EIS Industry Report 2019/20
50 51 BLACKFINCH “Blackfinch Ventures brings access to fresh opportunities, supports companies to develop, and seeks to deliver highly successful outcomes for businesses and investors.” — RICHARD COOK, CEO AND FOUNDER BLACKFINCH GROUP ABOUT THE PROVIDER Blackfinch Group is an award- winning investment specialist and trusted provider, with over £300 million in assets under management and administration. Its businesses include Blackfinch Ventures, specialising in early stage investing. Blackfinch’s focus is on delivering value through expertise and high- quality service with a transparent approach. Blackfinch works in partnership with advisers to grow their businesses and meet client needs. Founded on evolutionary principles, it continuously adapts to market change, offering evolved solutions. Blackfinch is an established provider of EIS portfolio services, with previous offerings typically closing at capacity. Blackfinch Ventures continues to enable investment in fast-growing UK companies, in line with legislative changes. The Blackfinch Ventures team of experts in early stage investing targets high-growth investment opportunities, supporting start-ups and early stage businesses. These bring access to EIS tax benefits, along with significant return potential. The team invests Blackfinch capital alongside investor funds, ensuring alignment of interests. OUR VENTURES EIS PORTFOLIOS OFFER Blackfinch Ventures EIS Portfolios target the UK’s most exciting new businesses, with investments into the next generation of EIS- qualifying firms. The portfolios are backed by extensive expertise and broad networks, ensuring privileged deal flow. The team has a tech bias, with investments spread across multi-sector portfolios. It invests on an ongoing basis, supporting disruptive firms with the capability to make a major impact in substantial markets. There is a focus on innovative companies with technological potential, offering products that address real-world needs. The ethos is that EIS funding, together with support from investment to development to exit, can fuel growth. Alongside accessing EIS tax benefits, investors are served by a team targeting returns over timeframes of 4-7 years from investments in these high-calibre firms. Furthermore, Blackfinch does not apply its 2% annual management charge to the portfolios after the first four years, which can create further value for investors. INVESTMENT CASE STUDY We aim to invest across the UK, balancing investments in scale-ups with those in early-stage opportunities. Lincoln-based wearables start-up Tended represented both aspirations in a thriving company led by passionate young entrepreneur Leo Scott-Smith. Tended has developed an intelligent personal safety wearable that uses patent- pending technology and machine learning. It automatically monitors a lone worker’s safety and alerts a key contact in the event of an accident or emergency. When we met Leo, the product was close to mass production, with trials in place with Nestle and Rolls Royce. Blackfinch invested £810,000 in April 2019. Tended has gone from strength to strength, with five new hires, three major new contracts, product shipping and several awards. Following investment, we appointed Seb Chakraborty, CTO of Hive, as our ‘UltraNED’ on Tended’s board. Our director Dr Reuben Wilcock has also supported Tended with his 15 years’ experience founding, growing and exiting IoT start-ups. BLACKFINCH VENTURES EIS PORTFOLIOS EIS SOLUTIONS DISCLAIMER Some of the managers have included some performance information in the following pages. As always, past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This document is for professional advisers only, and it is not to be relied upon by retail investors. The value of an investment, and any income from it, can fall as well as rise, so investors may not get back the full amount they invest. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may change in the future. Tax reliefs depend on the portfolio companies maintaining their qualifying status. The shares of the smaller companies could fall or rise in value more than shares listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. They may also be harder to sell. These products are not suitable for everyone. Any recommendation should be based on a holistic review of your client’s financial situation, objectives and needs. Neither Intelligent Partnership nor the managers offer investment or tax advice. We recommend investors seek professional advice before deciding to invest.
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