Haatch is this week launching a brand new fund for 2021 - a SEIS fund designed to tap into the 'explosion' in early-stage start-up opportunities.

The new fund, which opened on Wednesday 27th January 2021, is to focus on investments in up to nine SEIS qualifying companies over the 2021/22 tax year - staking a maximum of £150,000 into each one.

Haatch Co-founder & Partner Fred Soneya explained the thinking behind the new product launch: "Our EIS Fund has been proving increasingly popular with AUM growth of 400% in 2020 vs 2019 and picking up multiple industry awards along the way. With the huge digital transformation shift, we are seeing more quality earlier stage opportunities than ever before which qualify for SEIS relief."

"With 10 of the 18 companies currently in the portfolio having qualified for SEIS relief at Haatch's point of investment, now is the time to separate that out and create two complementary funds" he went on.

"By separating out SEIS opportunities it allows investors to take advantage of the enhanced tax relief offered for backing earlier stage companies across a larger number of businesses and to invest in the Haatch portfolio at more stages of the journey, right from MVP to commercialisation and scale" the Haatch co-founder explained, creating a more diversified portfolio for those investing and providing a dedicated fund for investors seeking SEIS relief.

SEIS relief offers UK taxpayers 50% income tax relief with a maximum investment of £100k per year. EIS relief offers investors 30% income tax relief with a maximum investment of £1m per year (or £2m for knowledge-intensive companies). Both schemes offer significant additional benefits including capital gains exemption, inheritance tax exemption and loss relief.

The availability of tax relief depends on individual investors personal circumstances. If you are in doubt about eligibility for tax reliefs or the tax treatment of your investment, you should seek independent tax advice.

It is hoped that many of the successful SEIS backed businesses will eventually feed into Haatch's flagship EIS Fund - and any future later stage funds which are planned.

Invest in the SEIS Fund

To find out how to pitch your SEIS qualifying business email your deck to pitch@haatch.com and to find out how you (High Net Worth or Sophisticated Investors Only) can invest alongside the Haatch Partners reach out directly to fred@haatch.com.