Puma VCT 13

Puma VCT 13 seeks scale-up opportunities and co-invests alongside other Puma funds. It first issued shares under the current structure in July 2018.

The VCT has net assets of £247.7 million, and a portfolio of 24 companies (August 2026) across multiple sectors, ranging from a global influencer marketing agency to a travel accessibility platform.

Over the five years to 30 September 2026, the VCT has generated a NAV total return (including dividends) of 11.5%. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and dividends are variable and not guaranteed.

• Seeking to raise up to £50 million, with a £20 million overallotment facility
• Targeting an average annual dividend of 5p per share – variable and not guaranteed
• Available for the 2026/27 and the 2027/28 tax years
• Minimum investment £3,000
• Deadline: 10 December 2026 (5pm) for allotment in December 2026; 3.5p declared dividend and 2% early bird saving

Puma VCT 13 is managed by Puma Investments and advised by its Private Equity arm, Puma Growth Partners.

Puma has a 30-year track record of investing in small and medium-sized enterprises. In total, it has raised over £525 million across 15 VCTs and invested in 65 qualifying companies, achieving more than 40 full exits – past performance is not a guide to the future (November 2026).

The Puma Growth Partners team is headed up by Rupert West, who has over 20 years’ investment experience and is responsible for sourcing and leading VCT and EIS investments. He is supported by 10 investment and portfolio professionals (five investment directors, two investment managers, two investment executives and a Portfolio Finance Lead). They have access to Puma Investments’ support services, including in-house legal counsel and its senior management team.

Puma is sector agnostic, preferring to focus on the stage of a business instead.

The VCT favours scale-up opportunities, rather than startups: well managed, established, unquoted companies with a clear market fit, typically generating revenues of £2 million or more.

The investment team believes that companies at a similar stage of growth tend to face similar problems. Therefore, by focusing solely on scale-ups, the VCT can share its experience and help companies navigate common pitfalls while creating sector diversity within the portfolio.

Puma looks to add value by establishing best practices, supporting strategy refinement and networking opportunities through Puma’s Senior Management and CFO Clubs.

Puma sources the majority of its deals through its established network of corporate advisers and entrepreneurs. However, it also conducts outbound enquiries to identify its own deal flow and help the team maintain a wider perspective.

Given the similarity in investment strategy, it is expected that Puma VCT 13 will co-invest with Puma Alpha VCT and Puma Alpha EIS on the majority of its investments.

Puma VCT 13 has net assets of £247.7 million: a portfolio of 24 unquoted companies valued at £147.6 million, or 60% of net assets, with the remainder held in cash and short-term bonds to help manage liquidity (August 2026).

In the 18 months to August 2026, the VCT invested £21.3 million into five new companies, and a further £20.7 million across 13 follow-on investments. In the period after the August 2026 half year results, the VCT also invested £5.9 million into Azoma, a software provider that helps consumer brands optimise how they appear with agentic shopping agents.

Investors should note that the VCT is concentrated, with the top 10 holdings within the portfolio accounting for 40% of net asset value (August 2026).

The portfolio currently has a bias towards financial and insurance technology. The table below shows the sector breakdown by value.

In the five years to 31 August 2026, the VCT achieved one full and one partial exit (detailed below), generating proceeds of £8.5 million against a cost of £5.7 million, with a retained stake and deferred consideration valued at £1.4 million as at 31 August 2026.

As is to be expected, not all investments work out. Performance wheel manufacturer Dymag is an example.

Dymag was the first to manufacture high-end, lightweight carbon-fibre wheels for performance cars and motorbikes, certified for both road and racing use. These were 40% lighter than standard aluminium alloy wheels of the same size.

Pre-Covid-19, the global market for carbon automotive wheels appeared very strong, with several major production programmes announced. Dymag continued to operate throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, but, in line with the rest of the automotive sector, its sales fell and the company continued to struggle even after lockdown restrictions were lifted.

Puma VCT 13 invested a total of £5.8 million, which has been written down to zero as at August 2024.

The VCT operates a dividend investment scheme that allows shareholders to reinvest future cash dividend payments in new shares if desired. 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 VCT plans to operate a policy of purchasing their own shares as they become available in the market at a discount of 5% to the latest published NAV. 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 discount to NAV as at 30 September 2026 was -3.5%. Over the previous five years the average discount to NAV was -4.9%.

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 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 Puma VCT 13 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.

Deadlines

• Deadline for allotment in December 2026: 10 December 2026 (5pm)
• Deadline for 3.5p declared dividend and 2% early bird saving: 6 January 2027
• Deadline for 1% early bird saving: 26 February 2027
• Deadline for final allotment in the 2026/27 tax year: 2 April 2027 (11am)
• Deadline for final allotment in the 2027/28 tax year: 27 August 2027 (5pm)

Puma is a well-resourced investment house, with a long track record of investing in small and medium-sized businesses. The investment team focuses solely on scale-up opportunities across sectors, a superficially simple but potentially effective approach.

The portfolio remains concentrated and relatively small, with just 24 active investments, but has grown steadily following successful fundraises. The VCT’s cash holdings should also support further diversification.

To date, the trust has reported two full and one partial exits, with proceeds used to pay several dividends. Several holdings also appear promising, particularly Pockit and Aveni, alongside the more recent investment in Azoma.

The VCT targets an average dividend of 5p per year, although payments have historically varied significantly depending on the timing of exits. Past performance is not a guide to the future; dividends are variable and not guaranteed.

In our view, this is an up-and-coming VCT which may add diversification to an existing VCT portfolio. Investors should form their own view.

This financial promotion has been communicated and approved by Wealth Club Ltd on 3 November 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.