With the end of enterprise investment scheme investment in renewable energy, ships are the way forward, attendees at an FTAdviser Tax Efficient Investing event were told today (20 January).
Henny Dovland, business development manager at Time Investments, said shipping is an asset-backed, qualifying trade, which fits into the new regulatory capacity restriction of £5m.
She said shipping has always been a qualifying trade, being a non-contentious trading model, a genuine portfolio diversifier and simple to understand.
Ms Dovland said Handymax or Supramax vessels can be bought “very comfortably” within the £5m capacity for EIS companies, according to Ms Dovland, with investors currently being paid around $7,000 (£4,900) for use of their vessel, with operating costs around $5,000 (£3,500) per day.
She said: “A sea-borne trade is very much expected to grow and double over the next 15 years. There will continue to be growth and even though China perhaps is a scary story, it’s still growing at 6.9 per cent a year.”
Steve Mufti, chartered financial planner at SMA in Berkshire, said he could see the merit of such a proposition.
He said: “It gives you an opportunity to benefit from tax relief and is an attractive proposition.
“It could be a timely investment. I do EIS for clients and we are looking for new opportunities.”
