Why Haatch built a business beyond fundraising for fees, and why that matters for investor returns.

There's a simple economic reality in venture capital: the more money a fund manager manages, the more fees it earns. That creates a quiet pressure. The more you raise, the more you have to deploy, and deployment can take a long time. Some managers take up to 18 months to invest a fund after it closes.

For investors, that's a long wait. Cash sits with the manager, then there's a further wait for the certificates needed to claim tax relief. By then, the excitement of backing the future of UK entrepreneurship had long worn off.

At Haatch, we've built a different model.

Haatch was founded by entrepreneurs. We've built, scaled and sold businesses ourselves, and we run Haatch the same way: as a business that has to create real value, not one that grows by gathering assets.

So alongside our funds, we've built businesses that earn revenue in their own right:

• Haatch Custody. We're directly FCA regulated, with our own in-house custody capability.
• Fund infrastructure. Emerging managers launch and operate on our regulated platform before building their own.
• Our investor syndicate. A direct network of over 3,000 investors, growing year on year.
• S/EIS Traaker. Our own technology platform, because software and product are in our DNA.

Because Haatch doesn't depend on raising ever-bigger funds to grow, we have something rare in venture capital: choice & selectivity on the companies we back through our funds.

Capped funds, deployed fast

Every Haatch fund is capped, and when it reaches its cap, it closes. We invest because the opportunity is right, not because we've raised money that needs a home.

Our EIS funds deploy in 1-2 months, and our SEIS funds typically deploy within three to six months. That keeps us selective, lets us write meaningful cheques into fewer companies, and gets investors' money working quickly.

We're not trying to maximise the capital we manage. We're trying to maximise what we do with it.

One simple fee

We charge a single 10% initial fee. There's no annual management charge, no admin or monitoring fees, no exit or dealing fees, and nothing charged to the companies we back.

Our performance fee is tied to outcomes. It's a 25% share of gains above the original investment, rising to 30% above 5x, and it's only charged once investors have their full investment back across the portfolio.

At first glance, 10% upfront can look higher than some headline fees. However, across the full life of an investment, it's a different picture. Annual management charges of 1% to 2.5% are common across the EIS market, often for four to seven years, and some managers also charge their portfolio companies. Independent review body, MICAP's 2025 data puts the industry average at around 24% before performance fees.

Every pound goes into the company

Because we don't charge our portfolio companies, if we invest £250,000, the full £250,000 goes into the business. At the early stage, that can make a real difference to hiring, product and runway.

We also invest on the same terms as everyone else in the round, alongside a third-party lead investor who sets the valuation at arm's length. Our investors get the price the market has agreed.

That makes us easy to work with on both sides of the table. Last quarter alone, we invested alongside 22 co-investors, including Notion Capital, Seedcamp and Antler. For founders, that's a strong group around the table. For our investors, it's access to companies backed by some of the most respected names in venture.

Judged by our returns, not our size

As Jonathan Keeling, Partner at Haatch, puts it:

"We're not raising more simply to generate fees. We're in product, software and building. The aim is to be a venture firm that consistently returns money to investors."

We'd rather be judged by what we return than by what we raise.

That's Haatch. Built by entrepreneurs, not for fees.

Industry fee data: MICAP, 2025. Market fee ranges: GrowthInvest EIS Fund Comparison.