How to raise a pre-seed round in the UK

Decide whether you need to raise

Outside money buys speed. If customers can fund the next 12 months, you keep control and every later round gets easier. If the market is moving and you need to hire ahead of revenue, raising makes sense.

Write down what the money is for, what it gets you to, and what you'd do if you didn't raise. Investors will ask all three.

Set the size of the round

Work back from the milestone. Cost out 15 to 18 months of runway to reach something an investor at the next stage would pay for: paying customers, a repeatable sales motion or a working product with usage.

For context, the British Business Bank's 2026 equity tracker put the median UK seed deal in 2025 at £0.6m. Most pre-seed rounds are smaller than that.

Get SEIS advance assurance early

Most UK angels expect SEIS or EIS. SEIS gives your investors 50% income tax relief on up to £250k raised by your company in total. Apply for HMRC advance assurance before you start meetings. It can take several weeks, and investors will ask whether you have it.

Build a list of investors who actually fit

The biggest waste in a first raise is pitching people who don't do your stage, sector or cheque size. Start with investors who have done a deal like yours in the last 12 months. Angels, angel networks and pre-seed funds are the main sources at this stage.

Rank them. Put your 20 best fits in a first wave, hold the rest back, and learn from the first conversations before you go wide.

Run a short, tight process

Warm introductions convert best, so check who in your network knows each investor. For the rest, a short personal email that shows why you picked them works better than a deck attachment.

Book first meetings within a two or three week window. Momentum matters: investors move faster when they know others are looking.

Close

Most UK pre-seed rounds use either a priced round with a standard term sheet or an advance subscription agreement that converts at the next round. Get a lawyer who does startup deals, agree the terms with your lead, and set a close date so the round doesn't drift.