In August 2021, media services company Aspermont (ASX: ASP) co-founded a FinTech startup, Blue Horseshoe Ventures, that was set to democratise and revolutionise the investment space. The same digital capital-raising platform has since entered voluntary administration and been returned to its directors.
On August 17, 2023, the Company said Blue Horseshoe Ventures had entered voluntary administration. Aspermont had an exposure of $670k in working capital loans at the time and agreed to fund a maximum of $100k for the voluntary administration process.
Since then, Aspermont has undertaken initiatives to recover the funds. And with Blue Horseshoe having been handed over to its directors, it might have some luck on that front.
Blue Horseshoe is a FinTech business that Aspermont has helped launch with partners—Spark Plu and International Pacific Capital (IPC). It is a capital-raising platform for the ASX market enabling a wider range of investors to access private placements and IPOs in that market.
Aspermont is the largest shareholder with a 44% stake, and at the end of 2022, it had increased its shareholding by $400k. While building the startup, Aspermont saw an opportunity to leverage its existing corporate and investor audiences for the new venture whilst, at the same time, enhancing its own offerings through the provision of additional complimentary services that will come from it.
However, it appears that the idea didn’t age well.
In May 2023, when the Company suffered a $900k loss, up from PCP’s $200k, it noted that its investment in Blue Horseshoe was part of the reason.
Kimberley Stuart Wallman and Gregory Paul Quin, registered liquidators, chartered accountants and partners of HLB Mann Judd Insolvency WA, were appointed as joint and several administrators of Blue Horseshoe. After a creditor’s meeting on November 21, 2023, creditors agreed to a Deed of Company Arrangement, where business control will return to the directors of BHV.
Aspermont is not expecting the ordeal to have a major impact on its operations as it has been seeing revenue growth across its other ventures. In October 2023, the Company announced the successful launch of its two co-located events, the Future of Mining (FOM) and MiningNews Select (MJS) in Perth on September 18 and 19, Aspermont’s biggest event to date. These events—covering the mining landscape—brought in $1.2 million in revenue.
In the third quarter of 2023, Aspermont’s total revenue saw a 4% YoY increase to $4.4 million. Its subscription revenue was $2.3 million, with the content works revenue seeing a 170% uplift to $200k.
In this period, it launched SCOUT for customer data analytics, the Perth events, and the Mining News Select, which sold out 12 weeks prior to launch. Aspermont’s focus is on market growth and expansions. However, since its exposure to Blue Horseshoe is rather big, shareholders await the FY24 report to see how it influences the Company’s overall financials.
More details on BHV and Aspermont’s role are set to come out in the next seven to 14 days.
Alinda is a Business Reporter for The Sentiment
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