GamCrowd launches £1.5m start-up investment fund
Crowdfunding platform partners with FCA regulated-Innvotec to set up first SEIS investment scheme for the egaming industry
Egaming crowdfunding platform GamCrowd has teamed-up with UK fund manager Innvotec in order to “mend the broken route” to market for egaming start-ups and raise as much £1.5m in early stage investment.
The GamCrowd 2015 SEIS Fund, launched yesterday, is the first Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) aimed at the gambling sector and encourages investment by providing investors with a number of tax benefits.
SEIS funds enable investors to claim tax relief on investments of up to £100,000 per year, while a capital gains tax exemption applies upon exit and there is also loss relief available should a portfolio company fail.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)-regulated fund has targeted a total investment pot of between £250,000 and £1.5m by close on 30 June and GamCrowd, who will act as an advisor to Innvotec, has already begun assessing opportunities for investment.
Speaking to eGaming Review, GamCrowd chief executive Chris North said the money raised would be used to help get companies into “better shape” before going in front of GamCrowd’s own investment team.
GamCrowd launched its crowdfunding platform in September and North said finding start-ups of the standard required to satisfy GamCrowd investors had been tougher than originally anticipated but hoped the SEIS fund would help firms bridge that gap.
“SEIS is one of the most advantageous tax schemes available to investors anywhere in Western Europe,” North said.
“The SEIS fund will provide the sort of money you need to get all the bits and pieces that you need to have in place such as a licence, payment processing, a business plan, etc. It complements what we are trying to do – we are trying to mend the broken route for gambling start-ups into the market place,” he added.
Launched by the UK government in 2012, the SEIS was designed to help small, early-stage companies raise equity finance by offering substantial tax reliefs to individual investors who purchase new shares in those companies.
In order to be considered for investment, companies must ensure they are registered as an SEIS company through the FCA.