Punakaiki launches 'private equity for the people' funding round, updates on NZX plans

Punakaiki co-founder Lance Wiggs is aiming for an NZX listing in 2020. Photo / Mark MItchell.

Punakaiki Fund's latest raise could be called "private equity for the people", director Lance Wiggs says.

His fund has set a lower limit of just $215 to participate in its latest round. Low overheads make the low entry point possible, Wiggs says.

There is no set target, but Wiggs is after close to $3m to satisfy conditional investments and is eyeing up to $10m.

Punakaiki was founded in April 2014 with assets of $1.5m. Its assets were recently valued at $40m.

Wiggs wants to ultimately list his fund on the NZX but wants to pass the $100m asset milestone first. He's targeting 2020 to hit that mark.

As always, past performance is no guarantee of future returns. But so far, Punakaiki has been a success story for its 700 backers.

The new offer is priced at $21.50 per share, representing an average increase of 18 per cent per year over the 4 and a half years since the fund launched at $10 per share.

So far, Punakaiki has invested $26.5m across 20 companies, which have combined trailing 12-month revenue of $99m and an annualised $115m for the latest quarter.

Funds from the current offer will be used to help six companies in particular, Wiggs says - Melon Health, Conqa, Mobi2Go and Devoli, RedSeed and Boardingware.

Melon Health founder Siobhan Bulfin. Her Punakaiki-backed startup has pilot programmes with insurers in NZ and the US. Photo / Supplied.

Those six companies delivered combined annualised revenue of over $23m for the last quarter, with the first three growing combined quarterly revenue by over 85 per cent year-on-year.

Melon Health, which is also backed by Sir Stephen Tindall's K1W1 fund, makes an app to help people manage a chronic illness such as diabetes, or grapple with a mental health issue, by making it easy for them to track medication, appointments and progress toward a health goal, or to contact a health coach.

Melon has deals with six primary health organisations (PHOs) and NIB at home, and recently began pilots in the US with United Health (the largest insurer in North America) and Oscar, a New York outfit dubbed a "hipster" insurer by the Wall Street Journal.