In an important statement this morning, Friday 23rd September, during his “mini-budget” speech, the Chancellor confirmed his on-going support for the Enterprise Investment Scheme, Venture Capital Trusts and the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme by extending the schemes beyond the 2025 Sunset Clause.

“We want this country to be an entrepreneurial share owning democracy. The Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trusts, we will extend beyond 2025. The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme and Company Share Option Plans, we will increase the limits to make them more generous. Crucial steps on the road to making this a nation of entrepreneurs.”

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, 23rd September 2023

We are delighted with this news, and would like to congratulate and thank al of our industry colleagues who have also been campaigning hard for the so called “Sunset Clause” to be removed as quickly as possible to remove any uncertainty from the market and ensure that advisers and investors had the confidence to keep the vital flow of money to the UK’s early stage businesses.

GrowthInvest’s  CEO Daniel Rodwell was pleased with the end to uncertainty over the schemes:

We welcome the announcement by the Chancellor this morning that the VCT and EIS schemes are to be extended beyond 2025.  This is long overdue recognition of the vital role that Seed EIS, EIS and VCT investments play in the economy, and we believe that this will provide confidence to advisers and investors alike, and encourage more investment into early stage businesses that help to drive economic growth.

We are delighted to have helped in a small way by providing evidence to the HMRC, and worked closely with the EIS Association on their research and campaign, whilst continuing to provide and spread awareness of the schemes through our continued educational campaigns and webinar series such as the Adviser Hour, most recently featuring Nick Britton of the Association of Investment Companies talking about this very thing.”

Other industry figures also welcomed the news:

The Enterprise Investment Scheme Association (EISA), through its present Director General Christiana Stewart Lockhart and its former Director Mark Brownridge, has campaigned for many years to ensure the future of such schemes.

Christiana Stewart Lockhart wrote this morning in a letter to EISA members, that she was “ delighted that this morning the Chancellor has committed to extending the EIS beyond the 2025 sunset clause. This is fantastic news for the industry and shows this government’s commitment to supporting entrepreneurs. I’d like to thank all EISA members for their contributions and input into this work”.

She also wrote that the “ From April 2023, companies will be able to raise up to £250,000 of SEIS investment, a two-thirds increase. To enable more companies to use SEIS, the gross asset limit will be increased to £350,000 and the age limit from 2 to 3 years. To support these increases, the annual investor limit will be doubled to £200,000. These changes will help over 2,000 companies a year that use the scheme to grow”.

The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has also warmly welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement in his mini-budget that venture capital trusts (VCTs) will be extended beyond 2025.

Richard Stone, Chief Executive of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), said: “This is a strong vote of confidence in VCTs and we applaud the government’s intention to continue the scheme beyond 2025.

“VCTs provide scale-up finance for growing businesses and are fully aligned with the government’s drive for growth, creating jobs, funding innovation and boosting exports. We look forward to clarification of how the government will remove the existing uncertainty surrounding the scheme.”

Will Fraser-Allen, Chair of the Venture Capital Trust Association (VCTA), said: “This is hugely welcome news for the whole industry and brings much needed clarity to those entrepreneurs who rely on equity capital to fuel the growth of their early-stage businesses as well as the end investors whose capital is used to such great effect. This decision reflects the positive dialogue the VCTA has had with the Treasury and other stakeholders in recent months, and recognises the crucial role the VCT and EIS schemes continue to play in supporting the UK’s funding ecosystem and growing our economy, at a time when it faces an uncertain future.”

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