Mobeus launches linked VCT fundraising

The first £5m of applications will receive 1.25% additional shares for investment before 30 December 2012.

The previous two offers each raised more than £15m, but Mobeus managing partner Mark Wignall (pictured) expects a better result this year (up to a maximum £21m) for a number of reasons: "In this low interest rate environment, investors find the VCT tax-free dividends very attractive; higher earners are likely to see further squeezes on the maximum tax allowance for their pension contributions and are seeking other tax-efficient products." Finally, he believes the Mobeus brand has been well-received by the market and that support has increased as a consequence of the MBO from Matrix.

The news follows Puma's announcement yesterday of the launch of its ninth VCT offering, which also offers an 'early-bird discount'.

The linked offer is open for investments of between £6,000 and £200,000 to be divided equally across three VCTs with a combined asset pool of £127m across more than 40 portfolio companies. The three VCTs are: Mobeus Income & Growth VCT, Mobeus Income & Growth 4 VCT and The Income & Growth VCT. The three have provided annual returns of between 9% and 16% (including tax relief).

The VCTs have an annual target dividend of not less than 4 pence tax-free. The vehicles surpassed this in the last financial year, paying out dividends of 5.0p, 6.75p and 20.0p respectively.

The dividends were supported by an impressive year for Mobeus, including a hat-trick of strong exits: DiGiCo (4.4x money multiple), Iglu.com Holidays (2.5x money multiple) and App-DNA (32.0x money multiple).

This is Mobeus's first offer since its MBO from former parent Matrix Group in June.

2012 marked a quiet year for VCT fundraising, with £240m raised in new money (the figure excludes enhanced buybacks), lower than the £350m raised in the previous period, according to Tax Efficient Review. The Review states other VCTs set to launch include: Ingenious Entertainment VCT 1 & 2 (H shares offer), launching next week; Foresight 1, 2, 3, and 4 VCT linked; and launching on 7 January are Proven Growth & Income and Northern VCT and Northern 2 (linked non-prospectus offer).

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• Mobeus Equity Partners