AGM Statement

At the AGM to be held today Angus Forrest, Executive Chairman, will read the following statement to the meeting.

“The Company’s objective since the acquisition of Acuity Risk Management Ltd has been, and continues to be, to accelerate revenue growth. In the period several milestones have been achieved including large contract wins and a 45% increase in order values between 31 March 23 and 31 December 2023.

2023 Report & Accounts have been prepared using acquisition accounting as set out in IFRS 3 and as appropriate for Acuity’s new status as a trading company. In previous years the Company prepared accounts as an investing company.

Businesses are created and built by people. New management and talent were recruited in 2023 and this has continued through the first half of 2024. It takes time for change to take effect and the full benefits to be visible. The main changes have been made with some contribution expected in 2024 and they should be fully effective by mid 2025.

Notable achievements include:

Orders won in H1 2024 -50% increase to £1,017,000 (H1 2023: £677,000)

Orders won in Q2 2024 - 81% increase to £693,000 (Q2 2023: £383,000) with several opportunities postponed until H2 2024 including three potential orders with a total value of £1,422,000.

Sales pipeline at 30 June 2024 -£7.9m (31 Dec £7.9m)

First order from a US state in January 2024

New partners in UK and US have been appointed

Recruitment of:

Finance director in Q4 2023

Chief technical officer Q3 2023

Experienced sales and marketing executives in Q2 2024

A recent development was the launch of a new counter terrorism product, STORM, in April 2024, at an event in the Houses of Parliament. STORM is believed to be the first product of its type and will enable event organisers to meet the requirements of anticipated legislation.

We expect to be able to announce an accelerating rate of order wins and developments in all areas of the business over the next 12 months. In particular we are redeveloping our core product, STREAM, so it incorporates the latest technologies, remains at the forefront of risk management software platforms available in the GRC market and has a suite of improvements built in to maintain its competitive edge.

Fund raise - £1 million was raised in June to invest in the developments outlined above. This should enable faster growth and increased value of orders which in turn should be reflected in improving financial results.”