Northern VCTs

The Northern VCTs – Northern Venture Trust (NVT), Northern 2 VCT (N2VCT) and Northern 3 VCT (N3VCT) – are among the longest-standing venture capital trusts.

They have combined net assets of £410.1 million (March 2026) and a portfolio of 58 companies, with a particular focus on software, healthcare and consumer companies that have moved beyond the start-up stage and are scaling commercially.

Over the five years to 30 June 2026, the three Northern VCTs have produced NAV total returns (including dividends reinvested) ranging from 2.3% to 4.7%. Past performance is not a guide to the future.

• Seeking to raise up to £30 million in aggregate (£10 million per VCT)
• Targets annual dividends of 4.5% to 5% of NAV, not guaranteed
• Available in the 2026/27 tax year
• Minimum investment: £6,000 (£2,000 per VCT)
• Now open – deadline for first allotment: 23 November 2026 (5pm)

The Northern VCTs are some of the longest-established, having launched in 1995 (NVT), 1999 (N2VCT) and 2001 (N3VCT).

Since December 2019, the three Northern VCTs have been managed by Mercia Fund Management, a division of Mercia Asset Management. Mercia is an AIM-quoted company responsible for £2.2 billion across venture capital, private equity, private debt, and its own balance sheet funds (March 2026).

The VCT team comprises 13 investment professionals, led by Fund Principal Stephen Johnson. The team sits within Mercia’s Venture division, which is led by Managing Director Will Clark, and manages £988 million with a 49-strong team and 11 offices across the UK.

Each team member maintains a local network to help source opportunities and support portfolio companies post-investment. The team has access to the wider resources of the Mercia group.

The VCTs target investments of £3-6 million (up to a total of £10 million) into companies deemed to have high growth potential. They must have demonstrated they have commercial traction and a viable business model. The VCTs may also invest in earlier-stage businesses that have developed technology, intellectual property, or contracts and embedded market relationships.

Investment opportunities are sourced through the VCTs’ dedicated investment team.

Once in the VCTs’ portfolio, companies could potentially have access to Mercia’s other funds, which are not governed by VCT-qualifying rules and could offer replacement capital. This may appeal to entrepreneurs, helping boost the VCTs’ deal flow and ability to win competitive funding rounds, not guaranteed.

The three Northern VCTs have shared the same investment strategy since inception. They have combined net assets of £410.1 million (March 2026) and a combined portfolio of 58 companies (June 2026). Most investments are common across all three portfolios.

The VCTs are generalist but have a bias towards software, healthcare and consumer companies. There are also a small number of legacy holdings, equivalent to 7% of NAV (March 2026).

In the 12 months to March 2026, the VCTs invested £20.7 million in four new companies (including Astral Systems, detailed below) and £26.6 million in follow-on investments.

In the five years to March 2026, the VCTs achieved 39 full and partial exits, generating proceeds of £198 million against a cost of £137 million.

This includes a partial realisation of their stake in The Beauty Tech Group, previously their largest holding, as part of the firm’s listing on the London Stock Exchange at a £300 million valuation. This represented a 4.1x return for the VCTs. More recently, the VCTs’ full sale of Idox (detailed below) was particularly noteworthy, generating a 6.9x return. Past performance is not a guide to the future.

As is to be expected, not all investments go to plan. An example is Northrow.

Founded in 2010, Northrow provided anti-money laundering, know-your-customer and identity verification software to regulated financial services firms.

Despite operating in a growing compliance technology market and attracting early customers including CloudPay and Hargreaves Lansdown, the company was unable to translate its early momentum into a sustainable business.

In December 2025, the company entered administration and the VCTs’ £4.3 million investment has ultimately been written down to nil.

A dividend reinvestment scheme is available if shareholders wish to reinvest dividend payments by way of subscription for new shares. As these are new shares they should be eligible for tax relief (you will need to claim this on your tax return or directly with HMRC) and the shares will count towards the VCT annual subscription limit. 

The boards intend to buy back shares at up to a 5% discount to the prevailing net asset value. This is not guaranteed – please see the offer documents for details.

VCT shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange. Similar to investment trusts, the share price can fluctuate and can be different from the VCT’s net asset value (NAV), i.e. the value of the VCT’s underlying investments. The difference between the share price of a VCT, and its net asset value per share, is called a discount.

Based on data from Morningstar, the average discount to NAV across the VCTs as at 30 June 2026 was -4.8%. Over the previous five years the average discount to NAV was -5.7%.

The discount history is based on the closing share price of the VCTs at the end of each month, divided by the latest net asset value at the time. Past performance is not a guide to the future. Investors looking to sell their VCT shares may get a better price using the VCTs’ share buyback facilities, although this is not guaranteed.

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.

The Northern VCTs include an annual rebate for Wealth Club investors, payable for the first three years. This is a rebate of our renewal commission and should be equivalent to a percentage (shown in the table above) of the Net Asset Value of the Offer Shares issued to you when you invest. Terms and conditions apply.

Deadlines

• First allotment: 23 November 2026 (5pm)
• Final allotment: 31 March 2027 (noon)

Please note: to the extent possible, applicants will receive additional new shares equivalent to a 2.06% p.a. return on funds awaiting allotment, calculated by reference to the number of days between the acceptance of an application (including full receipt of cleared funds) and the date of allotment. This rate is subject to change.

The Northern VCTs are among the longest-established VCTs. They benefit from a well-resourced team with a long track record of successfully exiting investments – although past performance is no guide to the future. Access to support from the wider Mercia group may enhance deal flow and provide companies with greater potential liquidity through Mercia’s institutional funds.

Recent performance has been encouraging, with the VCTs delivering several successful exits, most notably with returns of 6.9x, 4.4x and 4.1x over the last two financial years. These exits should help support dividend payments – not guaranteed.

That said, the portfolio is still relatively young – as a result, exits may be more infrequent as the portfolio matures, with the VCTs expected to place greater emphasis on follow-on investments.

The VCTs remain a quality offering, in our view – you should form your own view.

This financial promotion has been communicated and approved by Wealth Club Ltd on 17 September 2026

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.