During the 2017 General Election, IW Capital was called upon by leading publications to voice its views on how this significant event would impact the private sector. Championing the interests of UK businesses on the day of the vote, CEO Luke Davis was invited by the Daily Mail to act as a spokesperson for investors and scale-ups, examining the key industry issues affecting both groups. As Britons headed to the polls, Luke emphasised the need for government to link private investors to high-growth SMEs, and promote the long-term scalability of British businesses.
Now faced with a hung parliament, the Queen officially announced on Wednesday the legislation and policy proposals the minority Conservative Government is planning to introduce. To support UK entrepreneurs, it is vital that the Government champions the role of tax-efficient investment scheme over the coming five years – something that Theresa May and her party placed as a priority within their election manifesto.
Tax-efficient investment schemes such as EIS are renowned for their role in raising capital for UK businesses – since its launch in 1993-94, over 26,000 individual companies have received more than £15.9 billion worth of EIS funds. The imposition of EU State-aid legislation, however, has limited the number of companies and investors able to access the scheme. As the government launches formal Brexit negotiations, IW Capital has today released ‘EIS in 2017: General Election edition’.
One year on since the EU referendum, the report offers a timely analysis of EIS and explores how the next government can ensure the scheme reaches its full potential through a review of State-aid legislation. With official Brexit negotiations now underway, the Government must make sure the country’s future legislative framework effectively caters to the needs of businesses and investors. Central to this will be tax-efficient investment schemes that address the funding gap currently limiting the scale-up potential of UK SMEs.
As part of this launch, IW Capital has also released a new infographic mapping out the key political and economic events to have occurred in the UK following the Brexit vote. Hosted as part of our constantly-evolving SME Heatmap, the infographic profiles the political and economic events that have defined the last 12 months.
To read IW Capital’s latest EIS in 2017 report, or to view our ‘EU referendum: One Year On’ infographic, register as a member of Access 42 today.