Quest for Growth : Business update 31 March 2023

QUEST FOR GROWTH

Business update 31 March 2023

PRESS RELEASE

27 April 2023 / 5.40 PM

The enclosed information constitutes regulated information as defined in the	Royal Decree
of 14 November 2007 regarding the duties of issuers of financial instruments	which have been
admitted for trading on a regulated market

MANAGER'S

REPORT

VALUATION QUEST FOR GROWTH

Stock Price		Net asset value/share
31/03/2023			31/12/2022		31/12/2021
31/03/2023
5.60 EUR	7.98 EUR		7.93 EUR		10.71 EUR
Number of shares	18,733,961		18,199,212		16,774,226

Discount of the share price versus Net Asset Value: 29.85%

Source: Estimate by Capricorn Partners NV

Results

Quest for Growth closed the first quarter of its financial year with a net profit of € 5.3 million. € 2.8 million of this can be used for dividend distribution. Return on equity was +3.67%. Quest for Growth's share price decreased by 6.7% over the first three months of the year, reaching a closing price of € 5.60 on 31 March 2023. The discount of the share price in relation to the net asset value rose to 29.8% at the end of the quarter, compared to 24.3% at the end of 2022.

Simplified capital structure, increased number of ordinary shares and reduced rights for preference shares

The Extraordinary General Meeting of 30 March 2023 has made the following unanimous decisions:

1. The preferred class of shares A and the preferred class of shares B are merged into one class of preference shares.
2. Of the 1,000 existing preference shares, 500 will be divided into 535,249 ordinary shares and lose their rights as preference shares. As a result, 535,249 ordinary shares will be added without increasing capital, which means the intrinsic value of each ordinary share is diluted by 2.86%.
3. These additional 535,249 ordinary shares are subject to a lock-up obligation. Every six months, 25% of the non-transferability will be eliminated so that the shares are fully marketable as from 30 March 2025.
4. Another 500 preference shares remain which continue to be reserved as variable incentive for the active management and on which a purchase option rests to the benefit of the Managing Company.
5. The 500 preference shares are entitled to propose two candidate directors of the board of directors of QfG.
6. The surplus share of the dividend that is distributed to the preferred shareholders will no longer be calculated based on the share of the net profit which exceeds the amount necessary to pay all shareholders a reimbursement which is equal to a nominal value of 6% on an annual basis, but will be calculated based on the share of the dividend which exceeds the amount necessary to pay the shareholders a reimbursement equal to a nominal value of 6% cumulative and recoverable for previous years in which there were insufficient or no dividend distributions; this is to be calculated from 1 January 2023.
7. The surplus preferential dividend entitlement is reduced from 20% to 10% so that the fraction of the surplus share of the dividend credited of all shareholders is raised from 80% to 90%.

Market Environment

The European stock market index STOXX Europe 600 Net Return rose by 8.4% during the first quarter of 2023. The STOXX Europe Small 200 Net Return increased by 6.1%. The American S&P 500, converted to EUR, achieved a total return of 6%. Despite the global rally of the stock markets, the prices remained volatile during the first quarter. Especially the banking sector had a difficult period towards the end of the first quarter. In the United States, the regulator had to intervene to protect account holders of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. In Europe, the major Swiss bank UBS had to hastily take over its largest competitor Credit Suisse. After a series of scandals, Credit Suisse had completely lost the trust of its shareholders and industry peers. Despite all the messages of doom, the European banking sector was able to perform with a positive return of 5% over the first quarter.

Lei 19 | 3000 Leuven | Belgium | T: [phone] | www.questforgrowth.com | [e-mail]	1

Investments in quoted equities

The estimated gross performance of the listed shares stands at about +8%, and therefore held up well on the European stock market indices. Stars of the portfolio were Melexis, (+31%), TKH (+29%) and Steico (+25%). The annual results of these three companies surpassed analysts' overly pessimistic expectations.

The German Stratec (-23%) and the Belgian Umicore (-9%) were the biggest losers in the portfolio. Stratec, a producer of machines for medical diagnostics, is still struggling with the declining demand for COVID tests. For Umicore, 2023 is proving to be a transition year.

During the first quarter, Quest for Growth bought one new position in SII (Société pour l'Informatique Industrielle) and withdrew from the Swiss company Gurit, a wind energy sector supplier which saw its profitability decrease substantially over the past two years. The French service provider SII provides technological support and IT consultancy to businesses in diverse sectors, including in aviation and the telecom and utilities sectors. In recent years, SII has achieved an above-average growth, mainly through geographic expansion in Eastern Europe. SII's founders are still on board and opt for a decentralised structure with a focus on local entrepreneurship to expand the business further. SII has a considerable net cash position and despite the strong growth, the share is valued low.

Investments in venture and growth capital

The Liege-based company Miracor Medical, specialised in interventional cardiology, was unable to attract new investors. The company has halted the pre-marketing of its PiCSO device and let go some of its employees. The value of Miracor Medical was already fully written off at the end of the 2022 financial year.

Investments in venture and growth funds

Confo Therapeutics was able to conclude two successful agreements at the Capricorn Health-Tech Fund. Confo Therapeutics, which has developed a platform for the discovery of medicines focused on G-protein-linked receptors (GPCRs), announced a global licensing agreement with Eli Lilly to finance the further phases of the clinical development of a medicine for treating pain due to nerve damage. The company subsequently also announced a collaboration with the large Japanese pharma company Daiichi Sankyo for the development of medicines to combat neurological illnesses. For both agreements, Confo Therapeutics will receive an advance payment and milestone payments.

On Friday 10 March, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in California was declared bankrupt after a run on the bank. This bank, although little known in Belgium, is globally one of the key money lenders for the tech industry in the United States. Moreover, the balances of many innovative start-ups and scale-ups - often after rounds of capital - were held at this bank. Several portfolio companies of the Capricorn venture capital funds were also customers at SVB. Because of the bailout by the American government, the bank will continue under the name Silicon Valley Bridge Bank and the immediate danger has passed. There is no direct danger for our portfolio companies. The companies have adjusted their cash management strategies.

Indirectly, however, the SVB incident has had an impact on venture capital by attracting attention to the fragility of the ecosystem - and this, after the succession of the pandemic, global supply chain

EVOLUTION SHARE PRICE AND NET ASSET VALUE

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

-10%

-20%

PERFORMANCE PER SHARE IN QUOTED PORTFOLIO SINCE 31/12/2022

40

30

20

10

%

0

-10

-20

STRATEC SE

EQUASENS

MAYR-MELNHOF KARTON AG

SII*

ABO WIND AG

FINANCIERE DE TUBIZE

STOXX Europe 600 NR

DATRON AG

KERRY GROUP PLC-A

LEM HOLDING SA-REG

THERMADOR GROUPE

B&C SPEAKERS SPA

STEICO SE

-30

UMICORE

ROCHE HOLDING AG-GENUSSCHEIN

NEXUS AG

EVS BROADCAST EQUIPMENT S.A.

NEDAP N.V.

STOXX Europe Small 200 NR

CEWE STIFTUNG & CO KGAA

QfG quoted (e)

WOLTERS KLUWER

JENSEN-GROUP NV

TKH GROUP NV-DUTCH CERT

MELEXIS NV

• sinds 2/2/23, dag van de eerste aankoop in Quest for Growth Bron: Bloomberg, Capricorn Partners
  QfG Quoted (e): estimate excluding costs and cash

Lei 19 | 3000 Leuven | Belgium | T: [phone] | www.questforgrowth.com | [e-mail]	2

Financial assets breakdown at 31 march 2023

QUOTED EQUITIES
		Number of	Change since				In % of Net
Company	Market	shares	31/12/2022	Currency	Share Price	Valuation in €	Asset Value
	Cleantech
ABO WIND	Deutsche Börse (Xetra)	35,047	-25,740	€	79.2000	2,775,722	1.86%
FRX INNOVATION	TSXV (Canada)	493,842	0	CAD	0.2798	93,761	0.06%
JENSEN GROUP	Euronext Brussels	135,876	-17,000	€	32.4000	4,402,382	2.94%
KERRY GROUP	Euronext Dublin	44,250	2,750	€	91.8400	4,063,920	2.72%
MAYR-MELNHOF KARTON	Deutsche Börse (Xetra)	22,500	0	€	153.0000	3,442,500	2.30%
STEICO	Deutsche Börse (Xetra)	63,333	0	€	54.1000	3,426,315	2.29%
THERMADOR	Euronext Paris	35,444	0	€	98.3000	3,484,145	2.33%
UMICORE	Euronext Brussels	95,000	20,000	€	31.2100	2,964,950	1.98%
						24,653,696
	Digital
B&C SPEAKERS	Borsa Italiana	165,004	0	€	14.5000	2,392,558	1.60%
CEWE STIFTUNG	Deutsche Börse (Xetra)	55,309	-9,986	€	95.0000	5,254,355	3.51%
DATRON	Deutsche Börse (Xetra)	119,000	0	€	11.6000	1,380,400	0.92%
EVS	Euronext Brussels	151,125	17,500	€	21.9500	3,317,194	2.22%
LEM HOLDING	SWX Swiss Exchange	1,446	0	CHF	1.966.0000	2,851,962	1.91%
MELEXIS	Euronext Brussels	51,289	0	€	106.4000	5,457,150	3.65%
NEDAP	Euronext Amsterdam	93,148	0	€	58.0000	5,402,584	3.61%
SII	Euronext Paris	57,746	57,746	€	50.2000	2,898,849	1.94%
TKH GROUP	Euronext Amsterdam	143,570	10,000	€	47.9400	6,882,746	4.60%
WOLTERS KLUWER	Euronext Amsterdam	42,500	-7,500	€	116.3500	4,944,875	3.31%
						40,782,673
	Health
EQUASENS	Euronext Paris	67,330	0	€	71.7000	4,827,561	3.23%
NEXUS	Deutsche Börse (Xetra)	59,401	0	€	54.8000	3,255,175	2.18%
ROCHE	SWX Swiss Exchange	16,500	0	CHF	260.9500	4,319,497	2.89%
STRATEC	Deutsche Börse (Xetra)	36,003	6,000	€	62.6000	2,253,788	1.51%
TUBIZE	Euronext Brussels	67,588	3,000	€	76.2000	5,150,206	3.44%
						19,806,227
						85,242,596	57.00%

VENTUREDURF- ANDGROEIKAPIGROWTHAALCAPITAL

				Change since			In % of Net
Equity				31/12/2022	Currency	Valuation in €	Asset Value
DMC	Cleantech				$	1,581,608		1.06%
ECLECTICIQ	Digital				€	1,275,922		0.85%
FINQUEST	Digital				$	1,839,080		1.23%
FRUITCORE ROBOTICS	Diversified				€	2,000,327		1.34%
NGDATA	Digital				€	1,283,965		0.86%
QPINCH	Cleantech				€	2,137,498		1.43%
REIN4CED	Cleantech				€	1,378,020		0.92%
SENSOLUS	Digital				€	1,877,021		1.26%
						13,373,442		8.94%
Debt
FINQUEST	Digital			300,000	$	275,862		0.18%
						275,862		0.18%
	Lei 19 |	3000 Leuven |	Belgium |	T: [phone] | www.questforgrowth.com |	[e-mail]	3

VENTURE AND GROWTH FUNDS
		Change since		Last valuation		In % of Net
		31/12/2022	Currency	date	Valuation in €	Asset Value
Capricorn Partners
CAPRICORN CLEANTECH FUND	Cleantech		€	31/03/2023	957,780	0.64%
CAPRICORN DIGITAL GROWTH FUND	Digital		€	31/03/2023	6,567,948	4.39%
CAPRICORN FUSION CHINA FUND	Diversified		€	31/03/2023	2,545,012	1.70%
CAPRICORN HEALTH-TECH FUND	Health		€	31/03/2023	11,461,833	7.66%
CAPRICORN ICT ARKIV	Digital		€	31/03/2023	5,675,057	3.79%
CAPRICORN SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY FUND	Cleantech		€	31/03/2023	11,625,062	7.77%
Third party funds
CARLYLE EUROPE TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS II	Diversified	-78.891	€	30/09/2022	8,000	0.01%
LIFE SCIENCES PARTNERS III	Health		€	30/09/2022	138,309	0.09%
LIFE SCIENCES PARTNERS IV	Health		€	31/12/2022	555,000	0.37%
					39,534,000	26.44%
PORTFOLIO OVERVIEW
Quoted equities					85,242,596	57.00%
Venture & Growth capital					13,649,304	9.13%
Venture & Growth capital Funds					39,534,000	26.44%
Change in valuation in Venture and Growth capital					0	0.00%
Financial Assets					138,201,350	92.56%
Cash					11,063,474	7.40%
Other net assets & liabilities					60,693	0.04%
Net Assets Value					149,550,067	100.00%
Net Assets Value per share (€)					7,98
Stock price (€)					5,60
Discount %					-29,85%

Cleantech		Cash & other net
32%	Venture & Growth	assets & liabilities
8%
	capital Funds
Health	26%
23%

	Digital	Venture & Growth capital	Quoted equities
Diversified	9%	57%
43%
2%

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PORTFOLIO COMPOSITION AND MARKET CAPITALISATION AT 31 MARCH 2023

€ 160,000,000								26.44%
€ 140,000,000
€ 120,000,000				9.13%
€ 100,000,000				57.57%
€ 80,000,000
€ 60,000,000
€ 40,000,000
€ 20,000,000	7.44%
€ 0
		Cash +	Quoted Equities Venture & Growth	Venture & Growth	Market cap
			Other net assets			Capital	Funds

TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS RETURN (SINCE 31 MARCH 2013)

RESULTS FROM 1 JANUARY 2013 TO 31 MARCH 2023

DISTRIBUTION BY COUNTRY

US Canada Singapore

1.1% 0.1% 1.5% Italy

Switzerland 1.7% 5.2%

Ireland	Belgium
2.9%	48.3%

France

8.1%

United Kingdom

0.0%

Netherlands

13.9%

Germany

17.2%

DISTRIBUTION BY CURRENCY

USD 2.47%

EUR 92.56%

CAD 0.06%

CHF

4.90%

160,000,000

140,000,000

120,000,000

100,000,000

80,000,000

60,000,000

40,000,000

20,000,000

.

7.9 %

17.4 %

12.43%

20.3%

14.02%

34.5 %

-0.3 % -18.35%

12.43%

3.67%

-14.70%

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

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