Member Directory

Praetura Investments is an FCA Authorised Firm having completed its first Venture Capital transaction in 2011, the acquisition and listing of Inspired Energy plc in November of that year. Since, we have grown steadily and have made a further 24 investments on behalf of investors having invested over £100m into high growth tech or IP enabled small businesses.

We’ve built a highly experienced and reputable team within Praetura Investments who bring with them over 250 year of sector experience having raised and transacted over £8bn within the UK.

Headquartered in the North West, the Praetura team have built an enviable network across the region generating strong deal flow and opportunities. The investment strategy has been developed and refined over the previous 8 years and we’ve built a reputation for being able to identify and back high performing, entrepreneurial teams who demonstrate they can execute their plan. As important is our ability to add “more than money”. We look for ways we can add significant value through our team’s skillset, network and experience. Deciding whether we can add value and help shape a company’s growth is critical when we decide where to invest.

Praxis is a firm of Chartered Accountants and Chartered Tax Advisers based in the heart of London, specialising in supporting SMEs through their growth journeys. Praxis provides full accounting and audit compliance, together with commercial and tax advisory support, including R&D tax credits, restructuring, EIS, SEIS, VCT and SITR.

With offices in 157 countries and more than 195,000 people, PwC is among the leading professional services networks in the world. We work with many of the UK’s growing and successful private businesses and entrepreneurs. Two thirds of our clients are private business owners and individuals.

A key challenge for early stage businesses is being able to access the finance they need to grow and create value. Our Venture Capital team focuses on advising VCTs, EIS/SEIS investors and funds, as well as companies seeking investment under these regimes. The venture capital regimes can be complex and it is critical that clients receive advice they can rely on. Our team of specialists are committed to helping our clients navigate this complexity.

We help individual businesses and funds to raise money from investors while complying with their regulatory obligations. These businesses can then access alternative sources of funding such as crowdfunding and networks of sophisticated investors. We have helped to raise over £200 million for small businesses over the last 5 year and have extensive experience of EIS and SEIS. We have particular expertise in property crowdfunding, technology, green energy and media.

We can act as alternative investment fund manager (AIFM) for your fund; provide your business with regulatory permissions on a monthly basis through our authorised representative service or help your business apply to the FCA to become directly regulated. We have retail permissions and can operate unregulated collective investment schemes (UCIS).

Prosper Capital is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A full list of the activities that the firm is authorised to carry out can be found on the Financial Services Register on the FCA’s website at https://register.fca.org.uk

Puma Investments is an award-winning investment manager, and a leading provider of growth capital to UK SMEs. We operate across the country from our offices in London, Liverpool and Edinburgh and are part of an organisation that raised its first private equity fund in 1996. Puma has raised over £400 million in tax efficient investments to date.

We are committed to supporting the growth of small and medium-sized businesses across all sectors and regions of the UK. We deliver investment from £2 million to £10 million to help companies achieve their ambitions.

Our investment provides more than capital – it provides partnership. By using our investment insight, multi-sector experience and extensive network, we aim to help accelerate the growth of our investee companies.

Puma Alpha EIS is an evergreen fund that is open to investors throughout the year. The Fund has four closings per year, typically in at the end of each calendar quarter. The Fund seeks to support the growth of
UK SMEs through backing exceptional management teams and aims to give investors exposure to the earnings of quality operating businesses.

PushFar is the world’s leading SaaS technology startup. We focus on providing a mentoring and career progression platform, supporting hundreds of organisations to launch, run and scale mentoring programs, alongside our free and open mentoring network, supporting 100,000+ people. Named by Startups.co.uk as one of Top 100 Startups of 2023, we work with a wide variety of entrepreneurial initiatives, schemes and ventures to ensure mentoring is accessible and effective for everyone, everywhere.

Qkine manufactures high-purity, animal-free growth factors, cytokines, and other complex proteins for life science applications including stem cell and organoid culture. Based in Cambridge, UK, Qkine combines proprietary production processes with protein engineering technology to tackle fundamental biological, quality, and scale-up challenges to provide more reliable tools for research and bio-manufacturing.

As leaders in protein innovation, approximately 30% of our catalogue is formed of unique products. We have developed a portfolio of stable, tag-free growth factors for use in the most popular pluripotency media recipes, and we provide pioneering growth factor forms for scaling organoid cultures. Our product range spans a wide range of applications including hepatocyte, cardiac and neural differentiation, all aimed at increasing reproducibility in your research and manufacturing processes. We actively support and innovate for emerging fields such as cellular agriculture, regenerative medicine, synthetic hydrogels, organ-on-a-chip, and bioprinting.

Qkine is an ISO 9001:2015 certified company with an established global distribution network. With a robust manufacturing process, we can support scale-up and commercial manufacturing by offering lot reservations, bulk orders, custom vialling, and custom QA.

“The Venture Equity and Corporate Debt Lawyers”

We are lawyers who act for some of the leading names in the EIS/SEIS fund management industry, including active fund managers, leading crowdfunding platforms and fast growing companies. We cover primarily unquoted equity and debt fundraises and investments, which regularly involve the raising and deploying of EIS/SEIS-eligible capital. Our expertise covers the complex and interrelated corporate, regulatory and tax landscape in which our clients operate.

Our FCA-authorised vehicle, RW Blears Ventures, is also often involved in engagements where additional regulatory compliance services are relevant to a proposal.

Rathbones has become a trusted investment partner for providing individual investment and wealth management services for private clients, charities, trustees, and professional partners. We have been trusted for generations to manage and preserve our clients’ wealth. Our tradition of investing and acting responsibly has been with us from the beginning and continues to lead us forward. Our ambition is to be recognised as the UK’s most responsible wealth manager. By addressing ESG issues, a responsible investment approach not only serves to protect the planet and people. It also preserves wealth and generates returns via enhanced risk management and the identification of promising investment opportunities.  In a reflection of our achievement so far, we were recognised as “ESG Champion of the Year” in the Investors’ Chronicle/Financial Times 2021 Celebration of Investment Awards.

In business since 1742.

A FTSE 250 listed company.

Managing more than £100.7* billion for our clients.

£8.8bn managed by our Charities team363 Investment Managers

15 offices throughout the UK and Jersey.*

Our purpose

We see it as our responsibility to invest for everyone’s tomorrow. That means doing the right thing for our clients and for others too. Keeping the future in mind when we make decisions today. Looking beyond the short term for the most sustainable outcome. This is how we build enduring value for our clients, make a wider contribution to society and create a lasting legacy. Thinking, acting and investing responsibly. Find out more

*All data correct as at September 2023 and data currently excludes Investec Wealth and Investment (UK)

RSM is a leading provider of audit, tax and consulting services to middle market leaders, advising on tax efficient investments and particularly the EIS and VCT schemes.

RSM has a large Venture Capital Schemes team, several of whom have many years of experience working with businesses helping them to determine their eligibility for these tax reliefs to attract investors and raise funds. RSM can assist you with obtaining HMRC advance assurance that your company meets the required conditions and assist with your compliance obligations to give the necessary certification to your investors in order for them to claim tax relief.

Our specialist team is proud to be invited to the AIM Advisory Group of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and co-authored A Guide to AIM Tax Benefits, published jointly with the LSE.

With around 3,650 partners and staff in the UK and access to 48,000 people in over 120 countries across the RSM network, we can meet our clients’ needs wherever in the world they operate and support you as your business grows.

RWK Goodman is a UK Top 100 law firm providing expert legal support for EIS funds, growing businesses, and other venture and private-equity investors.

With offices spread from Bristol to London, across the M4 corridor, and numbering over 600 people, our dynamic, forward-thinking team of lawyers carefully guide clients through challenges at all stages of their business lifecycle, from S/EIS funding through to exit. Bringing together experts from across the firm, and our external networks, we build a team around you. Carefully selecting the right specialists, with the right skills, to deliver the right results.
Outside of our corporate work for VC funds, PE houses, and scaling businesses, our specialists in commercial contracts, data protection, privacy, intellectual property, real estate, and many other fields, are able to advise on how best to protect investments and scale business.

Find out more about our team and support at rwkgoodman.com/business/corporate