London, UK –As the Venture Capital Trust (VCT) scheme turns 30, the VCT Association (VCTA) has released figures compiled by the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) showing that VCTs raised £895 million in the 2024/25 tax year, marking the third-highest annual fundraising total on record and a £13m increase on last year’s total.

VCTs provide crucial support to the most innovative startup and scaleup businesses across the UK, fostering job creation and continuing to build on the recent successes delivered through VCT funding. Together, VCTs manage more than £6.5bn, backing over 1,000 companies nationwide, and supporting over 100,000 jobs.

In the past year alone, VCT funding has fostered many UK success stories, such as:

- Quantexa, a data and decision intelligence platform, which secured £140 million in a Series F round - supported by Albion Capital - to bolster its international expansion and acquisition strategy

- Secret Food Tours, a global culinary experience business in which Pembroke VCT achieved a 5.3x return following a partial exit

- Limitless Travel, a Birmingham-based accessible travel company which closed a £6.5 million Series A funding round led by Beringea, manager of the ProVen VCTs, to support its next phase of growth.

- VRAI, a data visualisation platform for simulation-based training, which raised £4.2m in a Series A led by Beringea, to further support its mission to drive greater insight and efficiency within aerospace and defence.

These examples speak to the diversity and ambition of the companies backed by VCTs– from frontier technologies to culinary tourism and AI – which in turn fuels investor interest in backing UK enterprise. With the additional funds raised by VCTs in this tax year, there will be further opportunity to support job creation, economic growth, and productivity across the UK.

Chris Lewis, Chair of the VCTA, commented:

"This year’s fundraising confirms that VCTs continue to command strong support from investors, even against a more uncertain economic backdrop. What’s particularly encouraging is the breadth of success stories we’ve seen – from companies delivering social impact and accessibility, to those scaling globally with cutting edge technologies.

“VCTs remain a vital component of the UK’s funding landscape. As the Government looks to unlock growth across the economy, this year’s figures reinforce the value of building on what’s already working."

The VCTA continues to engage with policymakers to ensure the scheme remains well-calibrated to the needs of modern high-growth businesses, particularly as inflation and capital requirements increase across sectors.

Looking ahead, the Association will continue to push for an update to the annual and lifetime investment limits of the scheme, as well as the current age limits, which would open the door to VCT support for many more small businesses across the UK.

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