Molten Ventures LON: GROW said portfolio fair value growth accelerated during the year, while management pointed to defense, space, artificial intelligence and European technology sovereignty as major structural themes shaping its investment strategy.
Chief Executive Ben Wilkinson told investors that Europe remains a major generator of intellectual property and that a “structural gap to capital” persists in the growth-stage market, particularly for larger investment tickets of £20 million or more. He said Molten’s strategy is to grow both its public company balance sheet and third-party assets to address that gap.
Wilkinson also highlighted the growing opportunity in secondary transactions as companies remain private for longer. He said there are now more than 400 unicorns in the market, creating a need for liquidity in otherwise illiquid private-company holdings. Molten has experience buying fund positions and individual assets, including prior secondary investments linked to Seedcamp, Earlybird and Trustpilot, he said.
Portfolio Growth and NAV Rise
Chief Financial Officer Andrew Zimmermann said Molten recorded a 13% gross portfolio net fair value movement for the year, compared with 5% previously. The result included about £300 million of write-ups, around £120 million of valuation reductions and a £60 million foreign exchange benefit.
Zimmermann said gross portfolio value reached £1.5 billion and net asset value was just over £1.3 billion. NAV per share at the end of the financial year was £7.60, up 13%.
Management said the core portfolio drove much of the fair value growth. Zimmermann said the core portfolio consists of about 16 companies representing nearly 65% of portfolio value, including Revolut, Ledger and ICEYE. He said the core portfolio generated a 26% return and had a multiple on invested capital of 3.3 times, rising to about 4 times when including the ICEYE news announced after the period.
The emerging portfolio had more mixed performance, with about £50 million of write-downs across more than 80 companies, driven mainly by three companies, including Robin AI and Schüttflix. Zimmermann said the fund-of-funds portfolio delivered a positive return and remains an important pipeline for future direct investments.
Realizations, Investments and Buybacks
Molten continued to realize cash from portfolio companies, including full exits in Lyst and Freetrade and partial realizations in Revolut and ICEYE. Zimmermann said the realizations were completed at or above holding value, which he said supported the robustness of Molten’s valuations.
He said realizations have totaled more than £250 million since March 2024. Post year-end, Molten also received about £70 million from a Revolut realization.
During the year, Molten invested £89 million, adding Duel, General Index, PolyModels Hub and MAIA to the portfolio. It also made follow-on investments in existing companies including Modo Energy and Mana, both of which moved into the core portfolio. Zimmermann noted that Molten led Modo Energy’s Series B round, which he said fits the company’s preferred area of direct investment.
The company also deployed £38 million into share buybacks during the year. Zimmermann said about £4 million remained from the most recently announced buyback tranche, but he added that the narrower discount and higher share price had made other investment opportunities more NAV accretive.
General and administrative expenses were just over £24 million, down 14% from the prior year. Zimmermann said operating costs were 0.5%, below Molten’s 1% target. The company ended the year with £52 million in cash, excluding the later Revolut proceeds. It also had about £24 million of undeployed EIS and VCT cash and an undrawn £60 million revolving credit facility.
ICEYE Drives Post-Year-End Uplift
ICEYE was a major focus of the call after a financing round at a €10 billion valuation. Wilkinson said the new valuation implied a NAV per share of £8.77 for Molten, compared with the reported £7.60 at year-end, though he said the company would complete its normal valuation process in September.
Wilkinson said Molten has invested in ICEYE since 2018. He described the company’s synthetic aperture radar satellite technology as capable of imaging the Earth through cloud cover and at night. ICEYE is also expanding into optical imaging and ground-data capabilities, he said.
According to Wilkinson, ICEYE generated about £130 million of revenue in 2024, more than £250 million last year, and is forecast to exceed £500 million in 2026 and £1 billion next year. He said government demand has been a key driver of the company’s growth profile.
Molten’s broader space exposure also includes Isar Aerospace, a German rocket launch company, and SatVu, a British low-Earth-orbit satellite company focused on thermal imaging. Wilkinson said space represented 9% of the portfolio at year-end.
AI, Fintech and Sector Themes
Wilkinson said Molten invests across consumer technology, enterprise technology, hardware and deep tech, and digital health, with sub-sector exposure including fintech, cybersecurity, quantum, energy transition, space, crypto and blockchain, and health technology.
On artificial intelligence, Wilkinson said Molten reviewed its portfolio for potential disruption and found that about 75% of the portfolio could be a net beneficiary, where AI compounds existing advantages in data, distribution or workflow. He said 15% faces “manageable headwinds,” while 8% was categorized as neutral.
He pointed to infrastructure companies such as Thought Machine, Form3 and Riverlane as examples of assets less likely to be disrupted by AI because they provide critical technology layers. Zimmermann also cited Aircall as a company using AI as an opportunity by acquiring AI businesses and embedding the technology into its product.
Fintech remains Molten’s largest theme, representing 25% of the portfolio, Wilkinson said. Revolut accounted for £175 million of fair value at year-end before Molten sold down £63 million after the period. Other fintech-related holdings include N26, Zopa exposure through the Forward transaction, Crowdcube, smava, Thought Machine, Form3 and FintechOS.
Third-Party Capital and Outlook
Wilkinson said Molten is focused on scaling third-party capital, including a growth fund, Molten East and a secondaries strategy. He said the growth fund has secured a cornerstone investor, with more detail expected in the coming weeks.
In response to an analyst question, Wilkinson said the growth fund would ideally reach at least £200 million for a first close and more than £300 million thereafter. He said Molten East may close below €100 million initially and potentially grow to around €150 million, while the secondaries strategy is targeting €150 million for its first fund.
Wilkinson said UK pension funds could become an important source of future capital, citing the Mansion House Accord and pension reforms. However, he cautioned that progress remains slow and that private fundraises typically take extended periods.
Looking ahead, Wilkinson said Molten’s priorities remain NAV growth, disciplined capital deployment, realizations, share buybacks where appropriate and the expansion of third-party assets. He said European sovereignty, AI and defense-related resilience themes are providing tailwinds for parts of the portfolio.
About Molten Ventures LON: GROW
Molten Ventures is a leading British venture capital firm backing Europe's highest-growth private technology companies.
Our expert investment team stay ahead of the curve, identifying transformative trends and next-generation companies before they break through. We combine multiple pools of capital to invest at all stages of the business lifecycle—from seed and early stage to growth and late stage—focusing on disruptive sectors like Spacetech, Fintech, and AI. Our strategy is simple: back bold ideas, scale them with capital and expertise, and unlock high-value exits—whether through strategic acquisitions, trade buy-outs, or IPOs.
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