Don't invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more.
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Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.
What are the key risks?
- You could lose all the money you invest
- If the business you invest in fails, you are likely to lose 100% of the money you invested. Most start-up businesses fail.
- You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong
- Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker here.
- Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.
- You won’t get your money back quickly
- Even if the business you invest in is successful, it may take several years to get your money back. You are unlikely to be able to sell your investment early.
- The most likely way to get your money back is if the business is bought by another business or lists its shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange. These events are not common.
- If you are investing in a start-up business, you should not expect to get your money back through dividends. Start-up businesses rarely pay these.
- Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
- Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.
- A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments.
- The value of your investment can be reduced
- The percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares.
- These new shares could have additional rights that your shares don’t have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment.
If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA’s website here.
| Sector: | Technology |
|---|---|
| Target return: | 15% IRR |
| Minimum investment: | £25,000 |
| Targeted allotment: | 12 months |
| Next deadline: | 3 Apr 2026 |
Important documents
| Sector: | Technology |
|---|---|
| Target return: | 15% IRR |
| Minimum investment: | £25,000 |
| Targeted allotment: | 12 months |
| Next deadline: | 3 Apr 2026 |
Important documents
The Par Knowledge-Intensive EIS Fund invests predominantly in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North of England. It focuses on technology companies with defensible intellectual property and an initial track record of sales, which are in the “equity gap”: too large for business angels but too small for most private equity investors.
The fund is supported by the Par Investor Network, a group of c.200 experienced business angels, who provide deal flow, due diligence, and mentorship while co-investing alongside the fund.
The fund is managed by Par Equity, now part of PXN Investments (“PXN”) following its merger with Praetura Investments in October 2025. PXN manages over £660 million and should provide the EIS and KI EIS funds with greater scale, geographic reach and sector expertise.
Since inception in 2012, the Par EIS and KI EIS funds have invested £61.8 million in 59 companies and generated exit proceeds of £9.3 million, with a remaining portfolio balance of £54.7 million (September 2025). Note, past performance is not a guide to the future.
This is Par’s fourth KI approved fund. While the investment strategy is the same as Par’s other EIS funds, the ‘KI approved fund’ structure may offer tax-planning advantages: investors may be able to obtain relief earlier and also have the option to carry back to the 2024/25 tax year.
- Target return of 15% IRR over 6-8 years – not guaranteed
- Targets a portfolio of 8-12 companies within 12 months – not guaranteed
- £25,000 minimum investment – you can apply online
- Deadline: 3rd April 2026 (5pm)
Important: The information on this website is for experienced investors. It is not a personal recommendation to invest. If you’re unsure, please seek advice. Investments are for the long term. They are high risk and illiquid and can fall as well as rise in value: you could lose all the money you invest.
The manager
Based in Edinburgh, Par Equity LLP (“Par” or “Par Equity”) is an early-stage venture capital firm seeking to back innovative, high-growth technology companies. It made its first investment in March 2009 and launched the EIS fund in 2012.
Par Equity and Praetura Ventures merged in 2025 to form PXN Investments, part of the PXN Group, a regional investment firm managing over £660 million in assets (September 2025).
PXN combines the regional expertise of both firms to back businesses across the North of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The group’s combined scale means it should be able to support businesses across the investment lifecycle – from seed to institutional funding.
The Par EIS and KI EIS funds will continue under the existing investment team with support from the Par Investor Network, a group of over 200 experienced business angels. In addition, it can draw on the experience of PXN’s team of over 20 investment professionals.
Before your subscription is invested, the cash will be held by the custodian, Kin Capital Partners LLP. Shares will be held by the nominee, KCP Nominees Limited.
Investment strategy
Par seeks to invest in companies that are developing innovative, hard to replicate solutions across sectors such as: enterprise software, health care and medical devices, industrials and space, energy and resources, food security, and digital media and entertainment.
Par looks for large addressable markets with limited barriers to international scale and strong commercial demand and market pull, targeting monthly revenues of at least £20,000. Par Equity tends to participate in investment rounds of between £0.5 million and £8 million.
The manager also feels that the involvement of the 200+ experienced business angels in the Par Investor Network may help give the fund access to pre-screened businesses that competitors might not see. After investment, Network members often serve as Par’s representatives and observers on company boards, providing mentoring through to exit.
Portfolio
Investors in the Par Knowledge-Intensive EIS fund can expect exposure to around 8 – 12 companies. To date, the Par EIS and Knowledge-Intensive funds have invested £61.8 million into 59 companies.
The companies outlined below are previous investments made by the Par EIS and KI EIS Fund, please note that they are unlikely to form part of a new investor’s portfolio.
Source: Par Equity, sector breakdown by cost for the Par EIS Funds (October 2025).
Earth Blox
Nature and climate disruptions – from droughts and floods to land degradation – pose risks to businesses as well as the environment. However, for most organisations, environmental data remains too complex, fragmented or inaccessible to act on.
Earth Blox was founded in Edinburgh in 2019 to help change this. Its cloud-based, no-code SaaS platform allows organisations to monitor environmental changes and manage sustainability risks without requiring specialised coding or geospatial expertise, cutting analysis time from 80 days to 8 minutes.
Earth Blox is used by a diverse range of organisations, including the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), European Space Agency (ESA), and Google, alongside financial groups like Lloyds Banking Group, consultancies, NGOs (e.g., WWF, Greenpeace, The Nature Conservancy), and various companies in insurance, energy, and retail.
The Par EIS and KI EIS funds invested £1 million in July 2025 as part of a £3.1 million round – the investment is valued at cost. Past performance is not a guide to the future.
Little Journey
Co-founder Dr Chris Evans, an anaesthetic doctor, saw first hand the distress experienced by children and their families when coming to hospital for surgery. That led to a partnership with Sophie Copley, an expert in human-centred design, to found health-tech platform Little Journey in 2018.
The company aims to reduce anxiety in children during healthcare interactions by providing tailored psychological support through a mobile app. The app offers engaging, age-appropriate content to prepare children for medical procedures, improving their understanding and comfort. It has been adopted by over 50 NHS organisations and reports that it can result in patients spending 30% less time in recovery while leading to a 67% reduction in unplanned admissions for hospitals and up to £41.38 saved per patient.
The Par EIS and KI EIS funds collectivelly invested £1.4 million in November 2024 as part of a £6 million round alongside Octopus Ventures and the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund managed by Mercia Ventures. The investment is valued at cost. Past performance is not a guide to the future.
Example of previous exit
Plotbox (partial exit)
Plotbox was founded in 2014 by husband-and-wife team Sean and Leona McAllister, to provide software and services for funeral homes, cemeteries and crematoria. Headquartered in Northern Ireland, it now has over 120 employees globally, and offices in the US and Australia.
Plotbox helps clients move away from paper records, contracts and burial plot maps, towards working more efficiently using cloud-based digitised services for managing records, inventory, memorials, customer service, financial reporting and payments. It has also pioneered a form of “Google Maps for cemeteries” by combining high-resolution drone mapping with geographic information system technology.
The Par EIS fund invested £2 million over multiple investment rounds starting in 2019. In April 2025, it partially realised its earlier investments through a secondary transaction to private equity house Serent Capital, realising £2.9 million. The remaining holding is valued at £2.5 million. Past performance is not a guide to the future.
Example of previous failure
Kinsetsu
As with any early-stage investment, not all will work out as planned, Kinsetsu is an example.
Kinsetsu was set up to provide Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, to help organisations track, manage, and optimise physical assets like equipment, inventory, vehicles, and people in real-time, boosting efficiency and reducing costs in sectors like healthcare, defence, and government.
Par invested a total of £1 million through its EIS and KI EIS funds, with the first investment in 2023.
Despite winning meaningful contracts and generating revenue, the business faced persistent cash flow issues and failed to reach profitability. So, following a strategic review, it was sold via a pre-pack administration in August 2025. Par’s investment was written down to nil.
Performance
Since inception in 2012 the Par EIS and KI EIS funds have invested £61.8 million in 59 companies and generated exit proceeds of £9.3 million, with a remaining portfolio balance of £54.7 million (October 2025).
The chart below shows the average performance of the total subscribed into the Par EIS fund in each of the last 10 full tax years (or from when the current strategy was adopted if later).
The chart is based on the latest valuations provided by the manager, expressed on a £100 invested basis. Please note, individual investor portfolios’ performance will deviate from the average.
Performance per £100 invested per tax year
Source: Par Equity, as at October 2025. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The chart shows realised returns (where share proceeds have been returned to investors as cash) and unrealised returns (where cash has not yet been returned and the value of the investments is based on the manager’s own valuation methodology). There is no ready market for unlisted shares. The figures shown are net of all fees and do not include any income tax relief or loss relief.
Risks – important
This, like all investments available through Wealth Club, is only for experienced investors happy to make their own investment decisions without advice.
EIS investments are high-risk and should only form part of a balanced portfolio. As must be expected with early-stage investments, some or even all of the companies in the portfolio could fail: the fewer the companies included in the portfolio, the higher the risk of loss if things don’t go to plan. You should not invest money you cannot afford to lose.
There is no ready market for unlisted EIS shares: they are illiquid and hard to sell and value. There will need to be an “exit” for you to receive a realised return on your investment. Exits are likely to take considerably longer than the three-year minimum EIS holding period; equally, an exit within three years could impact tax relief.
To claim tax relief, for a knowledge intensive EIS fund you will need an EIS5 certificate. Certificates can be issued once the fund has invested 90% of its capital, which it is required to do within 24 months of the close. Tax reliefs depend on the portfolio companies maintaining their EIS-qualifying status. For capital gains tax deferral and inheritance tax relief the investment date is when the capital is invested in each company, not the fund close date. Remember, tax rules can change and benefits depend on circumstances.
Before you invest, please carefully read the Risks and Commitments and the offer documents to ensure you fully understand the risks.
Charges
A summary of the main charges is shown below. Some of these will be payable by the investor, whilst others by the investee companies. The investment may have additional charges and expenses: please see the provider documents, including the Key Information Document, for more details.
| Investor charges | |
|---|---|
| Initial charge | 3% |
| Annual management charge | 1% |
| Administration charge | — |
| Dealing charge | — |
| Performance fee | 20% |
| Investee company charges | |
| Initial charge | up to 5% |
| Annual charges | See documents |
All fees and charges are stated inclusive of VAT, where applicable. Any fees and charges payable by the investee companies or the underlying businesses do not directly come out of your investment. However, they will effectively reduce the returns generated by investee companies and therefore impact your investment.
More detail on the charges
When you invest through us, Wealth Club will receive initial commission (3%) and trail commission (0%). These are paid by the provider – there is no additional cost to you.
Any charges deducted from the subscription will reduce the amount invested and on which tax relief can be claimed.
Any investee company charges are levied on the underlying companies. They will not affect the amount of tax relief available but can still impact investor returns.
The performance fee applies on returns in excess of £1.20 per £1 invested. Performance fees are calculated on a portfolio basis.
Other changes apply. Please see the provider’s documents, including the Key Information Document, for more details.
Our view
Following the merger with Praetura Ventures, the Par KI EIS fund should benefit from greater scale, broader geographic reach, and deeper sector expertise as well as wider portfolio support through customer introductions, talent acquisition, and guidance on further fund raising.
This new structure complements the fund’s existing Investor Network of over 200 experienced investors who continue to drive deal flow, conduct due diligence and provide hands-on engagement with companies.
The fund’s focus on regions of the UK underserved by the wider venture capital community has the potential to create what Par sees as attractive entry valuations and a destination for entrepreneurs seeking funding, particularly within Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the North of England.
The Par Knowledge-Intensive EIS Fund builds on the appeal of the Par EIS offering, in our view, with the advantage of greater clarity on the timing of income tax relief and a single tax certificate.
This financial promotion has been communicated and approved by Wealth Club Ltd on 5 February 2026
Wealth Club aims to make it easier for experienced investors to find information on – and apply for – investments. You should base your investment decision on the offer documents and ensure you have read and fully understand them before investing. The information on this webpage is a marketing communication. It is not advice or a personal or research recommendation to buy any of the investments mentioned, nor does it include any opinion as to the present or future value or price of these investments. It does not satisfy legal requirements promoting investment research independence and is thus not subject to prohibitions on dealing ahead of its dissemination.