Unicorn’s AIM venture capital trust (VCT) has raised a further £13.7m in its latest offering, bringing the total new assets to £94.6m.
The company said the VCT – which invests in companies listed on the AIM stockmarket – returned 18.7 per cent including dividends, compared to a 0.3 per cent loss for the FTSE AIM index, in the first nine months of the financial year.
Unicorn said the VCT had continued to provide regular tax-free dividend income for investors, alongside capital growth.
A dividend of 6 pence per share was paid in January 2014, bringing the total paid in dividends to investors since launch in 2001 to almost £35m. The VCT has also built up substantial reserves, which are available for future dividend distribution.
A VCT is designed as a way for individual investors to gain access to venture capital investments via the capital markets.
The investments must be maintained for a set amount of time in order to receive the tax-protection benefits.
Chris Hutchinson, manager of the Unicorn AIM VCT, said subscriptions were offered on an annual basis, “provided we continue to see attractive opportunities in the AIM and smaller companies sector”.
