Quarterly Update

As you will read, investment activity in most parts of the world continues to climb. Innovation races forward. Opportunities for investment and growth keep increasing. In step with this, competition is getting more intense. And geo-political developments are serving to stir the business pots more than usual. Investors are taking closer looks at where they put their funds, and biasing much of their activity toward later-stage start-ups seeking larger financing to be concentrated on market expansion efforts.

This is the environment the Technology portfolio is operating in for 2019 and beyond. I feel good, however, about the steps the companies are taking. For example, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an emerging technology disrupting so many industries. Portfolio companies such as Tutela, Solink and many others are embedding these capabilities into their product offerings now to ensure they remain leaders in their markets.

Wesley Clover SaaS Accelerator L-SPARK has recently embraced an additional business model, wherein they are partnering to build individual ‘Corporate’ Accelerators as well. The first of these has a heavy focus on Autonomous Vehicles and the development of a new ecosystem of start-ups addressing the emerging space. The second new Accelerator has a focus on security and its importance in the pending next generation of mobile networks and the Internet of Things (IoT) that will leverage them.

These recent moves and others bode well for the companies involved with L-SPARK. Similarly, as the healthcare sector currently ranks as the second-most attractive industry for US VC investments (read the article inside), we expect good things for startups such as our own Cliniconex. And the valuable intellectual property developed by all the portfolio companies provides a potential starting point for further innovation and partnering relationships for the new companies being formed under the Alacrity global start-up program in places including France, Turkey, India, Mexico and beyond.

The Wesley Clover companies in the Real Estate portfolio continue to attract and retain tenants and guests, and grow business accordingly. In the UK, the grand opening of the impressive new International Convention Centre Wales is getting ever closer, and everything appears to be lining up nicely for a successful launch.

So things are going well. I hope you enjoy reading the details in this issue of Q as much as I enjoy sharing them. Thank you for your interest in Wesley Clover and the businesses I am involved in around the globe.

Kind Regards,
Terry Matthews, Chairman