ONSIDE / ACCELERIS Q&A
Q: Is it applicable to start-up companies?
A: EIS investment has become more mainstream over
the past 18 months with new providers having entered
the market. EIS (and latterly Seed EIS) can be applicable
for start-up companies through to larger, established
and profitable companies who may have been trading
for many years. Therefore EIS is capable of being
deployed on a broad range of investment scenarios.
Q: What’s the difference between Seed EIS and the
main scheme?
A: Most recently the Government has introduced the Seed
Enterprise Investment Scheme (“SEIS”) for investment into
start-up companies. SEIS is similar to EIS with the major
difference being that an investor may claim income tax
relief at 50% of their investment amount compared to 30%
for an EIS investment.
Q: There are a few ways of investing via EIS, what
are they and why would you choose one route over
another?
A: One route is investing directly into a company either on
your own or via part of a syndicate on a deal by deal basis,
as and when opportunities arise. This helps an investor
maintain control of the exact quantum and the company
into which their investment goes, but there are no guarantees
you can find the right type and size of investment when you
need it.
Contact - Simon Thorn
[email protected]
0161 850 0156
Another option is investing indirectly via a managed portfolio
service such as the Seneca EIS Portfolio Service. This option
loses some of the control in choosing into which companies
an investor’s funds are invested but opens up more investment
opportunities and an improved quality of deal flow from the
service provider or fund manager.
When investing directly, look for quality of management, IP
protection, demonstrable competitive advantage, clear route
to market and knowledge of market amongst other criteria
which may be more desirable to each individual investor.
Individuals are able to invest up to £1 million per fiscal year
under EIS and a further £100,000 under SEIS.
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