Total VCT fund raising set to dip this year

2015 Budget measures affected offer numbers

The total raised by venture capital trusts (VCTs) in the current tax year is likely to fall some way short of last year's total of £429m.

This looks largely due to much reduced capacity as the sector went about digesting the full implications of the various measures introduced in 2015's March Budget statement. Puma is believed to be close to filling its a £30m offer while Unicorn's AIM VCT closed its £10m offer in early March and Baronsmead reached its £10m subscription limit in January. However, a number of big names in the VCT sector did not go to investors with an offer this year. Generalists such as Mobeus and Northern were particularly affected by new rules regarding investing in management buyouts that were introd...