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.
Estimated reading time: 2 min
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: | Software |
|---|---|
| Target return: | 3-5x |
| Minimum investment: | £20,000 |
| Targeted allotment: | 2025/26 |
| Next deadline: | 10 Oct 2025 |
Important documents
| Sector: | Software |
|---|---|
| Target return: | 3-5x |
| Minimum investment: | £20,000 |
| Targeted allotment: | 2025/26 |
| Next deadline: | 10 Oct 2025 |
Important documents
The QVentures SEIS Investment fund invests in SEIS companies that are developing software to solve acute problems in traditional industries.
Since launching its first SEIS fund in 2019, QVentures has invested £3.4 million in 33 companies, currently showing an unrealised valued of £5.8 million (December 2024). Past performance is not a guide to the future.
Venture capital firm QVentures was founded in 2013, originally as an investment club for angel investors and family offices. It is now focused on its SEIS Investment fund.
- Target return 3-5x over 5-7 years – high risk and not guaranteed
- Targets 12-15 (minimum of nine) companies – not guaranteed
- Minimum investment £20,000 – you can apply online
- Next deadline: 10 October 2025 for 2025/26 deployment, not guaranteed
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
Founded in 2013, Quintessentially Ventures Limited (“QVentures”) started by sourcing venture opportunities for its community of angel investors and family offices, seeking the best founders emerging from the UK and Europe.
Over the years, this community has invested more than £120 million in 150 high-growth businesses. Today, the network spans 1,200 investors and 1,700+ entrepreneurs (December 2024), and has relationships with other venture capital funds, government institutions, and incubators and accelerators. QVentures will use this network to source investment opportunities for the SEIS Investment Fund.
The SEIS fund is led by Robert Walsh and Harveer Bharaj, Managing Partner and Partner at QVentures respectively. Robert worked in investment banking for 30 years at Credit Suisse, Dresdner Kleinwort and UniCredit. Harveer has spent 10 years at QVentures, identifying, investing in, and supporting early-stage UK businesses.
The QVentures team has historically committed around 10% of the value of each fund and intend to commit to future QVentures SEIS Investment Funds, ensuring alignment with investors.
Quintessentially Ventures Limited is the investment adviser to the fund. The fund manager and custodian is Kin Capital Partners LLP, which will hold your subscription until it is invested. Shares will be held by the nominee, KCP Nominees Limited.
Meet the manager
Video interview with Harveer Bharaj and Robert Walsh – watch now
Investment strategy
The SEIS fund invests in early-stage enterprise software, marketplace and consumer technology businesses across the UK, backing founders that are solving acute problems in traditional industries through software solutions.
The fund seeks to back companies with exceptional management teams, large addressable markets, and a pathway to profitability.
Companies will typically have a minimum viable product that can demonstrate an early indication of value to the target customers. The founders will also usually be working with a handful of their target customers, refining the product ahead of launch.
The QVentures team aims to be a supportive investor. The team typically takes a board director or observer seat and will assist founders by offering a sounding board for strategic decisions involving follow-on funding rounds, hires, go-to-market strategy and pricing.
Portfolio
Investors are expected to receive a portfolio of 12 to 15, minimum of 9, SEIS-qualifying companies.
Across its previous SEIS funds, QVentures has invested £3.4 million in 33 companies. The portfolio is currently valued at £5.8 million (December 2024).
Below are investment examples from previous funds. They are outlined to give a flavour of the types of companies you might expect but will not form part of a new investor’s portfolio.
Flexa
Flexa is a flexible jobs platform founded by three friends after the frustration of experiencing the disparity between companies' promises of flexible work and the reality.
The platform evaluates hundreds of companies, anonymously rated by their employees, on areas such as flexibility, family friendliness, career progression and culture. The scores are available to candidates online.
Founded in 2019, Flexa claims its platform has been used by over 2.5 million people, whilst blue-chip firms such as Verizon and Atom Bank have signed up to it.
QVentures invested £100,000 in October 2020 when Flexa was pre-revenue. Today, Flexa has surpassed £1m in annual recurring revenue and QVentures believes the business is on track to achieve profitability in 2025 (not guaranteed).
QVentures provided support on subsequent investment rounds, with Flexa securing an additional £2.3 million in May 2022 and £992k in March 2024. The latest funding round valued QVentures’s initial SEIS investment at 5.3x cost (December 2024). Past performance is not a guide to the future.
Recent Investment
Meysey Technology (trading as continual)
Startup continual has developed software to help small and medium-sized businesses identify and prevent fraudulent invoicing.
The business was founded by Oliver Crofton, a seasoned entrepreneur with a background in fraud and compliance, and Drew Rathbone, an experienced software engineer.
Meysey automates due diligence and financial governance, making it easier for firms to deploy the financial rigour and governance of large enterprises. For example, the platform provides real-time analysis of workforce activity and spend behaviour to identify and highlight deliberate or unintentional wrongdoing.
QVentures invested £120,000 in February 2024 as part of a £250,000 funding round.
Example of previous exit
QVentures's SEIS-qualifying investments, made through its SEIS fund have yet to achieve a positive exit.
Example of previous failure
Smartia
Smartia’s software helped SMEs identify and remedy operational bottlenecks, reducing costs and supporting intelligent and innovative decision-making.
Despite creating an initial product and generating early revenue, the business failed to demonstrate enough traction to raise a follow-on funding round.
The founders decided to buy out investors for a nominal price. The fund invested £100,000 in March 2020 which has since been written off.
Performance
QVentures has backed a total of 33 SEIS-qualifying companies through the SEIS fund, which launched in 2019.
The chart below shows the performance of SEIS investments made through the SEIS 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.
Source: QVentures, as at 31 December 2024. 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.
SEIS 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 SEIS 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 SEIS holding period; equally, an exit within three years could impact tax relief.
To claim tax relief, you will need SEIS3 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 SEIS-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.
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 | 5% |
| Annual management charge | — |
| Administration charge | — |
| Dealing charge |
— |
| Performance fee | 25% |
| Investee company charges | |
| Initial charge | 5% |
| Annual charges | 2% |
The fees and charges above are stated exclusive of VAT, which applies in some cases, as determined by the manager. Please check the VAT position carefully in the provider documents. 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 of (4%) and trail commission (0%). These are paid by the provider – there is no additional cost to you.
Any charges deduced 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 £1.00 per £1 invested. Performance fees are calculated on a portfolio basis.
Other charges apply. Please see the provider’s documents, including the Key Information Document, for more details.
Our view
The QVentures SEIS fund gives investors the opportunity to back a portfolio of SEIS qualifying software businesses.
QVentures has shown an ability to invest within its strategy, using its network to find and back 33 SEIS qualifying software businesses to date, to the tune of £3.4 million.
The fund is relatively new and has yet to achieve any exits. However, the existing portfolio is showing green shoots, with substantial paper gains from the likes of Flexa, for instance – past performance is not a guide to the future.
The offer could appeal to experienced investors looking to complement a wider investment portfolio with exposure to early-stage software businesses.
This financial promotion has been communicated and approved by Wealth Club Ltd on 20 March 2025
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.