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Investors: FAQs

Find answers to frequently asked questions

What is angel investing and how does it work?

An angel investor is someone who invests their own money in a small business in exchange for a minority share (equity stake). Angel investors provide vital capital for early-stage businesses to help them grow and fulfil their potential.    

Angel investing, however, is about more than just money. Often angel investors will also offer guidance to a business they invest in as the investor’s experience, knowledge, skills and contacts can be extremely valuable to a startup business. Through angel networks like OION, investors gain access to pre-vetted startups with high growth potential.  

To be an angel investor in the UK, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 requires investors to be self-certified as Sophisticated Investors or High Net Worth Individuals.

To self-certify as a high-net-worth individual (HNWI), you either need to:

  • have an annual income in excess of £100K or
  • have net assets in excess of £250K beyond your pension fund assets and your private residence.

To be a certified sophisticated investor, you need to confirm one of the following:

  • You have been a director of a company turning over at least £1 million within the last two years
  • You have made more than one investment in an unlisted company in the last two years
  • You have been a member of a network or syndicate of business angels for at least six months
  • You have worked in the past two years in a professional capacity in the private equity sector or in the provision of finance for small and medium enterprises

You can find and complete self-certification statements in the resources section on our OION angel network page and our EIS Fund page.

To become an angel investor in the UK, you can start by joining a reputable angel investment network like Oxford Innovation Finance’s OION network, where you’ll gain access to curated investment opportunities. Before making your first investment, it is worth spending some time talking to other investors in the network, observing pitch events, thinking about your interests and risk appetite.

Angel investments vary depending on the investor’s experience and risk appetite, and the investment opportunity itself. Co-investment with other angels is common, allowing investors to diversify their portfolios.

Angel investors who pay tax in the UK can access the government’s tax relief schemes including EIS and SEIS. The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) offers significant tax advantages to UK investors who back early-stage companies that qualify for EIS. EIS makes investing in startups more attractive by reducing risk and enhancing returns. Benefits include:

  • Up to 30% income tax relief on investments up to £1 million per year (or £2m if investing in knowledge-intensive businesses)
  • Capital Gains Tax exemption on profits from EIS shares
  • Loss relief if the investment doesn’t succeed.

The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) both offer investors tax relief benefits. The main difference is that SEIS is targeted at start-ups (e.g. fewer than 25 employees and trading for less than two years), while EIS can be used for slightly larger businesses (e.g. fewer than 250 employees and trading less than 7 years or 10 years for knowledge-intensive businesses). SEIS offers 50% income tax relief on investments up to £100,000, while EIS offers up to 30% tax relief on investments up to £1m per year (or £2m if investing in knowledge-intensive businesses).

The majority of the businesses presented by Oxford Innovation Finance are EIS or SEIS eligible, meaning your investment may qualify for generous UK tax reliefs. Eligibility depends on the company’s age, size, and sector.

Joining our angel investment network is straightforward. We welcome enquiries from experienced investors and those exploring angel investing for the first time. Simply complete our online Investor Registration form and one of our team will contact you to arrange a time to speak to you.

Our investment community has invested money and time in some of the UK’s most promising science and technology businesses over the last 30 years. Early-stage companies that are not just operating in, but in many cases transforming, sectors and technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cleantech, robotics, Deeptech, Medtech, life sciences, biotechnology, space, Edtech, Fintech, Proptech, manufacturing, logistics and agriculture. View our full portfolio of companies here.

With one of the largest and most active angel networks in the UK, Oxford Innovation Finance is a proud signatory of the Investing in Women Code and has helped a diverse range of female-led businesses across the country to secure investment. Recent examples include Albotherm, Learning with Experts, FA Bio and StudyHall to name just a few.

Companies are carefully selected and vetted by our highly experienced team of experts. Our criteria for selecting companies includes:

  • high growth potential with a scalable business model
  • a credible and committed management team/founders
  • clear market for product/service with a sustainable competitive advantage
  • barrier to entry/niche in market
  • knowledge of market
  • seeking between £100,000 – £2,000,000
  • a well-thought-out growth strategy with potential for exit.

All the current investment opportunities available through our OION angel network can be viewed in our online investor portal. Simply login now if you are already a member or apply to join OION to access all the latest opportunities.

Yes, Dealum is our software partner for our online investor portal. Our investor portal provides our investor members with access to current investment opportunities and detailed company profiles as well as facilitating engagement with other investors to discuss opportunities and share due diligence.  

At Oxford Innovation Finance, we have over 30 years experience of working with investors. As such, we have established strong links with professional services providers, such as accountants, solicitors and banks. We can help investors select an appropriate professional to assist them with the funding process and business development issues. Where specialist technology advice is sought, we can also provide details of contacts at leading research and high education institutions.

An EIS fund is a fund which is used to invest in EIS-eligible companies. EIS is a tax initiative that incentivises private investors to support UK innovation and stimulate the growth of the economy by providing tax relief for investors who invest in young, medium-sized and high-risk companies.

The Oxford Innovation EIS Growth Fund is managed by Oxford Innovation Finance and offers investors an opportunity to invest in high-growth science and technology companies. The Fund provides each investor with a diversified portfolio of 6-12 companies with the potential to achieve significant tax-free capital gains. Each company is carefully selected by a diverse and highly experienced investment committee. In 2025, Oxford Innovation Finance was highly commended in the Best New Fund Manager category at the EISA Awards.

To invest in the Oxford Innovation EIS Growth Fund, simply register your interest to access our current EIS Fund Documents. On registering you’ll be sent a link to download the documents. After 24 hours, our team will then contact you to discuss the application process.

With a network of over 700 investors, we are proud to have a diverse membership in terms of backgrounds, industries, gender, age and location. Having investors from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences is an asset as they bring different perspectives, skills and insights to both the businesses they invest in and their fellow angel investors in the network.