This offer is closed
Offer closed
Unicorn AIM VCT is now fully subscribed and the offer is closed (31 March 2025).
Unicorn AIM VCT is the largest AIM VCT with net assets of £190.6 million (December 2024).
It invests predominantly in AIM stocks: a blend of more mature cash-generative companies and earlier-stage businesses across a variety of sectors. The VCT also occasionally invests in unquoted companies, including the VCT’s current largest holding, Hasgrove, which represents 19.9% of net assets.
Managed by highly regarded smaller-company investor Chris Hutchinson, the VCT has an established track record and a recent history of paying generous dividends funded by successful exits. Over the last five years, the VCT has paid dividends equivalent to 56.0% of starting net assets, including considerable special dividends from the sale of assets. Dividends are variable and not guaranteed.
In the 10 years to June 2025, Unicorn AIM VCT has delivered a total return of 45.3% including dividends, making it the best-performing AIM VCT in the period – past performance is not a guide to the future.
- Seeking to raise up to £20 million with an overallotment facility of £5 million (in use as of 12 March)
- The VCT does not specify a dividend target – dividends are variable and not guaranteed
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.
The manager
Unicorn Asset Management Ltd (“Unicorn”) is a specialist fund manager with a bias towards smaller companies. Lead fund manager Chris Hutchinson joined Unicorn in 2005 and has more than 25 years’ experience covering UK small and mid-sized equities. Alongside this VCT, he is also the lead manager of Unicorn Outstanding British Companies Fund (an OEIC). Chris is supported by four UK equity fund managers and two investment analysts. Collectively, the team is responsible for managing Unicorn’s suite of investment funds as well as its AIM IHT service.
Unicorn is independently owned and managed. Over 50% of the company’s equity is owned by the directors, managers and family members. It has over £720 million under management (December 2024), with c.£230 million invested in AIM-quoted companies. The wider fund group allows the manager to continue supporting businesses when they are no longer VCT eligible, potentially making Unicorn AIM VCT attractive as a partner to investee companies.
Investment strategy
Unicorn AIM VCT seeks to invest in largely AIM-quoted companies with the following characteristics:
- Experienced and well motivated management teams
- Products and services supplying growing markets
- Sound operational and financial controls
- Potential for good cash generation
In the past, the manager has also invested a smaller proportion of the fund in unquoted smaller companies.
Chris Hutchinson favours companies where the management owns a significant stake in the business and with a demonstrable track record of making money for shareholders. He is a firm believer that if the management has a big stake, they will be focused on the dividends as they are beneficiaries themselves.
Unicorn has a cautious, “bottom-up” stock-picking approach, which favours spending time with investee companies and fully understanding them before investing for the long term.
Mr Hutchinson has in the past said: “Over 20 years, what I’ve learnt more than anything is that it’s not so much getting the ones that go up tenfold, but more about avoiding the ones that will blow up. You can only do that if you take a cautious approach, buying proper businesses with profit and cash flow.”
The non-qualifying portion of the portfolio is invested in a mixture of cash, OEICs, non-qualifying AIM-quoted companies, and blue-chip shares listed on the main market.
Portfolio overview
Unicorn AIM VCT has a portfolio of more than 90 companies. The portfolio is concentrated: the 10 largest holdings account for approximately 54% of net assets, and largest holding Hasgrove accounts for 19.9% (December 2024).
Recent investment activity remains subdued with the number of companies raising money on AIM still at historically low levels. In the year to September 2024, the VCT invested £7.5 million in five new companies and £5.9 million in nine follow-on deals.
The current portfolio has a bias towards media (20%) and pharmaceuticals & biotechnology (15%) businesses. Please note, some of the sectors only include one company.
Asset allocation (%)
Source: Unicorn Asset Management, as a percentage of portfolio as at December 2024.
Top 10 sector breakdown (%)
Source: Unicorn Asset Management, as a percentage of portfolio as at December 2024.
Portfolio example: largest unquoted holding
Hasgrove
Hasgrove’s only operating subsidiary, Interact, is a leading provider of corporate intranet solutions. An intranet is a private network used within an organisation to securely share internal information and resources.
Interact offers a suite of services, from planning and launching a custom network through to training and technical consultation. It has more than four million global users and clients include the NHS, video game developer Activision Blizzard, and Levi’s.
In its latest results for the financial year ending December 2023, Hasgrove reported revenue growth of 26% to £37 million and operating profit growth of 19% to £9.6 million. The company benefitted from a growing customer base and an increase in recurring revenue.
The VCT currently owns 25.9% of Hasgrove. The holding is valued at £37.9 million on an investment cost of £1.3 million. It accounts for 19.9% of the VCT’s net assets (December 2024). Past performance is not a guide to the future.
Portfolio example: largest AIM-quoted holding
Cohort
Cohort is a collection of seven businesses operating in the defence and security markets.
The group was formed in 2006 and was admitted to AIM in the same year. Its strategy focuses on acquiring niche technical businesses in the defence sector that could benefit from being part of a wider group. Currently, the Group’s capabilities cover everything from sonar and surveillance technology to cybersecurity and digital forensics.
In the six months to October 2024, the Group reported record performance with revenues up 25.3% to £118.2 million. Over the same period, adjusted operating profit rose 68.3% to £10.1 million, in part due to new orders from both the UK Ministry of Defence and the Portuguese Navy.
In January 2025, Cohort completed its largest acquisition to date: EM Solutions, a satellite communications business based in Australia with an enterprise value of c.£75 million.
The position is the VCT’s second largest holding, accounting for 6.9% of net assets (December 2024).
Portfolio example: recent investment
Incanthera
A spinout from the Institute of Cancer Therapeutics, Incanthera is a biotechnology company developing products for the oncology and skincare industries.
The company’s technology is based on prodrug therapies – chemically modified compounds which activate only when they reach their target. This means the treatment is more localised, reducing generalised toxicity and allowing for higher and more effective doses.
Incanthera has since repurposed this technology for the skincare market through its luxury brand, Skin + CELL. Instead of drug therapies, its formulations deliver Vitamin B3 directly to skin cells to promote repair and protection. In December 2023, Incanthera announced a commercial deal to launch the brand with Marionnaud, a large European retailer with more than 1,200 stores across 11 countries, although a date has yet to be announced.
The VCT invested £2 million into the business as part of a £3.4 million raise in June 2024. The funding was invested in inventory for five products in the Skin + CELL range.
Exit track record
Shares quoted on AIM are bought and sold more easily than is the case with private (unquoted) companies. Realisations – particularly partial ones – are common with AIM VCTs, for instance, to rebalance the portfolio. We do not believe they are indicative of a manager’s performance and for this reason we don’t focus on them.
However, the Unicorn AIM VCT also invests a smaller proportion of the fund in unquoted companies. One recent exit from the VCT’s unquoted portfolio is Interactive Investor (detailed below).
Previous unquoted exit example
Interactive Investor
Interactive Investor is the UK’s largest ‘flat-fee’ investment platform with over £50 billion in assets under administration and over 400,000 customers.
Unicorn first invested in November 2013, acquiring a stake while the business was still small and relatively unknown. The platform continued to grow steadily but achieved real pace after the appointment of a new CEO in 2017 and the acquisition of four competitors.
In May 2022 asset management giant abrdn acquired the company for £1.49 billion and the VCT received approximately £55.1 million in cash proceeds, against a book cost of £3.5 million. The entire realised gain of £51.6 million was subsequently distributed to shareholders as a special interim dividend of 32p in August 2022. Past performance is not a guide to future returns, dividends are variable and not guaranteed.
British Honey Company – example of previous failure
As can be expected, not all investments work out, the British Honey Company (BHC) is an example.
Founded in 2014, BHC was originally a producer of local honey. It later expanded into the craft spirits market, creating honey-infused gin, bourbon, and whiskey.
The business ran into difficulties in 2022, as a result of poor trading conditions, supply chain disruption, and high raw material costs. The company’s attempts to find a buyer and secure long-term funding eventually fell through and it entered administration in April 2023.
Unicorn AIM VCT invested £3.1 million in 2020, the holding has been written down to nil and it is not anticipated there will be any residual value.
Performance and dividends
The AIM market has suffered a substantial fall in recent years, declining 7% in the three years to June 2025 – past performance is not a guide to the future.
The Unicorn AIM VCT has also been affected and fell by 10.2% in the three years to June 2025 (NAV total return including dividends). Over the longer term, the VCT has delivered a NAV total return (including dividends) of 10.8% over five years and 45.3% over 10 years (June 2025). Past performance is not a guide to the future.
Note, we show VCT returns over a five-year period as a minimum, where possible. Where a VCT has followed the same investment strategy for longer, we also show returns over 10 years.
There is no specific dividend target. Over the last five years, the VCT has paid out cumulative dividends equivalent to 56.0% of the starting NAV. During this period, three special dividends (32p, 7p, and 11.7p) were paid following the sales of Interactive Investor (the VCT’s largest holding at the time), Augean, and Abcam (previously the VCT’s largest quoted holding). Dividends are variable and not guaranteed.
Following the acquisition of Keywords Studios and Mattioli Woods in 2024, a further 6p special dividend was paid in February 2025. New investors in this offer will not be eligible to receive this.
NAV and cumulative dividends per share over five years (p)
Source: Morningstar. Past performance is not a guide to the future. Dividends are variable and not guaranteed. The bar chart shows dividends per share paid in the period 31/12/2019 – 30/06/2025.
Dividends paid per calendar year
Source: Morningstar. Past performance is not a guide to the future. Dividends are variable and not guaranteed. Dividends paid per calendar year to 30/06/2025.
Dividend yield history (% of starting NAV)
| Calendar year | Dividend as % of NAV |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 3.7% |
| 2021 | 3.2% |
| 2022 | 19% |
| 2023 | 4.8% |
| 2024 | 14.7% |
| YTD | 9.4% |
Source: Morningstar. Dividend yields are based on the dividends paid over the period divided by the starting NAV of the VCT in each period. Past performance is no guide to the future.
Dividend Reinvestment Scheme
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.
Share buyback policy
The board intends to buy back shares at a discount, set at the discretion of the board, to the prevailing net asset value. In the year to September 2024, £4.9 million of shares were bought back, with discounts ranging from 10.8% to 11.8%.
This policy is unlike other VCTs (which typically target a discount between 5-10%) and could mean that investors are unable to sell their shares at a similar discount to other VCTs. However, the share buybacks have the potential to add to the performance of the VCT and benefit remaining shareholders. Please see the offer documents for details.
Discount history
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 discount to NAV as at 30 June 2025 was -14.4%. Over the previous five years the average discount to NAV was -13.3%.
The discount history is based on the closing share price of the VCT 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 VCT’s share buyback facilities, although this is not guaranteed.
Risks: important
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 quantity and quality of investment opportunities available to AIM VCTs is dependent on sufficient VCT-qualifying fundraising activity on the AIM market, which will fluctuate.
AIM shares can be very volatile and could suffer extreme volatility if the market falls sharply. The difference between the buying and selling price of AIM-listed companies is often wider than those listed on the main market.
Charges and savings
A summary of the main charges and savings is shown below. The net initial charge shown includes the Wealth Club saving and any early bird discount. The investment may have additional charges and expenses: please see the provider documents including the Key Information Document for more details, offer price and share allotment calculation methodology.
Please note, capacity – for the offer or any early bird savings – can be reached early, and we may not be notified of this by the VCT in real time.
| Full initial charge | 5.5% |
| Early bird discount | — |
| Wealth Club initial saving | 3% |
| Existing shareholder discount | — |
| Net initial charge through Wealth Club (new investors) | 2.5% |
| Net initial charge through Wealth Club (existing shareholders) | 2.5% |
| Annual management charge | See documents |
| Annual administration charge | See documents |
| Performance fee | — |
| Annual rebate from Wealth Club (for three years) | 0.10% |
More detail on the charges
The full initial charge shown in the table above is before any savings and discounts; the net initial charge is after available savings and discounts. When you invest through us, Wealth Club will receive commission equivalent to 0.75% a year. Commission is paid by the product provider so there is no additional charge to you.
Please see the provider's documents, including the key information document, for more details on the total fees and charges.
Annual rebate when you invest through Wealth Club
The VCT includes 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.
Our view
Unicorn is a highly regarded fund manager that specialises in UK smaller companies. Chris Hutchinson has been the lead manager of Unicorn AIM VCT since 2005 and is supported by an experienced team. They are responsible for several other UK investment mandates, including the £230 million Unicorn UK Income Fund.
The investment team’s long-term interests are also aligned with those of investors through equity participation in Unicorn Asset Management.
While difficult market conditions have affected performance over the last few years, the VCT has remained the top-performing AIM VCT in the 10 years to June 2025. Past performance is not a guide to the future. Over that period, it has achieved several notable exits, which helped fund special dividends of 56.7p per share. Dividends are variable and not guaranteed.
In our view, Unicorn AIM VCT is a high-quality offering for experienced investors to consider. The investment strategy is clearly defined, and the fund management team has a strong long-term track record. In addition, Unicorn is a substantial AIM investor. This could help gain access to high-quality deal flow to support the deployment of funds raised in this offer.
Investors should note the VCT lacks a strict share buyback policy and can trade at a large discount to its net asset value. Its largest holding, Hasgrove, also accounts for a significant proportion of net assets at 19.9% (December 2024).
This financial promotion has been communicated and approved by Wealth Club Ltd on 28 January 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.