In the 14 months to February, Puma VCT and Puma VCT 2 suffered falls of 3.7 and 3.5 per cent respectively in their net asset value (NAV) per share including dividends.

Puma VCT 3 was down 3.7 per cent for the year ending December, while Puma VCT 4 fell 4.1 per cent over the same period.

Aubrey Brocklebank, chairman of the VCTs, says: ‘The defensive qualities of the Puma VCTs’ investments have enabled a resilient performance with only a small drop in NAV.

‘This was considerably better than many of [their] peers, reflecting the investment manager’s conservative approach.’

The VCTs’ performance is roughly in line with the fall in the FTSE AIM All-Share Index, which fell roughly four per cent in the 14 months to February 2008.

Over the period, the Puma VCTs invested in companies including Cadbury House Hotel and Country Club, book auctioneer Bloomsbury Auctions and mobile phone content aggregator Interactive World (now Sport Media).