8/12/2025

Frontier IP has announced its final results for the year to 30 June 2025. You can view the full document here.

Highlights

Financial

• Fair value of the Company’s equity portfolio is broadly in line with prior year at £33,407,000 (2024: £33,203,000) following the unrealised loss on investment of £2,697,000 (2024 unrealised gain of £2,468,000), additions of £3,081,000 (2024: £68,000) offset by disposals of £180,000 (2024: £2,297,000).
• Fair value of the Company’s debt portfolio reduced significantly compared to prior year to £3,066,000 (2024 : £5,595,000) primarily due to the conversion of £2,685,000 debt investments in Camgraphic Ltd to equity in 2D Photonics (referenced below as £2,607,000 loan plus unrealised gain of £78,000) as well as an unrealised loss of £344,000 (2024 : £1,287.000).  These movements were partially offset by new loans issued of £500,000 (2024 : £2,157,000) to two portfolio companies.
• Disposals in both our equity and debt portfolio related to Camgraphic Ltd. Equity shares valued at £180,000 and the loan valued at £2,607,000 together with accrued interest of £217,000 were exchanged for a shareholding in 2D Photonics of £3,081,000 in a non-cash transaction including an unrealised gain of £78,000 (2024: ExScientia disposal generated cash of £2,545,000 with a realised gain of £249,000).
• Unrealised loss on the revaluation of investments of £3,041,000 (2024: unrealised gain of £1,282,000) comprising unrealised losses on equity investments of £2,697,000 (2024: unrealised gain of £2,468,000) and unrealised losses on debt investments of £344,000 (2024: unrealised losses of £1,187,000).
• Cash balances at 30 June 2025 of £2,584,000 (2024: £2,298,000).
• Net assets per share as at 30 June 2025 reduced to 61.0p (30 June 2024: 79.7p) in part due to the additional 12.7m shares issued as part of the fund raise in December 2024.
• Loss before tax of £6,344,000 represents a significant increase on prior year (2024; £1,337,000) and is driven by the unrealised losses across debt and equity investments of £3,041,000 (2024: gain £1,282,000) as well as operating expenses incurred of £3,456,000 which were modestly reduced versus prior year (2024: £3,508,000).
• Basic loss per share of 10.08p, Diluted loss per share of 9.87p (2024: basic loss per share 2.01p, Diluted loss per share 1.96p).

Corporate

• Entered a strategic partnership with Abstract Mid-Tech Limited, an associate company of Abstract Securities Limited, to create a new innovation hub, SC², in the South Cambridge Science Centre, one of Cambridge’s most advanced facilities dedicated to science and technology. Abstract paid Frontier IP £1 million for becoming an anchor tenant and will provide the space rent free for the first 12 months. The Group plans to sublet the majority of the space to portfolio companies and other innovative start-ups. The move will reduce dependency on exits and potentially create positive cashflow and the opportunity to leverage the balance sheet. It will also enable Frontier IP to strengthen its presence at the heart of the Cambridge science and technology ecosystem and, by extension, within the UK’s innovation golden triangle of Cambridge, Oxford and London.
• Raised £3.6 million through a placing and retail offer to provide working capital and for selective support to portfolio companies.
• Post-period end two executive directors announced their intention to leave the Group to pursue other opportunities with successor recruitment underway:
  • Chief Commercialisation Officer Matthew White is to become Chief Executive Officer of an early-stage medical devices company. It is currently intended that he will remain with the Group until the end of his six month notice period on 24 March 2026.
  • Chief Financial Officer Jo Stent is to join a private equity-backed specialist financial services provider. She will step down as a director no later than 30 April 2026. This will enable her to oversee publication of the interim results for the six months to December 2025.

Portfolio highlights

The Group’s portfolio includes companies at different stages of development. Frontier IP is actively considering potential realisations from several companies. Companies made good technical and commercial progress, attracting support from major backers at home and abroad.  Five companies raised money during the year via equity funding rounds, convertible loans, grants, or a combination of the three, despite a difficult funding environment.

Highlights included

• 2D Photonics raised €25 million through a Series A funding round for its wholly-owned Italian subsidiary CamGraPhIC Srl. Investors included CDP Venture Capital, the Nato Innovation Fund, the Sony Innovation Fund, Join Capital, Bosch Ventures, part of Bosch Group, and Indaco Ventures. 2D Photonics was set up to own and manage CamGraPhIC’s activities in the UK and Italy.
• Alusid signed two international distribution agreements. The first was with Dutch sustainable materials firm FRONT Materials BV, the second with Italian distributor 3D Wall Panels Italia. The company also launched its Mas floor tile range through Topps Tiles plc retail chain, the second range to be launched by Topps.
• Dekiln, (the trading name of Deakin Bio-Hybrid Materials), raised £693,000 through an initial equity fundraising, led by Green Angel Ventures.
• GraphEnergyTech raised £1 million through an investment round led by Aramco Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of Aramco. The company subsequently entered a collaboration with the Taiwan Perovskite Solar Corporation and University of Cambridge to develop next generation perovskite technology, a project backed by a grant worth nearly £900,000 from Innovate UK
• Nandi Proteins raised more than £500,000 via a convertible loan with investors including Nesta and Scottish Enterprise.
• Pulsiv launched the world’s most efficient 65W USB C design to enable operations at much lower temperatures, minimise energy loss and reduce the number of critical components. The ground-breaking design subsequently won the Power Sources Manufacturers Association’s first Global Energy Efficiency Award.
• The Vaccine Group (TVG) is leading a project awarded a £1 million grant from the UK’s  Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs to develop vaccines for Streptococcus suis (S.suis), a zoonotic pig disease. Collaborators include the Universities of Cambridge and Plymouth. The company and Global animal health group Syva signed an option to license agreement for a S.suis vaccine. The Animal and Plant Health Agency won an Innovate UK Smart Grant to develop vaccines for two bovine diseases.

Post-period end developments included:

• Amprologix raised £740,000 through a pre-Series A funding round backed by Plutus Investments, institutional and angel investors to complete pre-clinical development lead candidate epidermicin NI01 and into Phase I clinical trials.
  • The Vaccine Group announced outstanding results from the first cattle trial testing their Bovine Respiratory Disease Virus vaccine candidates and that discussions with potential commercial partners were underway.
  • Alusid signed a third international distribution agreement with one of Sweden’s largest tile suppliers, Kakelspecialisten, a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain.
  • Pulsiv signed a global stocking agreement with distribution giant Farnell and was shortlisted for the Power System Product of the Year in the Elektra Awards.
  • Dekiln completed its first commercial installation and moved into bigger premises to scale up.

Frontier IP Chief Executive Officer Neil Crabb said:

SC² will help to position us at the heart of the Cambridge innovation ecosystem, raising a profile not just within Cambridge, but also in the wider UK innovation triangle of Cambridge, Oxford and London. It will also bring together our commercialisation team, portfolio companies and like-minded businesses under one roof and open all kinds of networking opportunities. It will become simpler to identify and access new deal flow. Being closer to our portfolio companies will improve operational efficiency to speed their development and growth while driving down costs. Ultimately, it will help us to accelerate exits and realisations by providing a single location to meet corporate backers and investors.