Paul Latham (pictured), Managing Director of Octopus, comments on the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) sixth annual Venture Capital Trust (VCT) investment survey…
This year’s AIC ‘Nurturing success, delivering growth’ survey demonstrates how vital a source of funding VCT investments are for many UK smaller companies.
The findings tally with our recent ‘Octopus High Growth Small Business Report 2015’, which shows the tremendous contribution these companies are making to our economy generating thousands of jobs and driving growth across the country. VCTs are a critical source of funding for UK smaller companies in every region of the country and we need to do more to raise awareness of them – both among entrepreneurs as an alternative source of funding for growth, and among investors and financial advisers as a powerful tax planning investment solution that also allows investors to support the next generation of UK business.
Successive governments have shown their support for VCTs since they were first introduced in 1995 and they have been a brilliant success for the UK helping to champion UK enterprise and innovation. Given the potential benefits that VCTs offer both smaller companies and investors, we are confident that demand will continue to grow and that these tax-efficient solutions will continue to be a vital source of funding for high growth small businesses.
