About Us
CSS Partners LLP is an appointed representative of Charles Street Securities Europe LLP (CSS) which was founded in 1984.
CSS is a privately owned investment management and corporate finance organisation authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
In 2001, the private client business was established with the express intention of opening up the world of investing in early stage companies, which has historically been the domain of institutions and angel investors, to the private client.
Traditionally, private clients were only able to look at companies for investment when they reached the listing stage (generally through an initial public offering). Typically, long before going public, most private companies will have received expansion capital through various sources including banks, fund managers, venture capitalists etc. Involvement at these private rounds of financing often offers the highest risk/return on investment.
It is this area of investment that CSS Partners now makes available to private investors.
Investment in private companies presents a high risk speculation with the potential for large capital gains on successful investments.
In many cases this type of investment also enjoys significant tax breaks and many of our companies will qualify under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). The level of tax treatment depends on your individual circumstance. Tax breaks exist under current legislation and are subject to change.
We believe that our process of company screening, evaluation and subsequent company monitoring goes a long way to manage the risks which this area of the investment market entails. We generally also offer investments individually and not through a fund which allows our clients to make an independent assessment of each recommendation prior to actually investing.
We structure our investing process to take an equity stake in each company we recommend. This aligns our interests with investors’ interests and ensures our continuing commitment to work with the companies we finance. This differentiates us from investment brokers whose interest in the investment is substantially diminished at the completion of the funding. After the expansion capital has been raised, we continue to work closely and proactively with each company endeavouring to ensure that they progress their business plans.
For further background on our full investment process from the time of our first contact with a prospective company to the time an individual client makes an investment please see the section entitled Investing.
We hope you decide that our service can be of interest, and look forward to hearing from you.
Name & Registered Office:
CSS Partners LLP, Apex House, 18-20 Appold Street, London, EC2A 2AS.
Company No. OC311440