Startup Funding Club All-Star Follow-on Fund EIS

SFC Capital (formerly Startup Funding Club) is Europe's second most active seed investor.

Originally set up as an angel syndicate in 2012, SFC is best known for its SEIS fund and has invested in over 580 companies to date. The EIS fund focuses on what SFC considers to be its most promising seed companies as they transition from the “startup” to “growth” phase.

This follow-on strategy could help mitigate some risks. Portfolio companies should have demonstrated commercial traction and SFC should know them well, having had a board seat for some time. However, these are still young companies and high-risk investments, there are no guarantees.

EIS funds from previous years have now started to return cash to investors. Greendeck and Cognism (more detail below) are the two most notable examples – with exits or partial exits generating returns of 4.7x and 7.0x respectively. Past performance is not a guide to the future.

• Target return of 3x over five to eight years – not guaranteed
• Targets a portfolio of 5-10 companies – not guaranteed
• Minimum investment £10,000
• Deadline: 27 February 2026 for targeted deployment in the 2025/26 tax year, not guaranteed

SFC Capital (“SFC”) is an angel investment club focused on early-stage businesses. It identifies companies for investment and provides them with ongoing support and expertise.

SFC launched one of the UK’s first SEIS funds in 2013. Since then, it has become a prolific seed investor, facilitating investments in over 580 early-stage companies across a broad range of sectors.

The SFC angel network is a group of over 500 active angel investors from various backgrounds, many with direct experience in building and investing in successful young companies. They co-invest alongside the fund and bring additional experience to the portfolio. SFC has also forged ties with some of the country’s leading universities and startup accelerators to broaden its deal flow.

The SFC team is headed up by Stephen Page, CEO. Stephen has founded and exited several software businesses and is supported by Chief Investment Officer Joseph Zipfel whose background is in investment banking and corporate finance. The wider team and board of directors of SFC have backgrounds in investment banking, software, corporate finance, and entrepreneurship. In total, the team consists of 18 individuals, most of whom are actively involved with investment decisions.

SFC Capital Ltd, an appointed representative of SFC Capital Partners Ltd, is the investment adviser to the fund which is managed by SFC Capital Partners Ltd. Before your subscription is invested, the cash will be held by the custodian, Kin Capital Partners LLP. Shares will be help by the nominee, SFC Nominees Limited.

SFC’s EIS fund seeks to take advantage of the manager’s position as the UK’s most prolific SEIS investor, by backing the most promising businesses within the manager’s earlier-stage portfolio.

The SEIS fund looks for innovative products and disruptive technologies, with companies typically less than two years old. It will look to take a material stake in a business, gain a board seat, and offer guidance and support. The EIS fund will invest once the early startup work has been completed, the business has validated its model and achieved significant growth. 

By taking a board seat when investing through the SEIS fund, SFC develops deep insight into the performance of each business, before making an EIS follow-on investment. What’s more, since SFC is an existing seed investor, it will most likely be a preferred destination for businesses seeking follow-on funding. This should create a rich pipeline of opportunities for the EIS fund, although the fund may, on occasion, invest in companies that have not received backing from the SEIS fund. 

The manager targets a return of 3x, not guaranteed.

Investors can expect a portfolio of around 5-10 companies across various sectors, including digital technology, life sciences and consumer goods. SFC seeks to fully invest subscriptions over the 12 months following a closing date, not guaranteed. 

Below are examples of companies included in previous iterations of the EIS fund. They are outlined to give a flavour of the types of companies you might expect but are unlikely to be part of a new investor's portfolio. EIS funds tend to be managed on a discretionary basis so each individual portfolio is likely to be different.

As is to be expected when investing in smaller companies, not all investments will work out. Cutbox is one such example.

SFC first invested in Cutbox in March 2020 through its SEIS fund, backing the company’s vision to modernise the high-street barber experience through a tech-enabled, fast-service model targeted at busy urban professionals. Strong early traction in high-footfall locations and a clear operational playbook were factors in SFC’s decision to invest in the company’s subsequent EIS round in 2021.

However, trading conditions for consumer-facing retail businesses deteriorated significantly from 2023 onwards. The shift towards hybrid working reduced midweek footfall in key commuter-driven sites, and rising operating costs - particularly rent and rates - created mounting pressure on the business. Although Cutbox explored a growth-through-acquisition strategy and made progress on a bridge round to fund expansion, the late withdrawal of a lead investor left the company unable to complete the raise.

With fixed rent liabilities and no remaining runway, the directors were advised that continued trading risked insolvency. Cutbox entered administration in April 2025.

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, you will need EIS3 certificates, normally issued once shares have been allotted. This can take several months: please check the deployment timescales carefully. Tax reliefs depend on the portfolio companies maintaining their EIS-qualifying status. 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. 

SFC is one of Europe's most active start-up investors and operates a prolific SEIS fund. This, coupled with ties to leading universities and accelerator programmes and a large angel network, gives the SFC investment team access to a strong pipeline of deals. 

As many of the EIS investments will be follow-on deals, SFC should have a deeper understanding of the companies, potentially enhancing its due diligence and benefiting investors. And as its SEIS portfolio represents a large pool of seed investments from which to identify promising opportunities, investors should receive a relatively diverse (in EIS terms) portfolio of between 10-15 companies, although this is not guaranteed.

SFC’s reputation and track record may attract new entrepreneurs seeking funding, further enhancing SFC’s deal flow.

For experienced investors keen to add to their existing EIS portfolio, the SFC EIS fund could be worth considering. In addition, existing SFC SEIS investors may find this follow-on-focused EIS fund worth a look.

This financial promotion has been communicated and approved by Wealth Club Ltd on 7 January 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.