Praetura launches new Venture Capital Trust to support Northern high-growth businesses

Praetura Investments, the Manchester-based alternative asset manager, has launched and made its first allotment of shares in its Praetura Growth VCT plc.

Having successfully raised over the required £3m mark, the VCT’s objective is to back some of the most exciting scale-up businesses in the North of England, drive capital growth and target a regular annual dividend commencing in 2027, in addition to special dividends from the proceeds of completed exits of portfolio companies.

Praetura Growth VCT, which remains open for subscriptions, will primarily focus on investing in companies based in the North of England, enabling investors to diversify their portfolio and also help address the structural imbalance in the UK venture capital market. This was identified by Praetura’s research, which revealed there is a £9bn funding gap for Northern small businesses seeking capital for growth.

Following 13 years of venture investing and successfully managing EIS funds, Praetura has launched the VCT alongside its other open offers, the Praetura EIS Growth Fund and Praetura Inheritance Tax Planning Service. The VCT will be managed by the Group’s venture capital arm, Praetura Ventures, and co-invest alongside the established Praetura EIS Growth Fund.

The news follows a strong period of growth for Praetura Investments. This includes adding 12 new specialists to its team over the last twelve months, demonstrating its commitment to supporting its financial adviser and investor base with VCT, EIS and Business Relief qualifying offers.

Sam McArthur, partner at Praetura Investments, said: “After 13 years of successful investing in EIS-qualifying companies, the launch of Praetura Growth VCT was largely driven by demand from financial advisers looking for another way to access alternative investments with Praetura.

“A new VCT is extremely rare, with very few launched over the last decade. The launch underlines the strength of our differentiated proposition with a focus of investing in scale-up companies in the North of England where the is a significant opportunity for investors. The VCT market has been challenging this year following the increases to pension allowances, making our successful fundraise a noteworthy achievement.”

Praetura Growth VCT plc remains open to investment until 3pm on 31 May 2024.