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Quester closes fifth VCT

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Quester Capital Management Ltd has announced that it closed its fifth VCT, Quester VCT 5, on 31 May 2002 at Â£18.6m. The offer for subscription was launched on 4 December 2001 and consisted of 26,500,000 ordinary shares of 1p each at 100p per share. The fund was targeted at retail investors and the board of the VCT made a contribution of Â£315,000. QCML is charging an annual management fee of 1.5% of the net assets of the company during the first financial year, 2% of the net assets in the second year and 2.5% thereafter. Other fees include Â£12,500 for the provision of secretarial and other services. Quester Limited (the parent company of QCML) and a number of individuals are entitled to a performance incentive of 20% of the net asset value of the VCT, providing it meets its targets. In the years to 2007 the target is 160p, increasing by 2p on the publication of each of the interim statements and audited accounts, rising to 186p on the expiry of the period in 2013. In addition to achieving and exceeding that target, dividends of an aggregate of at least 60p per ordinary share must have been declared by the company before Quester et al can claim entitlement to the 20% carry.

85% of the fund will initially be made available for investment in unquoted companies and the remaining 15% will be held in fixed-interest investments, equities and convertible securities quoted on a recognised stock exchange. Quester VCT 5 will place particular emphasis on investment in information and communication technologies and healthcare and life sciences. The VCT has no pre-determined lifespan, rather it is envisaged that the company will continue in existence until 2011 when a special resolution will be proposed to wind up the company.

The successful closing of Quester VCT 5, even if Â£6m short of its Â£26.5m target, is good news for the ailing VCT market, which has been struggling following the end of the technology boom. This year has already seen the pulling of Pathway One VCT, which was launched at the end of last year and failed to reach its floor of Â£1.05m. Gartmore Premier VCT and ISIS Technology VCT have also reportedly been struggling to raise money.