Unicorn AIM VCT has announced that its current offer to raise £20 million has been 90% subscribed. The board has decided to utilise the overallotment facility and increase the Offer by a further £15 million, representing the largest fundraise in the Company’s history and follows its recent record exit from Hasgrove Limited, with net proceeds of £88 million.
The Unicorn AIM VCT received net cash proceeds of £66.2 million from the sale of Hasgrove, the largest holding in the portfolio. A further £22 million has been reinvested into a newly established holding company, to maintain an ongoing investment in the Hasgrove business. £50m of the gains have been distributed to shareholders, resulting in a Special Dividend of 23.0p per ordinary share.
Unicorn Asset Management – the UK SMID cap and AIM specialist – has managed the Company’s investment portfolio since inception in 2001. Unicorn AIM VCT is the largest and one of the best performing AIM-focused VCTs, with current net assets of £XXX million and a long-standing track record of investing in high-quality growth companies quoted on AIM.
Tim Woodcock, Chair of Unicorn AIM VCT plc commented at the time; “The Unicorn team has delivered an excellent result in both realising considerable cash proceeds from the investment for the Company’s shareholders and negotiating a deal which enables the VCT to participate in the future growth of Hasgrove.”
Chris Hutchinson, CEO of Unicorn Asset Management commented:“The scale of this year’s raise reflects our confidence in the opportunity set ahead. We are seeing a strengthening pipeline of VCT-qualifying investments, supported by recent Budget changes which, in our view, should improve both the number and quality of companies eligible for VCT funding.
“The recent realisation from our investment in Hasgrove is a good example of how we seek to build and crystallise value over the long term, while continuing to participate in future growth. Alongside improving momentum across a number of portfolio companies, and with sentiment and valuations in parts of the smaller company market beginning to improve, we believe Unicorn AIM VCT is well positioned to deploy capital effectively and continue delivering long-term value for shareholders.”
Highlights;
- The largest AIM focused VCT with net assets of £181 million
- +182.9% total return since March 2010
- 80 Qualifying holdings with an average mkt cap c. £64m*
- 175.7p per share in dividends paid over past 15 years (37p paid in last three years)
Sources: Unicorn Asset Management. All figures as at 31 January 2026, unless stated otherwise.
*The first Unicorn AIM VCT was launched in 2001, with the existing class of ordinary shares issued in February 2007. This VCT subsequently merged with Unicorn AIM VCT II plc in March 2010 to create what is now the largest AIM-focussed VCT in the market.
A link to the RNS on this announcement can be found here.
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