SEIS & EIS

The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme ("SEIS") and the Enterprise Investment Scheme ("EIS") are tax-efficient government-backed schemes which allow qualifying businesses to fundraise from investors who are tax-resident in the UK.

Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS)
SEIS is primarily targeted at start-ups meaning it is not available if the company has been carrying out the business activity for which inward investment is being sought for a period of more than two years.

Qualifying for SEIS investment
There are a number of criteria which a company has to meet to qualify for SEIS investment, Our Corporate Team can assist you in determining whether your business qualifies and can liaise with HM Revenue & Customs on your behalf to confirm your qualification to both schemes.

Support with EIS or SEIS
If you are seeking investment through the EIS or the SEIS route, our Corporate Team can guide you through the entire process.

What is EIS and what are the benefits of it?
EIS was initiated to encourage individual investors to invest in small, higher-risk trading companies to help alleviate and deter any problems that smaller, high-risk trading companies have in raising equity finance.

EIS is designed to give investors, who subscribe for shares in a business, tax relief on their investment. Investors can claim income tax relief for amounts used to subscribe for new shares in a company, up to an annual investment limit of £2 million for shares issued on or after 6 April 2018 provided over £1 million is invested in knowledge-intensive companies.

In such circumstances, the income tax liability of the investor is reduced by 30% of the sums invested up to the annual investment limit, on the basis the shares are held for at least three years.

Additional tax reliefs are potentially available for EIS investors qualifying for some income tax relief on shares, in that exemption from CGT on a disposal of those shares is potentially available provided the shares have been owned for the requisite three years.