Braveheart has eyes on profit again after another six months of loses

The firm also revealed that revenue was down a third at £610,000 due to the Viking equity contract shifting from investment into exit phase.

There were no realisations in the six months to this September.

Operating costs were down 6.5 per cent at £868,000, and cash balances at September 30 were down 31 per cent at £260,000.

Braveheart reported a £767,813 loss for the year to March from continuing operations and total revenues of £1.83m.

It had made a profit of £15,428 the previous year from a slightly higher turnover figure of £2.04m.

Chairman Jeremy Delmar-Morgan and chief executive Trevor Brown said the cost base of the group had been significantly reduced and are now looking to return to profit.

They continued: “We expect the last elements of this programme will be completed by the end of the current financial year so that the fund management businesses can return to a modest profit over the course of the new financial year.

“Our attention will continue to focus upon developing a new strategy for the group and working hard with our partners to achieve improvements in shareholder value.”

The latest report covers the period of former long-serving chief executive Geoffrey Thomson’s departure. He had co-founded the group in 1997 and had been at the helm for 18 years.

Braveheart’s directly held portfolio, representing the major proportion of shareholder funds, was revalued down from £2.48m to £1.76m.

The board vowed to step-up efforts with managements of portfolio companies to add value and accelerate exits where appropriate.

A Braveheart subsidiary, Caledonia Portfolio Realisations Ltd, and other investors sold their investment in Livingston web and internet filtering software business Bloxx to the US Akamai Technologies Incorporated.

The aggregate sum was £678,000 in a staged transaction.

Braveheart’s investor clients will receive £164,000.

The group’s direct investment portfolio comprises minority stakes in unquoted investments.