Interim Results

Northern Venture Trust PLC
11 May 2001

11 MAY 2001

NORTHERN VENTURE TRUST PLC

UNAUDITED INTERIM RESULTS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 31 MARCH 2001

Northern Venture Trust PLC is a Venture Capital Trust (VCT) managed by
Northern Venture Managers. The trust was one of the first VCTs launched on the
London Stock Exchange and has to date raised a total of £43 million from
private investors. It invests mainly in unquoted venture capital situations
and aims to provide high long-term returns to shareholders through a
combination of dividend yield and capital growth.

Financial highlights (comparative figures as at 31 March 2000 in brackets):

  * Net assets   £44,382,000    (£39,441,000)
  * Net asset value per share   109.0p    (105.7p)
  * Share price  95p  (82.5p)
  * Investment income  £878,000  (£805,000)
  * Profits on realisation of investments  £2,992,000     (£1,031,000)
  * Profit before tax  £143,000    (£1,473,000)
  * Earnings per share   0.4p  (3.9p)
  * Interim dividend per share  2.5p   (1.0p)

For further information, please contact:

Michael Denny, Chairman

Alastair Conn, Managing Director

Northern Venture Managers                              0191 244 6000

Lucy Copeman/Louise Johnstone

Polhill Communications                                 020 7655 0540


NORTHERN VENTURE TRUST PLC

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

The Chairman of Northern Venture Trust PLC, Professor Sir Frederick Holliday
CBE, included the following points in his statement to shareholders:

The six months to March 2001 have been a challenging period, with setbacks in
the stock markets (particularly for technology investments) accompanied by a
growing concern about the short-term economic outlook. For our own company,
much of the net asset value progression of the preceding year was reversed;
this was substantially attributable to the fall in value of our quoted equity
investments, the unquoted portfolio maintaining its value satisfactorily
during the period. Whilst the results for the half year may be seen in
isolation as disappointing, it is worth recalling that over the past year we
have paid substantial dividends to shareholders, and achieved growth in both
net asset value and share price, whilst stock market indices have shown
significant falls. We believe that we are still on course to achieve the
company's longer-term objectives, based on our conservative approach of
holding a broad range of investments encompassing new technologies as well as
more traditional sectors.

Presentation of financial results

During the year ended 30 September 2000 the company revoked its status as an
investment company (as defined in the Companies Act 1985) in order to
facilitate the distribution of realised capital gains by way of dividend to
shareholders. This led to changes in the presentation of our financial
statements, including the replacement of the investment company statement of
total return with a trading company profit and loss account. In these interim
accounts we have changed the profit and loss account format slightly so as to
show separate columns for revenue and capital items, whilst remaining within
Companies Act presentation requirements. We believe that the result is more
informative for shareholders than a single column profit and loss account.

Balance sheet

The net asset value per share as at 31 March 2001 was 109.0p, after providing
for the proposed interim dividend of 2.5p per share. This represents a one
year increase of 3.1% from the corresponding figure of 105.7p at 31 March
2000, but a six months fall of 17.3% from the audited figure of 131.8p at 30
September 2000, which proved to be a high water mark for our quoted technology
investments. The unrealised surplus on the revaluation of investments fell by
£11.4 million, of which no less than £7.8 million related to our investment in
the TechMARK-listed IndigoVision Group plc. It can be seen from the following
table that the recent movements in our net asset value and share price compare
favourably with the relevant stock market indices.

              Movement to 31 March 2001 over:   Last 6 months    Last 12 months

Northern Venture Trust PLC net asset value             -17.3%             +3.1%
Northern Venture Trust PLC share price                 -20.8%            +15.2%
FT-SE All-Share index                                  -10.5%            -12.8%
FT-SE TechMARK index                                   -34.2%            -37.8%
FT-SE AIM index                                        -34.0%            -48.1%

Earnings and dividend

Total earnings per share in the half year were 0.4p, compared with 3.9p in the
corresponding period to 31 March 2000 and 14.7p in the year to 30 September
2000. The fluctuations are due mainly to the fact that realised gains (net of
any previously unrealised revaluation adjustments) are now included in the
earnings figures. In addition to the post-tax profit of £153,000 reported in
the profit and loss account, a further £2,949,000 of gains which represent the
realisation of previous revaluation surpluses have been credited to the profit
and loss reserve in the balance sheet.

Your board has again taken advantage of the ability of venture capital trusts
to distribute capital gains by way of dividend, and an interim dividend of
2.5p per share (last year 1.0p) will be paid on 7 June 2001 to shareholders on
the register on 25 May 2001. The level of final dividend will depend on
developments in the second half of the year, but we have made it a high
priority to continue generating distributable gains from our maturing
portfolio.

Investments

During the half year nine new venture capital investments totalling £5.0
million were completed. A further £900,000 was invested in new financing
rounds for existing portfolio companies. The new investments were:

 1. Xtraserve (£770,000) - provider of software systems integration services,
    Hook
 2. Bank Restaurant Group (£250,000) - restaurant operator, London
 3. Alaric Systems (£1,000,000) - developer of payment systems protection
    software, London
 4. British Biocell International (£528,000) - producer of gold conjugates for
    research and diagnostic applications, Cardiff
 5. Mission Testing (£297,000) - provider of software testing services, Crawley
 6. Contract Lighting Maintenance (£440,000) - electrical testing contractor,
    Warrington
 7. T J Brent (£1,000,000) - provider of sub-contract services to utility
    companies, Bodmin
 8. Warthog (£170,000) - developer of computer games, Manchester
 9. Cedalion (£500,000) - provider of computer software consultancy services,
    Edinburgh

Our portfolio did not escape the effects of the stock market turmoil in the
first quarter of 2001. The most conspicuous example was IndigoVision Group,
which was floated in August 2000 at 190p and saw its share price rise to 535p
by the end of September, at which point our holding was valued at £11.2
million. Although the company has continued to report good commercial
progress, its shares were caught up in the general retreat of the technology
stocks and had fallen back to 195p (still above the flotation price) by March
2001. To date we have sold some 56% of the shares we held immediately prior to
the flotation, and have realised cash proceeds of £6.2 million and gains of £
5.7 million. The investment cannot be described as anything other than a major
success, but the recent fall in the share price has had a significant impact
on our short-term performance. XKO Group and Alizyme have also suffered share
price falls, although BioFocus has performed very well and showed a creditable
gain over the period.

Funds held in the listed fixed-interest portfolio continued to reduce as new
unquoted investments were completed. In March 2001 we made a change to the
remit of our fixed-interest managers so as to include a proportion of listed
equity investments in the portfolio.

VCT qualifying status

Your board and its advisers continue to monitor carefully the company's
compliance with the VCT qualifying investment conditions laid down by the
Inland Revenue and are satisfied that the company continues to meet the
relevant requirements.

Board of directors

I am very sorry to report that Ian Ritchie has today resigned from the board
in order to take up an active role with a venture capital fund focussing on
technology investment. Ian was one of the founding directors of the company
and has served the board and shareholders well. We extend to him our thanks
and best wishes for the future. We intend to appoint another non-executive
director to maintain the strength of the board and an announcement will be
made in due course.

The future

The short-term economic outlook is uncertain. Business confidence in the UK
has been resilient despite the increasing gloom across the Atlantic, and
forecasts suggest that the UK economy will achieve modest growth over the next
12 months. However quoted manufacturing and technology businesses have issued
a string of profit warnings in recent months and, despite the downward
movement in interest rates, it would be unwise to assume that the UK can
remain largely insulated from world trends. We are therefore taking a cautious
view when adding to the unquoted portfolio. Our managers have long experience
of coping with effects of the ups and downs in the economic cycle and we
remain confident that our investments will produce a good long-term return for
shareholders.



The unaudited interim financial statements for the six months ended 31 March
2001 are set out below.

PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT
                          Six months ended 31 March  Six months ended 31 March
                                     2001                                 2000
                                                                   (re-stated)
                          Revenue  Capital  Total    Revenue  Capital  Total
                          £000     £000     £000     £000     £000     £000
Net profit on realisation
  of investments          -        2,992    2,992    -        1,031    1,031
Revaluation (gains)/
losses previously         -        (2,949)  (2,949)  -        152      152
  recognised              ------   ------   ------   ------   ------   ------
Profits on realisation of
investments               -        43       43       -        1,183    1,183
  recognised in the
period
Income                    878      -        878      805      -        805
Investment management fee (254)    (381)    (635)    (158)    (237)    (395)
Other expenses            (143)    -        (143)    (120)    -        (120)
                          ------   ------   ------   ------   ------   ------
Profit/(loss) on ordinary
activities                481      (338)    143      527      946      1,473
  before tax
Tax on profit/(loss) on
  ordinary activities     (105)    115      10       (85)     71       (14)
                          ------   ------   ------   ------   ------   ------
Profit/(loss) on ordinary
activities                376      (223)    153      442      1,017    1,459
  after tax
Dividends                 (407)    (611)    (1,018)  (373)    -        (373)
                          ------   ------   ------   ------   ------   ------
Retained profit/(loss)    (31)     (834)    (865)    69       1,017    1,086
for the period            ------   ------   ------   ------   ------   ------
Earnings/(loss) per share     0.9p   (0.5)p     0.4p     1.2p     2.7p    3.9p
Dividend per share            1.0p     1.5p     2.5p     1.0p      -      1.0p

                                                 Year ended 30 September 2000
                                                                   (re-stated)
                                                      Revenue Capital   Total
                                                      £000    £000      £000
Net profit on realisation
  of investments                                      -       4,675     4,675
Revaluation (gains)/losses
previously                                            -       280       280
  recognised                                          ------  ------    ------
Profits on realisation of
investments                                           -       4,955     4,955
  recognised in the period
Income                                                1,716   -         1,716
Investment management fee                             (343)   (515)     (858)
Other expenses                                        (236)   -         (236)
                                                      ------  ------    ------
Profit/(loss) on ordinary
activities                                            1,137   4,440     5,577
  before tax
Tax on profit/(loss) on
  ordinary activities                                 (128)   103       (25)
                                                      ------  ------    ------
Profit/(loss) on ordinary
activities                                            1,009   4,543     5,552
  after tax
Dividends                                             (943)   (2,301)   (3,244)
                                                      ------  ------    ------
Retained profit/(loss) for the                        66      2,242     2,308
period                                                ------  ------    ------
Earnings/(loss) per share                             3.0p     11.7p     14.7p
Dividend per share                                    2.3p      5.7p      8.0p


STATEMENT OF TOTAL RECOGNISED GAINS AND LOSSES

                          Six months ended 31 March  Six months ended 31 March
                                     2001                                 2000
                                                                   (re-stated)
                          Revenue  Capital  Total    Revenue  Capital  Total
                          £000     £000     £000     £000     £000     £000
Profit/(loss) on ordinary
activities                376      (223)    153      442      1,017    1,459
  after tax
Unrealised gains/(losses) -        (8,487)  (8,487)  -        4,716    4,716
on                        ------   ------   ------   ------   ------   ------
  revaluation of
investments
Total recognised gains/
(losses)                  376      (8,710)  (8,334)  442      5,733    6,175
  for the period          ------   ------   ------   ------   ------   ------
 
                                                 Year ended 30 September 2000
                                                                    (re-stated)
                                                     Revenue  Capital    Total
                                                     £000     £000       £000
Profit/(loss) on ordinary
activities                                           1,009    4,543      5,552
  after tax
Unrealised gains/(losses) on                         -        13,961     13,961
  revaluation of investments                         ------   ------     ------
Total recognised gains/(losses)
  for the period                                     1,009    18,504     19,513
                                                     ------   ------     ------



BALANCE SHEET
                                   31 March 2001 31 March 2000     30 September
                                                   (re-stated)             2000
                                            £000          £000
                                                                           £000
Fixed asset investments:
  Venture capital investments      34,453        29,535        41,320
  Listed fixed-interest            5,296         6,557         7,808
investments                        2,597         -             -
  Other listed investments         -------       -------       -------
Total investments                  42,346        36,092        49,128
Net current assets                 2,036         3,349         4,916
                                   -------       -------       -------
Net assets                         44,382        39,441        54,044
                                   -------       -------       -------
Called-up equity share capital     10,177        9,329         10,254
Share premium                      13,668        10,457        13,668
Capital redemption reserve         78            1             1
Revaluation reserve                2,764         4,827         14,200
Profit and loss account            17,695        14,827        15,921
                                   -------       -------       -------
Total equity shareholders' funds   44,382        39,441        54,044
                                   -------       -------       -------
Net asset value per share                 109.0p        105.7p           131.8p


CASH FLOW STATEMENT
                                    Six months      Six months       Year ended
                                         ended           ended     30 September
                                 31 March 2001   31 March 2000             2000
                                                   (re-stated)
                                   £000   £000    £000    £000     £000    £000
Operating activities:
Profit on ordinary activities
  before tax                            143            1,473            5,577
Decrease/(increase) in debtors          194            132              (541)
Increase in creditors                   15             22               25
Profit on disposal
  of investments                        (43)           (1,183)          (4,955)
                                        ------         ------           ------
Net cash inflow from
  operating activities                  309            444              106
Taxation:
Corporation tax recovered/              200            133              (75)
(paid)
Financial investment:
Purchase of investments         (11,961)        (6,535)         (15,366)
Sale/repayment of investments    10,299          6,939           15,750
                                 ------          ------          ------
                                
Net cash (outflow)/inflow
  from financial investment             (1,662)         404              384

Equity dividends paid                   (2,871)         (522)            (895)
Financing:
Issue of ordinary shares        -              -               4,254
Share issue expenses            -              -               (118)
Purchase of ordinary shares for
  cancellation                  (310)          (4)             (5)
                                ------         ------          ------
Net cash (outflow)/inflow
  from financing                        (310)          (4)              4,131
                                        ------         ------           ------
(Decrease)/increase in cash at          (4,334)         455              3,651
bank                                                   ------           ------
                                        ------
Analysis of cash balance:
At 1 October 2000                       6,486          2,835            2,835
Net cash inflow/(outflow)
  for the period                        (4,334)         455              3,651
                                                       ------           ------
                                        ------
At 31 March 2001                        2,152          3,290            6,486
                                        ------         ------           ------



TEN LARGEST VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTMENTS AT 31 MARCH 2001
                                                   Valuation     % of portfolio
                                                        £000       by valuation
IndigoVision Group plc*                                3,271                7.7
Alizyme plc*                                           2,562                6.1
BioFocus plc**                                         2,480                5.9
CGI International Limited                              1,589                3.8
Remsdaq Limited                                        1,402                3.3
Alaric Systems Limited                                 1,000                2.3
TFB Group Limited                                      1,000                2.3
T J Brent Limited                                      1,000                2.3
Tolwood Limited                                        1,000                2.3
T&D Packaging Limited                                    900                2.2
                                                     -------             ------
Ten largest venture capital investments               16,204               38.2
Other venture capital investments                     18,249               43.2
                                                     -------             ------
Total venture capital investments                     34,453               81.4
Listed fixed interest investments                      5,296               12.5
Other listed investments                               2,597                6.1
                                                     -------             ------
Total fixed asset investments                         42,346              100.0
                                                     -------             ------
* Listed on London Stock Exchange
**Listed on Alternative Investment Market

The above summary of results for the six months ended 31 March 2001 does not
constitute statutory financial statements within the meaning of Section 240 of
the Companies Act 1985 and has not been delivered to the Registrar of
Companies.

The proposed interim dividend for the year ending 30 September 2001 will be
paid on 7 June 2001 to shareholders on the register at the close of business
on 25 May 2001.

A copy of the interim report is expected to be posted to shareholders on 18
May 2001 and will be available to the public at the registered office of the
company at Northumberland House, Princess Square, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ER.

ENDS