VR Education – Partial sale of share and update

Posted on 22nd June 2020 by shardadmin

VR Education – Partial sale of share and update

SURE VENTURES PLC | Released 07:00:08 22 June 2020 | RNS Number : 5782Q | Sure Ventures PLC

Sure Ventures plc (‘Sure Ventures’ or ‘the Company’)

Sure Ventures plc, a London listed venture capital fund which invests in early stage software companies in the rapidly growing technology areas of Augmented reality (‘AR’), Virtual Reality (‘VR’), Internet of Things (‘IoT’) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). We are pleased to provide an update on one of its Investments held through its commitment in Sure Valley Ventures Fund (“SVV”).

Given the significant progress that VR Education has made and the appreciation in its share price since it listed on AIM in March 2018, SVV has sold 3,362,000 shares realising gross proceeds of £522,422 in order to realise the cost of its original investment. SVV still believes that the company has significant growth potential and so plans to retain 10,578,580 shares, amounting to a 4.38% shareholding in the company which was worth around £1.82 million at the closing mid-market price on Friday 19 June 2020 of 17.25 pence. The current share price of VR Education represents some 465% of the original price at which SVV made its investment.

The funds realised from the sale of shares will be distributed to the investors in SVV as is the usual practice when realisations are made, and so Sure Ventures PLC expects to receive around £ 135’000 shortly. This is the second distribution that Sure Ventures PLC will have received from its investment in SVV since its commitment in the fund, the first being 1.6 million euros relating to the sale of Artomatix in December 2019.

VR Education, is a leading virtual reality technology company focused on the education and enterprise training space recently announced that HTC Corporation (“HTC”) has agreed to invest €3.0 million in the company and enter into a strategic partnership for the distribution and license of the company’s ENGAGE platform globally through HTC enterprise sales channels. HTC’s investment follows the success of the 2020 HTC VIVE Ecosystem Conference which was hosted on the company’s ENGAGE platform in March 2020.

Further details about VR Education can be found at www.vreducationholdings.com.

SURE VALLEY VENTURES FUND

Sure Ventures has a 7m million commitment to Sure Valley Ventures Fund representing an interest of approximately 25.9% of the underlying portfolio companies detailed in this announcement.

Gareth Burchell-Director Comment “The Strategic investment from HTC both adds validity to the technology that has been so successfully developed by the team at VR Education and accelerates the ability to scale the commercial traction of the ENGAGE platform on a global basis. We would like to congratulate Dave Whelan and the team on what is a major collaboration with a global leader in VR technology and look forward to what the future holds for the business in a post COVID 19 communication environment. The decision to return the initial investment in VR Education to its investors, whilst maintaining a meaningful stake in a company that we believe has a major opportunity to achieve significant growth, is one the board of Sure Ventures supports whole heartedly”.

ENDS

For further information, please visit www.sureventuresplc.com or contact:

Gareth Burchell	Sure Ventures plc	+44 (0) 20 7186 9918

Notes to Editors

Sure Ventures plc listed on the London Stock Exchange in January 2018 giving retail investors access to an asset class that is usually dominated by private venture capital funds. Sure Ventures is focusing on companies in the UK, Republic of Ireland and other European countries, making seed and series A investments in companies with first rate management teams, products which benefit from market validation with target revenue run rates of at least £400,000 over the next 12 months. Website: https://www.sureventuresplc.com/

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END

“VRE’s commitment to education through VR has built the framework for their success.”

Posted on 11th June 201814th August 2018 by shardadmin

VR Education Holdings last week announced a release of Titanic part 2 – one of the company’s showcase experiences, expected August 2018.
The immersive VR experience places users on the world’s most famous ship on the night of the sinking, allowing them to experience the tragic events that lead to the Titanic’s historic sinking. The VR Education experience also allows users to deep dive around the shipwreck as she looks today. Titanic 2 by VR Education will be released on PC, Oculus Rift, HTC vibe and Windows Mixed Reality with a later version to be released on PlayStation VR.

Speaking about the announcement, David Whelan, CEO of VR Education said, “We are delighted with our development progress on Part 2 of Titanic VR and feel we are about to reignite the public’s imagination when it comes to the historic events around the sinking of this world-famous ship. We want to ensure that this experience is the best it can be and this short additional time will allow us to finesse some of the final details that will turn Titanic VR from a great experience to an exceptional one.”

Along with news, VR Education have also announced that its project produced in conjunction with the BBC, titled 1943: Berlin Blitz will be released in Q3 of this year. The most fearless World War II report brings to life the events inside a Lancaster bombing during one of the most well documented missions of World War II and uses original cockpit audio recorded 75 years ago.

Head of Stockbroking at Shard Capital, Gareth Burchell also commented, “VR Education are moving from strength to strength. Their unique educational VR experiences are attracting interest from across the world and their commitment to education through VR has built the framework for their success.”

Ready, set, mass adoption? Virtual Reality full steam ahead

Posted on 4th May 201814th August 2018 by shardadmin

In today’s world, Virtual Reality is something you can’t escape. For a long time, we siloed experiences such as VR to gaming, however now everyday people are engaging with VR in their everyday lives. In gaming, travel, real estate and healthcare we are seeing the introduction and revolutionising of VR technologies and before too long, we can expect to see mass adoption.

Last week leading Virtual Reality game developer Immotion Group received an additional £500,000 in investment from Venture Capital fund Sure Ventures. Immotion create superior out of home immersive VR experiences and will use the £500,000 funds raised to fast-track the roll-out of its product worldwide and create new content. Immotion Group will next month open their first VR gaming arcade just outside of London.

This week, the momentum for VR continues to strive forward with £20mil in fundraising by EVR Holdings. EVR are one of the leading creators in virtual reality content and the holding company of Melody VR. Melody VR officially launched this week at Facebook’s F8 conference and gives users an immersive music experience, allowing fans to watch performances on their VR headsets with content created from previous live performances, sold-out concerts, festivals and special events. Singer Adele is even said to have invested in the company and EVR has already secured partnerships within the industry with Warner Music, Sony Music and Universal Music.

EVR has already raised £70mil to date and the additional funding will be used to further their global expansion outside of the UK and the US. Speaking about the placing, Anthony Matchett, Executive Chairman and CEO of EVR said, “As we move forward, we are confident that a global roll-out of the Melody VR platform will not only serve to supplement and increase the company’s potential revenue generation capabilities but will also serve to increase content consumption, brand awareness and IP value overall.” EVR is also set to explore additional immersive technologies outside of VR, such as interactive advertising and augmented reality.

In a further nod to VR, earlier this week UK based VR Education’s multi award winning educational experience Apollo 11 was announced as part of the launch collection of the new Oculus Go; the Facebook owned VR headset. The all new design with built in speakers, optimised graphics and overall superior quality of the Oculus Go, in addition to its attractive £199 RRP is set to accelerate the introduction of immersive VR experiences into homes and lives of people around the world.

Gareth Burchell, Head of Stockbroking at Shard Capital and appointed broker for VR Education commented, “This week’s announcement is amazing recognition to the superior educational experiences VR Education are creating and introducing at all levels.”

The VR Education Apollo 11 announcement reacted very well on the day with the share price hitting a high of 18.9p (Tuesday 2 May) and closing 35% up on the day. VR Education has a market cap of £28mil after its March 12 (2018) listing on the LSE.

For more information on Shard Capital or Sure Ventures, please contact us.

VR Education Holdings Plc Apollo 11 VR Mobile App Selected for Oculus Go Launch Collection

Posted on 2nd May 201814th August 2018 by shardadmin

Multiple award-winning Apollo 11 VR educational experience invited by Oculus to feature as part of a special promotional Oculus Go Collection on Oculus store

VR Education (AIM: VRE; ESM: 6VR), a leading virtual reality (‘VR’) technology company focused on the education space, is pleased to announce that its award-winning Apollo 11 VR educational experience has been selected to be part of the launch collection for Oculus Go, Oculus’ new all-in-one VR headset.

Oculus Go, which has a recommended retail price of US$199, will allow users to effortlessly enter VR with no PC or wires attached and was launched on 1 May 2018. VR Education’s Apollo 11 was selected by Oculus as one of the apps for inclusion in the launch collection and will remain available at a reduced price of US$3.99 until 31 August 2018 on the Oculus store.

The Apollo 11 experience was developed by the Group in 2016 and provides users the ability to witness the moon landing first-hand in virtual reality, from the viewpoint of the US astronaut Neil Armstrong. The Apollo 11 VR experience is currently available on HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR and has been downloaded approximately 120,000 times as at 30 April 2018, generating over €1 million in revenue for the Group.

David Whelan, CEO of VR Education, said: “Since its launch, the Apollo 11 VR experience has won numerous awards and has achieved considerable success on the Oculus store for Oculus Rift users. The potential market for Apollo 11 is increasing all the time with the cost of hardware still coming down and the launch of the Oculus Go all-in-one headset now means you do not need a PC or smartphone to enjoy a full VR experience. We are excited to be working with Oculus Go to bring the joys of VR to the mainstream consumer.”

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.

For further information, please contact:

VR Education Holdings plc

David Whelan, CEO

Sandra Whelan, COO

Tel: +353 87 665 6708

contact@vreducationholdings.com

Cairn Financial Advisers LLP

(Nominated Adviser)

James Caithie / Liam Murray / Richard Nash

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213 0880

Shard Capital Partners LLP

(Joint Broker)

Damon Heath / Erik Woolgar

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7186 9952

Davy

(Joint Broker & ESM Adviser)

Fergal Meegan / Ronan Veale / Barry Murphy

Tel: +353 1 679 7788

Buchanan

(UK Financial PR)

Henry Harrison-Topham / Chris Lane /

Tilly Abraham

Tel: +44 (0)20 7466 5000

VRE@buchanan.uk.com

Wilson Hartnell

(Irish Corporate PR)

Peter O’Brien / Frans Van Cauwelaert

Tel: +353 1 669 0030

peter.o’brien@ogilvy.com

frans.vancauwelaert@ogilvy.com

Notes to Editors

VR Education, together with its wholly owned subsidiary, is an early stage VR software and technology group based in Waterford, Ireland, dedicated to transforming the delivery methods of education and corporate training by utilising VR technologies to deliver fully immersive virtual learning experiences. The Group’s core focus is the development and commercialisation of its online virtual social learning and presentation platform called ENGAGE, which provides a platform for creating, sharing and delivering proprietary and third-party VR content for educational and corporate training purposes.

In addition to the ongoing development of the ENGAGE platform, the Group has also built two downloadable showcase VR experiences, being the award-winning Apollo 11 VR experience and an early access version of the Group’s Titanic VR experience.

On 12 March 2018, VR Education listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and on the Enterprise Securities Market, a market regulated by Euronext Dublin.

Since its release, the Apollo 11 showcase VR experience has received a number of industry awards:

Viveport Developer Awards – 1st Place Explore Category – April 2017
Proto Awards, Hollywood – Best Educational Experience – October 2016
Unity Vision Summit, Hollywood – Best Film/Interactive Story – February 2016
VR Fest, Las Vegas – Best VR Animated Educational Film – January 2016
FIVARS, Toronto – Public Choice Award – October 2015
Time Warner, New York – Future of Storytelling – September 2015

For further information, please visit www.vreducationholdings.com.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange