Fuel Ventures VCT has announced a maiden offer for up to £50 million (£10 million + £40 million overallotment facility).
The VCT is a brand-new launch from disruptive EIS and SEIS fund manager Fuel Ventures. It will seek to build on the manager’s successful track record of investing in early-stage marketplaces, platforms and SaaS businesses. The launch follows the extension of the VCT regime out to at least 2035, joining a number of new VCT launches.
Nicholas Hyett, Investment Manager at Wealth Club commented:
“Fuel Ventures is well known in Venture Capital circles for its rocketship emojis and irreverent memes. But the team, led by MyVoucherCodes founder Mark Pearson, has also built an impressive investment record – with early exits to tech giant Adobe and US equity management platform Carta delivering proceeds of £29 million and a 6.2x return on cost.
“The focus on marketplaces, platforms and of course SaaS means its investments tend to be low in capital intensity with the potential for explosive growth and high margins. The manager will hope its new VCT can support the successful EIS and SEIS funds by providing funding to businesses at a later stage, while also opening up the manager’s portfolio to investors who are put off by the higher risk nature of EIS or SEIS investing.
“The new VCT is the latest in a number of recent launches – probably reflecting the increased certainty around the future of the VCT sector after the government extended a 2025 sunset clause. An increase in new managers can only be good for companies and investors – bringing new investment styles to the market and increasing the number of companies that will be able to access funding.
“It’s worth noting that new VCTs often take a couple of years to find their stride, building up a portfolio over time. However, Fuel will benefit from an existing portfolio of potential follow-on opportunities and a cohort of EIS and SEIS investors who should be pretty happy with their investments to date.”
