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Octopus Titan VCT 2021

Finance and Risk Capital

Impact for scaleups

90

High growth potential companies

£1.2bn

Funds under management

126%

Revenue growth by portfolio companies in 2020

880

Jobs created in 2020

Key sectors

Impact ventures / Social Impact Life Sciences & Biotech Building & Construction Manufacturing / Advanced Manufacturing Creative, digital, film, games & media Professional services Defence & security Technology & Communications Engineering / Advanced Engineering Transport & Logistics Environmental Science & Technology Farming, fisheries & forestry Finance Food & drink Healthcare

Octopus Titan is the UK’s largest Venture Capital Trust (VCT) with approximately £1.2bn of funds under management. In 2017, the ScaleUp Institute identified it as an exemplar of how the wider VCT industry has the potential and capacity to provide assistance to all stages of scaleup growth. The latest government statistics report 62 VCTs currently managing funds in the UK. Titan VCT is managed by Octopus Ventures.

Titan VCT typically invests £1m-£5m in a first round investment and has the capability to follow on its investments up to £20m with the intention to hold a portfolio of largely unquoted technology companies that are VCT qualifying. As at October 2021, the portfolio consisted of over 90 high-growth potential businesses – many of which have continued to grow rapidly despite the pandemic. In the year to April 2021, Octopus Titan VCT’s £120m fundraising was the largest of any UK VCT. Key sectors for the VCT include health, fintech, deep tech, consumer and B2B software.

In the twelve months to 30 June 2021, the VCT invested £95m into 40 companies, including follow-on investments into some of the existing portfolio companies. Notable scaleups that the VCT supports include pet insurance provider Bought By Many, femtech company Elvie, used car platform Cazoo, digital medicine company Big Health.

Since Titan launched in 2007, the Octopus Ventures team has grown from five to more than 65 people including its Venture Partners, a group of entrepreneurs and business experts who offer best-in-class expertise in areas such as leadership, sales and international expansion. Support for its portfolio companies also comes through a network of coaches and a “talent team” to specifically advise on talent, recruitment and retention. More than 50% of the investment team have founded a business themselves. 

Octopus Ventures has increased its investment team significantly and has added further operational support to ensure it continues to be able to make new investments and manage the expanding portfolio appropriately. In 2021 Titan has been investing along with funds from Octopus’ new Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) service, Octopus Ventures EIS, launched in Autumn 2020. The Octopus Group is the largest solar investor in Europe. They also invest in landfill gas sites, wind farms and biomass plants.

Octopus Titan VCT 2021 website