Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many companies that received funding through the Enterprise Investment Scheme in the each of the last five financial years were in their first year of trading.

The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) offers tax reliefs for investors investing into companies below a certain age. This ensures it is targeted towards the most early-stage, high-risk companies, who face the greatest struggle securing the investment they need to grow and develop. The initial investment into a company must occur within 7 years of the company’s first commercial sale, or within 10 years for knowledge intensive companies (KICs).

HMRC does not publish statistics on the age or length of trading time for companies receiving investment through the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).