8 May 2025
Caledonian Holdings plc
("Caledonian Holdings" or "the Company")
Quarterly Shareholder Update
The Board of Caledonian Holdings plc (AIM:CHP) (formerly Vela Technologies PLC), an AIM-quoted investing company focused on the financial services market, today provides a quarterly shareholder update for the quarter ended 31 March 2025.
Following a successful fundraise earlier this year, which was completed at the time of turbulent market conditions, the Board of Caledonian Holdings confirms its ongoing strategy of focusing on a number of new markets, value and growth opportunities in the broader financial services sector, whilst also maintaining interest, support and engagement with our legacy investments.
Regarding the legacy investments the members of the newly constituted board have met with and engaged proactively with the following investee companies: Tribe Technology, Igraine, Hamak Gold, Ensilica and WeShop. The Board of Caledonian Holdings has further meetings arranged with other investee companies and will work hard to progress its assessment and engagement with all its current investments with a view to supporting, understanding and seeking clarity on these businesses and their medium-term plans and prospects.
In summary, this is the first update from the Company's new board that was put in place at the time of the announcement of the fundraise in March 2025 and we will continue to work extensively to bring about a series of positive changes in the Company's performance over the coming months. Shareholder engagement on both the portfolio investments and our new direction is welcomed.
The portfolio investment update follows for information:
Key numbers as at 31 March 2025
· The value of the Company's total assets (including cash) increased by £91,000 during the quarter to £2,761,000 from £2,670,000 (quarter to 31 December 2024 - a decrease of £385,000).
· The fair value of the investment portfolio (excluding cash) at 31 March 2025 was £1,774,000 (31 December 2024 - £2,623,000).
· During the quarter, a net loss of £1,000 was realised on sales of investments and there was a net unrealised loss of £277,000 on the remaining listed investments.
· During the quarter, Caledonian Holdings subscribed £100,000 for a convertible loan note in Igraine PLC (further tranches of the minimum £200,000 commitment announced on 21 October 2024).
· The Company's cash balance as at 31 March 2025 stood at £787,000 (31 December 2024 - £47,000).
· A successful fundraise of £1.2m (before expenses) through a placing, subscription and broker option was completed with the current board members investing a total of £230,000.
· The placing element of the fundraise completed pre year-end raising net proceeds of £665,000 for the Company and is reflected in the Company's cash balance at 31 March 2025. The subscription raised a further £263,000 and the broker option raised a further £112,500. £200,000 of the subscription monies were received in April 2025 and are held as a debtor at 31 March 2025. Settlement of the fundraising was fully completed in April 2025 and cash as at the date of this announcement stands at £995,139.
· During the period the investment in Aeristech Limited was written down to £nil due to the company entering an insolvency process (31 December 2024: £401,000).
Changes in the investment portfolio during the quarter
The following table sets out the changes in the investment portfolio during the quarter ended 31 March 2025:
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Holdings at 31 December 2024 |
Quarter to 31 March 2025 |
Holdings at 31 March 2025 |
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Fair value (£) |
Sales |
Acquisitions |
Unrealised profit (loss) |
No. of |
% of equity |
Fair value (£) |
|
|
Proceeds |
Profit (loss) |
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Shares |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Listed in the UK |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
On the main market |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
R8 Capital Investments plc |
14,000 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
620,581 |
< 1 |
14,000 |
On AIM |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Northcoders Group plc |
634,000 |
64,000 |
(9,000) |
- |
(195,000) |
307,499 |
4.3 |
366,000 |
EnSilica plc |
247,000 |
149,000 |
8,000 |
- |
(9,000) |
241,707 |
< 1 |
97,000 |
Skillcast Group plc |
242,000 |
6,000 |
- |
- |
(40,000) |
560,676 |
< 1 |
196,000 |
Finseta plc |
69,000 |
- |
- |
- |
(7,000) |
200,000 |
< 1 |
62,000 |
Ethernity Networks Ltd |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
350,000 |
< 1 |
- |
On AQSE |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TruSpine Technologies plc |
63,000 |
- |
- |
- |
(25,000) |
6,000,000 |
3.9 |
38,000 |
Igraine PLC |
90,000 |
- |
- |
- |
(6,000) |
23,928,080 |
27.7 |
84,000 |
Global Connectivity plc |
7,000 |
- |
- |
- |
4,000 |
1,200,000 |
< 1 |
11,000 |
|
1,366,000 |
219,000 |
(1,000) |
- |
(278,000) |
|
|
868,000 |
Listed overseas |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
On NASDAQ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Conduit Pharmaceuticals Inc |
56,000 |
- |
- |
- |
(50,000) |
10,057 |
1.0 |
6,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unlisted |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Community Social |
427,000 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
71,429 |
< 1 |
427,000 |
Aeristech Limited |
401,000 |
- |
(401,000) |
- |
- |
145,833 |
1.0 |
- |
Tribe Technology Holdings Ltd |
23,000 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
3,125,000 |
1.3 |
23,000 |
|
851,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
450,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Convertible loan stock |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Igraine PLC |
50,000 |
- |
- |
100,000 |
- |
- |
- |
150,000 |
Hamak Gold Limited |
300,000 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
300,000 |
|
350,000 |
|
|
100,000 |
|
|
|
450,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total investments |
2,623,000 |
219,000 |
(402,000) |
100,000 |
(328,000) |
|
|
1,774,000 |
Cash |
47,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
787,000 |
Other Debtors |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
200,000 |
Total assets |
2,670,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,761,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The figures contained within this quarterly investment update are taken from unaudited management information.
Investments traded on a recognised stock market are valued using the accounting policies outlined in the notes to the annual financial statements. Unlisted investments and other financial assets are stated at the values attributed to them in the audited balance sheet as at 31 March 2024, unless there has been a transaction since that date which suggests a materially different valuation.
For further information, please contact:
Brent Fitzpatrick, Non-Executive Chairman
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Tel: +44 (0) 7950 389469 |
Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser) |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3328 5656 |
Nick Athanas / Piers Shimwell
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Peterhouse Capital Limited (Broker) |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7469 0930 |
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