--- title: "Volume with discipline: how SFC Capital became the most active seed investor in the UK" description: Discover how SFC Capital became the UK's leading seed investor through a disciplined, diversified strategy and a commitment to high-quality opportunities. image: https://sfccapital.com/hubfs/01-Diversified_Portfolio.png --- Disclaimer Please note, company introductions through SFC Capital Ltd ('SFC') are only suitable for ‘High Net Worth Individuals’, or ‘Sophisticated Investors’ as defined by the Financial Services & Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) who are familiar with and willing to accept the high risk associated with private investments. Any investor requesting to contact a company through SFC Capital does so at his/her own risk and is solely responsible for conducting any legal, accounting or due diligence review. There has been no investigation to the accuracy of any information or terms contained herein and we strongly suggest that you seek advice from a person authorised under the FSMA who specialises in advising on investments of this kind prior to commencement of any potential transaction. All content provided by SFC Capital is strictly for informational purpose only and does not constitute business, financial, investment, hedging, trading, legal, regulatory, tax or accounting advice or services. SFC Capital is an appointed representative of SFC Capital Partners Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) in the United Kingdom (FRN 736284). This website is intended for professional investors only; any reproduction of this information, in whole, or part, is prohibited. SFC Capital does not sell or offer to sell any securities and no information provided by SFC Capital is intended to constitute or to be interpreted as any such offer. SFC Capital simply provides an introductory service where potential partners of all sorts can meet. The SFC Angel Fund is managed by SFC Capital Partners Ltd (‘SFCCP’) which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, firm reference number 736284. Information on the Fund is intended for professional investors only; any reproduction of this information, in whole, or part, is prohibited. The content is for information purposes only and should not be used or considered as an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell the securities mentioned herein. The SFC Angel Fund (the ‘SFC Fund’ or the ‘Fund’) is defined as an ‘unregulated collective investment scheme’ (‘UCIS’) and the promotion of a UCIS either within the UK or from the UK is severely restricted by statute. Consequently, this document is only directed at professional clients and eligible counterparties as defined by the FCA and also to persons of a kind to whom the Fund may lawfully be promoted by an authorised person by virtue of Section 238(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and COBS 4.12.4R. Any decision by an investor to buy shares in a fund must be made solely on the basis of the information and terms contained within the Fund’s offering memorandum. Investment in the Fund is made entirely at the investor’s own risk and professional advice should be sought in case of doubt. SFC Capital Partners Ltd (‘SFC’) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) in the United Kingdom, firm reference number 736284. This document is intended for professional investors only; any reproduction of this information, in whole, or part, is prohibited. The content is for information purposes only and should not be used or considered as an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell the securities mentioned herein. The SFC Angel Fund (the ‘SFC Fund’ or the ‘Fund’) is defined as an ‘unregulated collective investment scheme’ (‘UCIS’) and the promotion of a UCIS either within the UK or from the UK is severely restricted by statute. Consequently, this document is only directed at professional clients and eligible counterparties as defined by the FCA and also to persons of a kind to whom the Fund may lawfully be promoted by an authorised person by virtue of Section 238(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and COBS 4.12.4R. The SFC Angel Fund is managed by SFC Capital Partners Ltd (‘SFCCP’) which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, firm reference number 736284. Information on the Fund is intended for professional investors only; any reproduction of this information, in whole, or part, is prohibited. The content is for information purposes only and should not be used or considered as an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell the securities mentioned herein. The SFC Angel Fund (the ‘SFC Fund’ or the ‘Fund’) is defined as an ‘unregulated collective investment scheme’ (‘UCIS’) and the promotion of a UCIS either within the UK or from the UK is severely restricted by statute. Consequently, this document is only directed at professional clients and eligible counterparties as defined by the FCA and also to persons of a kind to whom the Fund may lawfully be promoted by an authorised person by virtue of Section 238(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and COBS 4.12.4R. Any decision by an investor to buy shares in a fund must be made solely on the basis of the information and terms contained within the Fund’s offering memorandum. Investment in the Fund is made entirely at the investor’s own risk and professional advice should be sought in case of doubt. The SFC Angel Fund is an SEIS/EIS fund which raises money for early-stage businesses by investing in SEIS and EIS eligible ventures with the aim of returning a profit for investors in the fund. Investment in early-stage companies involves risks such as illiquidity, lack of dividends, loss of investment and dilution. Investment in SEIS/EIS funds should be considered as part of a diversified portfolio. The availability of tax relief depends on individual circumstances and may change in the future. The availability of tax relief depends on the company invested in maintaining its SEIS/EIS qualifying status. There is no assurance that the investment objectives of any investment product will be achieved or that the strategies and methods described herein will be successful. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance and the value of an investment may go down as well as up. Investors may not get back the full amount invested. No warranties or representations of any kind are expressed or implied on this website. I Accept The Terms ## FCA Mandatory Risk Warning & Risk Summary > ## Risk Warning > > **Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment, and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong.** ## Risk Summary **Estimated reading time: 2 min** Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) considers this investment to be high risk.   What are the key risks? 1\. You could lose all the money you invest. Investments made by the SFC Angel Fund SEIS (the “Fund”) will be in shares in early-stage businesses. Investors in these shares often lose 100% of the money they invested, as many early-stage businesses fail. 2\. You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker here: [https://www.fscs.org.uk/check/investment-protection-checker/](https://sfccapital.com/fca-mandatory-risk-warning-and-risk-summary/%20https://www.fscs.org.uk/check/investment-protection-checker/)    Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here: [https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers](https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers) 3\. You won’t get your money back quickly Even if the businesses the Fund invests your money in are successful, it may take several years to get your money back. The most likely way to get your money back is if the businesses invested in by the Fund are bought by another business or list their shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange. These events are not common. 4\. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.  A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments.  [https://www.fca.org.uk/investsmart/5-questions-ask-you-invest](https://www.fca.org.uk/investsmart/5-questions-ask-you-invest) 5\. The value of your investment can be reduced The percentage of each investee company that the Fund owns will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment in each investee company reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares.  These new shares could have additional rights that your shares don’t have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment. 6\. S/EIS tax reliefs are not guaranteed Whilst it is the Fund's intention to invest mostly in companies qualifying under SEIS legislation, SFC cannot guarantee that all investments will qualify for S/EIS relief (or IHT relief) or, indeed, if they do initially, that they will continue to do so throughout the life of the investment. The tax advantages of investing through the Fund are therefore not guaranteed.  If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA’s website here: [https://www.fca.org.uk/investsmart](https://www.fca.org.uk/investsmart)  Close Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 minutes to learn more. [![SFC Logo + Title x web](https://sfccapital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SFC%20Logo%20+%20Title%20x%20web.png?width=2000&name=SFC%20Logo%20+%20Title%20x%20web.png)](https://sfccapital.com) - [Startups](https://sfccapital.com/raise) - Investors - [SEIS Fund](https://sfccapital.com/seis-funds) - [EIS Fund](https://sfccapital.com/eis-funds) - [SEIS Explained](https://sfccapital.com/seis-explained) - [EIS Explained](https://sfccapital.com/eis-explained) - [Angel House](https://sfccapital.com/angel-house) - [Advisors](https://sfccapital.com/advisors) - [Portfolio](https://portal.sfccapital.com/portfolio) - [About Us](https://sfccapital.com/about-us) - [Blog](https://sfccapital.com/blog) - [Login](https://portal.sfccapital.com/login) # Volume with discipline: how SFC Capital became the most active seed investor in the UK [Joseph Zipfel, Chief Investment Officer](https://sfccapital.com/blog/author/joseph-zipfel-chief-investment-officer) With a background in investment banking and a Master's from ESCP Europe, Joseph manages SFC Capital's investments, investor relations, and portfolio company fundraising strategies since 2014. 14 Jul 2026 ##### Share on - - - SFC Capital has for several years now been the most active venture capital fund in the UK. According to Pitchbook Data, SFC made 106 investments in 2025 – that’s 38 more than the second fund on the list (Haatch) and 63 more than the third (Fuel). That is not accidental. It is the result of a strategy that we have developed over more than a decade based on broad diversification, disciplined deployment, deep access to high-quality opportunities, and the operational ability to execute at scale. ##### **The constraint that shaped our strategy** Our strategy was built around one of the main constraints of SEIS investing: the £250,000 limit on how much a company can raise under SEIS. For us, that meant that we had to design a strategy that allowed us to deploy this limited ticket across a large number of companies. That constraint turned out to be a blessing, as it forced us to build a model based on diversification: diversification by number of companies, sectors, regions and founder profiles. At the earliest stages, where failure rates are high but potential upside from winners is very significant, a high level of diversification is essential to manage risk and improve the probability of long-term returns. Of course this is true across many different asset classes, but it is particularly crucial in early-stage investments which follow a power-law where typically a relatively small proportion of investments will generate the majority of returns, while many others will fail or produce more modest outcomes. This is why each tranche of our pre-seed SEIS fund typically includes around 15-20 companies. We see this as the right balance: concentrated enough that successful companies can make a meaningful impact, but diversified enough to give us a decent probability of backing several strong performers. As we tend to close five SEIS tranches of 15+ companies per year, in addition to c. 20 EIS fund follow-on investments, we easily end the year with more than 100 investments in total. A portfolio of only a handful of seed-stage companies can be highly dependent on one or two outcomes. That may work occasionally, but we do not think it is the right strategy for most investors at this stage. Early-stage investing is inherently uncertain. Even experienced investors cannot reliably predict, at the point of first investment, exactly which companies will become the biggest winners. We have learnt this from experience: in the early years of SFC, our portfolios were much smaller and concentrated, which meant that they were highly dependent on one or two outcomes and that there was a huge variance between vintages. For example, our Fintech SEIS Fund 2016 returned several times its invested capital to investors - thanks mostly to the partial exit of our investment in Cognism - and remains our most successful SEIS fund to date. However, the tranche that immediately followed it (SFC SEIS 2017 I) is performing below target with no exits to date. This is why we now pay much more attention to portfolio size to increase the chances of capturing the outliers consistently, across all of our funds. ##### **Diversification means more than doing more deals** But volume alone is not enough. The quality and the diversity of that volume matters just as much. The UK has one of the richest innovation ecosystems in the world, with strengths spread across several sectors. Life sciences benefits from world-class universities, B2B software and AI are being driven by deep technical talent and the presence of tech giants and enterprise customers. Fintech benefits from the UK’s long tradition in financial services combined with a sophisticated regulatory environment and a strong technology base. Consumer innovation continues to draw on the UK’s history of building major brands with international presence. Doing the kind of volume that we do at SFC would be absolutely impossible if we restricted ourselves to a single sector. But I would argue that it would also be a great missed opportunity to get exposure to all these different innovation trends that the UK is producing. No one can know in advance which themes will create the most value over the next decade. Some will be transformative. Some will disappoint. Some will become overfunded. Others will quietly produce exceptional companies before they are widely recognised. That is why sector diversification is central to our approach. We want exposure to the major themes shaping the innovation economy, but we do not want to be overexposed to any single one of them. The current wave of AI companies is a good example. AI will undoubtedly create enormous value, but it may also create inflated valuations and crowded markets, with huge question marks about long term return potential for investors. If seed-stage AI valuations are 50-100% higher than in other sectors, will exit valuations follow? A diversified strategy allows us to participate in the upside without going all-in on one particular theme. ##### **Volume without access is meaningless** Doing a large number of deals is not, by itself, a strategy. Poor-quality volume would simply create a large portfolio of poor-performing investments. Successful seed investing requires volume AND access. I have reviewed the approach of dozens of successful seed funds and angel investors across the world. The strategies and profiles can differ widely, but they usually show the same underlying picture: a unique dealflow combined with a large volume of bets (at least 50 portfolio companies, often hundreds). That means that the best opportunities need to reach you, and in good numbers. SFC has built partnerships across the UK startup ecosystem: with universities, public bodies such as Innovate UK and the British Business Bank, accelerator programmes, specialist incubators, angel investors and other early-stage investors. These organisations trust SFC’s ability to move quickly, add value and behave consistently. These relationships give us access to a very large pipeline of opportunities. Today, we review more than 3,000 opportunities a year, many of which are already qualified by the time they reach us. That means that we only invest in the top 5% of opportunities that come to us \[1\]. High volume certainly doesn’t mean to “spray and pray”. That level of access is critical. It allows us to be selective while still deploying at significant scale. ##### **Turning volume into an execution advantage** The final piece of the strategy is execution. Many investors say they want more diversification. Far fewer have the operations, discipline and team culture required to make a high volume of investments properly. At SFC, we are able to execute this strategy for two main reasons. The first is work ethic. Our team is consistently active throughout the year. We meet founders, review opportunities and progress investments even during quieter periods such as summer and Christmas. Early-stage investing does not happen in neat cycles. The best founders do not always raise money when it is convenient. If you want access to the best companies, you have to be present consistently. The second is standardisation. We have developed a clear and repeatable investment process. While every company is different, many of the key factors that determine success or failure are surprisingly consistent across sectors: the quality of the founding team and dynamics between the founders, the incentives within the company, the ability to commercialise innovation, focus, resilience, capital efficiency, and the scale of the market opportunity. Where deep sector expertise is required, we bring it in through our network. That may include technical validation from organisations such as Innovate UK, insight from specialist investors, or input from sector experts. But the core investment criteria remain consistent, whether we are looking at a Consumer Goods brand or a Life Science company. We have also standardised our terms. We do not reinvent the process for every investment. Our documentation, structures and preferred terms are designed to be efficient, transparent and repeatable, with sensible variation where appropriate, particularly around valuation, round size and exit potential. That standardisation allows us to move quickly without losing discipline. Put together, these elements have allowed SFC to build what we believe is the largest portfolio of startup investments ever assembled by a private fund in the UK. ##### **Volume with returns in mind** But the objective has never been volume for its own sake. Our mission is to generate strong returns for our investors. Our view is that, at seed stage, this requires exposure to enough companies, across many sectors, sourced from a high-quality pipeline, and selected through a disciplined and repeatable process. That is the foundation of our investment strategy and it is why our performance has compared strongly against the wider UK venture capital market. Based on our comparison with British Business Bank’s report on UK VC returns, our performance track record is currently ahead of the industry benchmark. \[2\] Deployment is only the first part of the story. The next question is how those returns are generated: how we identify the companies with the potential to become outliers and how we support them after investment. That will be the subject of upcoming articles. Capital at risk. --- \[1\] Based on 2,321 applications reviewed between 01/01/2025 and 31/12/2025 \[2\] Source: British Business Bank, UK Venture Capital Financial Returns December 2025, Median UK VC TVPI of 1.54x in 2014-19 (vs. 2.19x for SFC) and 1.22x for 2020-23 (vs. 1.86x for SFC). ## Related Articles 11 Feb 2026 ##### [The SEIS Risk Profile: Ten Years of Improvement](https://sfccapital.com/blog/seis-risk-profile) When the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) was introduced over a decade ago, investors viewed... [Read More](https://sfccapital.com/blog/seis-risk-profile) 29 Oct 2025 ##### [The Inside Track: Why Long-Term Investors See What Others Don’t](https://sfccapital.com/blog/inside-track) In early-stage investing, insight and access are everything. [Read More](https://sfccapital.com/blog/inside-track) 14 Sep 2023 ##### [Startup Stories: Halocycle](https://sfccapital.com/blog/startup-stories-halocycle) Recycling the unrecyclable: Halocycle vs. the plastic waste problem Halocycle is leading the charge ... [Read More](https://sfccapital.com/blog/startup-stories-halocycle) [![SFC Logo + Title x web (white)](https://sfccapital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SFC%20Logo%20+%20Title%20x%20web%20(white).png?width=2000&height=318&name=SFC%20Logo%20+%20Title%20x%20web%20(white).png)](https://sfccapital.com) - [Startups](https://sfccapital.com/raise) - [About Us](https://sfccapital.com/about-us) - [Blog](https://sfccapital.com/blog) - [Terms of Use](https://sfccapital.com/terms) - [Press](https://sfccapital.com/press) - [EIS Fund](https://sfccapital.com/eis-funds) - [SEIS Fund](https://sfccapital.com/seis-funds) - [SEIS Explained](https://sfccapital.com/seis-explained) - [EIS Explained](https://sfccapital.com/eis-explained) - [Advisors](https://sfccapital.com/advisors) - [Anti-Slavery Policy](https://sfccapital.com/anti-slavery-policy-statement) - [Privacy Policy](https://sfccapital.com/privacy) - [ESG Statement](https://sfccapital.com/esg-statement) - [Complaints Policy](https://sfccapital.com/complaints-procedure) - [FAQ's](https://sfccapital.com/faq) - - - [Login](https://portal.sfccapital.com/login) #### Partners: [![mayor of london logo](https://sfccapital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/mayor%20of%20london.png?width=564&height=247&name=mayor%20of%20london.png)](https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/shaping-local-places/funding-opportunities/london-co-investment-fund-lcif) [![london coinvestment fund logo](https://sfccapital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SFC_Capital_Theme/Image/london%20coinvestment%20fund.png?width=564&height=247&name=london%20coinvestment%20fund.png)](https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/shaping-local-places/funding-opportunities/london-co-investment-fund-lcif) [![smb logo](https://sfccapital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SFC_Capital_Theme/Image/smb.png?width=564&height=247&name=smb.png)](https://www.smb.london/) [![Young talent logo](https://sfccapital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SFC_Capital_Theme/Image/Young%20talent%20(1).png?width=600&height=296&name=Young%20talent%20(1).png)](https://yourtalentsolutions.co.uk/) [![eisa logo](https://sfccapital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/eisa.png?width=564&height=247&name=eisa.png)](https://www.eisa.org.uk/) [![Bennet brooks logo](https://sfccapital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SFC_Capital_Theme/Image/Bennet%20brooks.png?width=564&height=272&name=Bennet%20brooks.png)](http://www.bennettbrooks.co.uk/) [![SFC Web - HP - Partner Logos - British Business Bank (BBB BBI) (white; 104 x 50px)](https://sfccapital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SFC%20Web%20-%20HP%20-%20Partner%20Logos%20-%20British%20Business%20Bank%20(BBB%20BBI)%20(white%3B%20104%20x%2050px).webp?width=520&height=250&name=SFC%20Web%20-%20HP%20-%20Partner%20Logos%20-%20British%20Business%20Bank%20(BBB%20BBI)%20(white%3B%20104%20x%2050px).webp)](https://www.bbinv.co.uk/) [![ukri - innovate uk logo](https://sfccapital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SFC_Capital_Theme/Image/ukri%20-%20innovate%20uk.png?width=564&height=248&name=ukri%20-%20innovate%20uk.png)](https://www.ukri.org/councils/innovate-uk/) [![investing in women code logo](https://sfccapital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SFC_Capital_Theme/Image/investing%20in%20women%20code.png?width=564&height=248&name=investing%20in%20women%20code.png)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/investing-in-women-code) [![uk business angels logo](https://sfccapital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SFC_Capital_Theme/Image/uk%20business%20angels.png?width=564&height=247&name=uk%20business%20angels.png)](https://www.ukbaa.org.uk/) [![SFC Web - HP - Partner Logo (white; 104 x 50px) - Home Grown](https://sfccapital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SFC%20Web%20-%20HP%20-%20Partner%20Logo%20(white%3B%20104%20x%2050px)%20-%20Home%20Grown.webp?width=520&height=250&name=SFC%20Web%20-%20HP%20-%20Partner%20Logo%20(white%3B%20104%20x%2050px)%20-%20Home%20Grown.webp)](https://homegrownclub.co.uk/) [![SFC Web - HP - Partner Logo (white; 104 x 50px) - Markel](https://sfccapital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SFC%20Web%20-%20HP%20-%20Partner%20Logo%20(white%3B%20104%20x%2050px)%20-%20Markel.webp?width=520&height=250&name=SFC%20Web%20-%20HP%20-%20Partner%20Logo%20(white%3B%20104%20x%2050px)%20-%20Markel.webp)](http://www.markelinternational.com/) DISCLAIMER: SFC Capital Ltd (SFC) is an appointed representative of SFC Capital Partners Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) in the United Kingdom (FRN 736284). This website is intended for  professional investors, high net worth investor or certified sophisticated investors only for the purposes of the FCA's Conduct of Business Sourcebook.; any reproduction of this information, in whole, or part, is prohibited. The content is for information purposes only and should not be used or considered as an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any securities. Investment in early-stage companies involves risks such as illiquidity, lack of dividends, loss of investment and dilution. Investment in SEIS/EIS eligible companies should be considered as part of a diversified portfolio. The availability of tax relief depends on individual circumstances and may change in the future. The availability of tax relief depends on the company invested in maintaining its SEIS/EIS qualifying status. There is no assurance that the investment objectives of any investment opportunity will be achieved or that the strategies and methods described herein will be successful. The investment products cited herein may place capital at risk and therefore investors may not get back the full amount invested. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance and the value of an investment may go down as well as up. Investors may not get back the full amount invested. Companies’ pitches for investment are not offers to the public and investments can only be made by members of SFC Capital. SFC Capital takes no responsibility for this information or for any recommendations or opinions made by the companies. Neither SFC Capital nor any of its employees provide any financial or tax advice in relation to the investments and investors are recommended to seek independent financial and tax advice before committing. This website is not directed at or intended for publication or distribution to any person (natural or legal) in any jurisdiction where doing so would result in contravention of any applicable laws or regulations. No warranties or representations of any kind are expressed or implied herein. This material is confidential and is the property of SFC Capital. © SFC Capital - 2026 ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Joseph Zipfel, Chief Investment Officer", "url" : "https://sfccapital.com/blog/author/joseph-zipfel-chief-investment-officer" }, "dateModified" : "2026-07-14T15:51:20.823Z", "datePublished" : "2026-07-14T15:51:20.000Z", "headline" : "Volume with discipline: how SFC Capital became the most active seed investor in the UK", "image" : [ "https://sfccapital.com/hubfs/01-Diversified_Portfolio.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://sfccapital.com/blog/volume-with-discipline", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" }, "name" : "SFC Capital" } } ```