position using a number of 
adverse scenarios to assess the potential 
impact of COVID-19 on the Group’s 
operations and portfolio companies. The 
Group manages and monitors liquidity 
regularly and continually assesses 
investments, realisations, operating 
expenses and receipt of portfolio cash 
income including under stress scenarios 
ensuring liquidity is adequate and 
sufficient.  As at 31 March 2020 the Group 
has available cash resources of £32.3 
million (and restricted cash of £1.9 million) 
(2019: £50.4 million) with a further £5.0 
million available from undrawn credit 
facilities. The cash position was further 
enhanced by an additional £10.0 million 
extension to the revolving credit facility 
with Silicon Valley Bank and Investec and 
the sale of Peak as disclosed in note 22. 
As at 31 March 2020, the Directors believe 
the Group has sufficient cash resources 
and liquidity and is well placed to manage 
the business risks in the current economic 
environment.

 - The Group has to comply with financial 
and non-financial covenants as part of 
the revolving credit facility entered into 
with Silicon Valley Bank and Investec. 
An assessment of forecast covenant 
compliance was undertaken using 
a number of adverse scenarios on 
valuations. Under each adverse scenario 
the Group still had sufficient headroom 

in order to comply with the covenant 
obligations as set out in note 21.

 - An assessment of the potential impact 
of COVID-19 pandemic was undertaken 
on portfolio company valuations with 
a particular focus on performance and 
future outlook including cash runway and 
ability to generate earnings, supply chain 
risk, revenue model risk as well as the 
longer-term view of their ability to recover.

After making enquiries and following 
challenge and review, the Directors have 
a reasonable expectation that the Group 
has adequate resources to continue in 
operational existence for the foreseeable 
future. For this reason, they continue to 
adopt the going concern basis in preparing 
the financial statements.

Independent auditors
PwC has indicated its willingness to continue 
in office as auditor and a resolution to 
re-appoint them will be proposed at the 
forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting will be held 
at 11.00 a.m. on Monday 27 July 2020. The 
Notice of the Annual General Meeting and 
the ordinary and special resolutions to be 
put to the meeting are included at the 
end of this Annual Report and financial 
statements.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, 
and the stay at home measures put in 
place by the UK Government, the Board has 
decided to run the 2020 AGM as a closed 
meeting. As a result, shareholders will not 
be permitted to attend in person and access 
will be refused. Under the circumstances, 
shareholders are encouraged to submit 
their proxy form to ensure their votes are 
registered, and are strongly advised to 
appoint the chair of the meeting as their 
proxy for all votes.

Employees
Employees are encouraged to be involved 
in decision-making processes and are 
provided with information on the financial 

73
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Annual Report 2020

Directors’ Responsibilities Statement

position and profit or loss of the Company 
and the undertakings included in the 
consolidation taken as a whole; and

 - the Strategic Report and Directors’ Report 
include a fair review of the development 
and performance of the business and 
the position of the Company and the 
undertakings included in the consolidation 
taken as a whole, together with a 
description of the principal risks and 
uncertainties that they face.

The Directors’ Responsibilities Statement 
was approved by the Board on 26 June 2020 
and signed on its behalf by:

Ben Wilkinson  
Chief Financial Officer  
26 June 2020

The Directors are responsible for preparing 
the Annual Report and the financial 
statements in accordance with applicable 
law and regulation. 

Company law requires the Directors 
to prepare financial statements for 
each financial year. Under such laws, 
the Directors have prepared the Group 
financial statements in accordance with 
International Financial Reporting Standards 
(IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union 
and the Company financial statements in 
accordance with United Kingdom Generally 
Accepted Accounting Practice (United 
Kingdom Accounting Standards, comprising 
FRS 101 ‘Reduced Disclosure Framework’, and 
applicable law). 

Under company law, the Directors must not 
approve the financial statements unless they 
are satisfied that they give a true and fair 
view of the state of affairs and profit or loss 
of the Group and Company for that period. 
In preparing the Group financial statements, 
the Directors are required to:

 - select suitable accounting policies and 

then apply them consistently;

 - make judgements and accounting 
estimates that are reasonable and 
prudent;

 - state whether applicable IFRSs as 

adopted by the European Union have 
been followed, subject to any material 
departures disclosed and explained in the 
financial statements; and

 - prepare the financial statements on 
the going concern basis unless it is 
inappropriate to presume that the Group 
will continue in business.

In preparing the Company financial 
statements, the Directors are required to:

 - select suitable accounting policies and 

then apply them consistently;

 - make judgements and accounting 
estimates that are reasonable and 
prudent;

 - state whether applicable UK Accounting 
Standards, comprising FSR 101, have 
been followed, subject to any material 

departures disclosed and explained in the 
financial statements; and

 - prepare the financial statements on 
the going concern basis unless it is 
inappropriate to presume that the 
Company will continue in business.

The Directors are responsible for keeping 
adequate accounting records that are 
sufficient to show and explain the Group 
and Company’s transactions and disclose 
with reasonable accuracy at any time 
the financial position of the Group and 
Company and enable them to ensure 
that the financial statements comply 
with the Companies Act 2006. They are 
also responsible for safeguarding the 
assets of the Group and Company and 
hence for taking reasonable steps for the 
prevention and detection of fraud and 
other irregularities. The Directors are further 
responsible for ensuring that the Annual 
Report is made available on the Company’s 
website and for the maintenance and 
integrity of the Company’s website. 
Legislation in the United Kingdom governing 
the preparation and dissemination of 
financial statements may differ from 
legislation in other jurisdictions. 

Each Director in office at the date of 
approval of the Directors’ Report confirms 
that:

 - so far as they are aware, there is no 
relevant audit information of which 
the Group and Company’s auditors are 
unaware; and

 - they have taken all the steps that they 

ought to have taken as a Director in order 
to make themselves aware of any relevant 
audit information and to establish that 
the Group and Company’s auditors are 
aware of that information.

To the best of their knowledge, each Director 
in office at the date of approval of the 
Directors’ Report further confirms that:

 - the Group financial statements, prepared 
in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by 
the European Union, give a true and fair 
view of the assets, liabilities, financial 

74
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Governance

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Financial Statements 

Annual Report 2020

Financials

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Annual Report 2020

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77

Independent Auditors’ Report

to the Members of Draper Esprit plc

Independent Auditors’ Report
to the Members of Draper Esprit plc  

Report on the audit of the financial statements

Opinion
In our opinion:
 · Draper Esprit plc’s Group financial statements and Company financial statements (the “financial statements”) give a true and fair view 
of the state of the Group’s and of the Company’s affairs as at 31 March 2020 and of the Group’s profit and cash flows for the year then 
ended;
the Group financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as 
adopted by the European Union;
the Company financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting 
Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards, comprising FRS 101 “Reduced Disclosure Framework”, and applicable law); and
the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

 ·

 ·

 ·

We have audited the financial statements, included within the Annual Report, which comprise: the Consolidated and Company Statements 
of Financial Position as at 31 March 2020; the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income, the Consolidated Statement of Cash 
Flows, and the Consolidated and Company Statements of Changes in Equity for the year then ended; and the notes to the financial 
statements, which include a description of the significant accounting policies.

Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (“ISAs (UK)”) and applicable law. Our responsibilities 
under ISAs (UK) are further described in the Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We 
believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Independence
We remained independent of the Group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial 
statements in the UK, which includes the FRC’s Ethical Standard, as applicable to listed entities, and we have fulfilled our other ethical 
responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.

Our audit approach
Overview

Materiality

Audit scope

 · Overall group materiality: £13,192,000 (2019: £12,371,000), based on 2% of net assets. 

 · Overall company materiality: £12,704,000 (2019: £11,765,000), based on 2% of net assets. 

 · We tailored the scope of our audit to ensure that we performed enough work to be able to give 

an opinion on the financial statements as a whole. The Group financial statements are prepared 
on a consolidated basis, and the audit team carries out an audit over the consolidated Group 
balances in support of the Group audit opinion. 

Key audit 
matters

 · Valuation of unquoted investments (Group and Company). 

 · COVID-19 (Group and Company). 

The scope of our audit
As part of designing our audit, we determined materiality and assessed the risks of material misstatement in the financial statements. In 
particular, we looked at where the directors made subjective judgements, for example in respect of significant accounting estimates that 
involved making assumptions and considering future events that are inherently uncertain. As in all of our audits we also addressed the risk of 
management override of internal controls, including evaluating whether there was evidence of bias by the directors that represented a risk of 
material misstatement due to fraud.

78

Financial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.com 
Key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in the auditors’ professional judgement, were of most significance in the audit of the financial 
statements of the current period and include the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement (whether or not due to fraud) 
identified by the auditors, including those which had the greatest effect on: the overall audit strategy; the allocation of resources in the 
audit; and directing the efforts of the engagement team. These matters, and any comments we make on the results of our procedures 
thereon, were addressed in the context of our audit of the financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do 
not provide a separate opinion on these matters. This is not a complete list of all risks identified by our audit. 

Key audit matter

How our audit addressed the key audit matter

Valuation of unquoted investments (Group and 
Company)
Refer to page 66 (Audit, Risk and Valuations 
Committee Report), Note 3 (Significant accounting 
policies), Note 4 (Critical accounting estimates and 
judgements), Note 16 (Financial assets held at fair 
value through profit and loss), Note 28 (Fair Value 
Measurements).

The fair value of unquoted investments is £657m 
(Group) and £631m (Company) as at 31 March 2020. 
This is an area of focus due to the fact that unquoted 
investments (“portfolio company” or “investment”) 
do not have readily determinable prices and involve 
a number of estimates and unobservable inputs. 
As detailed in Note 28 to financial statements the 
estimation uncertainty as at 31 March 2020 has 
increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fair value of investments is established in 
accordance with IFRS and with reference to the 
International Private Equity and Venture Capital 
Valuation Guidelines as well as the IPEV Board, Special 
Valuation Guidance issued on 31 March 2020 in 
response to the COVID-19 crisis (“IPEV Guidelines”).

The valuation methodologies primarily used by the 
Group are the ‘calibration to the recent transaction 
price’, ‘revenue multiple’ and ‘net asset value’ 
approaches as detailed in Note 4 and 28 to financial 
statements.

Whilst the underlying investments are held within 
funds or other investment entities such as Draper 
Esprit (Ireland) Limited, which are valued by the 
Group at Net Asset Value, management look through 
these vehicles to value the underlying investments.

We understood and evaluated the valuation methodologies applied, by reference to 
industry practice, guidelines and applicable accounting standards, and tested the 
techniques used by management in determining the fair value of the investments. For a 
sample of investments, we performed the following:

 · Agreed the recent transaction price to supporting documentation such as purchase 

agreements, funding drawdown requests or bank statements;

 · Obtained management’s calibration analysis to evaluate post transaction 

performance against relevant milestones, including the potential impact of COVID-19 
and also its cash runway, which determined the level of adjustment, if any, made to 
the recent transaction price;

 · Obtained management information, board reports and external market data to 

 ·

validate management’s calibration analysis and adjustments made, if any, to the 
recent transaction price and challenged assumptions made, where appropriate;
For the revenue multiple approach we held discussions with management to 
understand the performance of the portfolio company, the potential impact 
of COVID-19, including its cash runway and challenged estimates used in the 
valuations of the investments. These included but were not restricted to review of the 
comparable companies, rationale and consistency of discounts or premiums applied 
and basis for budgeted revenue figures used;

 · We evaluated the range of comparable companies used in the valuation and verified 
revenue multiples to independent sources, including the impact of averaging revenue 
multiples; and

 · Agreed inputs into the valuation model to financial information and  board papers 

from the portfolio companies and publicly available information.

Where the Group has invested capital into a separately managed fund (“a Fund”), the 
engagement team:

 · Confirmed the commitments and capital drawn down with the Fund;
 · Reviewed the latest investor reports of the Fund; and
 · Reviewed the look-through valuation performed by management on individually 

material investments to the Group held in the Fund and any subsequent adjustments 
made.

Furthermore, for a sample of investments, we confirmed the capital structure with the 
portfolio company and reviewed the allocation of value between the capital structure to 
ensure the amount attributable to the Group entities was appropriate.

We considered the appropriateness and adequacy of the disclosures around the 
increased uncertainty due to COVID-19 and sensitivities on the accounting estimates.

Overall, based on our procedures, we found that management’s valuation of 
investments and the assumptions used were supported by the audit evidence obtained 
and appropriately disclosed in the financial statements.

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Independent Auditors’ Report
to the Members of Draper Esprit plc continued

Key audit matter

How our audit addressed the key audit matter

COVID-19 (Group and Company)

Refer to page 6 (CEO’s Statement), page 52 (Principal Risks), page 66 
(Audit, Risk and Valuations Committee Report), Note 28 (Fair Value 
Measurements)

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (known as COVID-19) in 
many countries is rapidly evolving and the socio-economic impact is 
unprecedented. It has been declared as a global pandemic and is having 
a major impact on economies and financial markets. The efficacy of 
government measures will materially influence the length of economic 
disruption, but it is probable there will be a recession in the United 
Kingdom. 

In order to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the business,  
management have updated their risk assessment and prepared an 
analysis of the potential impact on the cash flows, operations and 
liquidity position of the Group for at least 12 months from date of 
signing.

The most significant impact to the financial statements has been in 
relation to the valuation of unquoted investments. This is described in 
the key audit matter above. 

In making their assessment management have also taken into account 
the covenant headroom on the Group’s loan facilities. After considering 
all of these factors, management have concluded that preparing the 
financial statements on a going concern basis remains appropriate.

We evaluated the Group’s updated risk assessment and analysis 
and considered whether it addresses the relevant threats posed 
by COVID-19. We also evaluated management’s assessment and 
corroborated evidence of the operational impacts, considering their 
consistency with other available information and our understanding of 
the business. 

Our procedures in respect of the valuation of unquoted investments 
are set out in the respective key audit matter above. 

We assessed the disclosures presented in the Annual Report in relation 
to COVID-19 by reading the other information, including the Principal 
risks set out in the Strategic Report, and assessing its consistency with 
the financial statements and the evidence we obtained in our audit.

In respect of going concern, we assessed management’s going 
concern analysis in light of COVID-19 and obtained evidence to 
support the key assumptions used in preparing the going concern 
model, including assessing covenant headroom within a downside 
case scenario.  We challenged the key assumptions and the 
reasonableness of the mitigating actions used in preparing the 
analysis.  

Our conclusions relating to going concern and other information are 
set out in the ‘Conclusions related to going concern’ and ‘Reporting on 
other information’ sections of our report, respectively, below.

How we tailored the audit scope
We tailored the scope of our audit to ensure that we performed enough work to be able to give an opinion on the financial statements as a 
whole, taking into account the structure of the Group and the Company, the accounting processes and controls, and the industry in which 
they operate.

In establishing the overall approach to our audit, we assessed the risk of material misstatement, taking into account the nature, likelihood 
and potential magnitude of any misstatement. Following this assessment, we applied professional judgment to determine the extent of 
testing required over each balance in the financial statements.

The financial statements are produced using a single consolidation spreadsheet that takes information from the general ledger. The Group 
audit team performed all audit procedures over the consolidation for the purposes of the Group audit.

This allowed us to adequately address the key audit matters for the audit and, together with procedures performed over the consolidation, 
gave us sufficient appropriate audit evidence for our opinion on the Group financial statements as a whole.

Materiality
The scope of our audit was influenced by our application of materiality. We set certain quantitative thresholds for materiality. These, 
together with qualitative considerations, helped us to determine the scope of our audit and the nature, timing and extent of our audit 
procedures on the individual financial statement line items and disclosures and in evaluating the effect of misstatements, both individually 
and in aggregate on the financial statements as a whole. 

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Overall materiality

£13,192,000 (2019: £12,371,000).

£12,704,000 (2019: £11,765,000).

Group financial statements

Company financial statements

How we determined it
Rationale for benchmark applied

2% of net assets.
Net assets is the primary measure used 
by the shareholders in assessing the 
performance of the Group, and is a 
generally accepted auditing benchmark for 
a business such as the Group, which invests 
in other businesses for capital appreciation.

2% of net assets.
Net assets is the primary measure used 
by the shareholders in assessing the 
performance of the Company, and is a 
generally accepted auditing benchmark 
for a business such as the Company, which 
invests in other businesses for capital 
appreciation.

We agreed with the Audit, Risk and Valuations Committee that we would report to them misstatements identified during our audit above 
£659,000 (Group audit) (2019: £618,000) and £635,000 (Company audit) (2019: £588,000) as well as misstatements below those amounts 
that, in our view, warranted reporting for qualitative reasons.

Conclusions relating to going concern
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which ISAs (UK) require us to report to you where:  

 ·
 ·

the directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is not appropriate; or 
the directors have not disclosed in the financial statements any identified material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about 
the Group’s and Company’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting for a period of at least twelve months 
from the date when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

However, because not all future events or conditions can be predicted, this statement is not a guarantee as to the Group’s and Company’s 
ability to continue as a going concern. 

Reporting on other information
The other information comprises all of the information in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our auditors’ 
report thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other 
information and, accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion or, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in this report, any form 
of assurance thereon. 

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider 
whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit, or otherwise 
appears to be materially misstated. If we identify an apparent material inconsistency or material misstatement, we are required to perform 
procedures to conclude whether there is a material misstatement of the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other 
information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are 
required to report that fact. We have nothing to report based on these responsibilities.

With respect to the Strategic Report and Directors’ Report, we also considered whether the disclosures required by the UK Companies Act 
2006 have been included.  

Based on the responsibilities described above and our work undertaken in the course of the audit, ISAs (UK) require us also to report certain 
opinions and matters as described below.

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to the Members of Draper Esprit plc continued

Strategic Report and Directors’ Report
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit, the information given in the Strategic Report and Directors’ Report 
for the year ended 31 March 2020 is consistent with the financial statements and has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal 
requirements. 

In light of the knowledge and understanding of the Group and Company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we did 
not identify any material misstatements in the Strategic Report and Directors’ Report. 

Responsibilities for the financial statements and the audit
Responsibilities of the directors for the financial statements
As explained more fully in the Directors’ Responsibilities Statement set out on page 74, the directors are responsible for the preparation 
of the financial statements in accordance with the applicable framework and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view. The 
directors are also responsible for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that 
are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the Group’s and the Company’s ability to continue as a 
going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the 
directors either intend to liquidate the Group or the Company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, 
whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditors’ report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, 
but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. 
Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be 
expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements. 

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the FRC’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/
auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditors’ report.

Use of this report
This report, including the opinions, has been prepared for and only for the Company’s members as a body in accordance with Chapter 3 of 
Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving these opinions, accept or assume responsibility for any 
other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior 
consent in writing.

Other required reporting
Companies Act 2006 exception reporting
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report to you if, in our opinion:

 · we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
 · adequate accounting records have not been kept by the Company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from 

branches not visited by us; or

 · certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
 ·

the Company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns. 

We have no exceptions to report arising from this responsibility.

82

HEAD_0 1st lineHEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comOther voluntary reporting
Directors’ remuneration
The Company voluntarily prepares a Directors’ Remuneration Report in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006. The 
directors requested that we audit the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report specified by the Companies Act 2006 to be audited as if 
the Company were a quoted company.

In our opinion, the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report to be audited has been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies 
Act 2006.

Richard McGuire (Senior Statutory Auditor)
for and on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors 
London

26 June 2020

83

HEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedHEAD_0 1st lineFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comConsolidated Statement of Compre-

hensive Income

for the year ended 31 March 2020

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
for the year ended 31 March 2020

Change in unrealised gains on investments held at fair value through the profit and loss
Fee income
Total investment income
Operating expenses
General administrative expenses
Depreciation and amortisation
Share based payments – resulting from company share option scheme
Share based payments – resulting from acquisition of subsidiary
Investments and acquisition costs
Exceptional items
Total operating costs
Profit from operations
Finance (expense)/income
Net finance (expense)/income
Operating profit before tax
Income taxes
Profit for the year
Other comprehensive income/(expense)
Total comprehensive income for the year

Profit attributable to: 
Owners of the parent
Non-controlling interest^

Earnings per share attributable to owners of the Parent:
Basic earnings per weighted average shares (pence)
Diluted earnings per weighted average shares (pence)

Note

5
6

7
14, 17, 20, 23
13

10

11, 23

18

12
12

Year ended  
31 Mar 2020
£’000s

Year ended  
31 Mar 2019
£’000s

40,755
11,255
52,010

(9,810)
(520)
(990)
–
(239)
–
(11,559)
40,451

(68)
40,383
(17)
40,366
–
40,366

114,715
6,101
120,816

(7,774)
(163)
(1,100)
(1,989)
(207)
(34)
(11,267)
109,549

1,601
111,150
11
111,161
–
111,161

39,707
659

110,579
582

34
33

115
110

^ On 10 March 2020, the Group acquired the remaining interest in Encore Ventures LLP and as such no profit after 10 March 2020 is 
attributable to the non-controlling interest – see Note 18 for further details. 

The Notes on pages 88 to 116 are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

84

Financial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comConsolidated Statement of Financial 

Position

As at 31 March 2020

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
As at 31 March 2020

Non-current assets
Intangible assets
Investments in associates
Financial assets held at fair value through the profit or loss
Property, plant and equipment
Total non-current assets
Current assets
Trade and other receivables
Cash and cash equivalents
Restricted cash
Total current assets
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Lease liabilities
Total current liabilities
Non-current liabilities
Deferred tax
Loans and borrowings
Lease liabilities
Total non-current liabilities
Net assets

Equity
Share capital
Share premium account
Merger relief reserve
Share-based payments reserve – resulting from company share option scheme
Share-based payments reserve – resulting from acquisition of subsidiary
Retained earnings
Equity attributable to owners of parent
Non-controlling interests
Total equity

Net assets per share (pence)

Note

14
15
16
17, 20

19

21

22
20

23
21
20

24
24
25

18

12

31 Mar 2020
£’000s

31 Mar 2019
£’000s

10,028
258
657,333
1,760
669,379

7,719
32,255
1,883
41,857

(5,038)
(358)
(5,396)

(611)
(44,636)
(975)
(46,222)
659,618

1,189
400,726
13,097
2,339
10,823
231,444
659,618
-
659,618

10,130
258
562,061
209
572,658

1,140
50,358
–
51,498

(4,959)
–
(4,959)

(631)
–
–
(631)
618,566

1,179
395,783
13,097
1,713
10,823
195,737
618,332
 234 
618,566

555

 524

The financial statements on pages 84 to 116 were approved by the Board of Directors on 26 June 2020 and signed on its behalf by

B.D. Wilkinson 
Chief Financial Officer

The Notes on pages 88 to 116 are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

85

Financial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comConsolidated Statement of Cash 

Flows

for the year ended 31 March 2020

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
for the year ended 31 March 2020

Cash flows from operating activities
Profit after tax
Adjustments to reconcile operating profit to net cash flows used in operating activities:
  Revaluation of investments held at fair value through the profit and loss
  Depreciation and amortisation 
  Share-based payments – resulting from company share option scheme
  Share-based payments – resulting from acquisition of subsidiary

Net finance expense/(income)

(Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables and other working capital movements
Increase in trade and other payables
Purchase of investments
Proceeds from disposals in underlying investment vehicles
Net loans made to underlying investment vehicles and Group companies
Net cash used in operating activities
Tax paid
Net cash outflow from operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
Interest received
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from investing activities
Cash flows from financing activities
Cash paid to non-controlling interests
Proceeds from loan (net of repayments)
Fees paid on issuance of loan
Interest payments
Repayments of leasing liabilities
Gross proceeds from issue of share capital
Equity issuance costs
Cash paid out for share options exercised
Net cash inflow from financing activities
Net (decrease)/increase in cash & cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year
Exchange differences on cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year
Restricted cash at year end
Total cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash at year end

The Notes on pages 88 to 116 are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

86

Year ended 
31 Mar 2020
£’000s

Year ended 
31 Mar 2019
£’000s

Note

40,366

111,161

5

13

10

16
16
16, 31

21
21

20
24
24

10

(40,755)
520
990
-
68
(2,886)
79
(89,935)
39,533
(8,541)
(60,561)
(3)
(60,564)

(368)
289
(79)

(893)
45,000
(525)
(887)
(166)
993
(40)
(293)
43,189
(17,454)

50,358
1,234
32,255
1,883
34,138

(114,715)
163
1,100
1,989
(1,481)
189
2,011
(226,432)
15,984
(4,679)
(214,710)
(32)
(214,742)

(58)
120
62

(638)
-
-
-
-
215,035
(7,481)
-
206,916
(7,764)

 56,641
1,481
 50,358
 -
50,358

Financial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comConsolidated Statement of Changes 

in Equity

for the year ended 31 March 2020

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
for the year ended 31 March 2020

Year ended 31 March 2020

Attributable to equity holders of the parent (£’000s)

(£’000s)

(£’000s)

Brought forward at 1 April 2019
Comprehensive income/(expense) for the year
Profit for the year
Acquired reserves from non-controlling interest
Amounts withdrawn by non-controlling interest
Total comprehensive income/(expense) for the year
Contributions by and distributions to the owners:
Adjustment for Encore Ventures acquisition (Note 18)
Issue of share capital (Note 24)
Share premium (Note 24)
Share based payment (Note 13)
Share based payment – exercised during the year  
(Note 13)
Total contributions by and distributions to the 
owners
Balance at 31 March 2020

Share-based payments 
reserve resulting from: 

Share 
capital

Share 
premium

Merger 
relief 
reserve

Company 
share option 
scheme

Acquisition 
of 
subsidiary

Retained 
earnings

Total

Attributable 
to non- 
controlling 
interests

Total 
equity

1,179

395,783

13,097

1,713

10,823 195,737 618,332

234 618,566

39,707
–
–
39,707

39,707
–
–
39,707

659
-
(893)
(234)

40,366
-
(893)
39,473

–
–
–
–

-
10
–
–

–

–
–
–
–

-
–
4,943
–

–

–
–
–
–

-
–
–
–

–

–
–
–
–

-
–
–
990

(364)

–
–
–
–

-
–
–
–

–

(4,000)
–
–
–

(4,000)
10
4,943
990

–

(364)

-
–
–
–

–

(4,000)
10
4,943
990

(364)

-
1,579
- 659,618

10

4,943
1,189 400,726

-
13,097

626
2,339

-

1,579
(4,000)
10,823 231,444 659,618

Year ended 31 March 2019

Attributable to equity holders of the parent (£’000s)

(£’000s)

(£’000s)

Brought forward at 1 April 2018
Comprehensive income/(expense) for the year
Adjustments for transitioning to IFRS 15 (Note 2ii)
Profit for the year
Amounts withdrawn by non-controlling interest
Total comprehensive income/(expense) for the year
Contributions by and distributions to the owners:
Issue of share capital (Note 24)
Share premium (Note 24)
Share based payment (Note 13)
Share based payment resulting from acquisition of 
Subsidiary 
Total contributions by and distributions to the 
owners
Balance at 31 March 2019

Share-based payments 
reserve resulting from: 

Share 
capital

Share 
premium

Merger 
relief 
reserve

Company 
share option 
scheme

Acquisition 
of 
subsidiary

Retained 
earnings

Total

Attributable 
to non- 
controlling 
interests

Total 
equity

716

188,229

13,097

613

8,834

86,230 297,719

2,792

300,511

–
–
– 
–

–
–
–
–

463
–
–

–

–
207,554
–

–

–
–
–
–

–
–
–

–

–
–
–
–

–
–
1,100

(1,072)

(1,072)
– 
110,579 110,579
–
–
–
–
– 109,507 109,507

(2,502)
582
(638)

(3,574)
111,161
(638)
(2,558) 106,949

–
–
–

–
463
– 207,554
1,100
–

–
463
– 207,554
1,100
–

–

1,989

–

1,989

–

1,989

463
1,179

207,554
395,783

–
13,097

1,100
1,713

1,989

211,106
10,823 195,737 618,332

–

The Notes on pages 88 to 116 are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

–

211,106
234 618,566

87

Financial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comNotes to the Consolidated Financial 

Statements

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

1.  General information
Draper Esprit plc (the “Company”) is a public company limited by shares incorporated and domiciled in England and Wales. The Company is 
listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market and Euronext Dublin’s Euronext Growth market.

The Company is the ultimate parent company into which the results of all subsidiaries are consolidated. The consolidated financial statements 
for the years ended 31 March 2020 and 31 March 2019 comprise the financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries (together,  
“the Group”).

The consolidated financial statements are presented in Pounds Sterling (£), which is the currency of the primary economic environment the 
Group operates in. All amounts are rounded to the nearest thousand, unless otherwise stated.

2.  Adoption of new and revised standards
In the current year, the new Standard below has been adopted, which has affected the amounts reported in these consolidated financial 
statements:

i. 

 IFRS 16 Leases - From 1 April 2019, the Group has adopted IFRS 16 Leases, which became effective for annual periods beginning on or 
after 1 January 2019. The Group has applied IFRS 16 using the modified retrospective approach and therefore the comparative information 
has not been restated and continues to be reported under IAS 17 and IFRIC 4. The details of accounting policies under IAS 17 and IFRIC 4 
are disclosed in the Draper Esprit plc annual report for the year ended 31 March 2019. See further details in significant accounting policies 
below – note 3. 

In the prior year, the following new standards were adopted:

ii. 

 IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers was a new standard in the prior year, effective from 1 January 2018. IFRS 15 
establishes principles for reporting useful information to users of financial statements about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty 
of revenue and cash flows arising from an entity’s contracts with customers. The core principal of IFRS 15 is that an entity should 
recognise revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration, which 
the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods, or services. The only material impact from the adoption of this standard 
relates to the recognition of certain performance fees, which under IFRS 15 will no longer be recognised following analysis in line with the 
Standard’s higher threshold for recognition. The underlying status of the fees has not changed. The impact on the consolidated statement 
of financial position and consolidated statement of changes in equity can be seen in the table below:

Performance fee revenue (recognised in year ending 31 March 2018)
Performance fees attributable to the Group
Performance fees attributable to non-controlling interest
Accrued Revenue

Previously 
reported
£000’s

IFRS 15 
reclassification
£000’s

PY reported 
under IFRS 15
£000’s

3,574
1,072
2,502
3,574

(3,574)
(1,072)
(2,502)
(3,574)

0
0
0
0

 The Group elected not to restate comparative information from prior periods upon adoption of IFRS 15 and has applied the practical expedient 
under which contracts that began and were completed prior to 1 April 2018 were not restated. For ongoing contracts, any changes required 
were taken straight to the condensed consolidated interim statement of changes in equity in the year ending 31 March 2019.

iii. 

 IFRS 9 Financial Instruments (as revised in July 2014) - IFRS 9 introduces new requirements for the 1) classification and measurement 
of financial assets and financial liabilities, 2) impairment for financial assets and 3) general hedge accounting. There is no material 
impact on the Group in relation of the implementation of IFRS 9. The Standard has been adopted from 1 April 2018 with no restatement 
of prior periods required.

 · Classification and measurement

 –   On 1 April 2018, the Group classified its financial instruments in the appropriate IFRS 9 categories; there were no changes.
Impairment of financial assets

 ·

88

HEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.com 
 –   The Group has one type of financial asset that is subject to IFRS 9’s new expected credit loss model:
 –   Trade and other receivables (See Note 19)

 — On 1 April 2018, there was no material impact on the trade and receivables balance resulting from the expected credit loss model.

 · General Hedge Accounting

 –   The Group does not use hedge accounting. Therefore, there was no impact on the financial statements from this change to IFRS 9.

No upcoming changes under IFRS are likely to have a material effect on the reported results or financial position. Management will continue 
to monitor upcoming changes. 

3.  Significant accounting policies
a)  Basis of preparation
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared and approved by the Directors in accordance with all relevant IFRSs as issued by 
the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”), and interpretations issued by the IFRS Interpretations Committee and endorsed by 
the European Union (“EU”) and with those parts of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies reporting under IFRS. The financial 
reporting framework that has been applied in the preparation of the Company financial statements is applicable law and United Kingdom 
Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). The Company has taken advantage of disclosure 
exemptions available under FRS 101 as explained further in Note 1 of the Company’s financial statements. The financial statements are 
prepared on a going concern basis as disclosed in the Audit, Risk & Valuations Committee Report (p.66) and in the Directors’ Report (p.73).

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention as modified for the revaluation of financial 
assets and financial liabilities held at fair value.

A summary of the Group’s principal accounting policies, which have been applied consistently across the Group, is set out below. 

b)  Basis of consolidation
The consolidated financial statements comprise the Company (Draper Esprit plc, 20 Garrick Street, London, England, EC2E 9BT) and the 
results, cash flows and changes in equity of the following subsidiary undertakings:

Name of undertaking

Nature of business

Investment Management
Esprit Capital Partners LLP^
Dormant
Draper Esprit (Nominee) Limited^
Investment Management
  Encore Ventures LLP^
General Partner
  Esprit Capital I (GP) Limited^
General Partner
  Esprit Capital I General Partner^
  Esprit Capital II GP Limited^^^
General Partner
  Esprit Capital III Founder GP Limited^^ General Partner
General Partner
  Esprit Capital III GP LP^^
General Partner
  Encore I GP Limited^^^
  Encore I Founder GP Limited^^^
General Partner
  Esprit Capital Management Limited^ Admin company – in a Members Voluntary Liquidation
  Esprit Capital Holdings Limited^
  Esprit Nominees Limited^
  Esprit Capital I (CIP) Limited^
  Esprit Capital III MLP LLP^
  Esprit Capital III GP Limited^

Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant

20 Garrick Street, London, England, WC2E 9BT

Registered addresses
^ 
^^  50 Lothian Road, Festival Square, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH3 9WJ
^^^  c/o Maples Corporate Services Limited at PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands
* 

This has moved from 71% to 100% during the year – please see note 18 for further details.

Country of 
incorporation

%  
ownership

England
England
England
England
England
Cayman
Scotland
Scotland
Cayman
Cayman
England
England
England
England
England
England

100%
100%
*100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

89

HEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedHEAD_0 1st lineFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements continued

Subsidiaries
Subsidiaries are entities controlled by the Group. Control, as defined by IFRS 10, is achieved when the Group is exposed, or has rights, to 
variable returns from its involvement with the investee and has the ability to affect those returns through its power over the investee. 
Subsidiaries are fully consolidated from the date on which the Group effectively obtains control. They are deconsolidated from the date 
that control ceases. Control is reassessed whenever circumstances indicate that there may be a change in any of these elements of control. 
Refer to Note 4(c) for further information. The Group has accounted for the acquisition of the remaining interest in Encore Ventures LLP 
on 10 March 2020 as a change in ownership interest under IFRS 10 having assessed the substance of the transaction, including control and 
changes in ownership (see note 18). All transactions and balances between Group subsidiaries are eliminated on consolidation, including 
unrealised gains and losses on transactions between Group companies. Where unrealised losses on intra-group asset sales are reversed on 
consolidation, the underlying asset is also tested for impairment from a Group perspective. Amounts reported in the financial statements of 
subsidiaries have been adjusted where necessary to ensure consistency with the accounting policies adopted by the Group. Profit or loss and 
other comprehensive income of subsidiaries acquired or disposed of during the year are recognised from the effective date of acquisition, 
or up to the effective date of disposal, as applicable. The Group attributes total comprehensive income or loss of subsidiaries between the 
owners of the parent and the non-controlling interests based on their respective ownership interests.

Associates
Associates are all entities over which the Group has significant influence, but not control or joint control. This is generally the case where 
the Group holds between 20% and 50% of the voting rights. Investments in associates are accounted for using the equity method of 
accounting, after initially being recognised at cost. Under the equity method of accounting, the investments are initially recognised at 
cost and adjusted thereafter to recognise the Group’s share of the post-acquisition profits or losses of the investee in profit or loss, and 
the Group’s share of movements in other comprehensive income. Dividends received or receivable from associates and joint ventures are 
recognised as a reduction in the carrying amount of the investment. When the Group’s share of losses in an equity-accounted investment 
equals or exceeds its interest in the entity, including any other unsecured long-term receivables, the Group does not recognise further losses, 
unless it has incurred obligations or made payments on behalf of the other entity. The carrying amount of equity-accounted investments 
is tested for impairment where there are indications that the carrying value may no longer be recoverable. For further details, please see 
investment in associate Note 15.

Investment company
In accordance with the provisions of IFRS 10, Draper Esprit plc considers itself to be an investment entity as it obtains funds from investors to 
invest funds for returns from capital appreciation and the performance of substantially all of its investments are held at Fair Value through 
Profit and Loss. It considers its wholly owned subsidiary, Draper Esprit (Ireland) Limited, as well as the limited partnerships listed below to 
be investment companies, as their sole purpose is to hold investments on behalf of the Group. Consequently, Draper Esprit (Ireland) Limited 
and the limited partnerships listed below are not consolidated in accordance with IFRS10; instead they are recognised as investments held 
at fair value through profit and loss on the consolidated balance sheet. Loans to investment vehicles are treated as net investments at fair 
value through the profit and loss.

The below is a list of entities that are controlled and not consolidated but held as investments at fair value through the profit and loss on the 
consolidated balance sheet.

Name of undertaking

Principal activity

Draper Esprit (Ireland) Limited^^
  Esprit Capital III LP^
  Esprit Capital IV LP^
  Esprit Investments (1) LP^
  Esprit Investments (2) LP^
Esprit Investments (1)(B) LP^
  Seedcamp Holdings LLP^
  Seedcamp Investments LLP^^^
  Seedcamp Investments II LLP^^^
Esprit Investments (2)(B) LP^

Investment company
Limited partnership
Limited partnership
Limited partnership
Limited partnership
Limited partnership
Limited liability partnership
Limited liability partnership
Limited liability partnership
Limited partnership

^ 

20 Garrick Street, London, England, WC2E 9BT

^^  32 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2, Ireland, D02 Y512

^^^  727-729 High Road, London, England, N12 0BP

90

Country of
incorporation

% ownership

Ireland
England
England
England
England
England
England
England
England
England

100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

HEAD_0 1st lineHEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comLimited partnerships (co-investment)
The following limited partnerships that the Group’s General Partners are members of are not considered to be controlled and, therefore,  
they are not consolidated in these financial statements:

Name of undertaking

Principal activity

Encore I GP LP^
Esprit Capital II Founder LP^
Esprit Capital II Founder 2 LP^
Encore I Founder LP^
Encore I Founder 2014 LP^
Encore I Founder 2014-A LP^
Esprit Capital III Founder LP^^

General partner
Co–investment limited partnership
Co–investment limited partnership
Co–investment limited partnership
Co–investment limited partnership
Co–investment limited partnership
Co–investment limited partnership

Country of 
incorporation

Cayman
Cayman
Cayman
Cayman
Cayman
Cayman
Scotland

^ 

c/o Maples Corporate Services Limited at PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands 

^^  50 Lothian Road, Festival Square, Edinburgh, EH3 9WJ

The Group’s management does not consider there to be a material exposure to these entities.

c)  Operating segment
The Group’s management considers the Group’s investment portfolio represents a coherent and diversified portfolio with similar economic 
characteristics and as a result these individual investments have been aggregated into a single operating segment. In the view of the 
Directors, there is accordingly one reportable segment under the provisions of IFRS 8.

d)  Revenue recognition
Revenue is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivable for services provided in 
the normal course of business, net of discounts, VAT and other sales-related taxes. All revenue from services is generated within the UK and 
is stated exclusive of value added tax.

Revenue from services comprises:

i. 

ii. 

iii. 

 Fund management services 
Fund management fees are either earned at a fixed annual rate or are set at a fixed percentage of funds under management, measured 
by commitments or invested cost, depending on the stage of the fund being managed. Revenues are recognised as the related services 
are provided.

 Portfolio Directors’ fees 
Portfolio Directors’ fees are annual fees charged to an investee company. Directors’ fees are only charged on a limited number of the 
investee companies. Revenues are recognised as services are provided.

 Performance fees 
Performance fees are earned on a percentage basis on returns over a hurdle rate in the statement of comprehensive income. Amounts 
are recognised as revenue when it can be reliably measured and is highly probable funds will flow to the Group.

e)  Deferred income
The Group’s management fees are typically billed quarterly or half-yearly in advance. Where fees have been billed for an advance period, the 
amounts are credited to deferred income, and then subsequently released through the profit and loss during the period to which the fees 
relate. Certain performance fees and portfolio directors’ fees are also billed in advance and these amounts are credited to deferred income, 
and then subsequently released through the profit and loss accounting during the period to which the fees relate.

f)  Business combinations
The Group applies the acquisition method in accounting for business combinations. The consideration transferred by the Group to obtain 
control of a subsidiary is calculated as the sum of the acquisition-date fair values of assets transferred, liabilities incurred and the equity 
interests issued by the Group, which includes the fair value of any asset or liability arising from a contingent consideration arrangement. 

91

HEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedHEAD_0 1st lineFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements continued

Acquisition costs are expensed as incurred. Assets acquired and liabilities assumed are generally measured at their acquisition-date  
fair values.

The Group recognises identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination, regardless of whether they have been 
previously recognised in the acquiree’s financial statements prior to the acquisition. Assets acquired and liabilities assumed are generally 
measured at their acquisition-date fair values. Goodwill is stated after separate recognition of identifiable intangible assets. It is calculated 
as the excess of the sum of: a) fair value of consideration transferred; b) the recognised amount of any non-controlling interest in the 
acquiree; and c) acquisition-date fair value of any existing equity interest in the acquiree, over the acquisition-date fair values of identifiable 
net assets. If the fair values of identifiable net assets exceed the sum calculated above, the excess amount (i.e. gain on a bargain purchase) 
is recognised in profit or loss immediately.

g)  Goodwill and other intangible assets
Goodwill is measured as the excess of the sum of the consideration transferred, the amount of any non-controlling interests in the acquiree, 
and the fair value of the acquirer’s previously held equity interest in the acquiree (if any) over the net of the acquisition-date amounts of 
the identifiable assets acquired and the liabilities assumed. If, after reassessment, the net acquisition-date amounts of the identifiable 
assets acquired and liabilities assumed exceed the sum of the consideration transferred, the amount of any non-controlling interests in the 
acquiree and the fair value of the acquirer’s previously held interest in the acquiree (if any), the excess is recognised immediately in profit or 
loss as a bargain purchase gain.

When the consideration transferred by the Group in a business combination includes an asset or liability resulting from a contingent 
consideration arrangement, the contingent consideration is measured at its acquisition-date fair value and included as part of the 
consideration transferred in a business combination. Changes in fair value of the contingent consideration that qualify as measurement 
period adjustments are adjusted retrospectively, with corresponding adjustments against goodwill. Measurement period adjustments 
are adjustments that arise from additional information obtained during the “measurement period” (which cannot exceed 1 year from the 
acquisition date) about facts and circumstances that existed at the acquisition date.

Other intangible assets
Certain previously unrecognised assets acquired in a business combination that qualify for separate recognition are recognised as intangible 
assets at their fair values, e.g. brand names, customer contracts and lists (see Note 14). All finite-lived intangible assets are accounted for 
using the cost model whereby capitalised costs are amortised on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. Residual values and 
useful lives are reviewed at each reporting date. In addition, they are subject to impairment testing as described below. Customer contracts 
are amortised on a straight-line basis over their useful economic lives, typically the duration of the underlying contracts. The following useful 
economic lives are applied:

i.  Customer contracts: 8 years.

Impairment

h) 
For the purposes of assessing impairment, assets are grouped at the lowest level for which there are largely independent cash inflows (“cash 
generating units” or “CGU”). As a result, some assets are tested individually for impairment and some are tested at cash-generating unit 
level. Goodwill is allocated to those cash-generating units that are expected to benefit from synergies of the related business combination 
and represent the lowest level within the Group at which management monitors goodwill. All other individual assets or cash-generating units 
are tested for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable.

An impairment loss is recognised in the consolidated statement of total comprehensive income for the amount by which the assets or  
cash generating units carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount that is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value-in-use.  
To determine value-in-use, management estimates expected future cash flows over 5 years from each cash-generating unit and determine 
a suitable discount rate in order to calculate the present value of those cash flows. Discount factors are determined individually for each 
cash-generating unit and reflect their respective risk profile as assessed by management. Impairment losses for cash generating units 
reduce first the carrying amount of any goodwill allocated to that cash-generating unit. Any remaining impairment loss is charged pro-rata 
to the other assets in the cash-generating unit with the exception of goodwill, and all assets are subsequently reassessed for indications that 
an impairment loss previously recognised may no longer exist. An impairment charge is reversed if the cash-generating units recoverable 
amount exceeds its carrying amount.

92

HEAD_0 1st lineHEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comi)  Foreign currency
Transactions entered into by Group entities in a currency other than the functional currency in which they operate are recorded at the rates 
prevailing when the transactions occur. Foreign currency monetary assets and liabilities are translated at the rates prevailing at the reporting 
date. Exchange differences arising on the retranslation of unsettled monetary assets and liabilities are recognised immediately in the profit 
and loss.

The individual financial statements of the Group’s subsidiary undertakings are presented in their functional currency. For the purpose of 
these consolidated financial statements, the results and financial position of each subsidiary undertaking are expressed in Pounds Sterling, 
which is the presentation currency for these consolidated financial statements.

The assets and liabilities of the Group’s undertakings, whose functional currency is not Pounds Sterling, are translated at exchange rates 
prevailing on the reporting date. Income and expense items are translated at the average exchange rates for the period.

j)  Financial assets
All financial assets are recognised and derecognised on a trade date where the purchase or sale of a financial asset is under a contract 
whose terms require delivery of the financial asset within the timeframe established by the market concerned and are initially measured at 
fair value, plus transaction costs, except for those financial assets classified at fair value through profit or loss, which are initially measured 
at fair value.

Financial assets are classified by the Group into the following specified categories: financial assets ‘at fair value through profit or loss’ 
(FVTPL) and ‘amortised cost’. The classification depends on the nature and purpose of the financial assets and is determined at the time  
of initial recognition.

Fair value through profit or loss
A financial asset may be designated as at FVTPL upon initial recognition if:

(a)  such designation eliminates or significantly reduces a measurement or recognition inconsistency that would otherwise arise; or

(b)   the financial asset forms part of a group of financial assets or financial liabilities, or both, which is managed and its performance is 
evaluated on a fair value basis, in accordance with the Draper Esprit Group’s documented risk management or investment strategy,  
and information about the grouping is provided internally on that basis; or

(c)   it forms part of a contract containing one or more embedded derivatives, and IFRS 9 Financial Instruments permits the entire combined 

contract (asset or liability) to be designated as at FVTPL.

The Group considers that the investment interests it holds in Esprit Capital III LP, Esprit Capital III Founder LP, Esprit Capital II Founder LP, 
Esprit Capital IV LP, Esprit Investments(I) LP, Esprit Investments (1)(B) LP, Esprit Investments (2) LP, and Esprit Investments (2)(B) LP are 
appropriately designated as at FVTPL as they meet criteria (b) above.

Amortised cost
A financial asset is held at amortised cost under IFRS 9 where it is held for the collection of cash flows representing solely payments of 
principal and interest. These assets are measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less any expected losses. 

The Group’s financial assets held at amortised cost comprise trade and most other receivables, and cash and cash equivalents in the 
consolidated statement of financial position.

k)  Financial liabilities
The Group’s financial liabilities may include borrowings and trade, and other payables.

Trade and other payables
Trade and other payables are recognised and derecognised on a trade date where the purchase or sale of a financial asset is under a 
contract whose terms require delivery of the financial asset within the timeframe established by the market concerned and are initially 
measured at fair value, plus transaction costs.

93

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Financial liabilities are measured subsequently at amortised cost using the effective interest method. All interest-related charges and,  
if applicable, changes in an instrument’s fair value that are reported in profit or loss are included within finance costs or finance income.

Borrowings
Borrowings are initially recognised at fair value, net of transaction costs incurred. Borrowings are subsequently measured at amortised cost 
using the effective interest rate method. All interest-related charges are reported in profit or loss are included within finance costs or finance 
income.

l)  Provisions
Provisions are recognised when the Group has a present obligation (legal or constructive) as a result of a past event, it is probable that the 
outflow of resources embodying the economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation and a reliable estimate can be made of the 
amount of the obligation.

m)  Share capital
Financial instruments issued by the Group are classified as equity only to the extent that they do not meet the definition of a financial 
liability or financial asset.

The Group’s ordinary shares are classified as equity instruments. Equity instruments are recorded at the proceeds received, net of direct  
issue costs.

n)  Defined contribution schemes
Contributions to defined contribution pension schemes are charged to the consolidated statement of comprehensive income in the year to 
which they relate.

o)  Share-based payments
Where equity-settled share options are awarded to employees, the fair value of the options at the date of grant is charged to the 
consolidated statement of comprehensive income over the vesting period. Non-market vesting conditions are taken into account by 
adjusting the number of equity instruments expected to vest at each reporting date so that, ultimately, the cumulative amount recognised 
over the vesting period is based on the number of options that eventually vest. Non-vesting conditions and market vesting conditions are 
factored into the fair value of the options granted. As long as all other vesting conditions are satisfied, a charge is made irrespective of 
whether the market vesting conditions are satisfied. The cumulative expense is not adjusted for failure to achieve a market vesting condition 
or where a non-vesting condition is not satisfied.

Where the terms and conditions of options are modified before they vest, the increase in the fair value of the options, measured immediately 
before and after the modification, is also charged to the consolidated statement of comprehensive income over the remaining vesting 
period. Where equity instruments are granted to persons other than employees, the consolidated statement of comprehensive income is 
charged with the fair value of goods and services received.

94

HEAD_0 1st lineHEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comp)  Leased assets
Policy applicable from 1 April 2019 (for impact analysis, please see Note 20)

At inception of a contract, the Group assesses whether a contract is, or contains, a lease. A contract is, or contains, a lease if the contract 
conveys the right to control the use of an identified asset for a period of time in exchange for consideration. To assess whether a contract 
conveys the right to control the use of an identified asset, the Group assesses whether:

 –

 –

 –

 The contract involves the use of an identified asset – this may be specified, explicitly or implicitly, and should be physically distinct or 
represent substantially all of the capacity of a physically distinct asset. If the supplier has a substantive substitution right, then the asset 
is not identified;

The Group has the right to obtain substantially all of the economic benefits from use of the asset throughout the period of use; and 

 The Group has the right to direct the use of the asset. The Group has this right when it has the decision-making rights that are most 
relevant to changing how and for what purpose the asset is used. In rare cases where the decision about how and for what purpose the 
asset is used is predetermined, the Group has the right to direct the use of the asset if either:

 –

 –

The Group has the right to operate the asset; or 

The Group designed the asset in a way that predetermines how and for what purpose it will be used. 

This policy is applied to contracts entered into, or changed, on or after 1 April 2019. The policy is applied taking into account transitional 
provisions within IFRS 16 for the existing operating lease as at 1 April 2019. 

At inception or on reassessment of a contract that contains a lease component, the Group allocates the consideration in the contract to 
each lease component on the basis of their relative stand-alone prices.

Lessee
The Group recognises a right-of-use asset and a lease liability at the lease commencement date. The right-of-use asset is initially measured 
at cost, which comprises the initial amount of the lease liability adjusted for any lease payments made at or before the commencement 
date, plus any initial direct costs incurred and an estimate of costs to dismantle and remove the underlying asset or to restore the underlying 
asset, less any lease incentives received. 

The right-of-use asset is subsequently depreciated using the straight-line method from the commencement date to the earlier of the end of 
the useful life of the right-of-use asset or the end of the lease term. 

The lease liability is initially measured at the present value of the lease payments that are not paid at the commencement date, discounted 
using the interest rate implicit in the lease or, if that rate cannot be readily determined, the Group’s incremental borrowing rate. The lease 
liability is measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method. It is remeasured when there is a change in future lease payments.

When the lease liability is remeasured, a corresponding adjustment is made to the carrying amount of the right-of-use asset or is recorded 
in the profit or loss if the carrying amount of the right-of-use asset has been reduced to zero. 

The Group presents right-of-use assets that do not meet the definition of investment property in ‘property, plant and equipment’ and lease 
liabilities in ‘lease liabilities’ in the statement of financial position. 

Short-term leases and leases of low-value assets
The Group has elected not to recognise right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for short-term leases that have a lease term of 12 months or 
less and leases of low-value assets, including IT equipment. The Group would recognise the lease payments associated with these leases as 
an expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Under IAS 17
For treatment under IAS 17, see the accounting standards notes within the Draper Esprit plc annual report for the year ending 31 March 2019. 

95

HEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedHEAD_0 1st lineFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements continued

q)  Dividends
Dividends are recognised when they become legally payable. In the case of interim dividends to equity shareholders, this is when the dividend 
is paid. In the case of final dividends, this is when the dividend is approved by the shareholders at the AGM.

r)  Current tax
The tax currently payable is based on taxable profit for the year. Taxable profit differs from net profit as reported in the income statement 
because it excludes items of income or expense that are taxable or deductible in other years, and it further excludes items that are never 
taxable or deductible. The Group’s liability for current tax is calculated using tax rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted by 
the balance sheet date.

s)  Deferred tax
Deferred tax is the tax expected to be payable or recoverable on differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities in the 
financial statements and the corresponding tax bases used in the computation of taxable profit and is accounted for using the balance 
sheet liability method. Deferred tax liabilities are generally recognised for all taxable temporary differences, and deferred tax assets are 
recognised to the extent that it is probable that taxable profits will be available against which deductible temporary differences can be 
utilised. Such assets and liabilities are not recognised if the temporary difference arises from the initial recognition of goodwill or from the 
initial recognition (other than in a business combination) of other assets and liabilities in a transaction that affects neither the taxable profit 
nor the accounting profit.

Deferred tax liabilities are recognised for taxable temporary differences arising on investments in subsidiaries and associates, and interests 
in joint ventures, except where the Group is able to control the reversal of the temporary difference and it is probable that the temporary 
difference will not reverse in the foreseeable future. Deferred tax assets arising from deductible temporary differences associated with such 
investments and interests are only recognised to the extent that it is probable that there will be sufficient taxable profits against which to 
utilise the benefits of the temporary differences and they are expected to reverse in the foreseeable future.

The carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each balance sheet date and reduced to the extent that it is no longer probable 
that sufficient taxable profits will be available to allow all or part of the asset to be recovered.

Deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the period when the liability is settled, or the asset is realised based 
on tax laws and rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date. Deferred tax is charged or credited in the 
income statement, except when it relates to items charged or credited in other comprehensive income, in which case the deferred tax is also 
dealt with in other comprehensive income.

The measurement of deferred tax liabilities and assets reflects the tax consequences that would follow from the manner in which the Group 
expects, at the end of the reporting period, to recover or settle the carrying amount of its assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets and 
liabilities are offset when there is a legally enforceable right to set off current tax assets against current tax liabilities, and when they relate 
to income taxes levied by the same taxation authority and the Group intends to settle its current tax assets and liabilities on a net basis.

t)  Property, plant and equipment
Fixtures and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and any recognised impairment loss. Depreciation is recognised to 
write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives, using the straight-line method, on the following basis:

Leasehold improvements – over the term of the lease
Fixtures and equipment – 33% p.a. straight line
Computer equipment – 33% p.a. straight line

The estimated useful lives, residual values and depreciation method are reviewed at the end of each reporting period, with the effect of any 
changes in estimate accounted for on a prospective basis.

See 3p above for PPE relating to right-of-use assets resulting from leases. 

96

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Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash in hand, deposits at bank and highly liquid investments with a term of no more than 90 days that 
are readily convertible into known amounts of cash and that are subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value. No cash equivalents are 
held as at 31 March 2020 (31 March 2019: nil).

v)  Segmental reporting
IFRS 8, “Operating Segments”, defines operating segments as those activities of an entity about which separate financial information is 
available and which are evaluated by the Chief Operating Decision Maker to assess performance and determine the allocation of resource. 
The Chief Operating Decision Maker has been identified by the Board of Directors as the Chief Executive Officer.

w)  Financial instruments
Financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised in the consolidated balance sheet when the Group becomes a party to the contractual 
provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and financial liabilities are initially measured at fair value. Transaction costs that are directly attributable to the acquisition 
or issue of financial assets and financial liabilities (other than financial assets and financial liabilities at fair value through profit or loss) are 
added to or deducted from the fair value of the financial assets or financial liabilities, as appropriate, on initial recognition.

x)  Exceptional items
The Group classifies items of income and expenditure as exceptional when the nature of the item or its size is likely to be material, to assist 
the reader of the financial statements to better understand the results of the operations of the Group. Such items by their nature are not 
expected to recur and are shown separately on the face of the consolidated statement of comprehensive income.

Interest income

y) 
Interest income earned on cash and deposits and short-term liquidity investments is recognised when it is probable that the economic 
benefits will flow to the Group and the amount of income recognised can be measured reliably. Interest income is accrued on a time basis, 
with reference to the principal outstanding and at the effective interest rate applicable.

z)  Carried interest
The Company has established carried interest plans for the Executive Directors (see below), other members of the investment team and 
certain other employees (together the “Plan Participants”) in respect of any investments and follow-on investments made from Admission. 
To 31 March 2020 each carried interest plan operates in respect of investments made during a 24-month period and related follow-on 
investments made for a further 36-month period. From 1 April 2020 the carried interest plan will operate for a five year period in respect of 
any investments.

Subject to certain exceptions, Plan Participants will receive, in aggregate, 15% of the net realised cash profits from the investments and 
follow-on investments made over the relevant period once the Company has received an aggregate annualised 10% realised return on 
investments and follow-on investments made during the relevant period. The carried interest plan from 1 April 2020 has an aggregate 
annualised 8% realised return on investments and follow-on investments made during the relevant period, to bring the plans more in 
line with market. The Plan Participants’ return is subject to a “catch-up” in their favour. Plan Participants’ carried interests vest over five 
years for each carried interest plan and are subject to good and bad leaver provisions. Any unvested carried interest resulting from a Plan 
Participant becoming a leaver can be reallocated by the Remuneration and Nomination Committee. From 2021/22 onwards, the Executive 
Directors will not be eligible to participate in new carried interest plans, and instead will participate in the Long-Term Incentive Plan.

The Group’s interest in carried interest is measured at fair value through the profit and loss (FVTPL) with reference to the performance 
conditions described above and is deducted from the valuation of investments measured at FVTPL.

Fair value measurement
Management uses valuation techniques to determine the fair value of financial assets. This involves developing estimates and assumptions 
consistent with how market participants would price the assets. Management bases its assumptions on observable data as far as possible, 
but this is not always available, in that case management uses the best information available. Estimated fair values may vary from the 
actual prices that would be achieved in an arm’s length transaction at the reporting date (See Note 4(a)).

97

HEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedHEAD_0 1st lineFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements continued

4.  Critical accounting estimates and judgements
The Directors have made the following judgements and estimates that have had the most significant effect on the carrying amounts of 
the assets and liabilities in the consolidated financial statement. The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing 
basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period, 
or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods. Actual results may differ from 
estimates. The key estimates, (4)(a) and (4)(b), and judgements, (4)(c) and (4)(d), are discussed below. There have been no changes to 
the accounting estimates and judgements in the financial year ended 31 March 2020.

a)  Valuation of unquoted equity investments at fair value through the profit and loss
The Group invests into Limited Companies and Limited Partnerships which are considered to be investment companies that invest in 
unquoted equity for the benefit of the Group. These investment companies are measured at fair value through the profit or loss based on 
their NAV at the year end. The Group controls these entities and is responsible for preparing their NAV which is based on the valuation of 
their unquoted investments. The Group’s valuation of investments measured at fair value through profit or loss is therefore dependent upon 
estimations of the valuation of the underlying portfolio companies.

The Group, through its controlled investment companies also invests in investment companies which primarily focus on German or seed 
investments. These investments are considered to be ‘Fund of Fund investments’ for the Group and are recognised at their NAV at the year-
end date. These Fund of Fund investments are not controlled by the Group and some do not have coterminous year ends with the Group. 
To value these investments, management obtain the latest audited financial statements or partner reports of the investments and discuss 
further movements with the management of the companies. Where the Fund of Funds hold investments that are individually material to the 
Group, management perform further procedures to determine that the valuation of these investments has been prepared in accordance 
with the Group’s valuation policies for portfolio companies outlined below and these valuations will be adjusted by the Group where 
necessary based on the Group valuation policy for valuing portfolio companies. 

The estimates required to determine the appropriate valuation methodology of unquoted equity investments means there is a risk of 
material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities. These estimates include whether to increase or decrease investment 
valuations and require the use of assumptions about the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities that are not readily available  
or observable.

The fair value of unlisted securities is established with reference to the International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines 
as well as the IPEV Board, Special Valuation Guidance issued on 31 March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 crisis (“IPEV Guidelines”). An 
assessment will be made at each measurement date as to the most appropriate valuation methodology.

The Group invests in early-stage and growth technology companies, through predominantly unlisted securities. Given the nature of these 
investments, there are often no current or short-term future earnings or positive cash flows. Consequently, although not considered to 
be the default valuation technique, the appropriate approach to determine fair value may be based on a methodology with reference to 
observable market data, being the price of the most recent transaction. Fair value estimates that are based on observable market data will 
be of greater reliability than those based on estimates and assumptions and accordingly where there have been recent investments by third 
parties, the price of that investment will generally provide a basis of the valuation.

If this methodology is used, its initial use and the length of period for which it remains appropriate to use the price of recent investment 
depends on the specific circumstances of the investment, and the Group will consider whether this basis remains appropriate each time 
valuations are reviewed. In addition, the inputs to the valuation model (e.g. revenue, comparable peer group, product roadmap) will be 
recalibrated to assess the appropriateness of the methodology used in relation to the market performance and technical/product milestones 
since the round and the company’s trading performance relative to the expectations of the round.

The Group considers alternative methodologies in the IPEV Guidelines, being principally price-revenue or price-earnings multiples, depending 
upon the stage of the asset, requiring management to make assumptions over the timing and nature of future revenues and earnings when 
calculating fair value. We stress tested management’s assumptions regarding revenue using a number of scenarios - base case, downside 
case, and upside case. We flexed the companies’ budget assumptions under the above scenarios as part of our valuations process. 

The Group also reviewed cash runway, supply chain risk, sector risk, average length of customer contract, amongst other things.

98

HEAD_0 1st lineHEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comWhere a fair value cannot be estimated reliably, the investment is reported at the carrying value at the previous reporting date unless there 
is evidence that the investment has since been impaired.

In all cases, valuations are based on the judgement of the Directors after consideration of the above and upon available information 
believed to be reliable, which may be affected by conditions in the financial markets. Due to the inherent uncertainty of the investment 
valuations, the estimated values may differ significantly from the values that would have been used had a ready market for the investments 
existed, and the differences could be material. Due to this uncertainty, the Group may not be able to sell its investments at the carrying 
value in these financial statements when it desires to do so or to realise what it perceives to be fair value in the event of a sale. See Notes 28 
and 29 for information on unobservable inputs used and sensitivity analysis on investments held at fair value through the profit and loss.

b)  Carrying amount of goodwill
Determining whether goodwill is impaired requires an estimation of the recoverable amount of the cash-generating units to which goodwill 
is allocated. An impairment review is performed on an annual basis unless there is a trigger event during the period. The recoverable amount 
is based on “value in use” calculations, which requires estimates of future cash flows expected from the cash generation unit (CGU) and a 
suitable discount rate in order to calculate present value. The key assumptions for the value in use calculations are the discount rate using 
pre-tax rates that reflect the current market assessments of the time value of money and risks specific to the CGU. The internal rate of 
return (“IRR”) used was based on past performance and experience. The carrying amount of the goodwill as at the statement of financial 
position date was £9.7 million. The Group has conducted a sensitivity analysis on the impairment test of the CGU and the carrying value.  
A higher discount rate in the range of 15%-20% does not reduce the carrying value of goodwill to less than its recoverable amount.

The CGU was determined to be the fund managers. This is a critical management judgement, as they are responsible for generating deal 
flow and working with investee companies creating value and maximising returns for the Group.

c)  Control assessment
The Group has a number of entities within its corporate structure and a judgement has been made of which should be consolidated in 
accordance with IFRS 10, and which should not. The Group consolidates all entities where it has control over the following: power over the 
investee to significantly direct the activities; exposure, or rights, to variable returns from its involvement with the investee, and the ability 
to use its power over the investee to affect the amount of the investor’s returns. The Company does not consolidate qualifying investment 
companies it controls in accordance with IFRS 10 and instead recognises them as investments held at fair value through the profit and loss. 
See Note 3(b) for further details.

d)  Business combinations
The Directors have undertaken a detailed assessment of the substance of the transaction through which the Company acquired the 
underlying investment vehicles and Esprit Capital Partners LLP and its subsidiaries with reference to the requirements of IFRS 10 and IFRS 3. 
Following that assessment based on the judgement of Directors, it has been determined that this transaction is appropriately accounted for 
as an acquisition.

The Group acquired the remaining membership interest in Encore Ventures LLP on 10 March 2020. Prior to this, the Group held a membership 
interest of 71% and had determined based on its control assessment (see (4)(c) above) that the Group had control over Encore Ventures LLP 
and consolidated this entity in accordance with IFRS 10. As a result, the acquisition of the remaining membership interest has been assessed 
to be a change in ownership interest and is accounted for as such under IFRS 10. This is not deemed to be a business combination. 

5.  Change in unrealised gains on investments held at fair value through the profit and loss

Change in unrealised gains on investments held at fair value through the profit and loss (Note 16)

Year ended  
31 Mar 2020
£’000s

Year ended  
31 Mar 2019
£’000s

40,755

114,715

99

HEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedHEAD_0 1st lineFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements continued

6.  Fee income
Revenue is derived solely within the UK, from continuing operations for all years. An analysis of the Group’s revenue is as follows:

Year ended  
31 Mar 2020
£’000s

Year ended  
31 Mar 2019
£’000s

11,213
42
11,255

6,052
49
6,101

Year ended  
31 Mar 2020
£’000s

Year ended  
31 Mar 2019
£’000s

6,074
-
1,827
349
741
85
734
9,810

4,401
246
1,241
333
472
127
954
7,774

Year ended  
31 Mar 2020
£’000s

Year ended  
31 Mar 2019
£’000s

146
75
26
17
264

87
47
20
16
170

Management fees
Portfolio directors’ fees

7.  General administrative expenses
Administrative expenses comprise:

General employee and employee related expenses (Note 9)
Operating lease rentals (Note 20)
Legal and professional
Travel expenses
Marketing expenses
IT expenses
Other administrative costs

8.  Profit from operations
The profit for the year has been arrived at after charging:

Audit fees for the consolidated financial statements
Audit of the accounts of any related undertakings of the Company
Audit-related assurance services
Other assurance services
Total fees payable to the Company’s auditors

100

HEAD_0 1st lineHEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.com9.  Employee and employee related expenses
Employee benefit expenses (including Directors) comprise:

Wages and salaries
Defined contribution pension costs
Benefits (healthcare and life assurance)
Recruitment costs
Social security contributions and similar taxes
General employee and employee related expenses
Share-based payment expense arising from company share option scheme
Total employee benefit expenses

Year ended  
31 Mar 2020
£’000s

Year ended  
31 Mar 2019
£’000s

4,595
278
127
473
601
6,074
990
7,064

3,447
354
74
67
459
4,401
1,100
5,501

The monthly average number of persons (including Executive and Non-executive Directors) employed by the Group during the year was:

Technology Investment
Corporate functions

Year ended  
31 Mar 2020
Number

Year ended  
31 Mar 2019
Number

14
19
33

14
13
27

Corporate functions comprise non-executive directors, finance, marketing, human resources, legal, IT, and administration.

Key management personnel compensation
Key management personnel are those persons having authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the 
Group, and are considered to be the Directors of the Company listed on pages 58 to 60. This includes Martin Davis who joined as CEO during 
the year, as announced on 4 November 2019. 

Wages and salaries
Short-term non-monetary benefits
Defined contribution pension costs
Share-based payment expense 
Social security contributions and similar taxes

Year ended  
31 Mar 2020
£’000s

Year ended  
31 Mar 2019
£’000s

2,019
9
163
466
287
2,944

1,317
10
108
631
133
2,199

The details of individual Directors’ remuneration and pension benefits, as set out in the tables contained in the Remuneration and 
Nomination Committee Report on pages 67 to 71, form part of these consolidated financial statements.

101

HEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedHEAD_0 1st lineFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements continued

10.  Net finance (expense)/income

Interest on leases (Note 20)
Interest and expenses on loans and borrowings (Note 21)
Finance costs
Net foreign exchange gain 
Interest income on cash and cash equivalents
Finance income
Net finance (expense)/income

Year ended  
31 Mar 2020
£’000s

Year ended  
31 Mar 2019
£’000s

(94)
(1,497)
(1,591)
1,234
289
1,523
(68)

–
–
–
1,481
120
1,601
1,601

11.  Income taxes
The charge to tax, which arises in the Group and the corporate subsidiaries included within these financial statements, is:

Current tax expense
Current tax on profits for the year
Adjustments for under/(over) provision in prior years
Total current tax
Deferred tax expense
Arising on business combinations (Note 23)
Reversal of amounts previously recognised
Total deferred tax

Year ended  
31 Mar 2020
£’000s

Year ended  
31 Mar 2019
£’000s

2
35
37

(20)
-
17

–
–
–

(11)
–
(11)

The UK standard rate of corporation tax is 19% (for the year ending 31 March 2019: 19%). The current tax charge in the year is £37k 
(2019: £nil).

The reasons for the difference between the actual tax charge for the year and the standard rate of corporation tax in the United Kingdom 
applied to profits for the year are as follows:

Profit/(loss) for the year before tax
Profit/(loss) on ordinary activities of Group companies before tax
Tax using the Company’s domestic tax rate of 19% (2019: 19%)
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes
Unrealised gains on investments
Other timing differences
Total tax (credit)/charge for the year

Year ended  
31 Mar 2020
£’000s

Year ended  
31 Mar 2019
£’000s

40,383

111,150

7,673
-
(7,743)
87
17

21,119
–
(21,796)
666
(11)

102

HEAD_0 1st lineHEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.com12.  Earnings per share and net asset value
The calculation of basic earnings per share is based on the profit attributable to shareholders and the weighted average number of shares. 
When calculating the diluted earnings per share, the weighted average number of shares in issue is adjusted for the effect of all dilutive 
share options and awards.

Basic earnings per ordinary share

For the year ended 31 March 2020
For the year ended 31 March 2019

Diluted earnings per ordinary share

For the year ended 31 March 2020
For the year ended 31 March 2019

Profit after tax
£’000s

Weighted 
average no. of 
shares ‘000

39,707
110,579

118,013
96,051

Profit after tax
£’000s

Weighted 
average no. of 
shares ‘000

39,707
110,579

120,961
100,055

Pence 
per share

34
115

Pence 
per share

33
110

Net asset value (“NAV”) per share is based on the net asset attributable to shareholders and the number of shares as at the balance sheet 
date. When calculating the diluted earnings per share, the number of shares in issue at balance sheet date is adjusted for the effect of all 
dilutive share options and awards.

Net asset value per ordinary share

31 March 2020
31 March 2019

Diluted net asset value per ordinary share

31 March 2020
31 March 2019

Dividends: There were no Dividends paid out in the year to 31 March 2020 (2019: nil).

13.  Share-based payments

 Number of 
CSOP options 1 
April 2019 

Number  
of Options  
granted in 
the period 

 Number 
of Options 
(lapsed) in  
the year 

 Number 
of Options 
(exercised) in 
the year 

 Date of Grant 

(195,842)

Draper 
Esprit 
plc 2016 
Company 
Share 
Option 
Scheme 
(CSOP)

28–Nov–16
28–Nov–16
11–Nov–17
28–Nov–17
28–Nov–17
30–Jul–18
30–Jul–18
12–Feb–19
12–Feb–19
26–Nov–19

 1,361,033 
 152,528 
 180,000 
 1,180,364 
 116,016 
 1,205,000 
 102,750 
 876,868 
 75,000 
 - 

 200,000 

(20,000)
(25,000)

(177,500)

(80,000)

 Number  
of CSOP 
options 31 
March 2020 

 1,165,191 
 152,528 
 160,000 
 1,155,364 
 116,016 
 1,027,500 
 102,750 
 796,868 
 75,000 
 200,000 

Net assets
£’000s

659,618
618,332

No. of shares at 
balance sheet 
date ‘000

118,918
117,925

Net assets
£’000s

659,618
618,332

No. of shares at 
balance sheet 
date ‘000

121,609
123,325

Pence per 
share

555
524

Pence per 
share

542
501

 Number of 
approved 
Options 

 Vesting period 

 Exercise Price 
(pence) 

 Fair value 
per granted 
instrument 
(pence) 

 84,500 
 – 
 25,068 
 15,502 
 – 
 – 
 – 
 – 
 – 
6,424

 3 Years 
 3 Years 
 3 Years 
 3 Years 
 3 Years 
 3 Years 
 3 Years 
 3 Years 
 3 Years 
 3 Years 

 355 
 355 
 354 
 387 
 387 
 492 
 492 
 530 
 530 
467

 64.1 
 89.3 
 89.8 
 70.9 
 97.9 
 152.9 
 186.4 
 67.8 
 95.2 
71.5

103

HEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedHEAD_0 1st lineFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements continued

On 26 November 2019, 200,000 shares under option were granted to employees of the Group, Directors and Trusts. The exercise price of the 
issued options was 467p. 302,500 options lapsed which had exercise prices of 354 pence, 387 pence, 492 pence, 530 pence. 195,842 options 
were exercised during the year.

The Black Scholes Option Pricing Model has been used for valuation purposes. All options are settled in shares and volatility is expected to be 
in the range of 20-30% based on an analysis of the Company’s and peer groups’ share price. The risk-free rate used was 0.75% and 0.84% 
and was taken from zero coupon United Kingdom government bonds on a term consistent with the vesting period. 

The share-based payment charge for the year is £990k (year ended 31 March 2019: £1.1 million).

14.  Intangible assets

31 March 2020

Cost
Cost carried forward as at 1 April 2019
Additions during the year
Cost as at 31 March 2020
Accumulated amortisation
Amortisation carried forward as at 1 April 2019
Charge for the year
Accumulated amortisation as at 31 March 2020
Net book value:
As at 31 March 2020
As at 31 March 2019

31 March 2019

Cost
Cost carried forward as at 1 April 2018
Additions during the year
Cost as at 31 March 2019
Accumulated amortisation
Amortisation carried forward as at 1 April 2018
Charge for the year
Accumulated amortisation as at 31 March 2019
Net book value:
As at 31 March 2019
As at 31 March 2018

Goodwill1
£’000s

9,653
–
9,653

–
–
–

9,653
9,653

Goodwill1
£’000s

9,653
–
9,653

–
–
–

9,653
9,653

Customer
contracts2
£’000s

818
–
818

(341)
(102)
(443)

375
477

Customer
contracts2
£’000s

818
–
818

(239)
(102)
(341)

477
579

Total
£’000s

10,471
–
10,471

(341)
(102)
(443)

10,028
10,130

Total
£’000s

10,471
–
10,471

(239)
(102)
(341)

10,130
10,232

1 

 Goodwill of £9.7 million arose on the acquisition of all the capital interests in Esprit Capital Partners LLP, a Venture Capital manager based in the UK, on 15 June 2016 
and represents the value of the acquired expertise and knowledge of the fund managers. The Directors have identified the fund managers as the cash-generating 
unit (“CGU”) being the smallest group of assets that generates cash inflows independent of cash flows from other assets or groups of assets. The fund managers 
are responsible for generating deal flow and working closely with investee companies to create value and maximising returns for the Group. The Group tests goodwill 
annually for impairment comparing the recoverable amount using value-in-use calculations and the carrying amount. Value-in-use calculations are based on future 
expected cash flows generated by the CGU fee income from management fees over the next 5 years with reference to the most recent financial budget and forecasts. 
A 5-year cash flow period was deemed appropriate for the value in use calculation given the patient capital model adopted by the Group. The key assumptions for 
the value in use calculations are the discount rate using pre-tax rates that reflect the current market assessments of the time value of money and risks specific to the 
CGU. The internal rate of return (“IRR”) used was based on past performance and experience. The discount rate used was 10% and the IRR used was 20%.

2 

 An intangible asset of £0.8 million was also recognised in respect of the anticipated profit from the participation in Encore Ventures LLP as a consequence of the 
acquisition of Esprit Capital Partners LLP.

104

HEAD_0 1st lineHEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.com15.  Investments in associates and related undertakings
Investments in associates
On 24 November 2016, Draper Esprit acquired a 30.77% stake in Elderstreet Holdings Limited (registered office: 20 Garrick Street, London, 
United Kingdom, WC2E 9BT), the holding company of Elderstreet Investments Limited with an option to acquire the balance of the 
Elderstreet Holdings Limited shares. The initial consideration of £0.26 million has been satisfied by the issue of 73,667 new ordinary shares 
of 1 pence each in the capital of the Company. The Group’s share of profits in the year was not material and there were no indications of 
impairment at balance sheet date.

Related undertakings
Please see below details of investments held by the Group’s investment companies, where the ownership percentage or partnership interest 
exceeds 20%: 

Name

Address

Type of share holding

SportPursuit Limited

Unit 1.18, Canterbury Court, Kennington Park, 1-3 Brixton 
Road, London, England, SW9 6DE

Ordinary shares
Preference shares

Bright Computing Holding B.V.

Kingsfordweg 151, 1043 GR Amsterdam, the Netherlands Ordinary shares

Ravenpack Holding AG

Churerstrasse 135, CH-8808 Pfäffikon, Switzerland

Earlybird IV 

Earlybird VI

c/o Earlybird Venture Capital, Maximilianstr. 
14, 80539, München

c/o Earlybird Venture Capital, Maximilianstr. 
14, 80539, München

Preference shares

Ordinary shares
Preference shares

Partnership interest

Partnership interest

* 

Fully diluted interest categorised as follows: Cat A: 0-5%, Cat B: 6-10%, Cat C: 11-15%, Cat D: 16-25%, Cat E: >25%.

Details of the FV of the 16 core companies are detailed as part of the Gross Portfolio Progression table on page 32.

Interest FD category* 
at reporting date / 
partnership interest

E

E

D

27%

56.5%

16.  Financial assets held at fair value through profit and loss
The Group holds investments through investment vehicles it manages. The investments are predominantly in unlisted securities and are 
carried at fair value through the profit and loss. The Group’s valuation policies are set out in Note 4(a) and Note 28. The table below sets out 
the movement in the balance sheet value of investments from the start to the end of the year, showing investments made, cash receipts 
and fair value movements.

As at 1 April
Investments made in the year1/2
Investments settled in shares1/2
Loans repaid from underlying investment vehicles
Loans made to underlying investment vehicles1
Unrealised gains on the revaluation of investments
As at 31 March

Year ended 
31 Mar 2020 
£’000s

Year ended 
31 Mar 2019
£’000s

562,061
89,935
-
(39,533)
4,115
40,755
657,333

231,910
226,432
309
(15,984)
4,679
114,715
562,061

1 

Investments and loans made in the year are amounts the Company has invested in underlying investment vehicles. This is not the equivalent to the total  
amount invested in portfolio companies as existing cash balances from the investment vehicles are reinvested.

2 

Investments made in the year ended 31 March 2019 include non-cash consideration of £0.3 million. See separate line.

105

HEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedHEAD_0 1st lineFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.com 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements continued

17.  Property, plant and equipment

31 March 2020

Cost
Cost carried forward as at 1 April 20191
Additions during the year
Cost as at 31 March 2020
Accumulated depreciation
Depreciation carried forward as at 1 April 2019
Charge for the year
Accumulated depreciation as at 31 March 2020
Net book value:
As at 31 March 2020
As at 31 March 2019

31 March 2019

Cost
Cost carried forward as at 1 April 2018
Additions during the year
Cost as at 31 March 2019
Accumulated depreciation
Depreciation carried forward as at 1 April 2018
Charge for the year
Accumulated depreciation as at 31 March 2019
Net book value:
As at 31 March 2019
As at 31 March 2018

Right of use 
assets 
£’000s

Leasehold 
improvements
£’000s

Computer 
equipment
£’000s

835
779
1,614

-
(306)
(306)

1,308
-

327
353
680

(147)
(114)
(261)

419
180

57
15
72

(28)
(11)
(39)

33
29

Right of use 
assets 
£’000s

Leasehold 
improvements
£’000s

Computer 
equipment
£’000s

–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–

285
42
327

(80)  
(67)  
(147)  

180
205

41
16
57

(17)  
(11)  
(28)  

29
24

Total
£’000s

1,219
1,147
2,366

(175)
(431)
(606)

1,760
209

Total
£’000s

326
58
384

(97)  
(78)  
(175)  

209
229

For depreciation and further information on right-of-use assets, please see the leases note – Note 20.

1 

1 April 2019 figure includes adjustment for IFRS 16 conversion under right of use assets - please see note 20 for further details.

106

HEAD_0 1st lineHEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.com18.  Acquisition of subsidiaries
Encore Ventures LLP
The Group acquired the remaining economic and beneficial membership interest in Encore Ventures LLP on 10 March 2020. Prior to this, the 
Group held a membership interest of 71%. This resulted in a change in ownership interest which did not result in a loss of control and has 
been accounted for in accordance with IFRS 10. 

Consideration for the remaining interest in Encore Ventures was cash to the amount of £4.0 million. Pursuant to the Acquisition Agreement 
relating to the sale and purchase of certain membership interests in Encore Ventures LLP as well as the associated Subscription Agreements 
also dated 10 March 2020, Draper Esprit Plc issued 796,812 1p ordinary shares immediately subscribed to by those partners selling their 
interest in Encore Ventures LLP. The fair value of the equity shares issued was based on the market value of Draper Esprit plc’s traded shares 
on the 10 March 2020 and amounted to £4.0 million. 

As a result of this transaction, the balance of the non-controlling interest reported in the consolidated statement of financial position as at 
31 March 2020 is nil (31 March 2019: £0.2 million). The profit attributable to non-controlling interest for the period to 10 March 2020 is £0.7 
million and is reflected in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the year ended 31 March 2020 (year to 31 March 2019: 
£0.6 million). 

19.  Trade and other receivables

Trade receivables^
Other receivables and prepayments
Loans made to related investment vehicles (Note 31)

^ 

£2.2 million of increase relates to accrued management fee.

The ageing of trade receivables at reporting date is as follows:

Not past due
Past due 1-30 days
Past due 31-60 days
More than 60 days

31 Mar 2020
£’000s

31 Mar 2019
£’000s

2,669
1,358
3,692
7,719

424
716
-
1,140

31 Mar 2020
£’000s

31 Mar 2019
£’000s

242
45
34
2,348
2,669

268
5
9
142
424

The maximum exposure to credit risk of the receivables at the reporting date is the fair value of each class of receivable mentioned above. 
The Group does not hold any collateral as security.

20.  Leases
Lessee – Real Estate Leases
The Group leases office buildings in London for use by its staff. The Group also has offices in Cambridge and in Dublin, however these 
contracts are classified as service contracts and not leases. Information about leases for which the Group is a lessee is presented below. The 
Group has applied IFRS 16 using the modified retrospective approach and therefore the comparative information has not been restated and 
continues to be reported under IAS 17 and IFRIC 4. One office building lease was identified as an operating lease previously and disclosed in 
the notes to the financial statements in the Draper Esprit plc annual report dated 31 March 2019. A new lease commenced during the current 
period, relating to the 3rd floor of 20 Garrick Street, WC2E 9BT. 

The Group leases IT equipment such as printers for use by staff. The Group has elected to apply the recognition exemption for leases of low 
value to these leases.

107

HEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedHEAD_0 1st lineFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements continued

Right-of-use assets

Balance at 31 March 2019
Transition to IFRS 16 – recognition of right-of-use asset in respect of existing leases
Balance at 1 April 2019
Additions during the period
Depreciation charge for the period
Balance at 31 March 2020

Lease liabilities

Maturity analysis – contractual undiscounted cash flows
Less than one year
One to five years
More than five years
Total undiscounted lease liabilities at 31 March 2020

Lease liabilities included in the consolidated statement of financial position
Current
Non-current
Total lease liabilities at 31 March 2020

Property
£’000s

–
835
835
779
(306)
1,308

Property
£’000s

404
1,110
–
1,514

Property
£’000s

358
975
1,333

Total
£’000s

–
835
835
779
(306)
1,308

Total
£’000s

404
1,110
–
1,514

Total
£’000s

358
975
1,333

As at 31 March 2019, no lease liabilities were recognised on the consolidated statement of financial position. As noted above, the Group 
recognised one operating lease under IAS 17. See note 23 to the annual report for Draper Esprit plc as at 31 March 2019 for further details. 
As at 1 April 2019, in accordance with the transition to IFRS 16, lease liabilities of £0.8 million were recognised in respect of this lease. A 
further lease commenced during the period relating to the 3rd floor of 20 Garrick Street, London. Lease liabilities in respect of this lease were 
recognised in accordance with IFRS 16 in the period.

Amounts recognised in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income

Interest on lease liabilities
Depreciation charge for the period on right-of-use assets
Expenses relating to short-term leases
Expenses relating to leases of low-value assets, excluding short-term leases of low-value assets

Year ended  
31 March 2020
£’000s

Year ended  
31 March 2019
£’000s

94
306
–
5

–
–
–
–

Payments of £330k in respect of rental payments paying down the lease liability have been recognised in the consolidated statement of cash 
flows. A contribution for a rent-free period on the 3rd floor of 20 Garrick Street of £164k has been recognised in the consolidated statement 
of cash flows for the year ending 31 March 2020. These appear net in the consolidated statement of cash flows for the year ending 31 March 
2020.

Under IAS 17, one lease in respect of the 2nd floor of 20 Garrick Street was recognised as an operating lease – please see the notes to the 
Draper Esprit plc annual report dated 31 March 2019 for further information. This lease was the only lease identified at the beginning of this 
period. A further lease commenced during the period in respect of the 3rd floor of 20 Garrick Street and can be seen in the additions to 
right-to-use assets above. Under IAS 17, expenses of £0.2 million were recognised in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income in 
respect of operating lease rentals in the year ending 31 March 2019.

108

HEAD_0 1st lineHEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.com21. Loans and borrowings
In June 2019 the Company entered into a revolving credit facility agreement with Silicon Valley Bank and Investec (together the “Financiers”) 
of £50.0 million over a 3-year term to provide financial flexibility and to fund the future growth plans of investee companies. The Company 
incurred costs of £0.5 million with respect to this facility which are presented within loans and borrowings on the statement of financial 
position and are amortised over the life of the facility (3 years). All interest-related charges are reported in profit or loss are included within 
finance costs or finance income. The bank loans are secured on agreed assets of the Group within the asset class of investments, updated 
as agreed with the Financiers from time to time, and are subject to customary financial and non-financial conditions with which the Group 
must comply. 

The new facility agreement introduced financial and non-financial covenants. 

a. 

b. 

c. 

 There must be a minimum of 10 core investments at all times (core investments are not defined in the same way as in this report as it is 
more broadly defined);

 The ratio of the NAV of all investments (as defined in the agreement) to original investment cost should not be less than 1.1:1.0 at any 
time; and 

 The ratio of the NAV (as defined in the agreement) plus amounts in the collateral account to financial indebtedness (as defined in the 
agreement) should not be less than 10:1 at any time. 

In addition, the borrowing base (as defined in the agreement) must exceed the facility amount. 

As collateral for interest payments, an amount equal to the aggregate amount of interest costs due for the coming 6 months, all being 
equal, must be held in an Interest Reserve Account at all times. The balance of this at 31 March 2020 was £1.9 million and is reflected on the 
consolidated statement of financial position as restricted cash. 

The debt facility is repayable on maturity (June 2022) but may become repayable earlier if certain conditions are not met. An increase of the 
revolving credit facility by £10.0 million to £60.0 million was agreed post year-end. Following this, the debt facility is repayable on maturity in 
June 2023.

As at 31 March 2020, the Company has drawn down £45.0 million of the £50.0 million facility. The drawn down amount of the £45.0 million 
is recognised in the consolidated statement of financial position under non-current liabilities net of the arrangement and agent fee balance 
of £0.4 million. 

Bank loan senior facility amount
Interest rate
Drawn at balance sheet date
Arrangement fees
Loan liability balance
Undrawn facilities at balance sheet date

22.  Trade and other payables

Trade payables
Other taxation and social security
Other payables
Accruals and deferred income

All trade and other payables are short-term.

31 Mar 2020
£’000s

31 Mar 2019
£’000s

50,000
BOE base rate + 6.75% / 7.50% floor
45,000
(364)
44,636
5,000

–
–
–
–
–
–

31 Mar 2020
£’000s

31 Mar 2019
£’000s

(739)
(280)
(164)
(3,855)
(5,038)

(239)  
(290)  
(481)  
(3,949)  
(4,959)  

109

HEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedHEAD_0 1st lineFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements continued

23.  Deferred tax
Deferred tax is calculated in full on temporary differences under the liability method using a tax rate of 19% (2019: 19%). The movement on 
the deferred tax account is shown below:

Arising on business combination
Arising on co-invest and carried interest
Other timing differences
At 31 March

31 Mar 2020
£’000s

31 Mar 2019
£’000s

(75)
(414) 
(122)
(611)

(89)  
(599)  
57
(631)  

Deferred tax arising on business combination is subject to amortisation within the consolidated statement of comprehensive income.

24.  Share capital and share premium
Ordinary share capital

31 March 2020 – Allotted and fully paid

At the beginning of the year
Issue of share capital during the year1
Issue of share capital during the year2
At the end of the year

Number

Pence

117,925,470
195,842
796,812
118,918,124

1
1
1
1

£’000s

1,179
2
8
1,189

1 

2 

Between 24 December 2019 and 21 February 2020, 195,842 new 1p ordinary shares were issued in association with share options being exercised. 

 On 10 March 2020, as part of the acquisition agreement relating to the remaining interest in Encore Ventures LLP (see note 18) it was agreed that the Company would 
issue 796,812 new ordinary shares at 502p.

31 March 2019 – Allotted and fully paid

Number

Pence

At the beginning of the year
Issue of share capital during the year for cash1/2
Issue of share capital during the year as consideration for investment purchase3
At the end of the year

71,611,773
46,248,877
64,820
117,925,470

1
1
1
1

1 

2 

 On 14 June 2018, the Company raised gross proceeds of approximately £115.0 million at an issue price of 420 pence per share by way of the conditional placing of 
20,238,095 new ordinary shares and a subscription of 7,142,857 new ordinary shares.

 On 8 February 2019, the Company raised gross proceeds of approximately £100.0 million at an issue price of 530 pence per share by way of the conditional placing of 
18,867,925 new ordinary shares.

3  On 4 July 2018, the Company raised gross proceeds of £0.3 million at an issue price of 478 pence per share by way of the placing of 64,820 new ordinary.

Share premium

Allotted and fully paid

At the beginning of the year
Premium arising on the issue of ordinary shares^
Equity issuance costs
At the end of the year

Year ended  
31 Mar 2020
£’000s

Year ended  
31 Mar 2019
£’000s

395,783
4,983
(40)
400,726

188,229
215,035

(7,481)  

395,783

^ 

 The movement on share premium during the year has arisen as a result of 195,842 ordinary shares issued in association with share options being exercised during the 
year, and the issue of 796,812 shares of ordinary shares at 502 pence in association with the transaction to purchase the additional interest in Encore Ventures LLP 
(see note 18).

110

HEAD_0 1st lineHEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.com25. Merger relief reserve
In accordance with the Companies Act 2006, a Merger Relief Reserve of £13.1 million (net of the cost of share capital issued of £80k) was 
created on the issue of 4,392,332 ordinary shares for 300 pence each in Draper Esprit plc as consideration for the acquisition of 100% of the 
capital interests in Esprit Capital Partners LLP on 15 June 2016.

26.  Retirement benefits
The Draper Esprit Group makes contributions to personal pension schemes set up to benefit its employees. The Group has no interest in 
the assets of these schemes and there are no liabilities arising from them beyond the agreed monthly contribution for each employee or 
member that is included in employment costs in the profit and loss account as appropriate.

27.  Financial assets and liabilities
The description of each category of financial asset and financial liability and the related accounting policies are shown below. The carrying 
amounts of financial assets and financial liabilities in each category are as follows:

31 March 2020
Financial assets
Long-term financial assets
Trade and other receivables
Loans to related investment vehicles
Cash and cash equivalents
Restricted cash
Short-term financial assets
Total financial assets
Financial liabilities
Loans and borrowings
Lease liabilities
Long-term financial liabilities
Trade and other payables
Loans and borrowings
Lease liabilities
Short-term financial liabilities
Total financial liabilities

31 March 2019
Financial assets
Long-term financial assets
Trade and other receivables
Cash and cash equivalents
Short-term financial assets
Total financial assets
Financial liabilities
Trade and other payables
Total financial liabilities

Designated
FVTPL
£’000s

Amortised cost
£’000s

Total
£’000s

657,333
657,333
-
-
-
-
-
657,333

-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

Designated
FVTPL
£’000s

562,061
562,061
–
–
–
562,061

-
-
4,027
3,692
32,255
1,883
41,857
41,857

(44,636)
(975)
(45,611)
(5,038)
-
(358)
(5,396)
(51,007)

657,333
657,333
4,027
3,692
32,255
1,883
41,857
699,190

(44,636)
(975)
(45,611)
(5,038)
-
(358)
(5,396)
(51,007)

Amortised cost
£’000s

Total
£’000s

–
–
1,140
50,358
51,498
51,498

562,061
562,061
1,140
50,358
51,498
613,559

–
–

(4,959)  
(4,959)  

(4,959)  
(4,959)  

111

HEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedHEAD_0 1st lineFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comNotes to the Consolidated Financial 

Statements

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements continued

28.  Fair value measurements
This section should be read with reference to Note 4(a) and Note 16. The Group classifies financial instruments measured at fair value 
through profit or loss according to the following fair value hierarchy:

(a)   Level 1: inputs are quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the entity can access at the 

measurement date;

(b)   Level 2: inputs are inputs, other than quoted prices included within Level 1, that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or 

indirectly; and

(c)   Level 3: inputs are unobservable inputs for the asset or liability.

All investments are held at fair value through profit or loss are classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy. There were no transfers 
between levels 1, 2, and 3 during the period.

Significant unobservable inputs for Level 3 valuations
The fair value of unlisted securities is established with reference to the International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation 
Guidelines (“IPEV Guidelines”). In line with the IPEV Guidelines, the Group may base valuations on earnings or revenues where applicable, 
market comparables, price of recent investments in the investee companies, or on net asset values. An assessment will be made at each 
measurement date as to the most appropriate valuation methodology. 

See Note 4(a) where valuation policies are discussed in more detail.

Financial instruments, measured at fair value, categorised as Level 3 within the fair value hierarchy can be split into 3 main valuation 
techniques. Valuation techniques can be categorised as based on last round price (calibrated with reference to market performance and 
technical/product milestones since the round and the companies trading performance relative to the expectations of the round), revenue-
multiple or at NAV of the underlying fund (adjusted where relevant). As at 31 March 2020, financial instruments measured using last round 
price valuation methodology were £231.7 million (including those at a discount) (as at 31 March 2019: £295.0 million). As at 31 March 2020, 
financial instruments measured using revenue-multiple valuation methodology were £401.3 million (as at 31 March 2019: £217.8 million). As 
at 31 March 2020, financial instruments measured at NAV of the underlying fund (adjusted where relevant) were £68.1 million (31 March 
2019: £79.2 million).

Each portfolio company will be subject to individual assessment. Where the Group invests in fund of fund investments, the value of the 
portfolio will be reported by the fund to the Group. The Group will ensure that the valuations comply with the Group policy.

The valuation multiple is the main assumption applied to valuation based on a revenue-multiple methodology. The multiple is derived 
from comparable listed companies or relevant market transaction multiples. Companies in the same industry and geography, and, where 
possible, with a similar business model and profile are selected and then adjusted for factors including liquidity risk, growth potential and 
relative performance. They are also adjusted to represent our longer-term view of performance through the cycle or our existing assumption. 
The portfolio we have is diversified across sectors and geographies and the companies within our core portfolio holdings which have 
valuations based on revenue-multiples have an average multiple of 3.2x.

If the multiple used to value each unquoted investment valued on a revenue-multiples basis as at 31 March 2020 were to decrease by 10%, 
the investment portfolio would decrease by £40.1 million (31 March 2019: £21.8 million). If the multiple increases by 10% then the investment 
portfolio would increase by £40.1 million (31 March 2019: £21.8 million).

If the multiple used to value each unquoted investment valued on a revenue-multiples basis as at 31 March 2020 were to decrease by 
20% the investment portfolio would decrease by £80.3 million (31 March 2019: £43.6 million). If the multiple increases by 20% then the 
investment portfolio would increase by £80.3 million (31 March 2019: £43.6 million).

112

HEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comNotes to the Consolidated Financial 

Statements

29.  Financial instruments risk
Financial risk management
Financial risks are usually grouped by risk type: market, liquidity and credit risk. These risks are discussed in turn below.

Market risk – Foreign currency
A significant portion of the Group’s investments and cash deposits are denominated in a currency other than Pound Sterling. The principal 
currency exposure risk is due to changes in the exchange rate between GBP and USD/EUR. Presented below is an analysis of the theoretical 
impact of 10% volatility in the exchange rate on shareholder equity.

Theoretical impact of a change in the exchange rate of +/-10% between GBP and USD/EUR would be as follows:

Foreign currency exposures – Investments

Investments
10% decrease in GBP*
10% increase in GBP**

31 March 2020
£’000s

31 March 2019
£’000s

557,567
619,519
506,879

412,146
456,632
375,948

* 

£376.5 million (2019: £305.0 million) denominated in USD and £242.9 million (2019: £151.0 million) denominated in EUR.

**  £308.1 million (2019: £250.0 million) denominated in USD and £198.8 million (2019: £126.0 million) denominated in EUR.

Certain cash deposits held by the Group are denominated in Euros and US Dollars. The theoretical impact of a change in the exchange rate 
of +/-10% between GBP and USD/EUR would be as follows:

Foreign currency exposures – Cash

Cash denominated in EUR
10% decrease in EUR:GBP
10% increase in EUR:GBP
Cash denominated in USD
10% decrease in USD:GBP
10% increase in USD:GBP

31 March 2020
£’000s

31 March 2019
£’000s

6,976
6,278
7,673
3,627
3,264
3,990

10,522
9,470
11,574
9,746
8,771
10,721

The combined theoretical impact on shareholders’ equity of the changes to revenues, investments and cash and cash equivalents  
of a change in the exchange rate of +/-10% between GBP and USD/EUR would be as follows:

Foreign currency exposures – equity

Shareholders’ Equity
10% decrease in EUR:GBP/USD:GBP
10% increase in EUR:GBP/USD:GBP

31 March 2020
£’000s

31 March 2019
£’000s

659,618
593,656
725,580

618,332
556,499
680,166

Market risk – Price risk
Market price risk arises from the uncertainty about the future prices of financial instruments held in accordance with the Group’s investment 
objectives. It represents the potential loss that the Group might suffer through holding market positions in the face of market movements, 
which have been heightened due to COVID-19.

The Group is exposed to equity price risk in respect of equity rights and investments held by the Group and classified on the balance sheet as 
financial assets at fair value through profit or loss(Note 27). These equity rights are held in unquoted high growth technology companies and 
are valued by reference to revenue or earnings multiples of quoted comparable companies, last round price, or NAV of underlying fund - as 
discussed more fully in Note 4(a). These valuations are subject to market movements. 

113

HEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements continued

The Group seeks to manage this risk by routinely monitoring the performance of these investments, employing stringent investment 
appraisal processes.

Theoretical impact of a fluctuation of +/-10% would have the following impact:

£’000s

As at 31 March 2020
As at 31 March 2019

Revenue-
multiple 

NAV of 
underlying fund 

Last round price

40,131
21,781

6,810
7,921

23,169
29,496

We further flexed by 20% given the volatility resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Theoretical impact of a fluctuation of +/- 20% would 
have the following impact:

£’000s

As at 31 March 2020
As at 31 March 2019

Revenue-
multiple 

NAV of 
underlying fund 

Last round price

80,263
43,562

13,621
15,842

46,338
58,993

Liquidity risk
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash and short-term bank deposits with an original maturity of 3 months or less held in readily accessible 
bank accounts. The carrying amount of these assets is approximately equal to their fair value. Responsibility for liquidity risk management 
rests with the Board of Draper Esprit plc, which has established a framework for the management of the Group’s funding and liquidity 
management requirements. The Group manages liquidity risk by maintaining adequate reserves and by continuously monitoring forecast and 
actual cash flows. The utilisation of the loan facility and requirement for utilisation requests is monitored as part of this process. 

Lease liabilities fall due over the term of the lease – see Note 20 for further details. The debt facility has a term of 3 years – for further details, 
see Note 20. All other Group payable balances at balance sheet date and prior periods fall due for payment within 1 year. 

As part of our seed fund of funds strategy, we make commitments to funds to be drawn down over the life of the fund. Projected drawdowns 
are monitored as part of the monitoring process above. For further details see Note 32.

Credit risk
Credit risk refers to the risk that a counterparty will default on its contractual obligations resulting in financial loss. The Group is exposed 
to this risk for various financial instruments; for example, by granting receivables to customers and placing deposits. The Group’s trade 
receivables are amounts due from the investment funds under management, or underlying portfolio companies. The Group’s maximum 
exposure to credit risk is limited to the carrying amount of trade receivables and cash at bank and in hand at 31 March, as summarised below;

Classes of financial assets impacted by credit risk, carrying amounts

Trade receivables
Loan to related investment vehicle 
Cash at bank and in hand
Restricted cash

31 March 2020
£’000s

31 March 2019
£’000s

2,669
3,692
32,255
1,883
40,499

424
-
50,358

50,782

114

HEAD_0 1st lineHEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comcontinued

The Directors consider that all the above financial assets, which are not impaired for each of the reporting dates under review, are of good 
credit quality. In respect of trade and other receivables, the Group is not exposed to significant risk as the principal customers are the 
investment funds managed by the Group, and in these the Group has control of the banking as part of its management responsibilities.

Investments in unlisted securities are held within limited partnerships for which the Group acts as manager, and consequently the Group  
has responsibility itself for collecting and distributing cash associated with these investments. The credit risk of amounts held on deposit  
is limited by the use of reputable banks with high quality external credit ratings and as such is considered negligible. The majority of cash is 
held with institution with an A rating at year ended 31 March 2020.

Capital management
The Group’s objectives when managing capital are to:

(a)   safeguard their ability to continue as a going concern, so that they can continue to provide returns for shareholders and benefits for 

other stakeholders, and

(b)  maintain an optimal capital structure.

The Group is funded through equity and debt at the balance sheet date. Please refer to Note 21 for further information on the revolving 
credit facility. 

In order to maintain or adjust the capital structure, the Group may adjust the amount of dividends paid to shareholders, return capital to 
shareholders, issue new shares or sell assets to manage cash.

Interest rate risk 
The Group’s interest rate risk arises from borrowings on the £50.0 million loan facility with Silicon Valley Bank and Investec, which was 
entered into in June 2019. Prior to the year ending 31 March 2020, the Group did not have any borrowings. The Group’s borrowings are 
denominated in GBP and are carried at amortised cost. Six drawdowns totalling £50.0 million were made on the facility during the year  
at an interest rate of 7.5% (£5.0 million of which has been repaid). Future drawdowns may be subject to a different interest rate. The facility 
agreement has an interest rate calculated with reference to the Bank of England base rate (currently 0.10%) with a Margin of 6.75%. The 
agreement has an interest rate floor of 7.5%. As such, if the base rate increases, the interest charged on future drawdowns will increase.

If the Bank of England base rate had been 1.0% higher during the year to 31 March 2020 the difference to the consolidated statement of 
comprehensive income would have been an increase in finance costs of £0.1 million. If the Bank of England base rate had been 1.0% higher 
during the year to 31 March 2020 the difference to the consolidated statement of cash flows would have been an increase in expenditure of 
£0.1 million.

30.  Alternative Performance Measures (“APM”)
The Group has included the APMs listed below in this Annual Report as they highlight key value drivers for the Group and, as such, have 
been deemed by the Group’s management to provide useful additional information to readers of the Annual Report. These measures are not 
defined by IFRS and should be considered in addition to IFRS measures.

Gross Portfolio Value 
The Gross Portfolio Value is the gross fair value of the Group’s investment holdings before deductions for the fair value of carry liabilities and 
any deferred tax. The Gross Portfolio Value is subject to deductions for the fair value of carry liabilities and deferred tax to generate the net 
investment value, which is reflected on the consolidated statement of financial position as financial assets held at fair value through profit 
or loss. Please see page 43 for a reconciliation to the net investment balance.

115

HEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedHEAD_0 1st lineFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements continued

31.  Related party transactions
The Group may require that one of its members be appointed to the board of a portfolio company in a non-executive role. In certain cases, 
an administration fee is charged to the portfolio company for the provision of Director services. Fees of £44,000 (2019: £26,957) have been 
invoiced during the current year. At year-end, there was a balance of £6,000 outstanding (2019: £16,357). Draper Esprit does not exercise 
control or management through any of these non-executive positions.

During the year, £1,200,000 (2019: £840,000) was invoiced from Draper Esprit plc to Encore Ventures LLP for overheads, at year-end a 
balance of £100,000 (2019: £70,000) remained outstanding.

During the year £368,332 (2019: £53,737) was invoiced and received from Draper Esprit VCT for overheads.

During the period, the Company loaned £3.7 million to Esprit Capital Fund No 1 & No 2 LP on an arm’s length basis. The loan is repayable on 
demand and interest is charged at 10% per annum. Interest of £187,152 has been accrued on the loan to 31 March 2020.

During the year, the Group purchased the remaining interest in Encore Ventures LLP –  see note 18 for further details.

Unconsolidated structured entities
The Group has exposure to a number of unconsolidated structured entities as a result of its venture capital investment activities. 

The Group invests funds via a number of limited partnerships. These are controlled by the Group and not consolidated, but they are held as 
investments at fair value through the profit and loss on the consolidated balance sheet in line with IFRS 10 (See Note 3b for further details). 
The list of these investment companies and limited partnerships can also be seen in Note 3b. Within these limited partnerships, there 
are commitments made to fund of funds investments that are disclosed in Note 32 below. The material assets and liabilities within these 
investment companies are the investments, which are held at FVTPL in the consolidated accounts.

A Strategic Partnership Agreement was entered into in the previous financial year with Earlybird. Total exposure to the Group is £187.3 million 
of NAV (2019: £144.6 million) and further commitments of £28.5 million (2019: £44.8 million). Following the year-end a further drawdown of 
£3.3 million was called reducing the undrawn commitment to £25.2 million. 

The Group also co-invests or historically co-invested with a number of limited partnerships (See Note 3b for further details). The exposure to 
these entities is immaterial.

32.  Capital commitments
At 31 March 2020, the Group was committed to £39.1 million in relation to investments in fund of funds vehicles (31 March 2019: £33.9 
million). As at 31 March 2020, £13.3 million of this has been drawn. In the summer of 2018, the Company entered into a Strategic Partnership 
Agreement with Earlybird to share deal flow and resources to co-invest in high growth technology companies across Europe. The first stage 
of this partnership included a 50% commitment in EB VI of £76.0 million to 2022, of which £56.4 million has been deployed to date (31 
March 2019: £31.2 million).

33.  Ultimate controlling party
The Directors of Draper Esprit plc do not consider there to be a single ultimate controlling party of the Group.

34.  Post balance sheet events
 · Extended the term of the revolving credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank and Investec by 1 year to 2023 and increased its size by £10.0 

million to £60.0 million. 

 · Zynga Inc. announced their agreement to acquire Peak Games for $1.8bn, which will, subject to closing, indicate a fair value holding 
for Draper Esprit of approximately £80.0 million via Earlybird IV (actual returns are subject to completion conditions, including FX 
movements, and acquirer share price movement with respect to the stock component). 

 · Simon Cook will be stepping down from the Board from 1 July 2020. Simon will remain with the Company as founding partner and focus 

on generating new deals and will continue as a board member for a number of portfolio companies.

116

HEAD_0 1st linerunheadFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.com 
Company Statement of Financial 

Position

as at 31 March 2020

Company Statement of Financial Position
as at 31 March 2020

Assets

Non-current assets
Financial assets held at fair value through the profit and loss
Investments in subsidiary undertaking
Investments in associates
Property, plant and equipment
Total non-current assets
Current assets
Trade and other receivables
Cash and cash equivalents
Restricted cash
Total current assets
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Loans and borrowings
Lease liabilities
Total current liabilities
Non-current liabilities
Loans and borrowings
Lease liabilities
Total non-current liabilities
Total liabilities
Net assets

Equity
Share capital
Share premium account
Merger relief reserve
Share-based payments reserve arising from company options scheme
Share-based payments reserve arising from acquisition of subsidiary
Retained earnings
Total equity

Note

6
7
7
8, 10

9

11

12
11
10

11
10

13
13
13
14

Year ended  
31 Mar 2020
£’000s

Year ended  
31 Mar 2019
£’000s

631,403
13,177
258
1,760
646,598

5,445
31,165
1,883
38,493

(3,898)
-
(358)
(4,256)

(44,636)
(975)
(45,611)
(49,867)
635,224

1,189
400,726
13,097
2,339
10,823
207,050
635,224

532,897
13,177
258
209
546,541

993
48,568
–
49,561

(7,851)  
–
–
(7,851)  

–
–
–
(7,851)  
588,251

1,179
395,783
13,097
1,713
10,823
165,656
588,251

The Directors have taken advantage of the exemption available under Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 and have not presented a 
statement of comprehensive income for the Company. The Company’s profit for the year ended 31 March 2020 was £41.4 million (31 March 
2019: £97.2 million).

These financial statements on pages 117 to 125 were approved by the Board of Directors on 26 June 2020 and signed on its behalf by

B.D. Wilkinson 
Chief Financial Officer

Company registration number: 09799594

117

Financial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comCompany Statement of Changes in 

Equity

for the year ended 31 March 2020

Company Statement of Changes in Equity
for the year ended 31 March 2020

Share capital
£’000s

Share 
premium
£’000s

Merger relief 
reserve 
£’000s

Share-based 
payments 
reserve 
resulting 
from 
company 
share option 
scheme 
£’000s

Share-based 
payments 
resulting 
from 
acquisition 
of subsidiary 
£’000s

Retained 
earnings 
£’000s

Total equity
£’000s

716

188,229

13,097

613

8,834

68,442

279,931

–

–

463
–

–
–
1,179

–

10
–
–

–
207,554

–
–
395,783

–

–
4,943
–

–

–
–

–
–
13,097

–

–
–
–

–

–
–

–
1,100
1,713

–

–
–
990

–

–
–

97,214

97,214

–
–

463
207,554

1,989
–
10,823

–
–
165,656

1,989
1,100
588,251

–

–
–
–

41,394

41,394

–
–
–

10
4,943
990

-
1,189

-
400,726

-
13,097

(364)
2,339

-
10,823

-
207,050

(364)
635,224

Balance as at 31 March 2018 and at 1 April 2018
Comprehensive income for the year
Profit for the year
Total comprehensive income for the year
Contributions by and distributions to the owners:
Issue of share capital (Note 13)
Share premium (Note 13)
Share-based payment arising from acquisition of 
subsidiary
Share-based payment (Note 14)
Balance as at 31 March 2019 and at 1 April 2019
Comprehensive income for the year
Profit for the year
Total comprehensive income for the year
Contributions by and distributions to the owners:
Issue of share capital (Note 13)
Share premium (Note 13)
Share-based payment (Note 14)
Share-based payment – exercised  
during the year (Note 14)
Balance at 31 March 2020

118

Financial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comNotes to the Company Financial 

Statements

Notes to the Company Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 March 2020

1.  Basis of preparation
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 101, Reduced Disclosure Framework, 
and the Companies Act 2006 as applicable to companies using FRS 101. FRS 101 sets out a reduced disclosure framework for a “qualifying 
entity” as defined in the standard which addresses the financial reporting requirements and disclosure exemptions in the individual financial 
statements of qualifying entities that otherwise apply the recognition, measurement and disclosure requirements of EU-adopted IFRS.

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis and under the historical cost convention modified by revaluation of 
financial assets and financial liabilities held at fair value through profit and loss. A summary of the more important Company accounting 
policies, which have been consistently applied except where noted, is set out below.

The following exemptions from the requirements of IFRS have been applied in the preparation of these financial statements, in accordance 
with FRS 101:

 · paragraphs 45(b) and 46 to 52 of IFRS 2 Share-based Payment (details of the number and weighted average exercise prices of share 

options, and how the fair value of goods or services received was determined);

 ·

 ·

 ·

IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows;

the requirements in IAS 24 Related Party Disclosures to disclose related party transactions entered into and between two or more 
members of a group;

IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements and the following paragraphs of IAS 1: (d) (statement of cash flows), 16 (statement of 
compliance with all IFRS), 111 (cash flow statement information), and 134-136 (capital management disclosures).

In the current year, the new Standard below has been adopted, which has affected the amounts reported in these financial statements:

i. 

 IFRS 16 Leases – From 1 April 2019, the Company has adopted IFRS 16 Leases, which became effective for annual periods beginning on 
or after 1 January 2019. The Company has applied IFRS 16 using the modified retrospective approach and therefore the comparative 
information has not been restated and continues to be reported under IAS 17 and IFRIC 4. The details of accounting policies under IAS 
17 and IFRIC 4 are disclosed in the Draper Esprit plc annual report for the year ended 31 March 2019. See further details in significant 
accounting policies of the consolidation financial statements above – Note 3.

Investments in subsidiary undertakings

2. 
Unlisted investments are held at cost less any provision for impairment.

3.  Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and demand deposits, together with other short-term, highly liquid investments 
maturing within 90 days from the date of acquisition that are readily convertible into known amounts of cash and which are subject to an 
insignificant risk of changes in value. No cash equivalents are held in the current or prior years.

As collateral for interest payments on the credit facility, an amount equal to the aggregate amount of interest costs due for the coming six 
months, all being equal, must be held in an Interest Reserve Account at all times. The balance of this at 31 March 2020 was £1.9 million and 
is reflected on the statement of financial position as restricted cash. See note 21 of the consolidated financial statements for further details.

4.  Property, plant and equipment
Fixtures and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and any recognised impairment loss. Depreciation is recognised to 
write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives, using the straight-line method, on the following basis:

Leasehold improvements 
Fixtures and equipment 
Computer equipment 

– over the term of the lease
– 33% p.a. straight line
– 33% p.a. straight line

The estimated useful lives, residual values and depreciation method are reviewed at the end of each reporting year, with the effect of any 
changes in estimate accounted for on a prospective basis.

119

runheadFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comNotes to the Company Financial Statements continued
for the year ended 31 March 2020

5.  Results for the Parent Company
The auditors’ remuneration for audit services and other services is disclosed in Note 8 to the consolidated financial statements.

6. 

Investments held at fair value through the profit and loss

Name of subsidiary undertaking

Draper Esprit (Ireland) Limited
Esprit Investments (1) (B) LP
Esprit Investments (2) (B) LP
Totals

Registered office

Activity

Holding

Country

32 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.
20 Garrick Street, London, WC2E 9BT
20 Garrick Street, London, WC2E 9BT

Investment company
Limited Partnership
Limited Partnership

100%
100%
100%

Ireland
England
England

As at 1 April
Investments made in the year1/2
Investments settled in shares2
Loans repaid from underlying investment vehicles1
Unrealised gains on the revaluation of investments
As at 31 March

31 March 2020
Fair value
£’000

31 March 2019
Fair value
£’000

553,254
16,537
61,612
631,403

451,556
37,699
43,642
532,897

31 March 2020 
£’000s

31 March 2019
£’000s

532,897
89,935
-
(35,418)
43,989
631,403

213,625
226,432
309
(11,305)  
103,836
532,897

1 

Investments and loans made in the year are amounts the Company has invested in underlying investment vehicles. This is not the equivalent to the total amount  
invested in portfolio companies, as existing cash balances from the investment vehicles are reinvested

2 

Investments made in the year ending 31 March 2019 include non-cash consideration of £0.3 million. See separate line above for “Investments settled in shares”.

See Notes 3 and 4 in the consolidated financial statements for the accounting policies in respect of investments held at fair value through 
the profit and loss.

Investments in subsidiary undertakings and associates 

7. 
On 15 June 2016, the Company acquired the entire capital interests of Esprit Capital Partners LLP for £13.2 million, which was satisfied in 
shares as explained in Note 18 of the consolidated financial statements and is held at cost on the Company’s balance sheet.

On 26 of November 2016, the Company acquired 30.77% of the capital interests in Draper Esprit VCT for £0.26 million as explained in Note 15 
of the consolidated financial statements, which is held at cost on the Company’s balance sheet.

120

HEAD_0 1st linerunheadFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.com 
 
8.  Property, plant and equipment

31 March 2020

Cost
Cost carried forward as at 1 April 2019^
Additions during the year
Cost as at 31 March 2020
Accumulated depreciation
Depreciation carried forward as at 1 April 2019
Charge for the year
Accumulated depreciation as at 31 March 2020
Net book value
As at 31 March 2020
As at 31 March 2019

31 March 2019

Cost
Cost carried forward as at 1 April 2018
Additions during the year
Cost as at 31 March 2019
Accumulated depreciation
Depreciation carried forward as at 1 April 2018
Charge for the year
Accumulated depreciation as at 31 March 2019
Net book value
As at 31 March 2019
As at 31 March 2018

Right of use 
assets
£’000s

Leasehold 
improvements
£’000s

Computer 
equipment
£’000s

835
779
1,614

-
(306)
(306)

1,308
-

327
353
680

(147)
(114)
(261)

419
180

49
23
72

(20)  
(19)
(39)

33
29

Right of use 
assets
£’000s

Leasehold 
improvements
£’000s

Computer 
equipment
£’000s

-
-
-

-
-
-

-
-

285
42
327

(80)  
(67)  
(147)  

180
205

31
18
49

(9)  
(11)  
(20)  

29
22

Total
£’000s

1,211
1,155
2,366

(167)  
(439)
(606)

1,760
209

Total
£’000s

316
60
376

(89)  
(78)  
(167)  

209
227

^ 

1 April 2019 figure includes adjustment for IFRS 16 conversion under right of use assets - please see note 10 below for further details.

No ‘fixtures and equipment’ are held by the Company.

9.  Trade and other receivables due within one year

Trade receivables
Other debtors
Loans made to Group companies
Intercompany debtors
Total

31 Mar 2020
£’000s

31 Mar 2019
£’000s

292
1,345
3,692
116
5,445

175
702
-
116
993

All amounts are short-term. The net carrying value of all financial assets is considered a reasonable approximation of fair value.

10.  Leases
The Group applied IFRS 16 leases in the current year ending 31 March 2020. Refer to Note 20 of the consolidated financial statements. 

11.  Loans and Borrowings
In June 2019 the Company entered into a revolving credit facility agreement with Silicon Valley Bank and Investec (together the “Financiers”) 
of £50.0 million over a 3-year term to fund the future growth plans of investee companies. Refer to Note 21 of the consolidated financial 
statements. 

121

runheadHEAD_0 1st lineFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comNotes to the Company Financial Statements continued
for the year ended 31 March 2020

12.  Trade and other payables due within one year

Trade payables
Other taxation and social security
Intragroup creditors
Other payables 
Accruals and deferred income
Total

31 Mar 2020
£’000s

31 Mar 2019
£’000s

(594)
(280)
(1)
(8)
(3,015)
(3,898)

(148)
(290)
(5,294)
(331)
(1,788)
(7,851)  

All trade and other payables amounts are short-term. The net carrying value of all financial liabilities is considered a reasonable 
approximation of fair value.

13.  Share capital and other reserves

31 March 2020 – Allotted and fully paid

At the beginning of the year
Issue of share capital during the year1
Issue of share capital during the year2
At the end of the year

Number

Pence

117,925,470
195,842
796,812
118,918,124

1
1
1
1

1 

Between the 24 December 2019 and the 21 February 2020, 195,842 new 1p ordinary shares were issued in association with share options being exercised. 

2  On 10 March 2020, as part of the acquisition agreement relating to the remaining interest in Encore Ventures LLP (see Note 18 of the consolidated  

financial statements) it was agreed that the Company would issue 796,812 new ordinary shares at 502p. 

31 March 2019 – Allotted and fully paid

Number

Pence

At the beginning of the year
Issue of share capital during the year for cash1/2
Issue of share capital during the year as consideration for investment purchase3
At the end of the year

71,611,773
46,248,877
64,820
117,925,470

1
1
1
1

1 

2 

 On 14 June 2018, the Company raised gross proceeds of approximately £115.0 million at an issue price of 420 pence per share by way of the conditional placing of 
20,238,095 new ordinary shares and a subscription of 7,142,857 new ordinary shares.

 On 8 February 2019, the Company raised gross proceeds of approximately £100.0 million at an issue price of 530 pence per share by way of the conditional placing of 
18,867,925 new ordinary shares.

3 

 On 4 July 2018, the Company raised gross proceeds of £0.3 million at an issue price of 478 pence per share by way of the placing of 64,820 new ordinary.

Movements in share capital and other reserves are explained in Note 24 of the consolidated financial statements.

14.  Share-based payments
The Company operates a share option scheme that is explained in Note 13 of the consolidated financial statements. The Company operates 
the share option scheme within the Group, therefore the details provided in Note 13 are also applicable to the Company.

15.  Directors’ emoluments and employee information
Employee benefit expenses (including Directors) comprise:

Wages and salaries
Defined contribution pension costs
Benefits (healthcare and life assurance)
Recruitment costs

122

Year ended 
31 Mar 2020
£’000s

Year ended 
31 Mar 2019
£’000s

4,595
278
127
473

3,447
354
74
67

HEAD_0 1st linerunheadFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.com 
 
Financial Statements 

Annual Report 2020

Social security contributions and similar taxes
General employee and employee related expenses
Share-based payment expense arising from company share option scheme
Total employee benefit expenses

601
6,074
990
7,064

459
4,401
1,100
5,501

The monthly average number of persons (including Executive and Non-executive Directors) employed by the Group during the year was:

Technology investment
Corporate functions

Year ended 
31 Mar 2020
Number

Year ended 
31 Mar 2019
Number

14
19
33

14
13
27

Corporate functions comprise non-executive directors, finance, marketing, human resources, legal, IT, and administration.

Key management personnel compensation
Key management personnel are those persons having authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the 
Group, and are considered to be the Directors of the Company listed on pages 58 to 60. This includes Martin Davis who joined as CEO during 
the year, as announced on 4 November 2019.

Wages and salaries
Short-term non-monetary benefits
Defined contribution pension costs
Share-based payment expense 
Social security contributions and similar taxes

Year ended 
31 Mar 2020
£’000s

Year ended 
31 Mar 2019
£’000s

2,019
9
163
466
287
2,944

1,317
10
108
631
133
2,199

The details of individual Directors’ remuneration and pension benefits, as set out in the tables contained in the Remuneration and 
Nomination Committee Report on pages 67 to 71, form part of these financial statements.

16.  Subsidiary undertakings

Name of subsidiary undertaking

Activity

Holding

Registered office

Draper Esprit (Ireland) Limited
Esprit Capital Partners LLP
Encore Ventures LLP
Esprit Investments (1) (B) LP
Seedcamp Holdings LLP
Seedcamp Investments LLP
Seedcamp Investments II LLP 
Esprit Investments (2) (B) LP
Draper Esprit (Nominee) Limited1

Investment company
Investment management
Investment management
Limited partnership
Limited liability partnership
Limited liability partnership
Limited liability partnership
Limited partnership
Dormant

100%
100%
100%2
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

32 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
(Note 6)
20 Garrick Street, London WC2E 9BT, United Kingdom (Note 7)
20 Garrick Street, London WC2E 9BT, United Kingdom —
20 Garrick Street, London WC2E 9BT, United Kingdom (Note 6)
20 Garrick Street, London WC2E 9BT, United Kingdom (Note 6)
(Note 6)
727-729 High Road, London, England, N12 0BP
727-729 High Road, London, England, N12 0BP
(Note 6)
20 Garrick Street, London WC2E 9BT, United Kingdom (Note 6)
20 Garrick Street, London WC2E 9BT, United Kingdom —

1  Draper Esprit Nominee Limited is held at cost £nil (2019: £nil) on the Company’s balance sheet. 
2 

The remaining interest in Encore Ventures LLP was purchased by the Group on 10 March 2020. For further details, see Note 18 of the consolidated financial statements.

123

runheadHEAD_0 1st lineFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comFinancial Statements 

Annual Report 2020

Notes to the Company Financial Statements continued
for the year ended 31 March 2020

Refer to Group Note 3 for a full list of the Company’s related undertaking.

17.  Critical accounting estimates and judgements
The Directors have made judgements and estimates with respect to those items that have made the most significant effect on the carrying 
amounts of the assets and liabilities in the financial statements. The Directors have concluded that the judgements and estimates in the 
Company financial statements are consistent with those applied in the consolidated financial statements, further details of which can be 
found in Note 4.

18.  Financial assets and liabilities
The description of each category of financial asset and financial liability and the related accounting policies are shown below. The carrying 
amounts of financial assets and financial liabilities in each category are as follows:

31 March 2020

Financial assets
Investments
Long-term financial assets
Trade and other receivables
Loans to Group companies
Cash and cash equivalents
Restricted cash
Short-term financial assets
Total financial assets
Financial liabilities
Loans and borrowings
Lease liabilities
Long-term financial liabilities
Trade and other payables
Loans and borrowings
Lease liabilities
Short-term financial liabilities
Total financial liabilities

31 March 2019

Financial assets
Investments
Long-term financial assets
Trade and other receivables
Cash and cash equivalents
Short-term financial assets
Total financial assets
Financial liabilities
Total financial liabilities

124

Designated
FVTPL
£’000s

Amortised
cost
£’000s

631,403
631,403
-
-
-
-
-
631,403

-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

-
-
1,753
3,692
31,165
1,883
38,493
38,493

(44,636)
(975)
(45,611)
(3,898)
-
(358)
(4,256)
(49,867)

Designated
FVTPL
£’000s

Amortised
cost
£’000s

532,897
532,897
–
–
–
532,897
–
–

–
–
993
48,568
49,561
49,561
(7,851)  
(7,851)  

Total
£’000s

631,403
631,403
1,753 
3,692
31,165
1,883
38,493
669,896

(44,636)
(975)
(45,611)
(3,898)
-
(358)
(4,256)
(49,867)

Total
£’000s

532,897
532,897
993
48,568
49,561
582,458

(7,851)  
(7,851)  

HEAD_0 1st lineFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.com 
19.  Fair value measurements
The Company holds investments at fair value through the profit and loss. Refer to Note 28 for the Group’s policies with respect to fair value 
measurements and Note 6 of the Company financial statements.

20.  Financial instruments risk
In the normal course of business, the Company uses certain financial instruments including cash, trade and other receivables and 
investments. The Company is exposed to a number of risks through the performance of its normal operations. Refer to Note 29 of the 
consolidated financial statements.

21.  Related party transactions
The Company may require that one of its members be appointed to the board of a portfolio company in a non-executive role. In certain 
cases, an administration fee is charged to the portfolio company for the provision of Director services. Fees of £17,000 (2019: £17,000) have 
been invoiced during the current year. At year-end, there was no balance outstanding (2019:nil). Draper Esprit does not exercise control or 
management through any of these non-executive positions. 

During the year, £1,200,000 (2019: £840,000) was invoiced from Draper Esprit plc to Encore Ventures LLP for overheads. At year-end a 
balance of £100,000 remained outstanding (2019: £70,000).

During the year, £368,332 (2019: £53,737) was invoiced and received from Draper Esprit VCT for overheads. 

During the period, the Company loaned £3.7 million to Esprit Capital Fund No 1 & No 2 LP on an arm’s length basis. The loan is repayable on 
demand and interest is charged at 10% per annum. Interest of £187,152 has been accrued on the loan to 31 March 2020.

During the year, the Group purchased the remaining interest in Encore Ventures LLP –  see note 18 for further details.

22.  Post balance sheet events
 · Extended the term of the revolving credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank and Investec by 1 year to 2023 and increased its size by £10.0 

million to £60.0 million. 

 · Zynga Inc. announced their agreement to acquire Peak Games for $1.8bn, which will, subject to closing, indicate a fair value holding 
for Draper Esprit of approximately £80.0 million via Earlybird IV (actual returns are subject to completion conditions, including FX 
movements, and acquirer share price movement with respect to the stock component). 

 · Simon Cook will be stepping down from the Board from 1 July 2020. Simon will remain with the Company as founding partner and focus 

on generating new deals and will continue as a board member for a number of portfolio companies.  

125

HEAD_0 1st lineFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comDirectors, Secretary and Advisers

Directors, Secretary and Advisers

Directors
Karen Slatford (Non-executive Chair)
Martin Davis (Chief Executive Officer) 
– appointed on 4 November 2019
Simon Cook (Founding Partner) – with effect until 1 July 2020
Stuart Chapman (Chief Portfolio Officer)
Grahame Cook (Non-executive Director)
Richard Pelly (Non-executive Director)
Ben Wilkinson (Chief Financial Officer) 
– appointed with effect from 4 June 2019

Registered office
20 Garrick Street, London, England, WC2E 9BT

Website
www.draperesprit.com

Broker and Nominated Adviser
Numis Securities Limited
10 Paternoster Row
London EC2M 7LT
United Kingdom

Broker and Euronext Growth Adviser
Goodbody Stockbrokers
Ballsbridge Park
Ballsbridge
Dublin 4
Ireland

Legal Advisers to the Company  
(as to English law)
Gowling WLG (UK) LLP
4 More London Riverside
London SE1 2AU
United Kingdom

Legal Advisers to the Company  
(as to Irish law)
Maples and Calder
75 St. Stephen’s Green
Dublin 2
Ireland

Independent auditor
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
7 More London Riverside
London
SE1 2RT
United Kingdom

126

Public relations adviser
Powerscourt Limited
1 Tudor Street
London,
EC48 0AH
United Kingdom

Principal Bankers
Barclays Bank Plc,
9-11 St Andrews St,
Cambridge, CB2 3AA
United Kingdom

Registrar
Equiniti Limited
Aspect House
Spencer Road
Lancing
West Sussex BN99 6DA
United Kingdom

Company Secretary
Prism Cosec Limited
Elder House 
St Georges Business Park 
207 Brooklands Road 
Weybridge 
Surrey 
KT13 0TS

Data Provider
Dealroom.co B.V. (“Dealroom”) 
Cornelis Dirkszstraat 27-2 
1056 TP Amsterdam 
the Netherlands

Financial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.comNotice of Annual General Meeting

Notice of Annual General Meeting 

Draper Esprit plc
(Incorporated and registered in England and Wales under number 9799594)

Notice is hereby given that the annual general meeting (“AGM”) of Draper Esprit plc (the “Company”) will be held at 20 Garrick Street, 
London WC2E 9BT on Monday 27 July 2020 at 11.00 a.m. 

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the stay at home measures put in place by the UK Government, the Board has decided to 
run the 2020 AGM as a closed meeting. As a result, members will not be permitted to attend the meeting in person and access will be 
refused. Quorum will be achieved through the attendance of two Company director shareholders and/or employee shareholders. Under the 
circumstances, members are encouraged to submit their proxy form to ensure that their votes are registered. The Board strongly advises 
members to appoint the chairman of the meeting as proxy for all votes. 

The AGM will be held for the purpose of considering and, if thought fit, passing the following resolutions (which will be proposed in the case 
of resolutions 1 to 10 as ordinary resolutions and resolutions 11 to 13 as special resolutions):

Ordinary business

1 

2 

ORDINARY RESOLUTIONS
 To receive and adopt the Annual Report and Accounts of the Company for the financial year ended 31 March 2020 together with the 
Directors’ Report and Auditors’ Report thereon.

 To approve the Remuneration and Nomination Committee Report for the financial year ended 31 March 2020, which, inter alia, sets out 
the remuneration policy and remuneration paid to Directors during the year.

3 

 That Martin Davis be elected as a Director of the Company with effect from the end of the AGM.

4 

 That Stuart Chapman be re-elected as a Director of the Company with effect from the end of the AGM.

5 

 That Karen Slatford be re-elected as a Director of the Company with effect from the end of the AGM.

6 

 That Grahame Cook be re-elected as a Director of the Company with effect from the end of the AGM.

7 

 That Richard Pelly be re-elected as a Director of the Company with effect from the end of the AGM.

8 

 That Ben Wilkinson be re-elected as a Director of the Company with effect from the end of the AGM.

9 

 To re-appoint PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditors of the Company to hold office from the conclusion of the AGM until the 
conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company at which the Company’s accounts are laid and to authorise the Audit 
Committee to determine the amount of the auditors’ remuneration.

Special business

ORDINARY RESOLUTION

10 

 That the Directors be and are hereby generally and unconditionally authorised pursuant to section 551 of the Companies Act 2006 (the 
“Act”) to exercise all powers of the Company to allot shares in the Company and to grant rights to subscribe for or convert any security 
into shares in the Company up to an aggregate maximum nominal amount of £392,429.81, provided that this authority shall expire 
(unless renewed, varied or revoked by the Company in general meeting) on the earlier of the conclusion of the next annual general 
meeting of the Company and 30 September 2021 save that the Company shall be entitled to make, prior to the expiry of such authority, 
any offer or agreement which would or might require shares to be allotted or rights to subscribe for or convert any security into shares 
to be granted after the expiry of such authority and the Directors may allot shares or grant rights to subscribe for or convert securities 
into shares in pursuance of such offer or agreement as if the authority conferred hereby had not expired. The authority granted by this 
resolution shall replace all existing authorities to allot any shares in the Company and to grant rights to subscribe for or convert any 
security into shares in the Company previously granted to the Directors pursuant to section 551 of the Act.

127

Financial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.com 
Notice of Annual General Meeting continued

11 

12 

SPECIAL RESOLUTIONS

 That, subject to the passing of resolution 10, the Directors be and are hereby empowered pursuant to sections 570 and 573 of the Act to 
allot equity securities (as defined in section 560 of the Act) for cash either pursuant to the authority conferred by resolution 10 above or 
by way of sale of treasury shares as if section 561(1) of the Act did not apply to such allotment, provided that this power shall be limited 
to the allotment and/or sale of equity securities up to an aggregate nominal amount of £59,459.06 and provided that this authority 
shall expire (unless renewed, varied or revoked by the Company in general meeting) on the earlier of the conclusion of the next annual 
general meeting of the Company and 30 September 2021 save that the Company shall be entitled to make, prior to the expiry of such 
authority, offers or arrangements which would or might require equity securities to be allotted and/or sold after such expiry, and the 
Directors may allot and/or sell equity securities in pursuance of any such offer or agreement as if the power conferred by this resolution 
had not expired. The authority granted by this resolution shall replace all existing authorities previously granted to the Directors to allot 
equity securities for cash or by way of a sale of treasury shares as if section 561(1) of the Act did not apply.

 That, subject to the passing of resolution 10, the Directors be and are hereby empowered, in addition to any authority granted under 
resolution 11, pursuant to sections 570 and 573 of the Act to allot equity securities (as defined in section 560 of the Act) for cash 
either pursuant to the authority conferred by resolution 10 above or by way of sale of treasury shares as if section 561(1) of the Act did 
not apply to such allotment, provided that this power shall be limited to the allotment and/or transfer of equity securities up to an 
aggregate nominal amount of £59,459.06, provided that this authority shall expire (unless renewed, varied or revoked by the Company 
in general meeting) on the earlier of the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company and 30 September 2021 save 
that the Company shall be entitled to make, prior to the expiry of such authority, offers or arrangements which would or might require 
equity securities to be allotted and/or transferred after such expiry, and the Directors may allot and/or transfer equity securities in 
pursuance of any such offer or agreement as if the power conferred by this resolution had not expired. The authority granted by this 
resolution shall replace all existing authorities previously granted to the Directors to allot equity securities for cash or by way of a sale of 
treasury shares as if section 561(1) of the Act did not apply.

13 

 That the Company be authorised generally and unconditionally, in accordance with section 701 of the Act, to make market purchases 
(within the meaning of section 693(4) of the Act) of Ordinary Shares provided that:

(a)  the maximum number of Ordinary Shares that may be purchased is 11,891,812;

(b)  the minimum price which may be paid for an Ordinary Share is one penny; and

(c)  the maximum price which may be paid for an Ordinary Share is the higher of: (i) five per cent. above the average of the mid- market  
value of the Ordinary Shares for the five business days before the purchase is made; and (ii) the higher of the last independent trade  
and the highest current independent bid for any number of Ordinary Shares on the trading venue where the purchase is carried out.

The authority conferred by this resolution will expire on the earlier of the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company 
and 30 September 2021 save that the Company may, before the expiry of the authority granted by this resolution, enter into a contract to 
purchase Ordinary Shares which will or may be executed wholly or partly after the expiry of such authority.

By order of the Board of Directors

Prism Cosec Limited
Company Secretary of Draper Esprit plc
26 June 2020
Registered Office: 20 Garrick Street, London WC2E 9BT 

Notes: 
The following notes explain your general rights as a member and your right to vote at the 2020 AGM or to appoint someone else to vote on your 
behalf. Given the restrictions in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, members are encouraged to submit their proxy form to ensure that their 
votes are registered and the Board strongly advises shareholders to appoint the chairman of the meeting as proxy for all votes. Please note that 
appointing a proxy who cannot attend the AGM will effectively void your vote.

128

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1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

 The Company, pursuant to Regulation 41 of the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001 (as amended), specifies that only those members 
registered in the register of members of the Company at 6.30 p.m. on 23 July 2020 (or if the AGM is adjourned, members entered on the 
register of members of the Company no later than 48 hours before the time fixed for the adjourned AGM) shall be entitled to vote at the AGM 
in respect of the number of Ordinary Shares registered in his or her name at that time. Changes to entries on the register of members of the 
Company after 6.30 p.m. on 23 July 2020 shall be disregarded in determining the rights of any person to vote at the AGM.

 A member is entitled to appoint one or more proxies to exercise all or any of the member’s rights to attend, speak and vote at the AGM. A 
proxy need not be a member of the Company and a member may appoint more than one proxy in relation to a meeting to attend, speak 
and vote on the same occasion provided that each proxy is appointed to exercise the rights attached to a different share or shares held by 
a member. To appoint more than one proxy, the proxy form should be photocopied and the name of the proxy to be appointed indicated on 
each form together with the number of shares that such proxy is appointed in respect of (which, in aggregate, should not exceed the number 
of shares held by you). Please also indicate if the proxy instruction is one of multiple instructions being given. All forms must be signed and 
should be returned together in the same envelope. Under the current circumstances, the Board strongly advises shareholders to appoint the 
chairman of the meeting as proxy for all votes. Please note that appointing a proxy who cannot attend the AGM will effectively void your vote.

 In the case of joint holders, where more than one of the joint holders purports to appoint a proxy, only the appointment submitted by the 
most senior holder will be accepted. Seniority is determined by the order in which the names of the joint holders appear in the Company’s 
register of members in respect of the joint holding (the first named being the most senior).

 A form of proxy is enclosed with this notice. Forms of proxy may also be obtained on request from the Company’s registered office.In order 
to be valid any proxy form or other instrument appointing a proxy must be returned duly completed by one of the following methods no later 
than 48 hours before the time of the AGM (excluding non-working days), in hard copy form by post, by courier, or by hand to the Company’s 
registrar, Equiniti Limited, Aspect House, Spencer Road, Lancing, West Sussex BN99 6DA. Submission of a proxy appointment will not preclude 
a member from attending and voting at the AGM should they wish to do so. To direct your proxy on how to vote on the resolutions, mark the 
appropriate box on your proxy form with an ‘X’. To abstain from voting on a resolution, select the relevant “Vote withheld” box. A vote withheld 
is not a vote in law, which means that the vote will not be counted in the calculation of votes for or against the resolution. If no voting 
indication is given, your proxy will vote or abstain from voting at his or her discretion. Your proxy will vote (or abstain from voting) as he or she 
thinks fit in relation to any other matter which is put before the AGM.

 Any power of attorney or other authority under which your proxy form is signed (or a duly certified copy of such power or authority) must be 
returned to the Company’s registrar with your proxy form.

Electronic proxy appointment through CREST 
 CREST members who wish to appoint a proxy or proxies by utilising the CREST electronic proxy appointment service may do so for the AGM 
to be held on 27 July 2020 and any adjournment(s) thereof by utilising the procedures described in the CREST Manual (available via www.
euroclear.com). CREST Personal Members or other CREST sponsored members, and those CREST members who have appointed a voting 
service provider(s), should refer to their CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s), who will be able to take the appropriate action on their 
behalf. 

 In order for a proxy appointment made by means of CREST to be valid, the appropriate CREST message (CREST Proxy Instruction) must be 
properly authenticated in accordance with Euroclear UK & Ireland Limited’s specifications and must contain the information required for 
such instructions, as described in the CREST Manual. The message, regardless of whether it constitutes the appointment of a proxy or as an 
amendment to the instruction given to a previously appointed proxy, must, in order to be valid, be transmitted so as to be received by the 
issuer’s agent (ID RA19) by the latest time(s) for receipt of proxy appointments specified in the Notice. For this purpose, the time of receipt 
will be taken to be the time (as determined by the timestamp applied to the message by the CREST Applications Host) from which the issuer’s 
agent is able to retrieve the message by enquiry to CREST in the manner prescribed by CREST. After this time, any change of instructions to 
proxies appointed through CREST should be communicated to the appointees by other means. 

 CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsor(s) or voting service provider(s) should note that Euroclear UK & Ireland Limited 
does not make available special procedures in CREST for any particular messages. Normal system timings and limitations will therefore apply 
in relation to the input of CREST Proxy Instructions. It is the responsibility of the CREST member concerned to take (or, if the CREST member is 
a CREST Personal Member or sponsored member or has appointed a voting service provider(s), to procure that his or her CREST sponsor(s) or 
voting service provider(s) take(s)) such action as shall be necessary to ensure that a message is transmitted by means of the CREST system 
by any particular time. In this connection, CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsor(s) or voting service provider(s) are 
referred, in particular, to those sections of the CREST Manual concerning practical limitations of the CREST system and timings. 

 The Company may treat as invalid a CREST Proxy Instruction in the circumstances set out in Regulation 35(5)(a) of the Uncertified Securities 
Regulations 2001.

7 

 To be passed, ordinary resolutions require a majority in favour of the votes cast and special resolutions require a majority of not less than 75 
per cent. of members who vote in person or by proxy at the meeting. Voting on all resolutions will be conducted by way of a poll as the AGM 
will be a closed meeting and shareholders will not be permitted to attend the AGM in person, with the exception of those permitted to form a 
quorum.

129

HEAD_0 2nd linecontinuedHEAD_0 1st lineFinancial Statements Annual Report 2020draperesprit.com 
 
 
 
8 

9 

 A corporation which is a member can appoint one or more corporate representatives who may exercise, on its behalf, all its powers as a 
member provided that no more than one corporate representative exercises powers over the same share. As the AGM will be held as a ‘closed 
meeting’, corporate members are strongly encouraged to complete and return a form of proxy appointing the Chairman of the meeting to 
ensure their votes are included in the poll.

 As at 24 June 2020, being the latest practicable date before the publication of this notice of AGM (the “Latest Practicable Date”), the 
Company’s issued share capital consisted of 118,918,124 Ordinary Shares, each carrying one vote. Therefore, the total voting rights in the 
Company as at the Latest Practicable Date is 118,918,124.

10 

 Copies of the Directors’ service contracts and letters of appointment are available on request.

11 

 Members who have general queries about the AGM should write to the Company Secretary at the Company’s Registered Office; 20 Garrick 
Street, London WC2E 9BT, or by email at info@draperesprit.com.

Explanation of the resolutions
Resolution 1 – annual accounts – the Directors are required to present the Accounts, Directors’ Report and Auditors’ Report to the AGM. These are 
contained in the Company’s Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020.

Resolution 2 – Remuneration and Nomination Committee Report – shareholders are asked to approve the Remuneration and Nomination 
Committee Report, which sets out the remuneration policy and remuneration paid to Directors for the financial year.

Resolutions 3 to 8 – re-appointed and appointment of Directors – in accordance with good corporate governance, each Director shall retire and 
submit themselves for re-election by shareholders at each AGM. The Board, led by the Chairman, has considered the performance of each of the 
Directors and has concluded that each of them makes positive and effective contributions to the meetings of the Board and the committees on 
which they sit, and that they demonstrate commitment to their roles. The Board is satisfied that each independent Non-executive Director offering 
themselves for re-election is independent in character and there are no relationships or circumstances likely to affect their character or judgement. 
Biographies of each of the Directors are provided on pages 58 to 60 of the Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020 and are also available 
from the Company’s website: https://draperesprit.com/investors /plc/leadership. The Board unanimously recommends the election of Martin Davis 
and the re-election of each of the other Directors.

Resolution 9 – auditor re-appointment and remuneration – at each meeting at which the Company’s accounts are presented to its shareholders, 
the Company is required to appoint an auditor to serve until the next such meeting and seek shareholder consent for the Directors to set the 
remuneration of the auditors.

Resolution 10 – general authority to allot – this resolution, to be proposed as an ordinary resolution, relates to the grant to the Directors of authority 
to allot unissued Ordinary Shares until the earlier of the conclusion of the annual general meeting to be held in 2021 and 30 September 2021 (being 
six months after the financial year end of the Company), unless the authority is renewed or revoked prior to such time. This authority is limited to a 
maximum nominal amount of £ 392,429.81 (representing approximately one-third of the issued Ordinary Share capital of the Company as at the 
Latest Practicable Date). This percentage is in line with corporate governance guidelines.

Resolutions 11 and 12 – disapplication of statutory pre-emption rights – the passing of these resolutions, which are to be proposed as special 
resolutions, would allow Directors to allot Ordinary Shares (or sell any Ordinary Shares which the Company may purchase and hold in treasury) 
without first offering them to existing holders in proportion to their existing holdings. The authority set out in resolution 11 is limited to up to an 
aggregate nominal amount of £59,459.06 (representing 5,945,906 Ordinary Shares), being five per cent. of the issued ordinary share capital of the 
Company (excluding treasury shares) as at the Latest Practicable Date. The authority set out in resolution 12 is limited to allotments or sales of up 
to an aggregate nominal amount of £59,459.06 (representing 5,945,906 Ordinary Shares), being five per cent. of the issued ordinary share capital 
of the Company (excluding treasury shares) as at the Latest Practicable Date. This authority will expire at the conclusion of the next AGM of the 
Company or, if earlier, at the close of business on 30 September 2021.

Resolution 13 – market purchases – the Directors are requesting authority by way of special resolution for the Company to make market purchases 
of Ordinary Shares up to a maximum of 11,891,812 Ordinary Shares (representing ten per cent. of the issued Ordinary Share capital of the Company 
as at the Latest Practicable Date). There is no present intention to exercise such general authority. Any repurchase of Ordinary Shares will be made 
subject to the Act and within guidelines established from time to time by the Directors (which will take into account the income and cash flow 
requirements of the Company) and will be at the absolute discretion of the Directors, and not at the option of shareholders. Subject to shareholder 
authority for the proposed repurchases, general purchases of the Ordinary Shares in issue will only be made through the market. Such purchases 
may only be made provided the price to be paid is not more than the higher of: (i) five per cent. above the average of the middle market 
quotations for the Ordinary Shares for the five Business Days before the purchase is made; or (ii) the higher of the price of the last independent 
trade and the highest current independent bid at the time of purchase.

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Glossary

Glossary
Glossary

In this document, where the context permits, the terms and expressions set out below shall have the meanings assigned thereto:

“Admission” or “IPO”

the Admission of the enlarged share capital to trading on AIM and Euronext Growth (formerly ESM) on 
15 June 2016 and such admission becoming effective in accordance with the AIM Rules and the Euronext 
Growth Rules respectively. The IPO included the acquisition of Esprit Capital Partners LLP and Draper Esprit 
(Ireland) Limited.

“Act”

“AIM”

the UK Companies Act 2006.

AIM, the market of that name operated by the London Stock Exchange.

“Audit, Risk and Valuations 
Committee”

the Audit, Risk and Valuations Committee of the Board.

“BoE”

Bank of England

“Company” or “Draper 
Esprit” or “plc”

Draper Esprit plc, a company incorporated in England and Wales with registration number 09799594 and 
having its registered office at 20 Garrick Street, London, England, WC2E 9BT.

“Core Portfolio Companies”

the top companies by value that represent approximately 70% of the overall portfolio value.

“COVID”/”COVID-
19”/”Coronavirus”/”CV19”

Coronavirus disease, the infectious disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus in 2019/20. 

“DEF” / “Digital East Fund”

Digital East Fund 2013 SCA SICAR

“Directors” or “Board”

the Directors of the Company from time to time

“Draper Esprit Funds”

the Esprit Funds and the Encore Funds

“Draper Venture Network”

the self–governed network of 24 independent growth and venture funds, of which Esprit Capital is a member.

“EB IV” / “Earlybird Fund IV” Earlybird GmbH & Co. Beteiligungs-KG IV

“EB VI” / “Earlybird Fund VI” Earlybird DWES Fund VI GmbH & Co. KG

“EIS”

the EIS funds managed by Encore Ventures LLP. EIS funds being Enterprise Investment Scheme under the 
provisions of Part 5 of the Income Tax Act 2007.

“Encore Funds” / “Draper 
Esprit’s EIS funds”

DFJ Esprit Angels’ EIS Co–Investment Fund, DFJ Esprit Angels’ EIS Co–Investment II, DFJ Esprit EIS III, DFJ Esprit 
EIS IV, Draper Esprit EIS 5, and Draper Esprit EIS, each an “Encore Fund”.

“Encore Ventures”

Encore Ventures LLP, a limited liability partnership incorporated in England and Wales under the registration 
number OC347590 with its registered office at 20 Garrick Street, London, WC2E 9BT.

“Esprit Capital”

Esprit Capital Partners LLP (previously Draper Esprit LLP), a limited liability partnership incorporated in 
England and Wales under the registration number OC318087 with its registered office at 20 Garrick Street, 
London, WC2E 9BT, the holding vehicle of the Group immediately prior to Admission.

“Euronext Dublin”

The trading name of the Irish Stock Exchange Plc.

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Glossary continued

“Euronext Growth”

the Euronext Growth securities market (formerly the Enterprise Securities Market) operated and regulated 
by the Irish Stock Exchange plc (trading as “Euronext Dublin”).

“FCA”

the UK Financial Conduct Authority.

“FOF” or “FoF”

Fund of Funds.

“Gross Portfolio Value”

Gross Portfolio Value is the value of the portfolio of investee companies held by funds controlled by the 
Company before accounting for deferred tax, external carried interest and amounts co–invested.

“Group”

The Company and its subsidiaries from time to time and, for the purposes of this document, including Esprit 
Capital Partners LLP and its subsidiaries and subsidiary undertakings.

“HMRC”

HM Revenue & Customs.

“IFRS” or “IFRSs”

International Financial Reporting Standards, as adopted for use in the European Union.

“IPO”

“IRR”

“NAV”

the Company’s listing on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market and the Irish Stock Exchange’s (trading 
as Euronext Dublin) Euronext Growth Dublin market on 15 June 2016.

the internal rate of return.

the value, as at any date, of the assets of the Company and/or Group after deduction of all liabilities 
determined in accordance with the accounting policies adopted by the Company and/or Group from time 
to time. 

“Ordinary Shares”

ordinary shares of £0.01 pence each in the capital of the Company.

“PwC”

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales under the 
registration number OC303525 and having its registered office at 1 Embankment Place, London, WC2N 
6RH.

“International Private 
Equity and Venture Capital 
Valuation Guidelines”

“VC”

“VCT”

the International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines, as amended from time to time.

venture capital.

The VCT funds managed by Draper Esprit VCT. VCT (venture capital trust) funds being UK closed–ended 
collective investment schemes.

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Draper Esprit London HQ
20 Garrick Street
London, WC2E 9BT
Tel: +44 (0)20 7931 8800

draperesprit.com