The EIS Association Awards

The EIS Association Awards have become a highly competitive challenge for members and denote excellence in a number of EIS fields. The Awards are presented to the company, firm, adviser, individual or any entity which, in the opinion of the members, has achieved outstanding performance in the context of the Enterprise Investment Scheme during the year.

Nominations

Candidates may be nominated by any member from any sphere but they must abstain if they are directly or indirectly involved with the nominee. Members of the Executive Board are not eligible for nomination. The vote is ultimately decided by the Council, who cast their votes for the candidates put forward by members.

The categories for nomination are as follows:

Best EIS Fund Manager
Best EIS Tax Adviser
Best EIS Legal Adviser
Best Individual Contribution to the EIS Industry (company or person)

Members are encouraged to put forward other entities that perhaps do not fit the above categories but that represent excellence in the use of the EIS.

The Chairman's Annual Reception at the House of Commons 28th January 2010

Our Chairman’s Annual Reception took place at the House of Commons on 28th January 2010 and was attended by over 200 members and their guests. This glittering affair is the showcase for the EIS Association Annual awards for excellence.

The event was opened by Susan Phillips (EISA Chief Executive) who welcomed the gathering and announced that the EISA had reached the considerable milestone of 100 professional members - representing a five fold growth in membership in five years.

Click HERE to listen to Susan's Introduction

Susan Phillips

Christine Fowles (Chair - Tax and Technical Committee) then gave an overview on the ongoing consultation with Treasury / HMRC regarding proposed changes to EIS legislation as published in the Pre-budget Report. Christine confimed that an extention to the consultation period had been granted by HMRC / Treasury and that they were keen to be provided with examples of "worthy" companies that could potentially fail to obtain EIS investment clearance under the proposed legisalation.

Click HERE to listen to Christine's briefing

Christine Fowles

The members and their guests were then entertained by a forthright speech on enterprise capital in the UK from Luke Johnson of Risk Capital Partners, perhaps better known as Chairman and founder of Pizza Express.

In additon to a witty and pointed speech, Luke also answered a number of questions from the audience.

Click HERE to listen to Luke's speech

Luke Johnson

Later in the evening, Howard Flight (EISA Chairman) gave a keynote speech, addressing the onging uncertainty in EIS legislation and the efforts that the EISA were making to assist HMRC and Treasury in shaping the reforms to best meet the needs of all stakeholders in the sector.

Howard then presented the 2009 EISA awards (click HERE to listen to the awards ceremony):

Best EIS Tax Adviser

Runner Up: Smith & Williamson

Winner: PricewaterhouseCoopers

What can we say?!! Continued dedication to the EIS market and spearhead our consultation efforts. Thank you!

Pictured are Christine Fowles and Philip Hare
receiving their award from Howard Flight

Best EIS Legal Adviser

Hotly contested and very close, so special mentions to:

Taylor Wessing, TLT and Speechly Bircham

Winner: Nabarro
Creation of their Fixed Fee Completion Service which takes a company step by step through the bewildering array of advice, information, documentation and due diligence without costing an arm and a leg. Great to see this initiative for the small company from the legal profession.

Best EIS Sponsor/Fund Manager

Again very close, and some stiff competition, so special mentions to runners up:

MMC Ventures and Oxford Capital Partners

Winner: Calculus Capital

Creators of the first EIS Approved Fund and ‘industry veterans’ having just launched their tenth EIS Fund. Solid track record in managing and exiting investment with good shareholder returns.

Best Individual or Corporate Contribution to EIS

This award is for outstanding efforts in different capacities. Commendations to:

• Philip Hare and Christine Fowles for their tireless dedication to the Tax & Technical Committee

• Snack Time as an outstanding example of successful deployment of EIS funding to become a market leader

• Bovill – Ben Blackett-Ord and his team for support on regulatory issues and our lobby with the FSA to improve promotions of EIS Funds

Winner: Kathryn Robertson from HMRC

A well deserved winner for her hard work, dedication, commitment and approachable manner. Her predecessor was a hard act to follow but Kathryn has assumed the helm with gusto and taken this tricky subject to heart. We particularly appreciate her effort to understand the practical issues affecting the industry. We very much enjoy working with you and look forward to a robust consultation for 2010! Well done!.

Pictured is Kathryn Robertson
receiving her award from Howard Flight

THANK YOU

To everyone who contributed to this superb evening and for the efforts made throughout the year, however small, whether it is time, facilities or investment. We are very grateful to our sponsors who donate, offer us venues and hospitality for our events, from a boardroom lunch to breakfast or canapés for a hundred delegates to eke out our meagre coffers. We will be on the scrounge again during 2010 as we embark on probably the most critical year for the EIS – please support us.

Special thanks for their contributions during 2009 to:

Bovill Ltd	Ben Blackett-Ord	020 7620 8440
Calculus Capital	John Glencross	020 7493 4940
Howard Kennedy	Keith Lassman	020 7546 8857
MMC Ventures	Bruce Macfarlane	020 7938 2005
Octopus Ventures	Alex Macpherson	020 7710 2800
Speechly Bircham LLP	Elizabeth Budd	020 7427 6505