Craven House Capital plc
("Craven House" or the "Company")
Coronavirus and Business Update
The coronavirus pandemic is likely to cause a material impact on the carrying value of Craven's portfolio. This cannot yet be quantified given the present level of uncertainty regarding the prospective mid-to-long term impact of the measures needed to control transmission. However, the valuations of Craven House Angola Lda and Qeton Ltd (currently valued at $7.9m and $0.3m respectively) will be materially impacted as a result of the recent shock to oil prices and the likely knock-on effect this will have on the Angolan economy in which both of these subsidiaries are active.
Similarly, a core investment owned by Craven House Capital North America LLC (valued at $5.9m as of November 2019) is IIU Inc,. which sells medical insurance for international travelers and has experienced an almost total collapse in its revenues in recent weeks. It is likely, given the far-reaching impact of the pandemic, that valuations across Craven's portfolio will be significantly impaired.
The valuation of DLC has decreased by $1.6m to $2.3m as a result in a drop in the mark-to-market valuation of the shares on the 1 April vs 30 November and the weakening of the Canadian Dollar vs. the US Dollar. Whilst the share price reduced from CAD$0.12 to CAD$0.07 during this period, there has been no deterioration in the valuation of the underlying holdings of DLC and management believes that the end of period share price represents a significant discount to the orderly liquidation value of DLC.
In the view of the Board, current events have had no material impact to date on the valuation of the Company's e-commerce businesses acquired on 13 March 2020, however this will continue to be evaluated in the coming weeks
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About Craven House Capital:
The Company's Investing Policy is to invest in or acquire a portfolio of companies, partnerships, joint ventures, businesses or other assets globally in any geographic jurisdiction. The company will invest in both developed and developing markets providing long term patient capital and is often involved in special situations, restructuring, expansion and turn around investments in crisis and transitioning economies.
