Octopus Investments has announced the launch of a £30 million joint fundraise for its two Alternative Investment Market (AIM) VCTs.
The VCTs offer investors access to a wide range of AIM listed growth companies across a diverse range of sectors, including pharmaceuticals, biotech, healthcare services, software development and clean energy tech. The portfolios are made up of around 90 companies, more than half of which have been held for over five years.
The VCTs aim to provide investors with long-term growth as well as income through established dividend policies.
The latest fundraising offers investors the opportunity to invest into both Octopus AIM VCT plc (AIM VCT) and Octopus AIM VCT 2 plc (AIM VCT 2), which both target a 5%(1) tax free dividend yield every year.
The AIM VCTs delivered total returns of 41.7% and 42.1%(2) and both recently declared special dividends(3) in the period.
Richard Power, head of Smaller Companies at Octopus Investments, said: “Despite wider uncertainty, AIM has played a critical role in providing smaller companies with much needed growth capital over the last 18 months, cementing AIM’s position as the ‘go to’ market for ambitious growth companies. This ability to access capital has also underlined the benefits of being a listed company, contributing to a marked uptick in IPO activity and a very promising pipeline of companies looking to come to market.”
The new share offer for AIM VCT and AIM VCT 2 is open until 5 April 2022 for the 2021/2022 tax year and 18 August 2022 for the 2022/2023 tax year. The offer will close earlier if it becomes fully subscribed.
Investors have the option to split their investment 60/40 between AIM VCT and AIM VCT 2, or to place 100% of their investment into either VCT. The minimum investment is £5,000.
- Octopus AIM VCT targets 5% dividend yield or 5p per share, whichever is greater. Octopus AIM VCT 2 targets a 5% dividend yield or 3.6p per share, whichever is greater.
- 12-month performance to 31 July 2021. See table below.
- Octopus AIM VCT paid a special dividend of 2.5p on 13 August 2021; Octopus AIM VCT 2 has declared a special dividend for payment on 12 November 2021.
