Further C Share Offer

Close Brothers Dev VCT PLC
24 December 2003




                          CLOSE BROTHERS DEVELOPMENT VCT
          FURTHER C SHARE OFFER RAISING UP TO £13.2 MILLION OF NEW FUNDS

                                                                24 December 2003

Close Venture Management, a division of Close Brothers Investment Limited, is
launching a second C Share Offer on behalf of Close Brothers Development VCT PLC
('the Company') to raise up to £13.2 million of new money. The Company began
trading in January 1999 and initially raised £14.8 million through the issue of
Ordinary Shares. The Company raised a further £11.7 million through a C Share
Offer in September 2002, in order to implement its investment strategy further.
The funds raised from the new C Shares, at 100p per share, will rank pari passu
with the existing C Shares other than for the interim dividend to 30 June 2004.

The Company offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of holdings in
smaller, unquoted companies whilst selecting and structuring investments in such
a way as to reduce the risk normally associated with investment in such
companies. Shareholders benefit from a strong dividend yield as well as
receiving a degree of capital protection.

Additionally, in light of the proposals made in the Chancellor's Pre-Budget
Report regarding changes to the tax benefits available to those investing in
venture capital trusts from 6 April 2004, this issue may represent one of the
final opportunities for investors wishing to defer a capital gain.

Main Characteristics of the 'C' Share Offer:

 - It is currently intended that the subscription list for the Offer will
   open on 21 January 2004 and will close on 2 April 2004.

 - There is no minimum subscription level for the Offers.

 - The maximum qualifying amount which an individual may invest in the
   Company and in any other VCT in the current tax year is £100,000. The
   minimum investment under the Offer is £1,000.

 - The annual management fee charged by the Manager is 2 per cent. (plus
   VAT) of the net asset value of the Company. The Manager is also entitled to
   a secretarial and administrative fee of 0.25 per cent. per annum (plus VAT)
   of the net asset value of the Company and an incentive fee in the event that
   returns exceed a minimum target level.

 - Introductory commission will be offered to authorised financial
   intermediaries usually at a rate of 2.5 per cent. on successful applications
   submitted through them.

Patrick Reeve, Managing Director of Close Venture Management, commented:
'Already this year we have completed a highly successful C Share Offer for the
Company which represented over 20 per cent of the total funds raised in the VCT
market in the last fundraising season which we believe is testament to the
strength of our investment strategy. We believe that now is an excellent time to
seek further funds to broaden our investment portfolio even further and thus
maximise value for new and existing shareholders alike.'

The Company is sending out a circular to Shareholders incorporating a notice of
EGM to be held on 15 January 2004, inter alia, requesting authority to issue new
C Shares. A copy of the circular has been submitted to the UK Listing Authority
and will shortly be available for inspection at UK Listing Authority's Document
Viewing Facility which is situated at:

Financial Services Authority
25 The North Colonnade
Canary Wharf
London E14 5HS


For further information, please contact:

Patrick Reeve/ Ole Bettum              Justin Griffiths/ John West
Close Venture Management               Tavistock Communications
Tel: [phone]                     Tel: [phone]

www.closeventures.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

Close Venture Management specialises, inter alia, in the origination and
management of VCTs. It now manages four VCTs (Close Brothers Venture Capital
Trust PLC, Close Brothers Protected VCT PLC, Close Brothers Development VCT PLC
and Close Technology & General VCT PLC) which have raised a total of £108
million from investors. Additionally, Close Venture Management administers a
fifth VCT, Close Brothers AIM VCT PLC, which raised a further £30 million. It
also manages Bamboo Investments PLC, an investment company specialising in
unquoted technology companies and acts as investment adviser to Healthcare &
Leisure Property Fund PLC. Close Brothers was voted VCT Group of the Year at the
2003 Growth Company Awards.

The Government published a consultation document launched alongside Budget 2004
entitled: 'Bridging the finance gap: a consultation on improving access to
growth capital for small businesses'. It outlines the Government's intention to
take forward a range of measures to enhance both the investment in potentially
high-growth SMEs affected by the finance gap, and to enhance SMEs' own knowledge
and awareness of the finance options available to them. Included within this
document is the proposal to withdraw the ability to defer capital gains tax
liabilities by investing in VCT shares from 6 April 2004 and offsetting the long
term effect with an enhancement of equivalent value to the income tax relief for
new subscriptions to VCT shares. In order to provide a stimulus to VCT
fundraising in the short term, it is intended, subject to consultation with the
industry, that a temporary improvement in income tax relief be implemented for a
period of two years from 6 April 2004. The Government's favoured option would be
for a temporary increase in the effective rate of income tax from 20% to 40%,
where the Government would pay the value of the additional 20% relief directly
to the VCT. Please view the full document at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

Close Venture Management is a division of Close Brothers Investment limited,
part of Close Brothers Group plc, and is regulated by the FSA.



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