- Ascension Syndicate Female Founders Event
- Unlocking Tax Planning Strategies: our COO on the EIS Navigator Podcast
- Ascension’s EIS Funds are now open for Investment
- Ascension Invests in ComplyStream: Our 5th SEIS Fund Investment
- Ascension Team at the Baltic Ventures Demo Day
- Ascension’s Finance Director, Keir’s Top Tips for Founders
- Junior VC Networking Drinks Invite
- Portfolio News
Ascension Syndicate Female Founders Event
We’re thrilled to share highlights from our recent Ascension Syndicate – Female Founders event, where innovation took centre stage. A big thank you to everyone who attended and made the evening a success. The event featured incredible founders showcasing their work across diverse sectors
- Dr Amber Hill (CEO, R.grid) – transforming clinical trials by cutting costs and reducing administrative burdens, making research more accessible and inclusive
- Dr Claire Trant (CEO and Founder of Untap Health) – revolutionising public health monitoring with real-time, automated biomarker detection in wastewater
- Dr Francesca Cordeiro (Founder of Novai) – fighting blindness with cutting-edge early detection and intervention technologies for eye and brain diseases
- Ciara Flannery (Co-founder of Enough Energy) – driving the future of energy storage with cost-effective solutions, enabling EV operators to charge anywhere, anytime
- Frederico Baumhardt (CEO and Co-founder of Finxone) – empowering users to create fintech apps effortlessly with an intelligent app-building platform that simplifies and reduces costs
The Ascension Syndicate enables angel investors and family offices to co-invest alongside Ascension in carefully selected high-potential businesses. Our tailored deal-flow aligns with each investor’s preferences, considering sector, growth stage, traction, and tax structures.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Ascension Syndicate or joining our next event, please connect with us at investors@ascension.vc. Also, please share your deal-flow with us, as we have a number of funds actively deploying.
Unlocking Tax Planning Strategies: our COO on the EIS Navigator Podcast
Rakesh Murria, joined Brian Moretta on his EIS Navigator podcast to discuss how tax-advantaged products can deliver significant benefits for investors. Here’s what they covered:
- The tax reliefs for EIS, SEIS, and VCTs
- Strategies for pension assets earmarked for inheritance
- How to mitigate CGT on carried interest (even when changes occur)
- The power of Business Investment Relief
- How EIS is an alternative to AIM for IHT relief
If you’re looking for actionable insights into tax planning, this episode is for you.
Ascension’s EIS Funds are now open for investment
If you’re interested in exploring tax-efficient investment opportunities, Ascension offers the following EIS funds:
Ascension Carry Back EIS Fund
This fund is tailored for investors and advisers looking to utilise ‘carry back’ relief to the 2023-24 tax year by this April, while building a diversified portfolio. Each year, the fund co-invests in six to eight EIS-qualifying businesses, working alongside other Ascension-managed funds to identify high-potential opportunities.
Ascension Knowledge Intensive EIS Fund
This fund focuses on building a portfolio of around ten knowledge-intensive, EIS-qualifying businesses. As a co-investment vehicle, it partners with top-tier institutional VCs to back high-potential ventures. To simplify administration, investors receive a single tax certificate once their funds are fully deployed, rather than multiple individual certificates. EIS income tax relief is anchored in the 24/25 tax year, also allowing carry back to the prior tax year.
Ascension EIS Fund
Targeting technology companies at the pre-Series A stage, the Ascension EIS Fund bridges the equity gap between Seed (SEIS rounds) and Series A (institutional rounds), a stage we call ‘late Seed.’ This fund is ideal for investors seeking exposure to high-growth tech opportunities.
Ascension Invests in ComplyStream: our 5th SEIS Fund Investment
We are excited to announce our investment in ComplyStream, which is redefining FinCrime operations for financial institutions by addressing problems associated with fragmented tools, false positives, and delayed investigations. To find out more about the business and why we invested, please read our blog here.
Ascension Team at the Baltic Ventures Demo Day
Jean, Ascension’s Managing Partner, and Toyosi, Ascension’s Principal (pictured below), attended the Baltic Ventures Demo Day in Liverpool. The event marked the culmination of the Baltic Ventures Accelerator programme, providing participating companies with the opportunity to showcase their businesses to a diverse audience of hundreds, including investors, ecosystem partners, founders, and supporters.
Jean participated in a panel discussion, sharing valuable insights on what defines a “strong” founding team. He highlighted the key personal characteristics and traits they look for in founders and offered practical advice on crafting effective fundraising and outreach strategies.
Ascension’s Finance Director, Keir’s Top Tips for Founders
Raising external capital can be a minefield and financial missteps could cost you a deal. To find out how to best navigate this, read Keir’s blog post here.
Junior VC Networking Drinks Invite
Join Antler for the second Junior VC Drinks event (Central London), hosted in collaboration with Ascension, Sure Valley Ventures, and Love Ventures. This is a fantastic opportunity for junior VCs to network, connect, and share insights within the industry. Sign up here.
When: 17th February 2025
What: Casual drinks and chance to connect
Portfolio News
- Runa named by the Business Insider as one of ‘The 30 early-stage startups in 2025 most likely to become tech’s next unicorns’
- Six Ascension Portfolio companies listed as ‘2025 Startups 100: UK’s Best New Startups Revealed’
- Tembo launches its Cash ISA with a 4.8% interest rate
- Hurr launch Burberry Rental
- Emergent Energy launches in Hackney Council
- The AWS Health Innovation Podcast explores how Eolas Medical’s platform revolutionises medical knowledge management