To support ambitious early-stage entrepreneurs developing technologies with the potential to shape the future economy, SFC Capital, the UK’s leading SEIS investor and most active seed-stage investor, has invested £25 million in 120 companies (April 2020 - April 2021). In Q1 of 2021, SFC Capital raised its largest SEIS fund to date, with £5 million deployed in 40 companies in just two months. The funds have been raised from private investors (SEIS and EIS funds), family offices, the SFC Angel Network and a £10 million commitment from the British Business Bank in April 2020 as part of its Regional Angels Programme.

Par Equity is celebrating a record-breaking year despite the challenges inflicted by Covid-19 on much of the economy. Par deployed more than £17m of capital – 48% more than last year - into its portfolio companies, which in turn raised a further £26m from third party investors. Specialising in investing in young, high-growth businesses, Par was the “lead investor” for more than 75% of those transactions. 

Jenson Funding Partners have completed an investment in The Neighbourhood Kitchen who are responsible for launching and operating profitable, delivery-only kitchens across the UK.

Jenson Funding Partners has completed an investment in Paperound.com, a marketplace for busy business owners to access intern resource on-demand. Paperound has launched at a time where 66% of small business owners are spending their time on activities that are not important, and more than half of founders look to improve their business by delegating more tasks (Source: Pulse Survey, The Alternative Board). To answer this problem, Paperound provides UK Students ('Taskers' on the platform) that are booked for as a little as one hour to work on the company tasks founders don’t have time for, and businesses only pay when the work is done. For founders, Paperound gives them access to extra resource at the times they need it most, without needing to commit to a full-time hire. For students, it is a way to earn money and build their experience.

Venture capital investment manager Deepbridge Capital has seen a record year of Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) fundraising, with £29.4 million deployed across 37 growth companies. This represents an increase from 2019/20 and 2018/19 in which £21 million and £28 million were deployed respectively.  Deepbridge manages the Deepbridge Technology Growth EIS and the Deepbridge Life Sciences EIS.

Haatch Ventures quietly launched their first SEIS Fund in March, with a target raise of £1.5m.  This figure was reached within 2 weeks, and the fund closed at the end of the tax year on £2.1m.

Blackfinch Ventures has completed on 12 new investment deals totalling in excess of GBP11 million ahead of the tax-year-end deadline in a move which ‘significantly increases’ the number of technology and tech-enabled companies within its portfolio.

Par Equity has led a £5 million in Cyan to accelerate Cyan’s ambitious global growth plans as the Company works to help law enforcement, social media and cloud companies find and block harmful content from paedophiles and terrorists.  Other investors in the round included Mercia Asset Management, TriplePoint Capital, SIS Ventures, and Scottish Enterprise. 

Jenson Seed EIS Fund 1 & EIS Funds have completed successful exits from Voneus.  We initially invested via our first SEIS Fund in 2013 and invested over £420,000 via the EIS Funds across various tranches every year between 2015 and 2019.  The follow-on rounds enabled syndicated investment from co-investors to enhance growth with a further £2.5 million raised. 

Calculus Capital portfolio company ActiveOps has completed a successful Initial Public Offering on the Alternative Investment Market, generating an impressive 6x return for Calculus EIS investors.

ActiveOps has placed 45 million shares with institutional investors, raising gross proceeds of £76 million for selling shareholders, including Calculus Capital. The placing price of 168 pence values the company at £120 million.

New staycation holiday specialist Caledonian Leisure Ltd has secured a multi-million-pound investment from Mobeus Equity Partners, the investors behind the recent IPO of Virgin Wines and the proposed IPO of Parsley Box.

Seneca Partners EIS Portfolio Service, the generalist EIS specialising in the provision of growth capital and strategic support to ambitious SMEs, has successfully exited its investment in Mission Labs – the digital business communications specialist – via the sale to Gamma Communications Plc for more than £40million. The exit has provided Seneca EIS investors with a 4.2x return on their investment.