SEIS threshold falls to £2,000 as Crowdcube partners with Haatch

Crowdcube, the world’s largest equity crowdfunding platform, and Haatch, the award-winning B2B SaaS pre-seed and seed investor, launch a partnership that lowers the barriers to entry facing retail investors wishing to invest in SEIS funds. It achieves this by reducing the minimum investment requirement to £2,000, which is five times more accessible than the typical £10,000 minimum. The SEIS scheme, government-backed and designed to promote investment in early-stage companies, offers a generous 50% income tax relief on investments up to £200,000, contingent on individual circumstances. Investing in a SEIS fund not only provides diversification but also offers investors the opportunity to support disruptive, early-stage businesses right at the outset of their journey. In 2021-2022, 2,270 companies raised £205 m under the SEIS scheme, marking the highest level of funding since its inception. This represents a 16% increase from the previous year, when 2,105 companies raised £176 m. The Haatch SEIS funds offer access to a diverse portfolio of B2B SaaS companies (including the likes of Native Teams, Odin, Ningi, Primis and Data Literacy Academy) solving deep pains and/or creating large impact for organisations, with a minimum entry point of £2,000. Haatch backs approximately 10-15 new pre-seed B2B SaaS startups per SEIS fund, offering diverse exposure to high-potential businesses. Jonathan Keeling, Chief Growth Officer at Crowdcube, comments: “We are really excited to team up with Haatch, extending our community of over 1.5 million investors into cutting-edge industries like AI and deeptech. SEIS funds open the door to diversifying into a basket of disruptive, early-stage businesses at the very beginning of their journey. It's a fantastic compliment to our direct deal offerings, and we are delighted to have Haatch as our first partner.” Fred Soneya, Co-founder & Partner at Haatch says: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Crowdcube and to have their support in launching the first SEIS fund available to Crowdcube investors. Our partnership opens up SEIS funds to a new audience and enables investors, who have the appropriate risk appetite, to access a diverse portfolio, while benefiting from our knowledge, experience and due diligence to find the very best quality early-stage companies. Crowdcube has been a fantastic advocate for greater access to private companies for retail investors, and we are excited to be part of this next chapter in that journey.”