Onside Issue 6 - 14
Tax Advantaged Investing with Seneca
Seneca Growth Capital VCT Plc
Since the amendments to Venture Capital Trust
(VCT) rules in the budget of 2015, including
the introduction of the seven year rule, as well
as restrictions on use of VCT funds to finance
buyouts and acquisitions, the SME funding
landscape has shifted significantly in the direction
of Seneca's expertise and experience in growth
capital investment. As a result, April 2018 will
see the launch of the Seneca Growth Capital VCT
Plc which extends our commitment to funding
the development of the region's brightest
businesses of the future.
In this respect, Seneca's geographical
representation and footprint in the northern
regions of the UK offers deal flow opportunities
not often available to many of our competitors in
an EIS context. For this reason, the Chancellor's
financial commitment to the growth of Northern
Powerhouse cities is music to our ears. As a specialist
SME business with expertise in equity, debt and
corporate finance advisory, our 70 strong team and
network of relationships in the northern part of the
UK is a vital component in supporting businesses
in these heartland areas. We have provided over
£200 million of capital to these companies over the
last 5 years and we certainly expect to double that
in the next 5 years."
Seneca's Investment Director, John Davies
reflects on the wealth of opportunities
available to him and his investment team.
"We believe there is strong demand in the regional
market for SME funding and growth capital. Whilst
the regional market continues to be well-serviced
by more traditional private equity and debt
funding, there remains a significant opportunity
to deploy funds at the lower end of the equity
landscape through our VCT and EIS investments.
With a strong regional presence in the corporate
finance and private equity communities, as well
as a vast network of key industry contacts and
introducers, we feel that Seneca is well-positioned
to meet the funding requirements of SMEs through
well-structured VCT and EIS investments into
businesses where significant value can be added.
Despite the overall economic climate and the
inevitable Brexit headwinds we continue to see
a vast number of businesses each year who are
seeking growth capital. These originate from our
extensive intermediary and contact network and
also from the fact that we have people in our
business working with SMEs 24/7. They represent
the full spectrum of sectors too. But for us, it isn't
simply about writing a cheque and letting them
get on with it. We look for businesses that would
really benefit from our involvement, utilising our
very experienced investment team to guide and
influence them through their growth journeys. So
we like to be very hands on and that has to be
the case when we are investing capital which has
been entrusted to us by advisers and investors
from all across the UK. From that point of view,
we see ourselves as 2nd and 3rd stage investors
preferring to support businesses that already
have a proven concept and are generating
revenues and profit. So we rarely get involved at
the earliest stage or start up situations.
Often, our biggest challenge comes with the
valuation of these businesses. It is essential that the
entry point is sensible from everybody's perspective,
not least our investors, otherwise the whole business
is out of kilter from the word go which helps nobody.
Jeff Morton
John Davies
Director, Seneca Property
Investment Director
E john.davies@senecapartners.co.uk
jeff.morton@senecaproperty.com
T 01942 295 981
www.senecaproperty.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Onside Issue 6
Contents
Onside Issue 6 - Cover1
Onside Issue 6 - Cover2
Onside Issue 6 - Contents
Onside Issue 6 - 4
Onside Issue 6 - 5
Onside Issue 6 - 6
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