Venture Capital Trust Association (VCTA)

The VCTA would like to echo the The Association of Investment Companies (AIC)'s concerns, having learned that new legislation to exclude investment companies from the requirement to produce Key Information Documents does not apply to Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs).   “We are eager to understand why this has happened and for the legislation to be amended to include VCTs, which have such a vital role to play in developing the UK’s most innovative, fast-growing startups and SMEs,” said Chris Lewis, Chair of the VCTA, in a letter written to HM Treasury.   “It was our understanding and that of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) that VCTs were to be included in the legislation, which will formally exempt investment companies from the requirement to comply with PRIIPs and the cost disclosure aspects of MiFID.”   The VCTA hopes that this challenge will be resolved so that VCTs are not singled out as subject to cost disclosure requirements that the government rightly recognises are misleading. We would encourage all VCTA members, managers and further stakeholders to write directly to Tulip Siddiq, urging HM Treasury to change its position.   #vct #venturecapital #investing 

Chris Lewis, VCTA chair, recently spoke to Matt Williams at GBI Magazine about the ways in which the VCT industry has grown over the last 30 years - from its launch in 1995 to a thriving sector which is now a vital component of the UK’s investment landscape, supporting the UK’s most innovative scale up businesses.   Chris also shares some of his personal highlights from working in the industry, his fundraising outlook, and outlines some of the top priorities for the VCTA moving forward in terms of how the VCT scheme can become even stronger following the extension of the sunset clause. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eZAR9miR   #vct #investing

VCTA member firm Maven Capital Partners has recently completed four successful exits, achieving returns of up to 5.1x for investors.   Exits across the last month have included a 5.1x return on Maven’s initial investment in MirrorWeb, a Manchester-based digital archiving and surveillance specialist, a 2.85x return from its exit of electronics contract manufacturer CB Technology Ltd, an exit from Edinburgh-based digital commerce platform QikServe, and a partial exit from Novatus Global, a RegTech provider. These exits mark a continued display of VCTs providing investors with strong returns, while simultaneously supporting the UK’s most innovative scale-up companies.    Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eAgrq5-B #investment #vct #exits

Investor confidence in the VCT market has been boosted greatly by the Treasury's recent confirmation of the extension of the VCT sunset clause, as well as that of the innovative, high-growth companies that the scheme supports.   Chris Lewis, Chair of the VCTA, recently provided his thoughts to Investment Week on the outlook for the sector, alongside experts from other VCTA member firms including Will Fraser-Allen at Albion Capital Group LLP, Stuart Rollason at Puma Investments and Trevor Hope at Gresham House Ventures.   Chris discusses the resilience of the sector in the context of the wider venture capital backdrop, the positive outlook for VCT fundraising, and the VCTA’s continued work in collaboration with the Treasury to further enhance the scheme.   Read more here: https://lnkd.in/ef-NgXTM   #VCT #investment #fundraising

We have been delighted to see VCTA members and portfolio companies being recognised with major industry awards over recent weeks.   Lucy Goff, Founder of LYMA - a Pembroke VCT portfolio company, was recognised as the scale-up winner at the prestigious EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2024 - a hugely significant achievement for Lucy and the entire LYMA team. Since Pembroke’s initial investment in 2018, LYMA has consistently set about pushing boundaries, setting new standards in a highly competitive market.   Foresight Group recently won the 'Best Report and Accounts - VCT' award at this year's Shareholder Communication Awards, hosted by The Association of Investment Companies (AIC). The panel were impressed by the clear and visually appealing design, which helps shareholders easily navigate the report. They found the report’s design and graphics engaging and made specific reference to the commitment to transparency.   Congratulations, Foresight Group and LYMA!   #vct #investment

The Venture Capital Trust Association (VCTA) is delighted by today’s news that the Treasury has formalised the extension of the Venture Capital Trust (VCT) and Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) Sunset Clause to 2035.   This follows the European Commission’s recent decision “not to raise objections” to the prolongation of both schemes.   Chris Lewis, Chair of the VCTA, commented:   “The extension of the Sunset Clause will be enthusiastically welcomed by VCTA members, the wider VCT & EIS community and entrepreneurs across the UK. Today’s news is the result of continued work across the industry including the VCT Association, the AIC, the BVCA, the EIS Association & Philip Hare & Associates. We thank the Treasury team for their support and for providing this much-needed clarity. The Sunset Clause extension allows VCTs to continue making a positive impact on the most innovative scale-up businesses, as well as the wider UK economy.”  

The VCT Association welcomes today’s news that the VCT and EIS “Sunset Clause” has been extended for another 10 years.   The European Commission has confirmed its decision “not to raise objections” to the prolongation of both the Venture Capital Trust (VCT) and the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) schemes.   Chris Lewis, Chair of the VCT Association, commented:   “The extension of the Sunset Clause will be welcomed by all those in the VCT & EIS sectors. This includes our VCTA members and the many entrepreneurs and scale-up businesses which they support. We look forward to continuing our dialogue with HM Treasury to confirm the details of this extension.   The VCT Association has continuously sought to demonstrate the positive impact made by our members throughout the UK, through their investment in the next generation of early-stage businesses. We are delighted that today’s response from the European Commission was informed by not only the VCTA’s own research, but also by a body of research from other associations across the industry.   This a very good day for the UK’s VCT community.”  

Have you ever wondered what a typical VCTA investee company looks like? We are very pleased to announce that our 2024 flyer is now complete, featuring some of the VCTA's key data points and everything you need to know about the association and its members.

“The VCT scheme has come a long way in the past 30 years and I hope it will continue to grow”.   In an interview with Tara O'Connor at FTAdviser, Chris Lewis, Chair of the VCTA, outlines some of the VCTA’s key policy recommendations, in order to ensure that the scheme is able to reach its full potential in supporting UK startups and SMEs.   Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e2eAFRsM

The venture capital landscape has seen considerable upheaval recently with significant drops in fundraising and deal activity throughout Europe and beyond. However, venture capital trusts (VCTs) in the UK have demonstrated notable resilience amidst these challenges, maintaining performance and continuing to attract investor interest.   In his latest byline for PA Adviser, Chris Lewis, Chair of the VCTA, takes a deeper look at VCT performance amid broader industry turbulence, investment deployment, diversification benefits, and suggestions for how the VCT scheme can reach its full potential.    Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dbEfrfMg   #investment #vct #venturecapital