The Future of the Enterprise Investment Scheme

Since its inception in 1993, the Enterprise Investment Scheme has raised over £24 billion in funds for almost 33,000 companies, of that, £16.2 billion, almost 60% has been invested into companies raising EIS funds for the first time. This trend continued into 2020 with a total of £1.9 billion of investment being raised by 4,215 companies.

But with 2021 rapidly coming to an end, the question is, what does the future hold for EIS in 2022? There are two substantial challenges facing the UK economy – national debt and the rapidly rising rates of unemployment. The Office for National Statistics has reported thatvacancies in the British jobs market peaked at 1.1 million between July and September ofthis year – the highest level since records began in 2001, with the skills shortage highlighting poignant obstacles which the UK economy must continue to overcome.

With over 6 million SMEs in the UK, making up 99.9% of private sector businesses, EIS is an essential tool to accelerate the country’s SME landscape. Providing such pivotal support tothe backbone of the economy, the EIS scheme must be given greater muscle to assist startups and scale-ups to traverse the challenges posed by the post-Covid economic arena. 

Providing SMEs with a platform to successfully expedite their growth trajectory, EIS should empower business owners to innovate. With innovation and risk-taking at the very core of Britain’s DNA, research from IW Capital has found that in the wake of the so-called ‘Great Resignation’, 64% of Brits have the desire to establish their own business. Even in the wake of 18 months of economic turbulence, the determination of Brits to generate opportunities to create does not show signs of dampening. It must be the responsibility of the Government to harness this natural entrepreneurial spirit, and widen the investment potential of EIS. 

There is a huge amount of ambition and talent throughout the UK small business ecosystem, and it is an exciting time for SMEs, both from an investing and business standpoint. At IW Capital we are always searching for and looking to invest in small businesses through the Enterprise Investment Scheme to aid their growth journey and provide them with the opportunity to thrive and succeed. It’s great to see the current flourishing UK SME market and the consistent increase of SMEs utilising the Enterprise Investment Scheme it is providing an optimistic picture for the coming months and 2022.

To find out how IW Capital could maximise your investment opportunities, please contact the team today on 020 7015 2250, or email info@iwcapital.co.uk.