Expansion of Government’s Future Fund

The Government’s Future Fund has been further expanded to include companies incorporated in the UK, but who now have headquarters overseas where at least 50% of staff are based in the UK and 50% of revenues are from UK sales.

The original scheme, launched in May of this year was designed to offer matched funding to those start-ups which had secured funding on a £ for £ basis between £125k - £5m to support working capital requirements during the COVID-19 difficulties.

Never has there been a greater call on working capital requirements across all businesses and this is very much the case for the tech start up sector, and therefore any support and the wider its application is to be welcomed and supported.  “Tech based start-ups will prove the future backbone of the global economy and any support to cultivate innovation and economic growth in the UK must be welcomed, it is important to note that currently, the Future Fund is not compatible with EIS or SEIS which is a particular blow to those relying on angel rather than VC funding” says Stuart Mullins of ForburyTECH.  “There have been calls to support the wider application and to amend the rules to preserve EIS and SEIS, but at the time of writing, quite when and if remains to be seen”.

In conclusion, the widening of the application is to be welcomed, but whether or not your business should or could qualify needs careful consideration and the impact that this support may have needs to be considered in the context of the wider investment structure.