Osborne's VCT rules 'set to trigger raft of launches'

The relaxation of VCT investment criteria announced in yesterday's Budget will spark a number of new AIM VCT launches, says Oliver Bedford, manager of the Hargreave Hale AIM VCTs.

Bedford believes if the new proposals are given EU approval, product launches will be "back on the agenda" after drying up over the last couple of years. The manager says AIM VCTs will become easier to operate and will trigger new launches as opposed to the top-up issues which became increasingly popular under the previous rules. Bedford adds under the old regime, new VCT launches carried a degree of risk as it was tough to find enough quality small businesses to build up a portfolio. "The changes revert back to the old qualification rules which were in place in 2005 and then got t...