Yesterday’s budget revealed significant promises from the Conservative Government with regard to investment. The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £2.5 billion Investment Fund incubated by the British Business Bank, £500 million to fund the UK tech sector, EIS relief and measures to unlock nearly £10 billion of investment amongst other moves.
Having reviewed the budget statement, Nick Sturge, Director, Engine Shed, commented:
“The announcements about investment into the UK economy are much needed as the country moves into a new trade negotiations. We welcome the focus on the tech sector, including closing the loophole where EIS relief could be used for investing in fine wines, as nice as those are. It’s a neat move for the Government to encourage typically risk-averse pension funds to invest in higher risk investments and not add any obvious complexity. More over, we are particularly pleased to see investment being made into teacher training. However, although the Chancellor talked about an inclusive economy, this term did not make it into the budget document which makes me wonder and question what the Government really is doing about ensuring our economic growth is inclusive. We’d like some support from government to continue the work that we do in this area.”
Coincidentally, today, Engine Shed launched it’s first UK “Angel Hub” in collaboration with UKBAA to help new and existing angel investors take advantage of the revised incentive schemes.