Showing posts with label vct. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vct. Show all posts

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Pension contributions: time is running out...

It's now the time of the year to start thinking about funding savings and pensions. And all the more this year as starting next year, high earners will see their tax benefits on pensions seriously curtailed.

There are no changes this year in VCTs, EIS and SEIS funds so there is no need to talk about those. Please refer to our previous articles on the subject. So what changes to expect this year?

1. As every year, make sure to fully fund your ISA

Each of us is entitled to pay up to £15,240 prior to 5th April 2016 into our ISA. And for the 17/18 tax year the limit will increase to £20,000. Before July 1, 2014, you could only invest half your annual ISA allowance into cash. However, following changes to ISA rules, you can invest the full £15,240 allowance into a cash ISA. This is an interest-bearing account that carries no risk, although as interest rates are so low, your returns may be eroded by inflation. Also note that you can invest some of your allowance in Innovative Finance ISA, such as P2P funds.

Don't forget that your kids have an allowance as well. The Junior ISA allowance for 16/17 is £4,080.

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Record VC funding quarter for UK startups

Startups in Silicon Valley, the epicenter of the tech world, and the U.S. overall have seen an unprecedented amount of investment as consumers and businesses buy into more online services, and investors flock to fund the next big thing. But the ripples of that trend are being felt elsewhere, too. A new report says that London chalked up a record $682.5 million of investment in the first three months of this year, a rise of 66 percent on a year ago and busting through the previous record of $411.62 million, set in Q4 of last year. At the current rate, investments in London startups are on track to break past $2 billion this year.

The figures, tracked by London & Partners, the mayor of London’s business development group, also speak to how out of balance the tech economy is in the U.K. That $682.5 million makes up 80 percent of all VC investment in the U.K. for Q1 ($856.7 million). But they also point to the imbalance in the marketplace over a wider geography. In 2014, London startups attracted $1.35 billion in investment. In comparison, the National Venture Capital Association says that U.S.-based Internet companies took $11.9 billion of VC money in the year, while U.S.-based software companies attracted $19.8 billion in investment — both all-time highs.

In other words, if London is leading tech investment in European startups, Europe still has a very long way to go before getting anywhere close to the size of the U.S. market for tech, both in terms of businesses and those willing to back them. Still, the market has come a long way when you consider that in 2010, London startups raised a mere $101 million.



London & Partners, working with data from CB Insights, says that money-transfer startup WorldRemit raised the most of any other company in Q1, a $100 million round in February. “London is the ideal place to start a fintech company, as it is a technology hub as well as a financial services hub,” said Ismail Ahmed, founder and CEO of WorldRemit, in a statement. “There is an abundance of world-class talent in the city, and the convenient time zone, which enables communication with Asia and the Americas in same working day, is an attractive factor for us as an international money transfer service.”

Thursday, April 19, 2012

EIS and SEIS: a comparison

A number of changes were introduced in the new budget. In particular with respect to private equity investment tax reliefs. Now is the time to invest in startups, with two options both very generous when it comes to providing tax relief both for income tax but also for capital gains tax (and especially for high rate tax payers who are the natural target for those schemes).

Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)

Here is a summary of the changes some subject to EU State aid approval being granted:
  • The maximum annual amount that an individual can invest under the EIS will be doubled to £1m for 2012/13 onwards. There will no longer be any minimum investment; it was previously £500 in any one company.