The co-founder of Vala Capital and investor in many more companies pleads to be unleashed
“Start-ups cannot exist without urgent help. A powerful opportunity to harness public support for SMEs immediately (desperately required) is to temporarily increase the tax relief available to private investors from 30% to 80% (in line with the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
This could raise up to £1bn and take pressure off the public purse. I have today written to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor, Stephen Barclay the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and to Dominic Cummings, Chief Adviser to the Prime Minister calling for urgent assistance.
There are numerous established EIS funds able to work with HMRC on advanced assurance, process, and capital deployment. Banks are not equipped to be able to make lending decisions to early-stage companies and it is vital that we allow equity to flow alongside debt.
Current CBILS proposals mean that many innovative start-ups could hit the wall within weeks. All the norms are out of the window. It’s time to save the companies that create the foundation for recovery.”
#eis #vc #entrepreneurship #primeminister