Bourn EIS

The problem

Traditional banks are facing growing competition in SME banking.

Many still rely on products and infrastructure designed for a different era, making it difficult to offer the speed, flexibility and integration that SMEs increasingly expect.

Business overdrafts, once a core banking product, have fallen from around 50% of business lending in the 1990s to just 5% today, while fintechs and challenger banks now account for more than 60% of SME lending.

At the same time, SMEs continue to face significant barriers to accessing working capital. Bourn estimates a £90 billion funding gap in the UK, while 70% of SMEs avoid borrowing and only 3.5% apply for new or renewed finance, compared with more than 20% in mainland Europe.

Bourn’s solution

To address this, Bourn has created the Flexible Trade Account: a technology platform that helps banks and lenders offer the kind of working capital solutions SMEs increasingly expect.

Bourn is authorised and regulated by the FCA as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) – the only UK startup to receive such authorisation in 2025 – allowing its platform to offer regulated payment and banking services. It is now seeking approval from the Central Bank of Ireland as part of its European expansion plans.

For banks and lenders, Bourn provides a ready-made way to modernise their SME offering without replacing existing systems or building new technology in-house. The platform combines payments, cash management and overdraft-style funding in a single white-label product, while automating credit analysis, compliance, reporting and other operational workflows. This allows lenders to offer more competitive services to SMEs without the cost, complexity and risk of developing the infrastructure themselves.

For SMEs, the Flexible Trade Account provides faster and more flexible access to working capital. Businesses connect their existing accounting software, can access funding without switching banks, and repay automatically as customers settle invoices.

Why consider investing?

Whilst still an at early stage, Bourn has secured support from leading financial institutions, built an experienced management team and reported early commercial momentum.

Founder and CEO Nick Tracey spent 17 years at Barclays, NatWest and Baringa. More recently, he was the first employee at Trade Ledger, a fast-growing working-capital platform used by banks and lenders. The management team includes senior figures from Lloyds, Equifax and high-growth technology businesses.

NatWest is both a strategic investor and customer, while Investec has deployed capital through the platform. Bourn has also gone live with specialist SME finance providers MCL Finance and eCapital.

Management's long-term ambition is for partner institutions to fund up to £4 billion of working capital, process £25 billion of annual payments and support 50,000 SMEs through the platform within four years – not guaranteed.

Since launching commercially in 2025, Bourn has secured live deployments with multiple lenders.

Management reports that Bourn has delivered eight consecutive quarters within 10% of plan at both revenue and bottom-line level. Revenue is currently doubling quarter-on-quarter, while the platform is already processing around £18 million of customer payments.

The opportunity

The Company is now seeking to raise a £2 million pre-Series A round from existing investors at a pre-money valuation of £30 million (equivalent to approximately £5 per share). This represents an uplift of c.85% compared to the Company’s £3.7 million seed round in Q4 2025, reflecting the commercial progress in the last nine months.

The funds are intended to support UK growth, deliver major bank partnerships, expand the company's AI capabilities, progress European regulatory licensing and strengthen regulatory capital.

Existing investors have committed a minimum of £1.5 million and up to the full round capacity of £2 million. Haatch, the introducer of this offer, has secured an allocation of £500,000 which it has agreed to share with Wealth Club investors on a first-come, first-served basis. The minimum investment is £20,000 and you can apply online.

To date, Haatch has invested £1.1 million across its SEIS fund and EIS fund, most recently in Q4 2025. Scott Weavers-Wright, Executive Chair, Founder and Partner at Haatch, sits on the board.

The Company reported revenues of £320k in its last quarter (Q3 2026) – a £1.2 million annualised run rate. It aims to grow this to £114 million annually by FY2032 and become EBITDA positive from FY2029 – high risk and not guaranteed.

Based on the Company’s forecasts, the target return in this round is 5x – not guaranteed. As can be expected when investing early stage, the potential rewards are significant, but so are the risks. You should form your own view.

This is a single company offer with no diversification. It involves investing in an early-stage, loss-making business, which is by nature high risk and prone to failure. There is a risk that the capital raised may not be sufficient to achieve the Company’s objectives. You could lose all the amount you invest.

Like all investments available through Wealth Club, it is only for experienced investors happy to make their own investment decisions without advice.

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 an EIS3 certificate, normally issued once shares have been allotted. Tax reliefs depend on company maintaining its EIS-qualifying status. Remember, tax rules can change and benefits depend on circumstances. Before you invest, please carefully read the Information Memorandum which contains further details on the considerable risks – alongside the Wealth Club Risks and Commitments.

Investors will invest in Bourn Technologies Ltd only via the Haatch EIS fund, an Alternative Investment Fund. The fund is managed by Haatch Ventures LLP, whilst Apex Unitas Limited (Mainspring) will act as the custodian and administrator. Wealth Club Limited is the introducer of this offer.

The investment is expected to be EIS-qualifying – not guaranteed.

All the services Wealth Club and, where applicable, its subsidiaries provide are governed by the Terms and Conditions of the Wealth Club Services.

Fees

A set-up and management fee of 10% will be payable to Haatch. This fee will be deducted from your subscription and will reduce the amount invested and on which tax relief can be claimed.

Haatch will also receive a performance fee on returns over £1 per £1 invested: 25% on proceeds between 1x and 5x, 30% on proceeds over 5x.

Haatch will share these fees 50/50 with Wealth Club. This will not involve any additional costs to investors or the company.

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 offer documents.

This financial promotion has been communicated and approved by Wealth Club Ltd on 29 September 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.