Many owner-managers will already be aware of the practical difficulties being faced by small, unquoted companies to attract funding. In the absence of cheap and readily available bank debt, many entrepreneurs turn to friends and family to fund their working capital requirements and future growth plans.

However, faced with fewer routes to pursue for funding, owner-managers could benefit from recent changes to the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).

The scheme offers reliefs designed to attract investment from UK taxpayers into unquoted trading companies. Shares listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and PLUS Markets are also considered ‘unquoted’ and therefore qualify.