The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) reached an impressive milestone — earlier this year we celebrated its 30th birthday. Not many pieces of legislation deserve their own birthday party, but for three decades the EIS has played a pivotal role in fostering innovation, creating jobs and driving economic growth. Yet despite its crucial role in transforming the UK’s entrepreneurial landscape, the EIS is still relatively unknown.
Our recent report delved into just how significant that impact has been. Between the EIS and its little sister, the Seed EIS (SEIS), £32b has been invested into 56k businesses across the UK. This funding has bridged a crucial gap for startups and EIS investment has supported the growth of many companies that are now household names including Deliveroo, Depop, Lucky Saint, Monzo, Revolut and Zoopla. Impressively, nearly half of all UK unicorns (companies valued at over $1b) have received investment through EIS.
EIS-backed businesses touch millions of lives daily, whether through consumer products or groundbreaking innovations tackling major societal challenges. Thousands of startups supported by the scheme are addressing some of the greatest challenges we face, from finding new ways to diagnose and treat cancer to green technology pioneers discovering innovative ways to address the climate crisis.
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