Bull, Bear & Beyond by Edison Group

Edison’s investment companies team recently published a review on Utilico Emerging Markets Trust (ticker: UEM). The trust’s managers Charles Jillings and Jacqueline Broers report that UEM’s utility and infrastructure investments are performing well, and believe that they are relatively well positioned in the current uncertain macroeconomic environment given their high-quality, cash generative asse...

In this interview, IP Group’s CEO, Greg Smith, discusses the company's performance and outlook. He explores the factors behind its fivefold year-on-year increase in realisations to £180m in FY24 and what underpins the company's target of delivering a further £250m in exits between now and FYE27. Greg also discusses the robust pipeline of opportunities, particularly in life sciences and deeptech, w...

KEFI Gold and Copper, owner and operator of the Tulu Kapi mine in Ethiopia, has announced the appointment of BCM Group as its preferred mining contractor and that BCM will contribute $23m to the project’s pre-production expenses. In this interview, KEFI’s founder and executive chairman, Harry Anagnostaras-Adams, explains to Edison what this means for KEFI and its potential impact on the share pric...

Herantis Pharma is a Finland-based clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing disease-modifying therapies to stop or reverse the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Its lead programme is HER-096, a peptide therapeutic, which is currently being assessed in a Phase Ib trial for Parkison’s disease (PD). In this interview, Antti Vuolanto, CEO of Herantis, discusses the progress...

In this interview, we talk with Jaz Singh, founder and CEO of Innovation Agritech Group (IAG), about what the company does, its unique technology in the vertical farming sector, its target markets, as well as IAG’s decision to list on the JP Jenkins share-matching platform. ************************************************************************************** About ‘Bull, Bear & Beyond’ Bull,...

Get the lowdown from Edison’s Milosz Papst on Advanced Blockchain which aims to evolve as a diversified platform within the digital asset ecosystem, with exposure across listed altcoins, leading blockchain startups, and bitcoin via its liquidity reserve. ************************************************************************************** About ‘Bull, Bear & Beyond’ Bull, Bear & Beyond':...

Nick Jefferies, CEO of discoverIE, joins Katherine Thompson to provide an update on the current trading environment for the business. While the tariff situation creates uncertainty, the company does not expect it to have a material impact on its operations. Nick reflects on the destocking phase that has seen the company’s largest customers unwinding the elevated levels of inventory accumulated in...

Law Debenture’s unique structure has generated an impressive record of long-term performance and dividend growth, evident in its recently published results. ************************************************************************************** About ‘Bull, Bear & Beyond’ Bull, Bear & Beyond': features candid conversations with senior executives and from our own team of experts from across...

Michael Riedl, CEO of Team Internet, joins Dan Ridsdale to discuss the trading dynamics and strategy across each of Team Internet's key divisions: Domains, Identity, and Software (DIS), Comparison and Search. Starting with Search, he addresses the impact of Google's move to opt Google Ads customers out of AdSense for Domains and why he believes Team Internet is well positioned to take market share...

Get the lowdown from Edison’s Milosz Papst on Patria Private Equity Trust which allows investors to gain exposure to a gradually rebounding private equity market via a trust active in the attractive mid-market (primarily in Europe), which has delivered strong five- and 10-year annualised NAV total returns of 15.3% and 15.0% pa, respectively. ********************************************************...

Edison’s investment trust team recently published a review of Lowland Investment Company.  ************************************************************************************** About ‘Bull, Bear & Beyond’ Bull, Bear & Beyond': features candid conversations with senior executives and from our own team of experts from across industries, exploring strategy, innovation, and the opportuni...

UK-based Creo Medical focuses on the development and commercialisation of minimally invasive electrosurgical devices. Its six products in the flagship CROMA platform have all been CE marked, with five cleared by the FDA. The company recently concluded the sale of a 51% stake in its European consumables business for net proceeds of €30m, valuing the business at €72m. *******************************...

In this interview, Johan Gellatly, managing director of Altron FinTech, provides an overview of the business and discusses the key trends in the South African payments market, including the South African Reserve Bank’s plans for the national payments system. With the majority of the division’s revenue generated from the microlending market, Johan describes how Altron FinTech serves this market and...

Get the lowdown from Edison’s Milosz Papst on this ‘go-to’ Asian trust, formed after the merger between Invesco Asia Trust and Asia Dragon Trust. ************************************************************************************** About ‘Bull, Bear & Beyond’ Bull, Bear & Beyond': features candid conversations with senior executives and from our own team of experts from across industries,...

Edison’s investment companies team recently published a review on Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (ticker: FGT). While results in recent years have reduced the trust’s long-term record of outperformance versus the UK market, managers Nick Train and Madeline Wright are confident about Finsbury’s prospects. The fund remains very concentrated with around 20 quality growth names. Since 2019, in bro...

Theon International is a leading developer and manufacturer of customisable night vision and thermal imaging systems for military and security applications. It listed on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange in February 2024. ************************************************************************************** About ‘Bull, Bear & Beyond’ Bull, Bear & Beyond': features candid conversations...

In this interview, Ben Wilkinson, CEO of Molten Ventures, provides a comprehensive overview of Molten Ventures’ performance, strategic focus and the broader venture capital landscape in Europe. ************************************************************************************** About ‘Bull, Bear & Beyond’ Bull, Bear & Beyond': features candid conversations with senior executives and from...

In this interview, Carl Herberger, CEO of Corero Network Security, discusses the growing opportunity for Corero in an increasingly connected world where distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are becoming more frequent.  He describes how Corero can deliver more efficient and cost-effective DDoS protection than its established competitors, a factor which is enabling it to capture market...

Recent government initiatives to support investment in technology and innovation are welcomed as a positive – although the UK has been slow to support the tech sector compared to countries like the US. In the final segment of the interview, Wilkinson emphasises that while government intervention is not always perfect, it is necessary to help capitalise on British intellectual property (IP) in AI,...

In this section, Wilkinson expresses his optimism in the European venture capital (VC) market, which has matured significantly, growing from €20bn in 2016 to around €80bn today, though it remains about one-third the size of the US market. He emphasises that Molten Ventures offers investors daily liquidity access to VC returns, while highlighting the need for more capital in Series B and early grow...

Wilkinson outlines Molten Ventures’ core portfolio, which consists of 15–20 assets representing over 60% of portfolio value, with these companies showing an average growth of 50% for the coming year. Over 75% of these core holdings have more than 12 months of cash runway, and the company has demonstrated success in helping them raise additional capital from syndicates of investors. ***************...

In this segment, Wilkinson discusses the current venture capital valuation environment, noting a split between AI-driven companies or perceived winners receiving high valuations and others struggling to raise capital. He explains how Molten Ventures follows the IPEV guidelines, being slow to mark assets up and quick to mark them down when necessary. The group’s exits above carrying value over eigh...

In this section, Wilkinson discusses how capital will be re-reinvested, with a balance struck between direct investments to capitalise on the current AI-driven technology shift and drive future vintages, secondary investments to take advantage of market pricing opportunities and the need to support their share price through buybacks. ****************************************************************...

In this interview, CEO Ben Wilkinson discusses Molten Ventures’ successful exits in 2024, which exceeded the £100m target, releasing £124m in capital through four main transactions:  Perkbox (1.3x return), Graphcore (slight loss but at book value), Endomag (nearly 4x return) and M-Files (7x return). ************************************************************************************** About ‘...

CQS Natural Resources Growth and Income is a differentiated closed-end investment company seeking opportunities across small- and mid-cap mining and resource stocks, which in our view deserves shareholder support during the upcoming general meeting. The cutoff time for proxy voting is 11am on 31 January, and you can view the company’s guide to voting here: https://cynprotectyourinvestment.com/ ***...