Octopus is looking to raise £50m for Apollo VCT with bosses stating there has been increased demand for access to the vehicle due to proposed tapering of the annual allowance from April 2016.
Launched in 2006, Apollo VCT seeks to invest in established, profitable companies with the aim of providing investors with a regular tax-free dividend income and has built a strong track record of delivering regular returns on an annual basis.
It paid its first dividend in 2008 and since then has paid out a total of 30p per share to investors.
It now targets an annual regular dividend of 5p per share.
Apollo VCT offers investors access to a portfolio of around 25 established companies.
The share offer is open until 1 November 2016, unless the fundraising capacity is reached earlier.
The minimum investment is £5,000. The maximum investment still qualifying for income tax relief is £200,000.
Paul Latham, managing director at Octopus, said: “We continue to see increased demand for access to VCTs and the tax-efficient benefits they can offer investors.
“The recent changes to pensions legislation, including the continued reduction in the lifetime allowance and proposed tapering of the annual allowance from April 2016, means that more investors are looking for alternative tax-efficient income streams to complement their existing pension arrangements.
“We launched our first fundraise of the season two months ago. This latest fundraise gives potential VCT investors greater choice and flexibility when it comes to choosing the product best suited to their financial planning goals.”
As well as launching a fundraise for Apollo VCT, Octopus also recently announced proposals to merge Apollo VCT with another of its funds, Octopus VCT 2.
This follows the merger of Apollo VCT and Octopus VCT in November 2014.
According to bosses merger of the two VCTs would create a larger and more diversified portfolio of investments, and would mean lower running costs than the two separate VCTs currently require.
Both VCTs are managed by the same investment team at Octopus and operate under the same investment mandate.
Confirmation of the merger is currently pending shareholder approval.
emma.hughes@ft.com
