Hargreave Hale's AIM VCTs will use old rules

Hargreave Hale plans to use rules that governed the VCT sector prior to April 2006 when making new qualifying investments for its two AIM VCTs.

The manager has recently launched a combined £10m share offer for its two vehicles with a planned closing date of June 2010. Even though current regulations constrain investment to companies with gross assets of £7m or less, and with a maximum of 50 staff, chief executive Giles Hargreave says they still have the ability to invest in companies with gross assets of up to £15m. “In VCT 1, we have around £5.7m in cash and gilts, raised before 2006. We will use this money to make new qualifying investments, meaning it comes under the old rules,” he says. “With an existing mature portfol...