Octopus Titan has raised £200m, six months ahead of deadline, and has now closed what is the largest ever VCT fundraise.
Titan VCT previously broke the UK record for a VCT fundraising round by securing £120m in the last four months of 2017. The fund chose to exercise an £80m over-allotment option to take the fundraising total to £200m, a total that has now been reached in advance of its 4 September 2018 deadline.
Octopus said that the success of the fundraise was due to high demand from investors.
Set up in 2007, Titan has invested in a range of successful early-stage companies including SwiftKey, a mobile phone app acquired by Microsoft in 2016, Magic Pony, sold to Twitter in 2016, and Zoopla Property Group (now known as ZPG), the first VCT-backed company to reach a £1 billion valuation.
GBI Magazine was told that Titan’s success reflects a positive year for VCTs, with demand reaching record highs, overtaking last year’s total VCT fundraise a month in advance of tax year end. In total, more than £638m has been invested into VCTs with just a week to go before tax year end.
Jo Oliver, fund manager of Octopus Titan VCT, said: “This year the demand for VCTs has been unprecedented, with Titan leading the market with the largest ever fundraise. Investors are increasingly excited by the opportunity to gain access to, and support, the UK’s up and coming businesses. There is plenty of opportunity on the back of the UK’s thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem and we remain one of the most active investors in early stage companies in Europe.
“There is a fantastic attitude in the UK towards entrepreneurial businesses, and the Government’s announcement of the Patient Capital Review last November was a further commitment to making the UK become the best place to start and scale a business in Europe.”
Paul Latham, Managing Director of Octopus Investments, the UK’s largest provider of VCTs added: “It’s a record breaking year for VCTs as more investors look to access the benefits of investing in the growth potential of smaller companies and the tax reliefs that VCTs offer. The ever-growing demand for VCTs is not surprising when you consider the recent changes to pensions legislation, restrictions on the lifetime allowance and to the buy-to- let market. As these areas become squeezed, people are increasingly looking to VCTs to provide them with a credible way of investing in a tax efficient manner.”
