Enterprise Investment Schemes
Find today's best EIS Investments for tax relief
Discover British companies that are approved for the Government's Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).
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30% Income Tax Relief
Free from Capital Gains Tax
HMRC Approved Investment Scheme
Benefits of EIS Investments
EIS is a tax relief scheme created by the UK Government to encourage investment into startups and early-stage businesses. As an Investor, EIS benefits you by offering potentially significant income tax and capital gains reliefs when you make an investment into an EIS eligible startup or business.
Each investment will normally indicate a target return, which is a target only and not guaranteed. Target returns vary significantly from around 1.3x to over 10x money invested. Higher target returns often indicate higher risks.
Created by the UK Government
Matched with trustworthy businesses
Great for High Net Worth Investors
EIS Investment Tax Relief for investors
A £100,000 investment could provide a £30,000 saving on that year's income tax bill. To claim, you must have sufficient income tax liability and hold the shares for at least three years.
Income Tax
An investment in an EIS-qualifying company should benefit from 100% relief from inheritance tax, provided the investment is held for two years and at the time of death.
Inheritance Tax
Investors normally pay no CGT when realising EIS shares, if you have claimed income tax relief on them and the companies still qualify.
Capital Gains
If things don't go to plan, you can offset any loss, less the income tax relief received, against your income tax bill. Meaning you could reduce a total loss of £1 to 38.5p.
Offset Loss
Find and invest in Government Approved businesses today.
Find an EIS investment in 3 simple steps
The process is easy, we match you with EIS investment ready companies waiting for your investment.
STEP ONE
Find EIS investments
Contact us today so that we can find you the best EIS investments based on your requirements.
STEP TWO
Business Analysis
Once we have found you an investment, we introduce you to the business to provide you more in depth details and analysis.
STEP THREE
Choose to Invest
If you are happy with the EIS investment, you are all set to invest and onboard with this business.
What is the EIS?
The EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme) is a scheme introduced by the Government in 1994 to help small companies raise funds and grow. When you as a private investor invest in an EIS-qualifying company, you could receive very significant tax breaks.
Companies qualifying for the EIS are small and usually privately owned, although they can be listed on AIM. They will typically have gross assets of less than £15 million at the time of investment and fewer than 250 employees, although there are now more relaxed rules for knowledge-intensive firms.
What kind of companies qualify for the EIS?
EIS-qualifying companies vary significantly, across a wide range of sectors and industries.
The rules are fairly specific, but essentially to qualify a company needs to carry on a trade with a view to making a profit. Some companies and sectors are excluded, for example, those that deal in land, commodities or shares. Companies that have significant asset backing or contractual revenue streams have most recently been excluded.
Furthermore, there are restrictions on a company's age and size (knowledge-intensive companies enjoy a preferential treatment).
Whilst the list of exclusions is fairly long, it does leave huge scope for investors.
What are the tax breaks?
Investors can benefit from a mix of upfront and ongoing EIS tax reliefs:
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Up to 30% income tax relief
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Tax-free growth
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Capital gains deferral
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Inheritance tax relief
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Loss relief on exit
Please remember: Tax rules can change and benefits depend on your circumstances. EIS tax benefits are only available if the company maintains its EIS status.
How much can I invest in EIS?
The maximum amount you can invest is £1 million per tax year or £2 million, providing anything above £1 million is in 'knowledge intensive' investments. In theory, it's possible to invest more. You wouldn't qualify for income tax relief on the excess, but would still qualify for capital gains deferral and IHT relief. Income tax relief can be carried back to the previous tax year if desired.
The minimum investment will vary depending on the investment manager, but it is typically in the region of £10,000.
What is a "carry back"?
EIS investments offer a "carry back" facility. You can elect for all or part of your EIS shares acquired in one tax year to be treated as though they had been acquired in the previous tax year.
This gives EIS investors the option to offset the tax relief against income tax from the previous year.
You can only do this if you have sufficient EIS allowance in the tax year to which you're carrying back.
What returns could EIS investments offer?
Unlike VCTs, any EIS returns will be mostly in the form of capital growth, rather than dividends.
Each offer will normally indicate a target return, which is a target only and not guaranteed. Target returns vary significantly from around 1.3x to over 10x money invested. Higher target returns often indicate higher risks.
What are the charges?
EIS fees vary widely and it is important to read the fees section of each EIS offer document carefully. Individual EIS companies may not levy any explicit charge, but administrative and other fees may be deducted as part of the costs of running the business. Managed portfolios of EIS investments may typically levy an initial fee of between 2% and 5%, and annual fees of 2%. They may also have a performance fee.
How can I sell my EIS investment?
As EIS shares are not usually traded on the stock market, you cannot sell them the way you would sell an investment trust. Instead, it is the managers’ responsibility to design an exit strategy that allows them to return capital and any tax-free growth to investors.
The manager will usually give an indication of the targeted exit strategy and time frame (typically four years) at the outset. Common strategies include management buy-outs, trade sales or refinancing. However, there are no guarantees.
Please note, EIS are long-term investments. The minimum holding period to retain the income tax relief is three years.