The Oxford Capital Growth EIS offers investors the opportunity to invest in a portfolio of shares in early-stage UK technology companies that have the potential for rapid value growth and provides exposure to sectors such as fintech, digital health and AI & machine learning.
Investments are managed by our investment team, who have more than 50 years of Venture Capital experience.
The Enterprise Investment Scheme is a government initiative designed to encourage private investment into growing British companies, by offering attractive tax reliefs.
Before you decide to invest, please view the Key Information Document and download our Information Memorandum below.
Director – Private Clients
When you’re investing in an early stage business, you want to make sure the quality of its management and the industry it’s in give it the greatest chance of success. The Oxford Capital investment team invests in sectors where the UK is considered a world leader, like financial technologies, future of retail, mobility, digital health, online marketplaces, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
We back companies that we believe have the potential to grow rapidly and become very valuable. And often we are backing serial entrepreneurs – people who have already shown that they understand what it takes to build and sell a successful company.
The Growth EIS has been independently reviewed by Hardman & Co and MICAP to provide expert, independent due diligence.
Data for 5 years to 05.10.21.Multiple shows gross performance and does not include the effect of commissions, fees or other charges. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
We invest in companies operating in industry sectors which lend themselves to rapid growth.
An app that makes investments simple and fun.
App for tracking spending across multiple payment cards
Tools for turning disparate data into useful information.
Next generation market research platform.
Online men’s apparel brand
Online mental health portal.
Sustainable living made simple.
B2C marketplace seeking to minimise long wait times for booking an MRI Scan
Life insurance for those with chronic illnesses.
Robotic fruit and vegetable harvesting.
An online platform for consumers to purchase art direct from the artists.
Hassle-free home energy services
Juggle helps companies to hire and manage outstanding experienced professionals, flexibly.
Free-to-play games for mobile phones
A unique B2B marketplace for the interiors industry.
EIS Summary
Your subscription will be invested into unquoted companies in a series of separate transactions, usually over a period of 12-18 months.
You will typically acquire shares in 8-12 companies.
Please read the tax reliefs and risks information here before downloading an Information Memorandum.
£25,000 minimum subscription.
Key Information Document
The Oxford Capital Growth EIS is classified as a ‘Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Product’ or ‘PRIIP’. As such, we are required to produce a Key Information Document (KID), which explains certain aspects of the investment. KIDs are written in a format prescribed by the PRIIPs Regulation, to make it easier for you to compare the Oxford Capital Growth EIS with the KIDs produced for other PRIIPs.
EIS Tax Reliefs
Income Tax relief equal to 30% of the amount invested into qualifying shares.
No Capital Gains Tax to pay on exit, provided shares held for at least three years.
Capital gains from other assets can be deferred using your EIS investment, and could be eliminated if you hold the EIS on death.
100% Inheritance Tax relief, provided you own the shares for at least two years and still own them on death.
Risks
Investing in small companies carries significant risks, and you should not invest in the Growth EIS unless you can afford to lose some or all of your investment.
Shares in unquoted companies are illiquid. This means you cannot withdraw your investment. You will only receive proceeds if the underlying companies are successfully sold. Not all companies will be sold for a profit.
Tax advantages are summarised based on current legislation, depend on your personal circumstances and are subject to change.
Investment should only be made once you have read the full Information Memorandum, particularly the sections which cover risks and charges.
The scheme was created in 1994 to support early-stage companies to grow their businesses. Early-stage investing is high risk, so to make it as attractive as possible to investors, HMRC provides a multitude of tax reliefs for anyone who decides to invest in an EIS qualifying company.
EIS investors benefit from tax reliefs including 30% income tax relief on invested capital, CGT deferral relief, CGT free gains, Inheritance Tax relief via Business Property Relief, and Loss Relief. Further details on these reliefs can be found here: What is an EIS – Oxford Capital (oxcp.com)
An Investor can source their own deals or invest via a crowdfunding platform. However, most investors leave the sourcing and administration to a fund house that will invest on a discretionary basis, in investee companies across different stages of growth and sector focus.
Each EIS provider has a minimum subscription figure. You can invest up to £1m per tax year into an EIS, and this figure doubles to £2m if the EIS is “Knowledge Intensive”. You can also backdate contributions to the previous tax year, so in effect, the annual maximum is £2m, or £4m for Knowledge Intensive schemes.
EIS shares are unquoted and cannot be sold in the same way as stock market-listed shares. EIS shares can only be sold when the company is sold either by trade sale or management buy-out or when it is listed via IPO (Initial Public Offering).
All gains generated by EIS qualifying shares are exempt from CGT so long as they have been held for the minimum 3-year holding period. This date can be found on page three of the EIS3 certificate, under “Termination Date”
It typically takes 12-18 months to fully deploy an EIS investment, so tax reliefs will not be immediately available. Each relief is based on the shares of each company – not the overall portfolio, so tax relief timings will be staggered. The typical lifecycle of an EIS investment is 5-7 years. There are two key HMRC timings investors need to be aware of: A 3-year minimum holding period to maintain income tax relief and CGT free gains, and a 2-year minimum holding period to qualify for Business Property Relief.
An EIS is a high-risk investment, and investment returns cannot be guaranteed. Each EIS provider gives investors a target return. However, this is only for guidance. Although an EIS can generate returns that are significant multiples on the original investment amount, there is also the risk of total failure. Unlike traditional investments, HMRC offers a degree of downside protection via Loss Relief.
The objective of an EIS is to grow the value of a business, to make it as valuable as possible when the time comes to sell it. This means companies prefer to retain profits rather than pay out to investors. An EIS can pay dividends. However, these will be taxable, which makes it very unlikely for an EIS to pay a dividend.
Early-stage investing via EIS is high risk. Therefore, potential investors need to have the required risk appetite. In addition, they need to consider their capacity for loss (e.g. would a loss affect their standard of living?). Finally, the lack of liquidity needs to be considered. If an investor anticipates requiring access to the invested EIS funds within 5-7 years, then an EIS is likely to be an unsuitable investment.
Our Venture Capital investments are sourced, executed and managed
by our investment team, who have more than 50 years of combined experience.
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