10 August 2015
Vela Technologies plc
("Vela" or the "Company")
Update on investment in The Social Superstore Limited
The Board of Vela (AIM: VELA), the investing company focused on early-stage and pre-IPO disruptive technology investments, is pleased to announce that it has been informed by The Social Superstore Limited ("The Social Superstore"), one of Vela's portfolio companies, that it has successfully raised a pre-Series A funding round of £1.75 million at a £10.0 million pre-money valuation (the "Fundraise"). The Fundraise was undertaken at a price of £3.11 per ordinary share in The Social Superstore ("Social Superstore Share"). The proceeds from the Fundraise will be used by The Social Superstore for working capital and to grow their in-house development team.
Vela has an interest in 71,429 Social Superstore Shares which have a paper value equivalent to approximately £222,000 at the price of the Fundraise. Following completion of the Fundraise Vela has an interest in approximately 1.89% of the fully diluted share capital of The Social Superstore.
Vela originally invested £100,000 in the £1m seed fundraise undertaken by The Social Superstore in May 2014 which resulted in Vela holding 71,429 Social Superstore Shares. This fundraise was undertaken at a £3 million pre-money valuation.
The Social Superstore is a private company that is developing a peer to peer platform allowing users to recommend products to their friends and is aiming to combine social media and online retail in a unique way. The Social Superstore continues to build its social commerce platform with a view to full launch in Q4 2015, initially in the UK. There are a number of key user groups that have been identified and who the company has access to. The directors of The Social Superstore continue to believe that social commerce represents a significant opportunity which has not yet been fully exploited by an individual company.
Commenting on the Fundraise, John Garner, director of The Social Superstore, said:
"We are pleased to have closed this funding round and to have welcomed onto the register of The Social Superstore some new shareholders who we believe can add significant value to the business going forward. The company continually strives to create a product providing excellent user experience whilst at the same time being stable and consistent before it is launched. The plan is for launch in Q4 of this year on desktop, smartphone and tablet. The social commerce sector is gaining more coverage as companies such as Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram have recently, or are in the process of, releasing buy buttons within their platforms. The Social Superstore is aiming to create a truly social commerce experience which is consumer to consumer (C2C)."
Antony Laiker, Executive Director of Vela, made the following statement in response to the Fundraise:
"Vela is delighted to provide shareholders with a further update on its portfolio. We wish the team all the best as they develop the company further towards launch.
With a further valuation event from an investee company, the board of Vela hopes that investors will be able to better understand the underlying value of the portfolio. Based either on such valuation events or the market value of portfolio investments, the board of Vela believes the underlying value of the portfolio is significantly higher than the value attributed to Vela at this current time."
For further information on Social Superstore please visit http://socialsuperstore.com.
For further information please contact:
Vela Technologies plc |
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Brent Fitzpatrick, Non-Executive Chairman Antony Laiker, Director |
Tel: +44 (0) 7802 262 443 |
Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser) |
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Nick Athanas/Katrina Perez/James Reeve Vicarage Capital Limited (Broker) Rupert Williams/Jeremy Woodgate |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3328 5656 Tel: +44 (0) 20 3651 2910 |
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