EIS and SEIS tax relief for investors

We help our clients apply for EIS and SEIS tax relief to enable them to grow their hospitality business.

By supporting them throughout the whole application process, we ensure their business is in the best possible position to qualify for the schemes.

EIS and SEIS are venture capital schemes.

They help your company raise money when it’s starting to trade by offering tax reliefs to individual investors who buy new shares in your company.

There are different criteria for each scheme.

What is EIS?

The Government's Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) allows start-ups to raise money for their company.

EIS helps your business to raise money of up to £5 million each year (to a maximum of £12 million in your company’s lifetime) by providing tax relief to individual investors who buy new shares in your company.

To be eligible, companies must not have over £15 million in assets or more than 250 employees.

Under EIS, investors get 30% back of the amount they invest through a reduction in their Income Tax bill.

The scheme is not just for new start-up restaurants and bars. A company can be up to three years old and looking to expand its operations, for example, by opening a new restaurant.

What is SEIS?

Though the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) you can receive a maximum of £250,000 through SEIS.

To be eligible, companies must not have over £350,000 in assets or more than 25 full-time equivalent employees in total when the shares are issued.

How we help clients apply for EIS and SEIS

We help clients through the whole application process, including:

• How best to structure their company to incentivise investors.

• Preparing financial forecasts to include in the application.

• Gathering all the information that is required.

• Preparing the application and submitting it on behalf of clients.

EIS case study

We’ve recently helped a client to successfully apply for the EIS.

Our client had a complex group structure and was seeking investment for a new site.

We worked with them to prepare financial forecasts and put together a comprehensive application.

Due to their structure, it wasn’t a straightforward application, so we’re thrilled the application has been unchallenged by HMRC.  

Does your hospitality business meet the criteria for EIS?

Your company can apply for the scheme if it:

• Has a permanent base in the UK.

• Is not trading on a recognised stock exchange at the time of the share issue.

• Does not control another company other than qualifying subsidiaries.

• Is not controlled by another company or does not have more than 50% of its shares owned by another company.

• Does not expect to close after completing a project.

On average it can take 6-8 weeks from the start to being approved, so always plan ahead if you’d like to apply for the scheme.

Please contact us today if you need help with your hospitality company’s EIS or SEIS application.