Cavendish is an Australian hydrogen producer specialising in state of the art electrolysers. The company has been growing its team and building out its technology offering with a particular focus on Anion Exchange Membrane electrolysers, as they are confident these will be the future of scalable mass-produced hydrogen. As a result of this technology development, Cavendish has signed a deal with Indian conglomerate Adani, with the objective of setting up a manufacturing plant in India to enable mass production and further develop new ways to source green energy.

With the world entering a ’golden era’ for hydrogen according to founder Dr Ani Kulkarni, the Lucerne Select Alpha Fund was fortunate to have invested into a direct equity raise in 2022, and then a further capital raise via convertible notes in 2023 as the company had demonstrated continued operational success. Lucerne Private Wealth also offered the opportunity to select clients to invest directly in the company.

Urban Rest is a provider of luxury accommodation for short to medium term stays, disrupting the business travel sector. The company aims to be Australia and New Zealand’s leading trusted accommodation provider, designed for a new generation of business and discerning leisure travellers who are conscious about their wellbeing and sustainability of the planet.

With strong growth in its apartment offering and high average occupancy rates, Urban Rest has signed distribution agreements with global travel giants such as Corporate Travel Management and Flight Centre, and have expanded their portfolio offering to England and Ireland through lease agreements with developer Greystar.

Lucerne Private Wealth raised over $9 million for Urban Rest throughout 2021/22, investing its clients into the business via a convertible note paying monthly interest, which will convert to direct equity in the company at an attractive valuation once key deliverables have been met. In addition, the Lucerne Select Alpha Fund invested in Urban Rest in late 2021, and participated in a new capital raise in late 2022 when provided the opportunity to re-invest with the business showing stronger fundamentals and pathways to liquidity.

Nu-Rock Building Products is an Australian manufacturer of carbon-neutral construction bricks, that contribute to the circular economy. The Company’s proprietary chemical compound combines with the fly-ash waste from the burning of coal, to produce construction blocks that are 40% lighter and 50% cheaper than traditional bricks, and are also 100% carbon offset; a single production plant saving the equivalent carbon emissions of 70,000 cars per year.

Lucerne Private Wealth raised $3 million for Nu-Rock in 2022, investing its clients in the business via direct equity, to provide the business the funding to grow its operations; Lucerne then raised another $2.5 million in debt for the company to assist the business in the production of its first full-scale production plant. The Lucerne Select Alpha Fund also participated in Nu-Rock’s equity raise, providing select external investors exposure to the investment.

Gasco Pty Ltd is a gas exploration company founded in Australia by veterans of the resources field, backed by a number of family offices and strategic investors. The company’s goal is to create value by discovering and developing large volumes of natural gas from Mongolia’s extensive coal endowment, to then supply domestic and export markets with a clean, reliable and affordable source of energy.

With gas being an important source of energy during Australia’s transition to a net zero emissions target by 2050, Gasco is positioned to capitalise on the increasing demand for the resource in both Australia and globally. The company has recently made multiple discoveries of gas deposits in the initial small exploration area within Mongolia, and are optimistic of the area’s supply and potential for economies of scale on the production line. The company ultimately aims to IPO on the ASX to allow them access to funds to finance their continue exploration and development.

The Lucerne Select Alpha Fund participated in a small equity raise by the company earlier in 2023, as well as providing exposure for select private clients via direct equity.

Lucerne believes there are great risk-adjusted returns in first mortgage lending opportunities, as they offer a steady income to investors throughout the life of the loan while providing securitisation over the asset in case of default. In 2020, Lucerne funded construction of 9 townhouses and the refurbishment of 1 heritage commercial property in Clifton Hill. The sponsors of the project are well known to Lucerne. They are two Victorian architects and a builder all with experience in these types of projects.

Lucerne raised over $8 million from its Private Wealth client base over the course of 2020 – 2022, providing this debt financing to the builders of the site. The loan was fully repaid in early 2023, providing an annualised return to investors of ~8% p.a., with interest paid in cash monthly. Lucerne was confident in the security of the investment, with a Loan-to-Value ratio of <65% against completion value, 1st ranking security over the landowner and personal guarantees from the directors and major shareholders.