24 SEIS Investors to Pitch Your Startup to in 2024
TL:DR
- The UK’s Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) provides tax incentives for investors supporting early-stage startups
- SEIS funds play a crucial role in directing capital to qualifying startups
- Startups must meet specific criteria, including being based in the UK, raising between £50k to £250k and having strong growth potential
- 24 active SEIS funds are listed below, covering various sectors and investment focuses
- Mountside Ventures provides services to optimise the fundraising process for startups, including free investment accelerator programmes for pre-seed and seed companies, and fractional CFO support for Series A and B companies.
Are you fundraising?
Looking to fuel your startup’s growth with funding? You’ve landed in the right place. This article explores the landscape of UK Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) investors and provides a list of 24 active SEIS funds to drive your venture forward. SEIS offers tax incentives for investors who support early-stage companies, making it an attractive option for startups seeking funding.
Understanding SEIS Investors
SEIS funds play a crucial role in supporting startups, directing capital towards early-stage companies that meet the criteria of SEIS. This scheme is a win-win for founders and funders, offering generous tax relief to investors who back future innovators. Investors can benefit from income tax relief of up to 50% on their investment, as well as potential capital gains tax exemptions, making it an attractive proposition for those seeking to support entrepreneurship while maximising their financial returns. SEIS investors can be individuals or funds. While individual SEIS investors put their money directly into startups, SEIS funds pool money from individuals and family offices into diversified portfolios of eligible ventures.
Sounds great! How does my startup quality for SEIS?
To be eligible for SEIS funding, startups must meet the following criteria:
- Geography: based in the UK
- Raise Amount: ranging from £50k to £250k
- Traction: while revenue is not required, startups need to show potential for growth - such as a scalable business model, a large addressable market, or strong customer interest in their product or service
- Sector: Certain sectors are excluded such as FCA-registered companies, professional services, construction and real estate
The documents you’ll need to increase your chances of getting SEIS investment
When it comes to securing SEIS funding for your startup, having the right documentation is crucial. At Mountside Ventures, we understand this importance and offer the latest advice and support to maximise your success. Our services go beyond just guidance; we provide hands-on assistance every step of the way. Here are ways we can help:
- Advance Assurance: Advance Assurance is HMRC’s method for assessing if a company qualifies for SEIS investment. It is essentially pre-approval for SEIS eligibility. We can assist you by introducing you to the right parties to speed up the Advance Assurance process, ensuring your startup meets all the necessary criteria and boosting your chances of approval at the time of investment.
- A Compelling Pitch Deck: Our team will work closely with you to create a pitch deck that effectively communicates your vision, traction, and potential for growth to SEIS investors. We’ll help you tell your story in a way that resonates with potential backers.
- Financial Model: We understand that financial projections play a crucial role in securing funding. That’s why we offer support in developing financial models that accurately reflect your startup’s potential and future performance.
- Investor-Readiness Accelerator Programme: We run an accelerator programme for pre-seed and seed-stage companies, where you’ll receive mentorship, networking opportunities, and tailored support to further enhance your chances of success. It’s free to attend (and equity-free) as it’s backed and funded by the UK government.
Navigating the SEIS Investor Landscape
Many funds and angel investors participate in the SEIS scheme. Each investor has a unique investment focus and philosophy, resulting in a diverse landscape of opportunities. Each year, over 2,000 companies in the UK receive SEIS funding. Will your company be one this year?
To help you get started in finding an SEIS investor, we’ve compiled a list of funds that are active in 2024 (or we expect to be based on the amounts they’ve raised):
Ascension Ventures
Ascension is a London-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups in the tech and healthcare sectors.
BoxFund
BoxFund focuses on investing in ESG consumer brand businesses that resonate with their principles: Social Good, Healthy Planet, and Positive Business Practices.
British Design Fund
The British Design Fund invests in early-stage companies, usually around £150,000 to £200,000.
Britbots (British Robotics Scale-up)
Britbots is a London-based investment fund that provides funding to early-stage robotics, automation and AI startups.
Charlotte Street Capital
Charlotte Street Capital are a UK-based venture capital firm that invests up to £300,000 in early-stage startups in the tech sectors with a focus on B2B.
Deepbridge Capital
Deepbridge Capital are a London-based investment fund that provides funding to early-stage robotics, automation and AI startups.
EHE Ventures
EHE Ventures provide growth funding from £100k to £5m and are made up of ex-founders.
Fuel Ventures
Fuel Ventures is a London-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups disrupting traditional industries. They launched a SEIS fund recently and are now one of the most active SEIS funds.
Haatch Ventures
Haatch is a Lincolnshire-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups in the tech sector.
Jenson Funding Partners
Jenson Funding Partners invest in startups across sectors and specialise at pre-seed, backing their portfolio at later stages.
Mint Ventures
Mint Ventures invest in early-stage companies, typically women-led, looking for investment from around £50k up to £200k.
Nova Growth Capital
Nova Growth Capital invest via its SEIS and EIS fund companies that have gone through their programme.
O2h Ventures
O2h Ventures are a Cambridge-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups in the life sciences and AI sectors. Their SEIS fund focuses on drug discovery.
Oxford Capital Partners
Oxford Capital Partners are an investment management firm investing in innovative businesses in sectors such as healthcare, education, and fintech.
Oxford Technology
Oxford Technology invest up to £150k of seed funding into SEIS companies and up to £300k of EIS follow-on funding.
QVentures
QVentures look for disruptive companies with a proven product-market fit, set to scale from Seed to Series B. They focus on Enterprise SaaS, Marketplaces, Consumer Tech, FinTech, AdTech, EdTech, InsurTech, HealthTech and more.
Startup Funding Club Capital
SFC are a UK-based angel investment group and venture capital fund that invests in early-stage startups in industries such as tech, healthcare, and consumer goods. SFC is headquartered in London and is one of the most active SEIS investors.
Sustainable Ventures
Sustainable Ventures are a London-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups in the sustainability and clean energy sectors.
Symvan Capital
Symvan Capital are a London-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups focusing on the B2B space.
Syndicate Room (Access EIS)
Access EIS invest in early-stage companies alongside angels from their network on exactly the same terms.
TrueSight Ventures
TrueSight Ventures invest in early-stage tech companies across sectors in European and UK companies with a focus on UK and Nordic markets.
Vala British Ventures (Vala Capital)
Vala Capital are a London-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups in the tech and life sciences sectors.
Velocity Technology (Juice Capital)
Juice Capital are a London-based investment fund that provides funding to early-stage startups in the tech sector, although they’ve also invested in consumer businesses.
Worth Capital
Worth Capital are a London-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups in a variety of industries, including tech, healthcare, and consumer goods.
How can we help?
Mountside Ventures is an award-winning accelerator and advisory firm, specialising in early-stage fundraising and exits, on a mission to optimise the fundraising process for founders and funds. For pre-seed and seed startups, we run free investment accelerator programmes. For Series A and Series B companies, we provide fractional CFO and fundraising support, enabling them to raise their Next Round of funding faster, and more efficiently and causing the least disruption to their business.
With our expertise and resources, we empower startups to present a compelling case to SEIS investors and maximise their chances of success in securing funding.
If you’re raising your next round in the next 6–9 months, get in touch with us here or reach me directly via email at sofia@mountsideventures.com for an intro call.
