Draper Esprit sells software company and appoints new CFO

AIM-listed technology venture capital firm Draper Esprit sold its portfolio software company and appointed a new chief financial officer.

Draper Esprit sold its information technology company Qosmos to Enea, a Nasdaq and Stockholm-listed supplier of network software platforms, for €52.7m, subject to approval from the French government authorities, and was expected to complete in December 2016.

The audited net asset value of Draper Esprit's holding in Qosmos as at the end of April was £4.9m, while the amount received by Draper Esprit from the sale will be about £6m with a further €1.9m expected in 24 months' time.

Consequently, the disposal is expected to have a positive impact on the company's overall net asset value.

Draper Esprit chief executive, Simon Cook said: "We have achieved much since the initial public offering [in June] with a number of new investments and notably the Movidius and now Qosmos exits. Our net asset value is, as planned, showing strong progression.”

The company also appointed Benjamin Wilkinson, formerly of AIM-listed President Energy, as chief financial officer.

Wilkinson has experience in financial management, corporate finance and investment banking and previously worked at Levine Capital Management Advisors, a private investment fund and held roles in corporate finance at ABN AMRO Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Cook added: "Ben has extensive public company experience and a track record of delivering on strategic financial benchmarks. The recent initial public offering was transformational for Draper Esprit and we are confident that Ben's addition to the senior management team will help us continue to drive growth.”

Shares Draper Esprit were up 1.49% to 340p at 0958 BST.