Wrap Text
Summarised unaudited financial statements for the quarter and nine months ended 31 March 2025
UNIVERSAL PARTNERS LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of Mauritius)
(Registration number: 138035 C1/GBL)
SEM share code: UPL.N0000
JSE share code: UPL
ISIN: MU0526N00007
("Universal Partners" or "UPL" or "the Company")
SUMMARISED UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE QUARTER AND NINE MONTHS ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
Quarter Quarter Nine months Nine months
ended ended ended ended Year ended
31 March 31 March 31 March 31 March 30 June
2025 2024 2025 2024 2024
Net asset value per share GBP 1.173 1.293 1.173 1.293 1.291
("NAV")
Net asset value per share ZAR 27.95 30.74 27.95 30.74 29.69
("NAV")
Loss for the quarter / period GBP (1 659 861) (268 468) (8 641 824) (202 470) (278 836)
Loss per share pence (2.28) (0.37) (11.86) (0.28) (0.383)
Headline loss per share pence (2.28) (0.37) (11.86) (0.28) (0.383)
Universal Partners has a primary listing on the Official Market of the Stock Exchange of Mauritius Ltd ("SEM") and a secondary
listing on the Alternative Exchange ("AltX") of the JSE Limited ("JSE").
PRINCIPAL ACTIVITY
The principal activity of the Company is to hold investments in high quality, growth businesses across Europe, with a focus on the
United Kingdom ("UK"). The Company's investment mandate also allows up to 20% of total funds at the time an investment is
made to be invested outside the UK and Europe.
BUSINESS REVIEW
Since its listing on the SEM and the JSE, the Company has worked closely with its investment advisor, Argo Investment Managers
("Argo"), to identify potential investments that meet its investment criteria.
The Company has made six investments since listing and has successfully concluded two exits.
An update on investments held at the reporting date is presented below.
Workwell ("WW")
www.workwellsolutions.com
WW provides employment (EOR), engagement (AOR), outsourcing and compliance services for mobile, remote and flexible labour.
WW solutions enable end hirers, recruitment businesses and job platforms to access global talent directly and indirectly, through
permanent staff, freelancers and self-employed contractors.
WW delivered a sound performance during the 6 months to March, the first half of the new financial year. While revenue was
marginally below budget, this was offset by overhead savings, resulting in EBITDA that was substantially on budget. Trading in
the various geographies can be summarised as follows:
- International – Demonstrated a robust trading performance, with revenues in the US and Europe growing strongly compared
to the prior year. Approximately 60% of revenue and 70% of EBITDA are now generated by WW's international operations.
- UK – Experienced limited growth, with revenues largely flat compared to the prior year. The UK recruitment sector continues
to present a challenging environment, further impacted by the recent increases in the National Minimum Wage and employer
National Insurance contributions.
Following the acquisition of Eastridge Workforce Management ("EWM"), management is focused on integrating the group, refining
the strategy and enhancing the capacity of the leadership team in North America, which is now the most significant geography for
WW. Exciting cross-selling opportunities exist with clients that value WW's ability to provide its high quality, compliant services
globally. Additional acquisition opportunities in regions that will enhance the global reach of the business are being considered.
Ongoing development of the IT platform remains a top priority, with a strong focus on ease of use for clients combined with
integrated and robust back-end systems. Management continues to rebrand group businesses where appropriate, so that existing and
potential clients can easily understand the comprehensive suite of products and services that WW offers.
PortmanDentex ("PD")
www.portmandentex.com
PD, one of Europe's largest dental care platforms with over 400 practices across the UK, Ireland, the Nordics, Benelux, and France,
has completed the final phase of its integration with Dentex through the successful implementation of a new ERP system. This
follows UPL's sale of its Dentex shares to PD in April 2023 for £30.3m in cash and the balance for shares in PD, resulting in UPL
becoming a minority shareholder.
Although EBITDA is slightly behind budget for the five months to February 2025, full-year targets remain achievable. Demand for
private dental services continues to be strong, and measures are being taken to improve recruitment and succession planning, with
results anticipated to be seen by PD's September year-end.
PD has successfully implemented a larger debt facility on favourable terms and has raised an additional £35m in equity from existing
shareholders, through front-ranking Loan Notes that offer an attractive return. UPL followed its proportional right by investing
£1.5m.
The new facility includes an additional acquisition component to support PD's ongoing buy-and-build strategy. While PD continues
to actively explore acquisition opportunities across the UK and Europe, management remains focused and selective, pursuing only
those opportunities that offer significant value enhancement.
On the 1st of April 2025, PD announced the appointment of Paul Marshall as Group CEO, effective in October. Paul brings
significant sector experience and is expected to lead the next phase of growth. The current CEO, Sam Waley-Cohen, will transition
to Group Chairman while remaining actively involved.
SC Lowy Partners ("SC Lowy")
www.sclowy.com
SC Lowy is a leading investment management group focused on credit investing and lending in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Following on the strong results presented for the prior financial year to 31 December 2024, SC Lowy has experienced a good start
to the new year. Fund raising in the Asset Management division has been successful, with a total of $267m committed for the
Strategic Investments ("SI") Fund IV and the goal of achieving a final close of $500m by September well within reach. SI funds I
and II are in harvest mode and continue to deliver good returns to investors. The wind down of the PI fund is progressing as planned,
with around 30% of funds returned to date.
Solution Bank (Italy) was ahead of budget for the quarter. Despite good loan origination, a wave of refinancing was evident in the
sector which resulted in a flat loan book. The consequent reduction in net interest income was more than offset by good cost control
and credit metrics, resulting in profits for the quarter being ahead of budget.
Cheoun Savings Bank (South Korea) experienced a 13% reduction in its loan book due to the early repayment of a significant
number of loans. Management is actively originating new loans and expects profits to track closer to budget during the next quarter.
Xcede Group ("Xcede")
www.xcede.com
Xcede is a global recruitment specialist operating in the UK, Europe and North America. It operates under two brands: Xcede and
EarthStream. Xcede provides recruitment services in the data, software, cloud infrastructure, and cyber security markets, while
EarthStream is a global energy recruitment specialist.
Despite significant challenges in the recruitment sector, Xcede is beginning to see the advantages of simplifying its operations by
operating in fewer markets. The offices in South Africa, Spain and Singapore have been rationalised, leading to improved
productivity per employee, a more efficient central support function, and healthier profit margins. During the quarter ended March,
the business traded substantially in line with its budget. The senior leadership team is focused on increasing the proportion of
contracting revenue, whilst retaining a high performing permanent recruitment function.
As previously reported, UPL advanced £900,000 in funding to the business in January 2025 as part of a broader reorganisation of
Xcede's debt and equity, which included an extension of its third-party debt facilities. As a result, the valuation of UPL's investment
in Xcede has increased by £900,000 during the quarter.
Propelair
www.propelair.com
Propelair has reinvented the toilet to deliver, through its unique IP and design, one of the most water efficient, economical and
hygienic systems available. The Propelair toilet utilises 1.5 litres of water per flush versus a traditional toilet that uses around 9 litres
of water per flush. In addition, it significantly reduces pathogen distribution and improves health and hygiene.
As previously reported, constructive progress is being made in the Middle East and South Africa. However, the Company is still
significantly behind its original business plan and, accordingly, we continue to value this investment at a nominal £1.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
The Company recognised a fair value loss of £347,106 for the quarter on the remeasurement of investments at fair value through
profit or loss. This amount relates to the exchange rate adjustment to the valuation in the Company's underlying investment in SC
Lowy, which is denominated in US Dollars.
Management fees for the quarter amounted to £443,455 incurred in terms of the investment management agreement between the
Company and Argo. General and administrative expenses amounting to £112,267 were also incurred. The accrual for performance
fees is calculated on the revaluation of the Company's investments. These fees, which are recalculated quarterly, only become
payable to Argo if the Company realises the expected profit on disposal of the investments. No performance fees are payable to
Argo until a successful exit of an investment has been achieved. An additional accrual of £661,823 was raised during the quarter
based on the value of the Company's underlying investments at the end of the quarter.
The Company incurred interest of £88,758 during the quarter on the RMB term loan facility.
DIVIDEND
In line with the Company's strategy to maximise the value of the investments and return surplus cash flow from the sale of
investments in the future, dividends are not declared on a regular basis. Accordingly, no dividend has been declared for the quarter
under review.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
This announcement is the responsibility of the directors and is only a summary of the information in the summarised unaudited
financial statements for the quarter and nine months ended 31 March 2025 ("results announcement") and accordingly does not
contain full or complete details. The results announcement was published on SENS on 7 May 2025, and can be found on the
Company's website www.universalpartners.mu and can be accessed using the following JSE cloudlink
https://senspdf.jse.co.za/documents/2025/jse/isse/UPLE/Q325Result.pdf
Any investment decisions by shareholders and/or investors should be based on the results announcement released on SENS and
published on the Company's website.
Copies of this report are available to the public, free of charge, at the registered office of the Company, c/o Intercontinental Trust
Limited, Level 3 Alexander House, 35 Cybercity, Ebene 72201, Mauritius.
Copies of the statement of direct or indirect interest of the Senior Officers of the Company pursuant to rule 8(2)(m) of the Securities
(Disclosure of Obligations of Reporting Issuers) Rules 2007 are available to the public upon request to the Company Secretary at
the Registered Office of the Company at c/o Intercontinental Trust Limited, Level 3 Alexander House, 35 Cybercity, Ebene 72201,
Mauritius.
The Board of Universal Partners accepts full responsibility for the accuracy of the information contained in this announcement.
By order of the Board
Mauritius – 7 May 2025
Company Secretary
Intercontinental Trust Limited
For further information please contact:
South African corporate advisor SEM authorised representative
and JSE sponsor and sponsor Company Secretary
Java Capital Perigeum Capital Intercontinental Trust Ltd
Tel: +27 (0)78 456 9999 Tel: +230 402 0890 Tel: +230 403 0800
Date: 07-05-2025 07:30:00
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