Venture Capital Trusts
Help small companies grow, save income tax and receive tax-free dividends
A Venture Capital Trust (VCT) is a publicly listed investment company run by a fund manager. It aims to make money by investing in small, unquoted, entrepreneurial companies and helping them grow.
When you as a private investor buy shares in a VCT, you get exposure to a portfolio of small companies. The government is keen for experienced investors to invest in this kind of company, because they create jobs and support economic growth. Investing in small businesses is risky, so to help compensate for this, the government offers generous tax benefits:
- Up to 20% tax relief – save up to £40,000 on your income tax bill when you invest in newly issued VCT shares
- Tax-free dividends – no need to declare VCT dividends on your tax return
- Tax-free growth – no CGT on gains
- Generous allowance – invest up to £200,000 per tax year
See current VCT offers below – you can read our reviews, download the documents and apply online. We also list VCT offers coming soon – you can register to receive alerts as soon as offers go live.
Important: The information on this website is for experienced investors. It is not a personal recommendation to invest. If you’re unsure, please seek advice. Investments are for the long term. They are high risk and illiquid and can fall as well as rise in value: you could lose all the money you invest. Tax rules can change and benefits depend on circumstances.
= Featured Offer
| VCT name | Target dividend | Wealth Club initial saving | Net initial charge | Annual rebate |
Funds raised / |
Minimum investment | Next deadline | Invest now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albion VCTsVCTs predominantly focused in the fintech, AI & Data and healthtech sectors Find out more |
5% of NAV
|
-
|
3%
|
0.10%
|
£15.6m / £40m
|
£6,000
|
15 Dec 2026 (9am) for first allotment
|
|
British Smaller Companies VCTsWell-regarded VCTs with a focus on technology companies, particularly data, tech-enabled services, and new media Find out more |
Not specified
|
2.125%
|
2.875%
|
0.10%
|
£10.8m / £40m
|
£6,000
|
Limited early bird capacity
|
|
Maven Income & Growth VCTsLarge and well-diversified VCTs targeting regional unquoted businesses Find out more |
6% of NAV
|
4.25% (4.5% existing)
|
1.25% (1% existing)
|
0.10%
|
£1.47m / £20m
|
£5,000
|
5 Feb 2027 for 1.25% early bird (1.5% existing)
|
|
Molten Ventures VCTA VCT favouring early-stage businesses in consumer tech, enterprise tech, deep tech & hardware, and digital health & wellness Find out more |
5% of NAV
|
5%
|
0.5%
|
0.10%
|
£535k / £10m
|
£6,000
|
30 Nov 2026 for 2% early bird saving
|
|
Northern VCTsLongstanding VCTs targeting maturing software, healthcare and consumer businesses Find out more |
4.5% to 5% of NAV
|
2.5% (3% existing investors)
|
3% (2.5% existing investors)
|
0.10%
|
£6.56m / £30m
|
£6,000
|
23 Nov 2026 (5pm) for first allotment
|
|
Pembroke VCTVCT seeking to back young companies developing brands in the consumer, technology and business services sectors Find out more |
5p per share
|
3%
|
2%
|
0.10%
|
£2.04m / £40m
|
£5,000
|
30 Nov 2026 for 5.5p dividend, 1% early bird
|
|
Puma VCT 13VCT seeking scale up opportunities across different sectors Find out more |
5p per share
|
2% (3% existing investors)
|
1% (0% existing investors)
|
0.10%
|
£100k / £50m
|
£3,000
|
10 Dec (5pm) for Dec allotment; 3.5p dividend, 2% early bird
|
|
Triple Point Venture VCTA VCT investing primarily in B2B companies from an early stage in their lifecycle Find out more |
5% of NAV
|
4% (5% existing investors)
|
1.5% (0.5% existing investors)
|
0.10%
|
£1.2m / £10m
|
£5,000
|
20 Nov 2026 for 2p dividend, 1% early bird
|
|
Baronsmead VCTsAmongst the longest-standing and most diverse VCTs with exposure to private and AIM companies Find out more |
7% of NAV
|
2% (2.25% existing)
|
2.5% (2.25% existing)
|
0.15%
|
£646k / £20m
|
£3,000
|
16 Nov 2026 (9am), limited early bird capacity
|
|
Blackfinch Spring VCTGrowth-focused VCT investing in UK technology-enabled businesses – VCT ISA available Find out more |
5% of NAV
|
4% (5% existing investors)
|
1.5% (0.5% existing investors)
|
–
|
£525k / £20m
|
£3,000
|
14 Dec (3pm) for 2026/27; 1% early bird
|
|
Calculus VCTVCT focusing on technology, life sciences, and entertainment – co-investing with longstanding EIS fund Find out more |
5% of NAV
|
4% (4.5% existing investors)
|
1% (0.5% existing investors)
|
0.10%
|
£10m sought
|
£5,000
|
16 Dec 2026 (noon) for 2% early bird
|
|
Fuel Ventures VCTNew VCT, focusing on early-stage digital businesses backed by Fuel’s other funds Find out more |
4p per share from 2027
|
5.5%
|
0%
|
0.10%
|
£1.1m / £10m
|
£5,000
|
12 Feb 2027 (5pm) for 2026/27
|
|
Guinness VCTVCT launched in 2023 from Guinness, the global fund manager and one of the UK’s largest EIS investors Find out more |
5% of NAV from 2026
|
5.5%
|
0%
|
0.10%
|
£400k / £10m
|
£5,000
|
23 Dec 2026 for 2% early bird saving
|
|
Hargreave Hale AIM VCTVCT from an established manager investing in AIM and unquoted companies Find out more |
5% of NAV
|
3%
|
0.5% (new and existing investors)
|
0.10%
|
£3.7m / £20m
|
£5,000
|
27 Nov 2026 (5pm) for 2% early bird
|
|
Octopus AIM VCTsA well established portfolio of more mature AIM companies plus earlier-stage businesses Find out more |
6% of NAV
|
5% (5.5% existing investors)
|
0.5% (0% for existing investors)
|
0.10%
|
£8.6m / £18m
|
£5,000
|
16 Dec 2026 for 2.5% early bird
|
|
Octopus Apollo VCTFocusing on fast-growing B2B software companies Find out more |
5% of NAV
|
5% (5.5% existing investors)
|
0.5% (0% existing investors)
|
0.10%
|
£1.36m / £50m
|
£5,000
|
24 Nov 2026 for 1.2p dividend and early bird
|
|
Octopus Future Generations VCTVCT aiming to back businesses tackling society’s biggest challenges Find out more |
5% of NAV
|
2% (3% for existing investors)
|
1% (0% existing investors)
|
0.10%
|
£3.3m / £10m
|
£3,000
|
10 Nov 2026 for 0.9p dividend, 2% early bird
|
|
Puma AIM VCTYoung VCT from an experienced VCT and AIM IHT portfolio manager Find out more |
5p per share
|
2% (3% existing investors)
|
1% (0% existing investors)
|
0.10%
|
|
£3,000
|
6 Jan 2027 for 2% early bird
|
|
ProVen VCTs |
Coming soon
|
Register interest | ||||||
Mobeus VCTs – now Gresham House VCTs |
Closed
|
VIEW PREVIOUS OFFER | ||||||
Octopus Titan VCT |
Closed
|
VIEW PREVIOUS OFFER | ||||||
Puma Alpha VCT |
Closed
|
VIEW PREVIOUS OFFER | ||||||
Seneca Growth Capital VCT |
Closed
|
VIEW PREVIOUS OFFER | ||||||
Unicorn AIM VCT |
Closed
|
VIEW PREVIOUS OFFER |
Stay in the know
Insights & updates
-
Pembroke VCT exit of PEAK:AIO – 7% NAV increase and 5.5p dividend declared
Pembroke VCT announced its profitable exit of PEAK:AIO, followed by an unaudited NAV increase of 7% and a 5.5p dividend declared. Read more and see how to invest in similar companies.
-
Backing winners for longer: what could the new VCT limits mean for investors?
The relaxed VCT qualifying rules may present a new opportunity: VCTs can back successful companies for longer, and investors can continue participating in the value they helped create. Read our full analysis.
-
How have VCTs performed over three, five and 10 years?
How have VCTs performed for investors? We look at the performance of the 10 largest VCT managers over a period of three, five and 10 years.
Free guides & factsheets
Knowledge bank
Want to learn about Venture Capital Trusts? Wondering how private markets funds work? Interested in ways to make more of your ISA and SIPP? Our free guides and resources explain briefly and in plain English the benefits and risks of investment opportunities for experienced investors.
