Pembroke VCT plc, the venture capital trust focused on backing early-stage businesses with exceptional and innovative founders and management teams, has launched a new share offer to raise up to £40 million, with a further £20 million over allotment facility. Pembroke aims to deploy 30% of funds raised in new opportunities and 70% in follow-on investments in existing holdings, in line with their ‘milestone’ investment approach.
Pembroke VCT was established in 2013 to provide investors with the opportunity to share in the growth of some of Britain’s most exciting and entrepreneurial smaller companies. It has assets under management of £216m with a maturing and dynamic portfolio of 44 growth-stage companies with strong exit potential. New investors will gain immediate access to a maturing portfolio of growing businesses and to a well-established dividend paying VCT. Pembroke remains part of the Oakley Capital group, a leading European mid-market Private equity investor with assets under management of €9 bn.
The portfolio includes high growth brands – such as LYMA, OnePlan, HotelMap, Secret Food Tours and Peckwater Brands – in the following three sectors; consumer, business services and technology.
The VCT has marked three successful exits since January 2021, including Pasta Evangelists, PLENISH and ME+EM. ME+EM achieved a return of 16x its original investment and resulted in a 5p special dividend to shareholders. Pembroke VCT has a target 5p annual dividend per share, an increase from 3p in 2022. The VCT paid a 2.5p dividend in May 2023 and has just announced a further 2.5p in October 2023.
Andrew Wolfson, CEO of Pembroke Investment Managers LLP commented;
“We are committed to supporting companies on their journey towards their next phase of growth, harnessing our investment resources and specialised expertise to unlock substantial value. Our approach centres on identifying companies with compelling business models and robust fundamentals, establishing a solid bedrock for sustained growth. We are thrilled to open our latest share offer, allowing investors to nurture their capital by investing in promising and thriving early-stage enterprises.”
