CBHC Launch Investor Matchmaking Service to Provide Local Business with a Route to Funding

27/06/2017 

Renowned for its entrepreneurial spirit, Essex is home to a large number of dynamic home-grown companies whose ideas and initiatives generate the business and employment opportunities that play a vital role in supporting our local economy.

Despite the many success stories coming out of the county, a lack of funding and a lack of knowledge on how to access the right funding, are common barriers for start-ups during the early stages of setting up and running a business, and for established companies as they look to accelerate growth and expand.To combat this, CBHC Chartered Accountants, New London road, Chelmsford, have launched an ‘Investor Matchmaking Service’ which aims to provide a successful route to funding for local companies.

Utilising their Financial Director expertise, CBHC works with a business to ensure the key criteria required to qualify as an ideal investment is met, before connecting them with the company’s strong network of investors seeking Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) qualifying opportunities.Gary White, Business Development Director at CBHC, said, “A core element of what we do involves proactively helping our clients to create effective business models that enable them to accelerate growth and increase their bottomline. Part of this, involves ensuring they are in a position to access funding, if required.

Good quality investment

At the same time, we work with a number of high wealth individuals looking for good quality investment opportunities, so it makes sense for us to establish a service which effectively bridges the gap and supports both parties to achieve their desired outcome.””As part of the service, we draw on our Financial Director expertise to give a company a full ‘business M.O.T.’ We help prepare and outline a solid business plan, establish key KPI’s and Intellectual Property as well as determine what sets them apart from their competitors. Once satisfied that the company is in the right position to seek funding, we connect the business with a suitable investor within our network,” Gary added.

Helping Businesses Gain Funding

Initiatives that help businesses gain access to funding have been a key focus of the government for several years. In 2004, the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) was introduced to help smaller, higher risk trading companies secure funding by offering tax reliefs to individual investors who purchased new shares in those companies.  It has become more popular since 2011, when George Osborne simplified the scheme and raised the level of tax relief, with official figures showing investors poured £1.4bn into EIS in the last year alone.

Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme

In 2011, the Chancellor also launched the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) to help small, early-stage companies raise equity finance by offering a 50 per cent income tax relief to those investing up to £100,000 in a qualifying start-up. The latest figures show the uptake of the SEIS nearly doubled to £155m in the year April 2014, up from about £80m a year earlier with almost 1,900 companies receiving investment.

“The tax reliefs afforded under the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme provides a huge incentive for high wealth individuals to seek out investment opportunities which in turn, provide new and growing businesses with a golden opportunity to access much needed funding.”

“In order to be viewed as an ideal investment there are also other factors that come into play – as well as qualifying for EIS or SEIS, companies must demonstrate real USP’s, have a strong sales growth history and plan, have professional management and leadership in place and have good financial controls and reputable accountants or Financial Directors.”

“This is where our gold partnership with Xero and our subsequent Virtual Financial Director service really pay dividends. The cloud accounting software allows us to access a company’s real-time financial data and get an instant snap-shot of their business health so we can provide strategic advice and highlight the key areas of their business that make them an attractive investment.”

“So far, local businesses have been slow to seize the opportunity for funding available under the EIS and SEIS. We hope our ‘Investor Matchmaking Service’ will encourage more companies to take advantage of these schemes and secure the investment they need,” Gary added.

For more information about CBHC’s ‘Investor Matchmaking Service,’ please get in touch: info@cbhc.uk.com