Gary Robins, Head of Business Development at Growthdeck, comments on the EIS investment limits announced in the Autumn Budget 2017:

“While doubling EIS investment limits for knowledge intensive companies is welcome news, we would have liked to have seen similar support for the many other non-tech growth companies.

“It’s all well and good increasing annual limits for individual investors, but there is still limited awareness and understanding amongst private investors of the very generous tax reliefs which are available to those willing to back qualifying companies.

“Before the EIS changes announced yesterday, just over 500 investors in total took advantage of the previous £1m annual limit per investor in three previous tax years (2013-2016) - and only 33,000 applied for any amount of EIS relief for 2015/16.

“On the face of it, in the absence of either increased investor awareness, or enhanced investor incentives (e.g. increased income tax relief), attracting any significant new monies into deserving EIS qualifying companies is a challenge."