Investment firm Octopus Titan Venture Capital Trust has announced what it claims to be the biggest ever round of venture capital trust fundraising, with experts suggesting this points to VCTs joining the mainstream world of investments.
The trust will raise £200m when it opens towards the end of the summer.
In the 2016/17 tax year, VCTs saw the strongest demand in a decade raising £542m.
Alex Davies, CEO and founder of Wealth Club, the online investment platform for high net worth individuals which specialises in VCTs, said he expects demand for the investment product to be greater than ever, because of restrictions on other forms of investments such as buy-to-let property, along with pension allowance cuts.
“This latest fundraise gives investors the opportunity to support some of the UK's fastest growing companies, and in doing so they benefit from a number of attractive tax incentives if the shares are held for at least five years, including 30% upfront tax relief, tax-free dividends and tax-free growth,” he said.
Success stories attributed to Octopus include Zoopla, the first £1bn company to come out of a VCT.
Octopus also announced last month that it was raising £30m for two AIM VCTs due to demand for the sector.
