Effective EIS Investments
DSW Ventures’ venture capital investments are typically EIS compliant and our investment transactions are pre-cleared with HMRC to ensure qualification for the tax benefits available under the EIS scheme for qualifying investors.
There are no joining fees or subscription fees for becoming an angel investor in our network – our commercial model is based on investing in great companies – if we don’t do deals, we don’t charge. The majority of our angels invest in all of our deals however we do not work on a committed basis, so there is no obligation to invest in any one deal.
The DSW Ventures investor network is open to High-Net-Worth individuals, sophisticated investors and Family Offices looking for exposure to EIS or SEIS qualifying venture capital investments run by an experienced and professional investment team.
DSW Ventures combines the investment execution capability of an institutional VC with the depth of commercial skills and contacts provided by an angel network. We are particularly focused on early-stage venture capital to regional UK businesses, primarily outside of London. We are passionate about investing in the regional cities of the UK including Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Birmingham and Bristol. We also have a presence in Scotland and one of our portfolio companies is based in Wales.
Our investments typically have early revenues, demonstrating product-market fit, but fall short of the size criteria of most institutional venture capital investors. We typically invest between £250,000 and £1 million in funding rounds of up to £2 million. We have relationships with other venture capital investors across the UK and are happy to work with co-investment partners in larger rounds.
Our interests are aligned with our angel investors – the DSW team has contributed over 20% of the DSW Ventures capital deployed in our portfolio companies. We have a deep personal and financial interest in the success of our investments and our personal interests are aligned with our investors.
Unrivalled access to venture capital deal-flow
Through our extensive network of legal and financial professionals, entrepreneurs and other advisers, we have built a proprietary deal flow of over 100 companies a month seeking venture capital investment. We focus on identifying the brightest and best innovators, disrupters and pioneers with great companies and a scalable and defensible business model.
The DSW Ventures investors benefit from a fully-managed service – The DSW Ventures team validates the propositions of the very best companies we meet and negotiates a balanced deal based on decades of venture capital and corporate finance experience. Our Investment Committee, comprised of highly respected entrepreneurs, senior executives and investors, provide further insight to the investment team and founders in scoping due diligence and refining the strategic and operational aspects of founders’ business plans.
We are not box-ticking accountants – our due diligence process is commercially focused, concentrating on assessment of the capability of founders and their management teams, and the validation and development of our founders’ strategy for growth. Our networks enable us to introduce highly relevant industry experts and add significant value into our investee companies.
Our investment process, conducted by experienced tech investors and corporate finance professionals, adds value from the start – not from when the money is drawn. We continue to work closely with our portfolio companies following investment – as do some of our angel investors.
Close contact with our angel investors
During the investment process, our investors have the opportunity to meet the founders of prospective investee companies. In some cases our angel investors have gone on to work with our portfolio companies in an advisory and non-executive capacity. This adds huge value to our companies and creates opportunities for our angel investors beyond simply investing.
We have invested in our investor platform – www.phdinvestors.co.uk (powered by Delio) which we use as a confidential platform to provide information on our prospective investments and portfolio information to our investors.
Fully managed EIS investments by smart entrepreneurs
In short, DSW Ventures is a commercially-driven early-stage venture capital investor, with skin in the game, a well invested platform and a business model driven by successful outcomes for our investors.
If you would like to understand further how to become an angel investor with DSW Ventures, please contact a member of the investment team or by enquiring below.