Puma VCT 13 launches new £50m fundraise following strong deployment year

September 25, 2025

Puma Investments, the Investment Manager, has opened a new £50 million fundraise for Puma VCT 13, following a strong period of deployment. The VCT backs ambitious UK scale-up businesses that have proven market success, reducing the risks and volatility of investing at an earlier stage.

Puma VCT 13 has consistently ranked in the top quartile for NAV Total Return over five years, when compared against more than 40 generalist VCTs. According to both the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) and MICAP, as of July 2025, it stands among the best-performing VCTs¹. The Company has paid a total of 19.5p per Ordinary Share to investors in dividends in the three years from December 2021 to December 2024. This averages at 6.5p per Ordinary Share over three years².

The VCT is diversified across business models and sectors. It typically backs brands with the potential to be market leaders, software and technology that addresses a deep specific need, and scalable business services in high growth markets. The investment team’s rigorous scale-up framework enables them to partner with portfolio companies to accelerate their growth. Over the last year, the team has hired an Origination Manager to support deal flow and expanded its regional presence through opening an Edinburgh office, alongside existing offices in London and Manchester.

To date, Puma VCT 13 has invested more than £100 million in over 25 UK qualifying businesses, with over £40m invested in the last year alone. New portfolio companies include:

LOVE CORN, recognised as the UK’s fastest growing snack brand³, sold in over 20,000 stores across the UK and US.
Semeris, which combines large language models with human expertise to analyse complex legal documents for major investment banks, top international law firms, and asset managers.
NRG Gyms, an award-winning, high-value, low-price gym group which has recently acquired Pump Gyms, nearly doubling its membership base.
Most recently the VCT has backed YASO, an operating system that enables global consumer brands to grow in the Chinese market; clients include Cowshed and Pixi Beauty, brands that would typically be stocked in UK high street stores, including Boots and Waitrose.

The existing portfolio has also continued to grow, with 2024 a transformational year for portfolio company Pockit. In late 2024, Pockit announced the acquisition of pan-European fintech, Monese. This makes Pockit the leading fintech for the financially underserved and lower-middle-income consumers across the UK and Europe. The combined group will serve c.3 million customers and generate almost £30 million in annualised run-rate revenue.

Rupert West, Fund Manager, Puma VCT 13 comments: “This year we have been focusing on deploying into strong scale-up companies with proven market success, including LOVE CORN and our most recent investment into YASO. As a team we bring our deep sector knowledge to provide active partnership and support to the companies we back. Through expanding our team and growing our regional presence, we are now in a position to do even more to support scale-up businesses across the UK.

“We have been encouraged by the strong performance of our portfolio companies over the last year and we’re optimistic about their long term outlook.”

Jeremy Roberts, Managing Director, Puma Investments, added: “We are very proud of our strong track record in managing VCTs, having raised over £460 million since launching our first VCT in 2004 and backing over 65 companies. VCTs are a vital engine for the UK economy, creating jobs and supporting the growth of stand-out businesses.

“Over the last year we have focused on enhancing the investor experience through boosting our client relations teams and deepening support for advisers. Following a strong period of deployment, we’re thrilled to open Puma VCT 13, offering investors the opportunity to invest in a diverse portfolio of UK scale-up companies while benefiting from potential tax reliefs.”

Puma Investments has also launched a simplified share buyback service, for those investors who want to sell their VCT shares. The Puma VCT Share Buyback Service has been developed to make this process as easy as possible for investors.

As with all VCT investments, investors in Puma VCT 13 can benefit from⁴:

Upfront 30% income tax relief available to UK taxpayers on an investment of up to £200,000 per tax year
100% tax-free dividends
100% tax-free capital gains on the sale of Company shares