The Corporate Venturing site hopes to make it possible for small
businesses to gain management expertise from big companies; to
enable small firms to get access to R&D facilities and
financial support; and to allow large companies to benefit from an
equity stake or co-ownership of intellectual property.
Small Business Minister Nigel Griffiths said:
"Small businesses are able to tap into the
expertise of their bigger counterparts and reap the benefits of
established facilities, while large companies will be able to
benefit from the well-known dynamism and risk-taking potential of
the UK's small business sector.
"The Government has already provided tax
relief through the Corporate Venturing Scheme for large firms to
invest in smaller higher risk companies, so I am delighted to be
able to formally launch this complementary initiative and
demonstrate the DTI's support for Corporate Venturing UK."
Under the Corporate Venturing Scheme, companies can obtain
corporation tax relief at 20% on amounts invested in smaller
companies for at least 3 years, can defer tax on any gain made on
corporate venturing investments which are reinvested in another
shareholding under the Scheme, and can claim relief against income
for capital losses (net of corporation tax relief) on disposals of
shares.
The DTI is providing £1.5 million over three years for the
National Business Angels Network to operate Corporate Venturing
UK.
See: www.corporateventuringuk.org
