Follow-on investment in AppSh

RNS Number : 8736P

Braveheart Investment Group plc

26 July 2010

 



26 July 2010

Braveheart Investment Group plc

("Braveheart" or the "Group")

Further investment in AppShare Limited

("the Company")

Braveheart (AIM: BRH), the technology commercialisation and investment management company, today announces that it has led a further investment into AppShare Limited.  The funding is Braveheart's third investment into AppShare and totalled c£300,000. Participants in the round included Braveheart and its clients, Braveheart's Strathclyde Innovation Fund, and Scottish Enterprise's Scottish Co-investment Fund.

AppShare is a spin-out from the University of Strathclyde which was formed in 2007 to develop a collaborative software solution for the Web Collaboration Services ('WCS') market. Web collaboration systems allow colleagues who are physically located anywhere in the world to share information on their computers in real time and in some cases talk and see one another, allowing remote collaborators to effectively 'look over' each other's shoulder. At present, there is growing demand for WCS, particularly within larger organisations as it provides an economical and environmental alternative to corporate travel.

Research shows however, that the limitations of current market leading systems mean they are not effectively meeting the needs of large enterprises. AppShare's ground-breaking technology deploys a new approach and is designed specifically to address the needs of large organisations, serving hundreds of concurrent users without affecting the corporate network. In addition, due to a modular design approach, AppShare's technology can be integrated with other existing software applications with comparative ease.

Braveheart and the Scottish Co-Investment Fund first invested in AppShare at seed round in March 2008 and made a follow-up investment in September 2009. Since then the Company has developed a highly scalable prototype which is currently under evaluation with two large commercial enterprises. The Company is also in discussions with a large educational institution, seeking to deliver distance learning to users across the globe using AppShare's technology.

The proceeds of this financing will provide working capital to complete the pilot phase, to further refine the software, and to develop commercial partnerships. Enhanced versions of AppShare's technology will be rolled out and tested over the coming year.

Geoffrey Thomson, Chief Executive of Braveheart said;"We rate AppShare's technology highly and are pleased to offer our continued support as the Company progresses with confidence towards commercialisation."

Stephen Behan, CEO of AppShare added "The team at Braveheart has supported AppShare from our inception and they continue to work closely with us to deliver value to our investors and stakeholders. The new investment round represents a resounding endorsement of our performance thus far and given the current economic climate, we see this as a huge vote of confidence in both our technology portfolio and our forward plans."

For further information please visit www.braveheartinvestmentgroup.co.uk or contact:

Braveheart Investment Group plc	Tavistock Communications (for Braveheart)
Geoffrey Thomson, Chief Executive	Simon Hudson / James Midmer
Tel: [phone]	Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]	[e-mail]
AppShare Ltd
Stephen Behan, Chief Executive Officer
Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]

Notes to Editors

Braveheart Investment Group

Braveheart Investment Group is a technology commercialisation and investment management company based in Perth, Scotland. It was founded in 1997 by a small group of investors in order to encourage and syndicate investments in privately held companies that offered opportunities for significant growth. Thirteen years on, Braveheart is a public company with offices in Perth, London and Yorkshire, and a demonstrable track record in early stage technology investing as well as an established client base of high net worth individuals. Service offerings include bespoke EIS portfolios, fund management, investment facilitation and management services.

Investments are made in young, emerging, unlisted companies where there is potential for significant growth through successful commercialisation of IP. Through our close relationships with a number of leading universities and innovation centres we have access to a wide variety of emerging commercial opportunities at early stages.  The Group currently has 27 companies in its equity portfolio.

The Strathclyde Innovation Fund ("SIF" or "the Fund")

An agreement to create the Strathclyde Innovation Fund was announced in 2007 by Braveheart and the University of Strathclyde. SIF has the exclusive right of first refusal to fund all commercial investment opportunities that arise in respect of intellectual property emanating from the University of Strathclyde. The fund is unique in its structure and is the first of its kind in a UK higher education institution.

A first closing of the fund was achieved in September 2008, with initial commitments totalling £4.5 million from investors including Braveheart, the University of Strathclyde and Strathclyde alumni. This also included Scottish Enterprise's Scottish Co-investment Fund, which will co-invest alongside the SIF by committing a specific allocation for use by SIF. SIF will operate for an initial period of eight years, extendable to 10 with the agreement of the partners in the fund.

Braveheart Investment Group's operating subsidiary Braveheart Ventures also acts as Fund Manager of SIF. Under the terms of the partnership, 25 per cent of the Fund Manager's performance bonus is paid back to the University, providing it with further direct benefit from those opportunities which succeed in generating returns. SIF also makes a small contribution to the running costs of a department that sponsors a successful investment application.

Scottish Co-Investment Fund (SCF)

The Scottish Co-Investment Fund is a £72 million equity investment fund set up by Scottish Enterprise and part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Its mission is to invest from £100,000 to £1,000,000 in company finance deals of up to £2 million.

 

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