Campaign for Change
We’re Calling for Rishi Sunak to Support Our Nations Startups and Raise the SEIS Limit
Join us today in the fight to raise SEIS limits and provide a vital lifeline for startups.
Imagine going through the pandemic without the use of Zoom, Netflix or Amazon … not easy, right?
Well, all these companies have one thing in common. They started their journeys with little to no funding and heavily relied on private investors to fund the early stages of their businesses, so they could go on to make it. For today’s startups, during a global pandemic, that vital funding is increasingly difficult to acquire.
This is why we have launched a campaign on the Find Others platform to call on Rishi Sunak to double the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) from £150,000 to £300,000 in the next budget. This will help early-stage startups attract investment, recover from the impacts of COVID-19, and help to ensure they have a bright future ahead of them.
What is SEIS?
SEIS is designed to help small, early-stage companies raise finance by offering a range of tax reliefs to angel investors purchasing new shares in those companies. It is widely regarded as a tool to redistribute wealth, and has supported £22billon of investments in over 30,000 businesses since its introduction in 2012.
So why does it need increasing?
In April 2020, Startup Genome reported that 41% of global startups had less than three months’ worth of cash available. Ten months later, the Enterprise Investment Scheme Association (EISA) reported that over £6.5billion of private sector investment is required by growing businesses, and the economic uncertainties caused both by Covid-19 and Brexit led to a further shortfall of over £350million. The pandemic, Brexit and the economic downturn have created a toxic mix and made the task of fundraising all the more difficult.
These are sobering statistics for the UK startup scene, which is hailed as Europe’s leading startup nation. Alongside this shortfall, most early-stage startups were ineligible for the Future Fund, which was designed to save the sector. However, the fund largely excluded seed-stage startups and angel investors, with over 70% going to VC and growth-stage businesses.
We know from our own experiences of raising funds, the SEIS scheme is one of the single biggest motivators to invest in startups. That vital funding can transform a one-person startup with a big idea, into a fully-fledged, high-growth business which creates numerous jobs and positively contributes to the economy. Startups are an important part of our society, and we must protect them.
Raising the scheme to £300,000 will incentivise investors to support more businesses at the seed stage, and provide an important stimulus to growth right now. The EISA claim that making this change, would raise a further £500 million for early-stage companies.
Ways to help.
- Support our campaign here.
- Share the below post on your social channels;
We are joining @TheMkig in calling for the Government to #raiseSEIS and give UK startups a vital lifeline in these difficult times.
- Sign our government petition here.
- Write to your local MP demanding a raise in the SEIS limit.
Thank you for your help. Together we can ensure that todays startups have a tomorrow.
