Frequently asked questions

Don’t worry, give us a call on 0800 316 2295 and we’ll be able to let you know how many shares you hold past the five-year minimum holding period.

Indicate how many shares you would like to sell and send us your valid share certificate(s). We’ll sell the number of shares indicated. For any remaining shares, a new certificate will be issued to you within a few weeks from the sale date.

The CREST office and registrar for the VCT will only accept original valid share certificates and CREST forms to complete the share buyback.

You’ll receive a sale confirmation once the shares have been sold and this is normally sent the same day the funds are sent via BACS.

We’re unable to accept an instruction to sell a monetary value. On the CREST form you need to write the number of shares you’re selling in both numbers and words in the appropriate boxes. There’s an explanation of this in the guide attached to the CREST form.

The process will vary depending on what you’d like to do with your sale proceeds. So we can help you, please get in touch on 0800 316 2295 or email [email protected].

As VCTs are publicly traded companies, they need to announce financial results twice a year. While this is occurring, the VCT is being revalued and is in a ‘closed period’. This ensures that purchases and sales are being being processed at fair value. We can’t proceed with the buyback until a VCT comes out of a closed period, so be aware that buybacks will take longer during these times. 

Since the AIM VCTs are predominantly invested into shares that are on a listed market, the VCT’s value is calculated on a weekly basis. As a result there is no need for these VCTs to enter a closed period in order to revalue the shares.

We’ve set out a summary below of the historical frequency of buyback dates for each VCT:  

Buybacks are at the discretion of the Board of the VCT and usually take place when the VCT is in an open period. Please find the next expected buyback dates here. We do recommend you send us your completed forms as soon as possible though to avoid missing out. This is to avoid disappointment if the dates for an anticipated buyback are revised, for example.

After receiving your request, we’ll make sure we have everything we need. If we need anything further, we’ll let you know. We’ll then send confirmation that your buyback is being processed and sell your shares at the next available opportunity. When the buyback is complete, you’ll receive a contract note summarising the sale proceeds.

This depends on the VCT being open for share buybacks, but the shares are normally sold around two weeks after the buyback deadline. Funds are then paid out between five to ten working days from the sale date. You can find expected sale dates here.

Once you’ve received a sale confirmation, the BACS payment should be received within five to ten working days.

The original share certificate is proof of ownership and therefore required to sell the shares. The CREST form is used by Octopus to transfer the shares from certificate format into electronic format and held in Octopus’ online account, known as a CREST account. We’ll then sell the shares on your behalf.

Please contact the VCT’s registrar (Computershare) on 0370 703 0000. They’ll issue you with a letter of indemnity to replace the certificate.

Letters of indemnity need to be posted directly to you by Computershare, the VCT’s registrar. This is because a wet signature is required.

We do not have copies of the share certificates, and we can’t issue share certificates for the VCT. The share register is maintained by the VCT’s registrar, Computershare.

The cost will vary depending on the VCT and the value of the share certificate. Please contact the VCT’s registrar (Computershare) on 0370 703 0000 for the costs.

Once Computershare, the VCT’s registrar, has received the completed letter of indemnity it takes them ten working days to issue the new share certificates. These will be posted to you.

You should use the new address, although this needs to match the address that the VCT’s registrar (Computershare) has on file for you. If you’ve changed address since your share certificates were issued and haven’t updated Computershare with your new details, you should call them on 0370 703 0000 to notify them of the change before sending your forms to us.

Fortunately, the answer is no. On the CREST form you just need to state how many shares you wish to sell. If you’ve got multiple share certificates, just total the number of shares together.

All our VCTs have been through mergers. When VCTs go through mergers we provide new share certificates to investors. For example, if you held certificates in Octopus Titan VCT 1, 3, 4, and 5 you should have received a new share certificate in December 2014. When replacement certificates are issued, the originals are no longer valid.