Independent asset manager Albion Capital is seeking to raise up to GBP34 million through top up offers for five of its venture capital trusts.
The fundraising targets the following amounts:
Kings Arms Yard VCT PLC – GBP10 million
Albion Development VCT PLC – GBP8 million
Albion Enterprise VCT PLC – GBP6 million
Albion Venture Capital Trust PLC – GBP6 million
Crown Place VCT PLC – GBP4 million
The offers provide exposure to balanced portfolios with a combined value of approximately GBP365 million, diversified across approximately 70 businesses. The top up offers reflect Albion’s confidence in an exciting pipeline of investment opportunities in sectors with long-term growth potential, including digital healthcare, automation, digital security and data analytics.
Investments spread across all five portfolios will receive a yield of approximately 5.5 per cent, or 7.8 per cent after tax relief. Investors who apply for the first GBP10 million of shares before 2pm on 31 January 2020 will be entitled to an “early bird” reduction in the offer costs. Existing Albion investors will receive a 1.0 per cent reduction and new investors will receive a 0.5 per cent reduction.
A strong investment programme has seen Albion invest over GBP40 million across its VCTs in around 25 new and existing high growth businesses since 1 July 2018. Recent investments include automatic speech recognition business Speechmatics, crypto-asset risk management solutions provider Elliptic and cloud-based performance management platform Clear Review.
The amounts being raised vary by VCT as a result of different levels of exposure to substantial recent exits. These include this year’s sales of Process Systems Enterprise to Siemens AG and ELE Advanced Technologies to private equity investor Lloyds Development Capital, and the high profile exit of Grapeshot to Oracle in May 2018. The exits have generated returns of 10x, 4x and 10x respectively for the Albion Funds.
Will Fraser-Allen, managing partner at Albion Capital, says: “We are finding a wealth of exceptional UK growth and technology companies to invest in and our new offers reflect our confidence in the high quality pipeline of opportunities that we have built. The offers provide investors with a fantastic opportunity to support ambitious British entrepreneurs, boosting innovation and wealth creation.
“VCTs are the perfect structure for investing in promising, high potential early stage companies and our range provides access to an exciting portfolio of businesses diversified by sector and maturity. We expect another healthy year for VCT fundraising against the backdrop of a positive environment for patient capital and investor demands for real income and capital growth.”
The offers opened on 22 October 2019 and will close at 2pm on 3 April 2020 for 2019/2020 unless fully subscribed earlier.
Over the five years to 30 June 2019, the Albion VCTs returned an average of 9 per cent per cent pa excluding tax relief across the five VCTs in the offer.
