I’m a Professional Adviser
The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) are central tools for UK tax-efficient investment into early-stage and high-growth companies.
For Professional Services firms, including accountancy practices, law firms, tax advisers, corporate finance boutiques and wealth managers, these schemes represent both a significant advisory opportunity and an area requiring specialist technical expertise. The EIS Association offers a Corporate Membership for Professional Services firms, providing access to technical guidance, policy insight, networking and best-practice resources to support firms advising in this space.
Professional advisers play a crucial role in helping clients understand the opportunities, risks, structuring considerations and compliance requirements associated with these schemes. Both EIS and SEIS offer investors income tax relief, capital gains tax exemptions, and loss relief, making them highly attractive for clients seeking exposure to innovative UK businesses within a tax-efficient framework.
SEIS is designed for very early-stage companies raising their first external capital, with investment limits of up to £200,000 per tax year. EIS targets businesses that are scaling, with annual investment limits of £1 million, or £2 million for companies meeting Knowledge-Intensive (KI) criteria.
Professional Services firms must carefully assess eligibility, including trade activities, company age, employee numbers, independence tests and financial thresholds, to ensure clients benefit from the full range of available tax reliefs while maintaining compliance with HMRC requirements.
Advisers can add significant value by guiding clients through scheme suitability assessments, portfolio diversification, structuring considerations and risk mitigation strategies. By combining technical expertise with practical commercial insight, firms ensure investors make informed decisions while supporting UK businesses in accessing crucial growth capital.
EIS and SEIS investments are long-term and illiquid, with higher-than-average risk. Professional advisers should ensure clients understand these risks, including the potential impact of company failure, the conditions for retaining relief, and the mechanisms for claiming income tax relief, CGT deferral and loss relief.
Ensuring HMRC compliance is essential, including reviewing Advance Assurance status, company documentation, and verifying EIS3 or SEIS3 certificates before clients submit claims.
The NEW EIS Association Accreditation Course
- Customisable learning journey
- Completion certificate and badge
- 4 hours CPD inclusive
Recent updates and press releases from EIS Association.
“The Enterprise Investment Scheme is the envy of the world and one of the key drivers for economic growth in the UK. It is imperative that the UK Government continues to back the Scheme in order to continue to create skilled jobs, support innovation and grow the companies of the future. EISA’s work in ensuring a positive environment for patient capital in the UK has never been more important, for entrepreneurs and investors alike.”
Andrew Aldridge
Partner, Head of Marketing, Deepbridge Capital — 8 March 2022
“At SeedLegals we do a good fraction of all SEIS/EIS applications in the UK, so it’s vital we’re both up to speed on any upcoming rules changes with HMRC, as well as being given the opportunity to provide feedback on behalf of the thousands of UK startups each year who depend on those tax initiatives to grow our business. EISA is our channel for doing that, and it provides a great way to connect and network with investors and funds. An essential resource for anyone professionally involved in this space.”
Anthony Rose
Founder & CEO, SeedLegals — 8 March 2022
“I can highly recommend the EISA for EIS fund managers or organisations working closely with that community. They run interesting and relevant events, as well as providing actionable insights on all things EIS related.”
Jonathan Hollis
Managing Partner, Mountside Ventures — 7 March 2022
“The EISA fights tirelessly to ensure that the SEIS and EIS provisions are understood, remain relevant and benefit as many UK businesses as possible. They keep their members informed of any technical changes in a timely manner and also lobby Government to make sure that any changes are appropriate and realistic. Being a member of the EISA simply makes me a better adviser in this area.”
Emma Brown
Partner, Wilson Wright LLP — 8 March 2022
“The EIS Association provides a vital platform for industry participants to understand current trends in the market, regulatory updates and ongoing discussions with Government and Government bodies. For smaller organisations, such as ourselves, the value of the EIS Association in updating industry knowledge and interacting with the wider community represents an exceedingly useful single point of contact, with the team always at hand to offer swift advice and insight. Importantly, it reiterates the focus around EIS, being the nurturing of early stage UK companies and job creation in high skilled sectors.”
Rajeev Saxena
Founder & Managing Director, Velocity Capital Advisors Limited — 22 March 2022
“GrowthInvest have been members of EISA for several years and strongly recommend that anyone within the industry should become members. They act as a great focal point for the wider marketplace whether platforms, fund managers advisers or investors, and their interaction with government is crucial for the EIS industry. We have found that their technical seminars, webinars, and regular networking events have been valuable to the team and the company in a number of ways.”
Daniel Rodwell
Chief Executive, GrowthInvest — 15 March 2022
“I have been going to EISA events for the last 16+ years. EISA is a great champion of UK Venture Capital and a useful window into what is going on. Any serious early stage VC should be a member.”
Richard Hoskins
Director, Kin Capital — 7 March 2022
“As members of EISA we are glad to be working alongside our fellow members to promote the benefits of the EIS to the industry, policy-makers and businesses. As members we’ve benefited from the EISA’s technical seminars and have enjoyed the networking opportunities offered through the year.”
Henry Whorwood
Head of Research and Consultancy, Beauhurst — 7 March 2022