The Beta EIS Fund is a successor to the Alpha EIS Fund that was established in 2006 and will make follow-on investments in some of Braveheart’s 48 existing portfolio companies as well as backing new deals.

Geoffrey Thomson, chief executive of AIM-listed Braveheart, says the new 50p top rate of income tax makes EIS tax breaks more attractive than ever.

Adds Thomson, ‘On balance over the last 13 years, our rebased client portfolio of realised investments (both good and bad exits) has doubled in value every 30 months. This return is before any EIS tax breaks are factored in.’

The fund will seek to exit its investments in three to five years. Individuals can invest between £10,000 and £500,000 in the fund, which has no maximum or minimum size.