Fuel Ventures VCT

Fuel Ventures VCT is a new VCT managed by the same team that runs the popular Fuel Ventures EIS and SEIS funds.

Started in 2013 by successful entrepreneur Mark Pearson, founder of MyVoucherCodes, Fuel Ventures has invested more than £215 million in over 170 EIS and SEIS companies. The VCT will back promising companies from Fuel’s earlier-stage funds, and co-invest alongside them in new investments. Fuel focuses on early-stage marketplaces, platforms and SaaS businesses, including some of the UK’s most exciting start-ups. To date the manager has achieved five full or partial exits, with total proceeds of £39.5 million.

The VCT’s inaugural offer raised more than £10 million, making it one of the most popular VCT launches for a new VCT manager. The VCT has since invested £3.8 million in nine companies, all valued at cost, with £5.2 million held in money market funds, and £1.1 million in cash (January 2025).

The VCT hopes to start paying annual dividends of 4p per share before 2027 at the earliest. Dividends are variable and not guaranteed.

• Seeking to raise up to £10 million with a £10 million overallotment facility
• Targets annual dividends of 4p per share from its 2027 financial year – variable and not guaranteed
• Minimum investment £5,000
• Available for the 2025/26 tax year
• Next deadline: 30 September 2025 for the next allotment
  

Fuel Ventures was started in 2013 by successful entrepreneur Mark Pearson. He had previously founded online voucher code company, MyVoucherCodes, sold as part of parent company Markco Media for a reported £55 million. Whilst running MyVoucherCodes, Mark made personal investments in nine early-stage technology and software businesses. Fuel Ventures was born as a result of his experience with these businesses. 

Since inception, Fuel has invested more than £215 million in over 170 EIS and SEIS companies – typically early-stage marketplaces, platforms and SaaS businesses – across its three funds: the SEIS fund, Follow-on EIS Fund, and the Scale-Up EIS Fund. 

Fuel Ventures has 20 full-time staff. The team includes Founder and Managing Director Mark Pearson, Partners Stan Williams, Shiv Patel, and Oliver Hammond and Investment Associate Katie Mathias. 

Fuel Ventures is the Investment Adviser to the Fund. Sturgeon Ventures is the Investment Manager. 

The VCT expects to follow the same core investment strategy as Fuel’s other funds. 

It will typically invest in early-stage, revenue-generating, digital businesses, usually marketplaces, platforms, and SaaS companies. 

Fuel considers them attractive for two reasons. 

Firstly, they should be easily scalable, with low costs per unit sold, and – once a product starts generating revenue – growth is typically limited only by market demand.

Secondly, Mark Pearson and the Fuel team have significant experience in these sectors and can therefore add value and support growth with a hands-on approach from an early stage. This could also help Fuel attract high-quality opportunities. 

The VCT expects to invest in businesses Fuel has previously backed, which it already knows well – this could somewhat mitigate risks. Note, however, this is still a high-risk investment. 

The investment manager can also use its discretion to invest in new companies it believes are attractive, either alongside the other Fuel funds or independently.

This is a new VCT, which is starting to build its portfolio. 

The VCT has invested £3.8 million in nine companies, all valued at cost, with £5.2 million held in money market funds, and £1.1 million in cash (January 2025).

As this is a new VCT there is no track record. However, the VCT plans to invest in the same type of companies as the Fuel Ventures EIS fund and SEIS funds, To date the manager has achieved five full or partial exits, with total proceeds of £39.5 million. Past performance is not a guide to the future.

As is to be expected, there have also been failures.

Dividend Reinvestment Scheme

The VCT does not expect to pay a dividend until at least 2027 – not guaranteed. 

Share buybacks

The VCT plans to operate a policy of purchasing their own shares as they become available in the market at a discount of approximately 5% to the latest published NAV. However, there is no guarantee that the company will buy back shares. The discount to NAV could also be greater or less than 5%. 

As with all new VCTs, the board expects only limited demand for share buybacks within the five-year minimum holding period. As a result, the buyback scheme is expected to become operational no sooner than 2027.

This, like all investments available through Wealth Club, is only for experienced investors happy to make their own investment decisions without advice. 

VCTs are high-risk so should only form part of a balanced portfolio and you should not invest money you cannot afford to lose. They also tend to be illiquid and hard to sell and value. Before you invest, please carefully read the Risks and Commitments and the offer documents to ensure you fully understand the risks. 

To retain the tax benefits, VCTs should be held for at least five years. If you sell VCT shares and reinvest in new shares of the same VCT (including any mergers) within six months, tax relief can be restricted. Tax rules can change and benefits depend on circumstances.

As this is a new VCT it will take time to build a portfolio of investments, during this time the trust is likely to be more concentrated and no dividend payments are expected until at least 2027. If the raise is smaller than expected, costs may have a larger impact than intended. Equally, the portfolio may initially be less diverse than anticipated.

There is no annual rebate for this offer.

Deadlines

• Deadline for next allotment: 30 September 2025
• Final close: 2 February 2026 (3pm)

While the Fuel Ventures VCT is new, its manager has built a track record of backing successful, fast-growing digital companies in a short space of time. The team’s focus on capital-light businesses in the marketplace, platform, and SaaS sectors means companies can scale quickly and potentially deliver impressive returns – not guaranteed.

The manager’s previous investments are showing promise, with the EIS funds starting to report exits and other portfolio companies attracting funding from globally significant VC firms. That bodes well for the VCT, where the potential to follow-on into existing Fuel Ventures portfolio companies provides a valuable source of deal flow and could be a valuable filter.

Investors should note that the VCT does not expect to start paying dividends for some years. The portfolio is also likely to be concentrated in the early years, potentially making it a riskier investment. Nonetheless, this may be worth considering as part of an existing VCT portfolio.

This financial promotion has been communicated and approved by Wealth Club Ltd on 18 February 2025

Wealth Club aims to make it easier for experienced investors to find information on – and apply for – investments. You should base your investment decision on the offer documents and ensure you have read and fully understand them before investing. The information on this webpage is a marketing communication. It is not advice or a personal or research recommendation to buy any of the investments mentioned, nor does it include any opinion as to the present or future value or price of these investments. It does not satisfy legal requirements promoting investment research independence and is thus not subject to prohibitions on dealing ahead of its dissemination.