NVM nears fundraising target

The public offering, launched in November, has already raised £12.9m.

Despite such strong investor appetite – the deadline isn't until April and VCT fundraisings are notoriously back-ended – the fund will not increase its size, nor does it have an over-allotment option.

"The issue will close once we reach £15m," says Alastair Conn of NVM. "It looks as if a higher target would have been achievable but we agreed with the independent directors at the outset that £15m was the right number. We're in this for the long term, and we want our shareholders to have confidence that we won't raise more cash than we can prudently invest."

The £50m fund launched a tender offer in November to buy back 10% of existing shares and had paid back £5m just before the holidays. When reached, the £15m top-up should thus bring the fund size to £60m.

Northern Venture Trust operates under pre-2006 investment rules, meaning it can invest in larger sums in bigger companies than those vehicles set up after 2006. The VCT has 40 businesses in its portfolio, and this is expected to grow to 55 by 2013.

The fund was launched in 1995, the year VCTs were launched, and its NAV plus dividends is 174.2 pence per share since inception, placing it third out of more than 100 VCT share classes.

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• Topics
• Buyout
• UK / Ireland
• NVM Private Equity