3.9x partial exit of Free Soul for SFC Angel Fund SEIS
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SFC Capital (formerly Startup Funding Club) recently announced its profitable exit of women’s health brand Free Soul from the SFC Angel Fund SEIS.
Founded in 2017, Free Soul is a fast-growing women’s health brand focused on nutrition products designed to support wellbeing at different life stages. The business combines science-backed supplements with educational content and community-building, seeking to address an area of consumer health that its founders believed had long been underserved.
The transaction has delivered a 3.9x return to investors in the fund – including Wealth Club investors. Past performance is not a guide to the future. SFC has retained part of its SEIS holding and the whole of its EIS holding, to give investors exposure to the company’s potential further growth – not guaranteed.
SFC first backed Free Soul in 2019 through its SEIS fund and followed up with the EIS fund. To date, it has invested a total of c.£390k. SFC’s remaining holding is currently valued at c.£983k.
Free Soul represents SFC’s 33rd exit from 21 companies – there have also been failures. Previous exits include: sales intelligence platform Cognism (39x overall return), plastic-free packaging manufacturer Transcend Packaging (5.9x) and HR platform PeopleForce (5x).
The Free Soul exit follows close on SFC’s recent partial realisation of health food and supplements brand Hunter & Gather for an up to 12.3x return (view the full article). Both companies ranked among the UK’s fastest-growing private companies in this year’s Sunday Times 100: Free Soul at #10 and Hunter & Gather at #84.
What gap in the market did Free Soul set out to address? Why did SFC invest – and opt for a partial exit? How could you invest in similar companies through SFC’s SEIS and EIS funds?
Important: The information on this website is for experienced investors. It is not advice nor a research or personal recommendation to invest. If you’re unsure, please seek advice. EIS and SEIS investments are high risk and you could lose the money you invest.
What gap has Free Soul set out to address?
Mother-and-son team Rohini and Arjun Sofat launched Free Soul in 2017 after a family health crisis highlighted for them how the market was bare of supplements to support women’s wellbeing. They thought there were only slimming products and watered-down versions of men’s supplements available – nothing to address women’s hormonal balance, energy, focus, gut health and mood.
So, they established Free Soul, to create and sell science-backed nutrition products supporting women’s health needs – addressing areas such as polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, menopause and bone health.
Free Soul’s viral success on TikTok has helped it boost sales of its signature Mango Greens supplement – at latest count it has sold 17 million servings of the health drink that combines 21 greens and superfoods with a twist of mango.
The company also hosts well-attended educational events about long-overlooked areas of women's health.
Free Soul has so far achieved triple-digit growth year-on-year. Its turnover was £35.4 million in 2025, and the brand reports it is now expanding into more than 600 Boots and Tesco stores.
Why did SFC invest?
SFC Capital is the UK’s most active seed-stage investor, and third most active in Europe. Originally set up as an angel syndicate in 2012, it has a network of over 500 active angel investors – many with company-building experience – co-investing alongside SFC’s funds and bringing valuable experience to the portfolio.
The manager aims to back very early-stage companies – like Free Soul – with disruptive products or technologies, which the manager believes could generate successful exits. It aims to back founders who “identify genuine market failures, execute relentlessly and create returns whilst solving real problems”.
In SFC’s view, the women's health market is expanding, awareness of Free Soul is growing, and the company is positioned to lead. Since SFC’s initial investment and three follow-on rounds, Free Soul has built a customer-community of over two million women across 50 countries – with a vision to reach seven million.
Free Soul exemplifies the kind of founder-led, mission-driven business we back and support over multiple rounds. This transaction reflects our disciplined approach to value realisation, where we look to return capital early through secondaries while retaining meaningful upside in the very best performers. Delivering a 3.9x return while remaining on the cap table is exactly how we aim to compound outcomes for our investors over time.
How might you invest in similar companies?
SFC Angel Fund SEIS and SFC All-Star Fund EIS are currently open for investment. Both invest in the same types of companies, albeit at different stages. The SEIS fund invests at a very early stage. The EIS fund aims to back the most promising businesses within the earlier-stage portfolio, as was done with Free Soul.
Both funds aim to deploy capital in the 2026/27 tax year – not guaranteed. This means EIS (up to 30%) and SEIS (up to 50%) income tax relief should be available in 2026/27, or 2025/26 if using ‘carry back’.
Tax rules can change and benefits depend on circumstances.
See performance of SFC Angel Fund SEIS
Performance per £100 invested in each tax year
Source: SFC, as at May 2026. 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.
See performance of SFC All-Star Fund EIS
Performance per £100 invested in each tax year
Source: SFC, as at May 2026. 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.
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, sell or hold 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.
Alex Davies
Chief Executive
Alex was a board director at Hargreaves Lansdown, where he worked for 15 years. He was responsible for building Hargreaves Lansdown into the biggest direct-to-consumer SIPP provider in the UK with more than 150,000 clients and over £12 billion under management. He is a keen investor with a portfolio of shares, funds, student property, EIS and VCT investments.