The UK-based provider of Enterprise Investment Schemes, Calculus Capital, has launched a new EIS fund three months ahead of its expected date due to strong demand for these products which have been boosted by greater tax reliefs by the present government.

The rollout of EIS Fund 14 was carried out earlier this week, enabling the firm, in its own words, to “capitalise on unprecedented opportunities it is seeing in the unlisted company sector”.

“In over a decade of managing EIS funds we’ve never seen so much investor interest, nor have we encountered so many good quality investment opportunities, or been offered such attractive terms,” Susan McDonald, chairman of Calculus Capital, said in a statement.

As described in an interview with WealthBriefing in January this year, the current Conservative/Liberal Democrat government has widened the tax reliefs and investment freedoms available to these wrappers, which were originally devised back in the 1990s. Investors can claim back up to 30 per cent relief against income tax on an investment on EIS investments to a maximum of £1 million per tax year; shares must be held for at least three years from the date they are issued. No capital gains tax is payable on disposal of shares after three years. Shares in these schemes will generally fall outside an estate for the purpose of inheritance tax.

A number of firms, such as Ingenious and Oxford Capital, have launched EIS funds to capture the wider tax and investment freedoms; the trend may suggest these vehicles are seen as even more attractive as tax-mitigation strategies as the top rate of income tax - 50 per cent - is only slated to fall to 45 per cent in 2013. 

Other forces driving demand for the fund include a continuing scarcity of bank funding for unlisted companies; reduced limits on tax-free pension contributions, which has created demand for alternative tax-efficient investments and a changed perception of EIS funds from a tax year-end investment to a vehicle suitable for year-round investing, said Calculus Capital in a press release.

Calculus Capital launched the first ever approved EIS fund in 1999. It also claims to have produced one of the strongest track records in terms of consistent risk-adjusted performance. In February it was - for the second time - named EIS Fund Manager of the Year by the EIS Association and its past four funds have received the top ranking from the independent Tax Efficient Review.    

The first closing date for the Calculus Capital EIS Fund 14 is 4 October 2012. Calculus, which is already carrying out due diligence on potential investment opportunities, is seeking to raise £20 million.