P2P aggregator calls for EIS extension to stimulate SME funding
A recently-launched peer-to-peer finance aggregator has called on the government to extend the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) in order to stimulate investment into small businesses.
NextFin – which was launched in October 2019 from a merger between Business Agent and CrowdRating – has also suggested that the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) should be extended to all P2P platforms.
NextFin has pointed out that while the CBILS goes some way towards protecting small businesses, between 800,000 and one million companies are still unable to access funding.
“We believe a way to stimulate investment in these businesses would be for the government to temporarily raise the income tax relief credit to 50 per cent for EIS and 70 per cent for SEIS, and also increase SEIS investment threshold to £250,000 and £5m on the EIS,” said a NextFin spokesperson.
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“Doing so would potentially unlock millions of pounds of extra funding which start-ups – especially those unable to apply for CBILS can use to fund their survival and allow for potentially hundreds of businesses to crowdfund and further increase revenue.
“By increasing the threshold and tax relief available under SEIS and EIS, more investors will invest which will also result in high tax yields for the government, which it can then reinvest in the economy at this vital time.”
Since it launched last year, more than 50,000 investors and entrepreneurs have visited NextFin’s platform, and it has tracked and researched more than £7.8bn of P2P funding and 4,679 crowdfunding pitches.
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