Issue of Equity

Northern 2 VCT PLC
18 January 2001


              For release at 7.00am on Thursday 18 January 2001

                      NORTHERN 2 VCT PLC (the 'Company')

                   Open Offers and Offers for Subscription



The board of Northern 2 VCT PLC today announces that it proposes to raise a
maximum of £25.4 million, before expenses, through a combination of Open
Offers and Offers for Subscription.

The Offer Shares are offered at 105p each payable in full upon application. Up
to 24,191,595 Shares are being offered to Qualifying Shareholders and the
public under the Offers. The maximum amount receivable under the Offers
therefore, in aggregate, is £25.4 million before expenses. In the event that
applications are received in excess of the maximum subscription under the
Offers, the Directors and the Sponsor reserve the right to use their absolute
discretion in the allocation of successful applications subject to the rights
of Qualifying Shareholders under the Shareholder Offers as described below.
Applicants are encouraged to submit their Application Forms early in order to
be confident that their applications will be successful. There is no minimum
subscription level for the Offers. The Offers are not underwritten.

The minimum investment per Investor under the Offers for Subscription is for
3,000 shares. The maximum investment per Investor is £100,000 for each of the
2000/01 Offer and the 2001/02 Offer, since tax reliefs are available on a
maximum investment of £100,000 per individual in any one tax year. A husband
and wife can each invest up to £100,000 in any one tax year. The Offers will
be open from 10.00 am on 18 January 2001. The 2000/01 Offer will close at 5.00
pm on 5 April 2001 and the 2001/02 Offer will close at 5.00 pm on 12 April
2001, unless previously extended by the Directors. Both Offers may close
earlier if fully subscribed.

The Directors, together with directors and employees of the Manager, have
irrevocably undertaken to invest an aggregate of £130,000 under the Offers,
taking the total invested by them since the Company was launched to over £
500,000.

The Shareholder Offers

The Shareholder Offers provide Qualifying Shareholders with the opportunity to
apply for Offer Shares in priority to other Investors at the Offer Price and
on the basis of:

                      1 Offer Share for every Share held

registered in their names at the close of business on the Record Date and so
in proportion for any other number of existing ordinary shares then held.
Applications, together with payment in full, must be received by 15 February
2001. Qualifying Shareholders will have the option to choose in which tax year
their Offer Shares are allotted by indicating on their Shareholder Application
Form whether they are applying under either or both of the Shareholder 2000/01
Offer and the Shareholder 2001/02 Offer. Application forms are personal to
Shareholders and may not be transferred except to satisfy bona fide market
claims.

Settlement and dealings

Application has been made to the UK Listing Authority for the Offer Shares to
be admitted to the Official List and to the London Stock Exchange for
admission to trading on its market for listed securities ('Admission'). The
Offer Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing shares and
will be issued in registered form, be transferable and rank for all dividends
and other distributions which are both declared and made following Admission.
It is anticipated that dealings in the Offer Shares issued pursuant to the
Offers will commence from 26 February 2001. Share certificates and
certificates to enable a claim for income tax relief to be made in respect of
Offer Shares subscribed for under the Offers will be posted to Shareholders
within 14 days of Admission of the relevant Offer Shares. Prior to despatch of
definitive share certificates, transfers (if any) will be certified against
the register. No temporary documents of title will be issued.

Shares may be allotted and issued in respect of valid applications received
for the Shareholder Offers at any time after 26 January 2001 and for the
Offers for Subscriptions at any time after 15 February 2001.

Issue costs and commission

Northern Venture Managers will be paid a fee of 5% of the gross proceeds of
the Offers and will be responsible for paying all the costs of the Offers
including listing expenses and commissions, usually at a rate of 3%, payable
to authorised financial advisers on successful applications bearing their
stamp. As the costs of the Offers are fixed at 5% of the gross proceeds, the
net proceeds of the Offers will be 99.75p per Offer Share and £24.1 million at
the maximum subscription.

Prospectus

A Prospectus giving full details of the Offers is being published today and
will be sent to Qualifying Shareholders shortly together with an application
form personal to each Qualifying Shareholder for use in the Shareholder
Offers. A mini prospectus is also being published for use in the Offer for
Subscription. Terms used in this announcement are defined in the Prospectus
and the Mini Prospectus.