With one eye on the cell phone before him, Lord Flight launched into a promotion of a subject dear to his heart – investment tax credits as a means of encouraging entrepreneurship.
I had come to his home in Westminster, England to interview him, and he apologized for the distraction. There was a vote in the House of Lords on the Brexit bill, and the Lord was waiting for a summoning message to pop up on his cell phone. But while there was time, he was more than happy to discuss Britain’s Enterprise Investment Scheme, Brexit, and his own investment in a Nova Scotia company.
Howard Flight – who sat in Parliament as a Conservative MP during the Tony Blair government and was granted a peerage in 2011 – was one of the architects of the Enterprise Investment Scheme, or EIS, in 1994. It is now a pillar of the British startup scene and Flight, who is the chairman of the EIS Association, works hard to ensure no government weakens it.
“It has been responsible for raising more than £15 billion since its inception, benefitting some 3,000 companies,” he said, seated at his kitchen table. He lives a 10-minute walk from Parliament, in a row of Georgian houses whose former residents include the actor John Gielgud and soldier T.E Lawrence.
“Aside from all else, it (the EIS) has helped instill an entrepreneurial attitude in an entire generation,” he added.
How did I come to be sitting in a Lord’s kitchen, interviewing him about investment tax schemes? Before politics, Flight spent a career in finance. He is also the chairman of Flight & Partners Recovery Fund, a London-based investment group whose principals include Permjot Valia.
Valia lives in Nova Scotia, where he heads such startup-related projects as MentorCamp and the Spark rural entrepreneurship competition. It was Valia who suggested I interview Flight about his investments and the EIS.
The EIS is similar to investment tax incentives that exist in each of the Atlantic Provinces, though in some respects the British program is more generous. It grants a 35 per cent tax credit for investments of as much as £1 million ($1.7 million) and there is no capital gains tax for investors who hold their investment for more than three years.
Lord Flight says he doubts the scheme has cost the treasury any revenue because the growth of young companies more than offsets the losses suffered by granting the tax credit.
He personally has done well in a career of investments and he and Valia were happy to discuss the performance of Flight & Company, which buys and turns around distressed ventures. The fund originally held £10 million, and Valia said the value has risen 80 per cent in the past five years. The partners are now raising a new fund.
As an individual, Lord Flight has invested in Halifax-based BlueLight Analytics, whose technology ensures dentists are using the right amount of energy when curing resin in tooth fillings. It’s evidence of the diverse sources of capital that Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurs access to finance their businesses. Flight says he invested the equivalent of £100,000 in the company, and after the ups and downs expected in a startup, he is optimistic about BlueLight’s prospects.
He’s also optimistic about the outcome of the subject that has consumed British politics for the past four years – Brexit. Lord Flight was a Leaver and believes British goods and services are good enough to find markets on The Continent, especially if the currency adjusts to offset the effects of new tariffs.
“At the end of the day, they {European Union customers) will still want what we produce and we’ll be able to sell it to them,” Flight said.
After a 30-minute chat, he got the message on his phone. The 71-year-old peer was needed in Parliament. He apologized and moments later he was on his bike, peddling past John Gielgud’s house in the direction of the House of Lords.
Peter Moreira is a principal of Entrevestor, which provides news and data on Atlantic Canadian startups.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.
The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was little changed in late-morning trading as the financial sector fell, but energy and base metal stocks moved higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.05 of a point at 24,224.95.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 94.31 points at 42,417.69. The S&P 500 index was down 10.91 points at 5,781.13, while the Nasdaq composite was down 29.59 points at 18,262.03.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.71 cents US compared with 73.05 cents US on Wednesday.
The November crude oil contract was up US$1.69 at US$74.93 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was up a penny at US$2.67 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$14.70 at US$2,640.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up two cents at US$4.42 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.
