THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION IN RELATION TO MOLTEN VENTURES PLC.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
30 October 2024
Molten Ventures plc
("Molten", the "Group" or the "Company")
Directorate Changes
Molten Ventures plc (LSE: GROW, Euronext Dublin: GRW), a leading venture capital firm investing in and developing high growth digital technology businesses, today announces that CEO Martin Davis will be stepping down after five years at the Company. He will be succeeded as CEO by CFO Ben Wilkinson, and Finance Director Andrew Zimmermann will step up as Interim CFO. These changes are taking place with immediate effect, with Martin remaining with Molten until the end of April 2025 to provide handover support and ongoing strategic advice.
Laurence Hollingworth, Chairman, said:
“We are grateful to Martin for the critical role he has played in the development of Molten into the unique and leading business it is today. Having taken over as CEO from the co-founding CEO just three years into public company life on AIM, Martin leaves Molten as a main market company and a member of the FTSE 250, with an extensive track record of strategically additive M&A, evidenced most recently by the acquisition of Forward Partners as well as multiple secondary portfolio investments.
“Martin achieved this against the backdrop of a challenging period, which saw an all-time high in private company fundraising activity and valuations, followed by a significantly more challenging market. He continued the further expansion of the Molten Ventures platform supported by Ben. The Board offers Martin its thanks for his leadership of the business and wishes him success in his next venture.”
“Maintaining a strong focus on succession planning has been among the Board’s priorities in 2024 and we are delighted to be making two internal promotions to create a strong top team. Ben has been instrumental in maintaining a robust balance sheet and executing on the Company’s strategy over his eight years as CFO at Molten. We look to Ben to continue to scale Molten, drawing on his deep knowledge of the business and its people.”
Ben Wilkinson said:
“I am grateful to the Board for the opportunity to continue the evolution of the business. The Molten Ventures platform is significantly larger than when I joined immediately post-IPO and has incredible potential for the next phase of growth, with a strong investment team supported by a platform team with a unique skillset. I look forward to outlining our growing vision for the business and can assure all stakeholders that we will continue our focus on supporting the best founding teams in the most exciting technology sectors, supported by intelligent capital management.”
Martin Davis said:
“After five years including a global pandemic, the additional impetus it gave to the acceptance and adoption of technology and a pendulum swing back away from that peak, I am pleased to leave Molten Ventures stabilised, expanded and in safe hands. I set out to grow the portfolio and build the infrastructure to be able to scale the business and am pleased with the progress we have made. As the Company prepares to enter the next stage of the cycle I believe that Molten Ventures needs a leader and executive team to drive growth for the next phase. I am proud of what we have achieved at Molten and have greatly enjoyed working with such a talented team and with our exceptional founders. I wish Ben and the team every success.
There is no further information to disclose under UKLR 6.4.8R.
-ENDS-
Enquiries:
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Molten Ventures plc
Laurence Hollingworth (Chairman)
Ben Wilkinson (Chief Executive Officer)
Andrew Zimmermann (Interim Chief Financial Officer)
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+44 (0)20 7931 8800
chair@molten.vc
ir@molten.vc
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Deutsche Numis
Joint Financial Adviser and Corporate Broker
Simon Willis
Jamie Loughborough
Iqra Amin
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+44 (0)20 7260 1000
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Goodbody Stockbrokers
Joint Financial Adviser and Corporate Broker,
Euronext Dublin Sponsor
Don Harrington
William Hall
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+44 (0) 20 3841 6202
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Sodali & Co.
Public relations
Elly Williamson
Jane Glover
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+44 (0)7970 246 725
molten@sodali.com
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About Molten Ventures
Molten Ventures is a leading venture capital firm in Europe, developing and investing in disruptive, high growth technology companies. We inject visionary companies with energy to help them to transform and grow. This energy comes in many forms - capital, of course, but also knowledge, experience, and relationships. We believe it is our role to support the entrepreneurs who will invent the future, and that future is being built, today, in Europe.
As at 30 September 2024, Molten Ventures had a diverse portfolio with shareholdings in 118 companies, 20 of which represent our Core holdings and account for 62% of the Gross Portfolio Value. Our Core companies include Thought Machine, Coachhub, Aiven, Ledger and Aircall. We invest across four sectors: Enterprise Technology, Hardware and Deeptech, Consumer Technology, and Digital Health and Wellness, with highly experienced partners constantly looking for new opportunities in each. We look for high-growth companies operating in new markets, with high potential for global expansion, strong IP, powerful technology, and strong management teams to deliver success. We also look for businesses with the potential to generate strong margins to ensure rapid, sustainable growth in substantial addressable markets
A member of the London Stock Exchange’s FTSE 250, Molten Ventures provides a unique opportunity for public market investors to access fast-growing tech businesses, without having to commit to long term investments with limited liquidity. Since our IPO in June 2016, we have deployed over £1bn capital into fast growing tech companies and have realised circa £600m to 30 September 2024. For more information, go tohttps://www.moltenventures.com
