1 June 2023

Augmentum Fintech plc

 

Completion of Acquisition of Cushon by NatWest Group

 

Augmentum Fintech plc (LSE: AUGM) (the “Company” or “Augmentum”), Europe’s leading publicly listed fintech fund, has successfully exited its investment in Cushon, the workplace savings and pensions fintech, via the acquisition of a majority shareholding in Cushon by NatWest Group, the FTSE 100 banking and financial services group. The transaction completed on 1 June 2023 following the requisite approval from the Financial Conduct Authority.

 

Augmentum led Cushon’s Series A fundraising in June 2021 with an initial investment of £5 million and since that date the Company has invested a further £5.8 million. Augmentum will receive proceeds of £22.8 million from the completion of the acquisition, representing a 46.2% uplift on the unaudited 30 September 2022 holding value of £15.6 million, an IRR of 61.7% and cash multiple of 2.1x on cost. This announcement does not constitute or describe an updated NAV of the Company1.

 

This transaction is Augmentum’s fifth portfolio investment exit, all of which have been at or above the last reported holding value.

 

Notes:

1The Company's NAV and NAV per ordinary share as at 31 March 2023, both prior to and after performance fee, will be calculated in accordance with the Company’s valuation policy and are expected to be announced with the Company’s full year results. Shareholders should note that the calculation of the NAV per ordinary share as at 31 March 2023 will take account of the latest valuations of all of the Company's investments as at 31 March 2023 and any applicable costs and charges.

 

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Enquiries:

Augmentum Fintech Tim Levene, Portfolio Manager Georgie Hazell Kivell, Marketing and IR	+44 (0)20 3961 5420 [email protected]
Quill PR Nick Croysdill, Sarah Gibbons-Cook (Press and Media)	+44 (0)20 7466 5050 [email protected]
Peel Hunt LLP Liz Yong, Luke Simpson, Huw Jeremy (Investment Banking)	+44 (0)20 7418 8900
Singer Capital Markets Harry Gooden, Robert Peel, Alaina Wong (Investment Banking)	+44 (0)20 7496 3000
Frostrow Capital LLP Paul Griggs, Company Secretary	+44 (0)20 3709 8733

 

About Augmentum Fintech

Augmentum invests in fast growing fintech businesses that are disrupting the financial services sector. Augmentum is the UK’s only publicly listed investment company focusing on the fintech sector in the UK and wider Europe, having launched on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in 2018, giving businesses access to patient capital and support, unrestricted by conventional fund timelines and giving public markets investors access to a largely privately held investment sector during its main period of growth.

 

About Cushon

Cushon is a fintech using its financial technology to engage savers and empower them to build a better financial future. Cushon offers pension and savings products via a mobile app that provides a personalised experience making it easy for customers to manage their money and invest in a way that aligns with their personal goals and beliefs.

With a solution that integrates with payroll and benefit platforms, Cushon's products are delivered via the workplace to reach as many savers as possible. Employers can use Cushon to help enhance the financial wellbeing of their workforce by providing employees with a simple and convenient way to save into pensions, ISAs and other products direct from pay.