The government is consulting on introducing a new Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) structure with potential additional incentives to attract investment into knowledge-intensive companies. This follows the government's Patient Capital Review last year which found that knowledge-intensive companies, which typically have a high research and development expenditure and strong intellectual property, struggle to attract the capital they need to grow and scale up.
The proposed new EIS structure would be focused on knowledge-intensive companies and seek to expand their potential investor base. Private investors would be able to pool their money via a professional fund manager who would build a portfolio of EIS qualifying companies. Up to 20 per cent of investments could be made into companies that are not defined as knowledge-intensive.
The government is seeking feedback on potential tax incentives including: