Tech incubator Crystal Horse Investments exits from Gilcrux with return of 10 times

Update: We wrote that CHI invested $206,000 in Spawt. The amount is incorrect, and remains undisclosed.

Singapore-based tech incubator Crystal Horse Investments today announced it has sold its stake in serial entrepreneur John Fearon’s Gilcrux Holdings. CHI’s third exit of the year will result in a return on investment ten times that of the original sum put in — the most generated from a portfolio company so far.

Previously, CHI had invested a total of S$500,000 ($402,000) in a combination of Gilcrux, Dropmysite (website, database, and email backup), and EatAds (marketplace for outdoor advertising).

Following the sale of its double-digit equity in Gilcrux, the investment firm still owns shares in three of the holding company’s subsidiaries: Dropmysite, EatAds, and Kluje, a home improvement portal for contractors and homeowners.

CHI was the leading investor in Gilcrux Holdings beginning with Angels Gate, a Dragon’s Den-like reality television show that screened on Channel NewsAsia last year.

CHI has funded 34 companies over the last three years across several industries. It has invested $250,000 in Malaysia-based iOS games developer Nexx Studio, was involved in an undisclosed six-digit round in LoveByte, a chat app for couples, and put in S$250,000 ($200,000) together with a Singapore government funding scheme in Tripzilla.com, a travel discovery platform.

CHI’s other exits this year were both from Malaysia, involving iBilik, a short-term rental marketplace, and Propwall, a property search site. Both websites were owned by Ocision, which sold 90 percent of its equity to media giant Star Publications for $4.36 million.

(Editing by Paul Bischoff)