Raising Capital

During their careers, members of the D5 Capital team have helped to raise hundreds of millions of dollars/pounds of capital for media and technology companies.

Private placements & IPOs

The bulk of this capital has been raised via private placements with Family Offices, High Net Worth Individuals, and via flotations on AIM, or the Full List of the London Stock Exchange. In the process of raising capital, the D5 Capital team has developed a range of relationships with investors and intermediaries. D5 Capital’s preference is to bring in smart money alongside its own investments so that the investee businesses can benefit from their connections and wisdom. D5 Capital finds that family offices and ‘super angels’ can often bring as much to the party as traditional private equity funds and will often sit side-by-side with management in the equity structure of the business.

Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)

D5 Capital is committed to working within the Enterprise Investment Scheme legislation to raise funds for growth businesses based in the UK. From 6th April 2011 income tax relief on qualifying EIS investments rose from 20% to 30% and from 6th April 2012, qualifying EIS companies can raise up to £5m, as opposed to the previous limit of £2m.

For High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs), this will put EIS on more of a level playing field with Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs), which already offer 30 per cent income tax relief. Investors only have to hold an investment in an EIS for three years to qualify for the capital gains tax relief, as opposed to five years for a VCT investment, while EIS companies also offer inheritance tax relief if held from more than two years. These changes provide huge opportunities for investment in UK-based media and technology companies, delivering strong, tax efficient gains for investors. With specialist advice from its tax planning partners D5 Capital is developing a number of business models that can offer investors an appropriate balance of risk and reward via EIS.