Matt Ridley, the former chairman of Northern Rock, is pressing ahead with plans to raise fresh capital for a fund that he heads, betting that the woes of the troubled lender do not resonate with venture capital investors.

Northern 2, the venture capital trust (VCT) that Mr Ridley chairs, is seeking to raise £15m ($29.7m) in a share issue to fund more management buy-outs of small-cap companies valued at about £5m.