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Who actually writes the first cheque in the UK?

Twelve UK and European funds that back founders before there is a product, a customer or a penny of revenue.

Will BryantLast verified 30 July 2026

Every figure below came off the fund’s own website on 30 July 2026, and where a fund does not publish a number, this guide says so rather than inventing one.

Lists like this go stale. Funds close, partners move, cheque sizes reset with every new fund. So the whole thing gets reviewed in January 2027, and if you are reading it after that, treat it as a starting point and confirm before you send anything.

What a first cheque actually means

It means the fund is comfortable being the first institutional money in, which is a different thing from being early. Plenty of firms describe themselves as early-stage and then only move once you have revenue and a warm introduction from a founder they already backed. The funds below either say in their own words that they invest pre-product, or they run a programme that hands you money before the company exists.

Two things worth knowing before you start. The first is that cheque size and round size are not the same number, and a fund that says it writes 250,000 pounds is not offering to fill a 250,000 pound round on its own. The second is that warm still beats cold, every time, and a list is the last resort rather than the first move. I have written about how to find investors separately and that ordering has not changed.

Before you have an idea or a co-founder

Two programmes back people rather than companies. You apply as an individual, and the money comes before the company exists.

  • Entrepreneur First

    London, San Francisco and BangaloreEquity-free grant, then up to $250k

    You get an equity-free grant during the ideation phase, then up to $250,000 once a company is formed, with up to $5m available in later rounds and support through to Series B. You do not need an idea and you do not need a co-founder, because working out which idea to pursue and matching you with someone to build it with is the actual product. Open application.

    joinef.com

  • Antler

    London, plus 26 locations worldwide£210k at inception

    The terms are unusually specific for this end of the market, which is a point in their favour. You get 210,000 pounds at inception, made up of 125,000 pounds for 8.5 percent equity and an 85,000 pound convertible note, less a 40,000 pound programme fee. If you go on to raise 1.5m or more at pre-seed they will put in up to 330,000 pounds more, or up to 165,000 pounds below that threshold, and there is up to 25m available further down the line through Antler Elevate. Antler says plainly that it backs founders at inception, often before there is a team, product or revenue. It runs as a cohort residency in London, so check the current dates because they move.

    antler.co

The first institutional cheque

Funds that lead a round when there is no product and no revenue, and that say so themselves.

  • Concept Ventures

    LondonUp to $1.5m in first rounds

    Up to $1.5m in first rounds, from an 88m euro fund. Their own line is that you just need a concept and the conviction to chase it, which is about as clear a statement of intent as this market produces. There are direct routes on the site for first-time and repeat founders.

    concept.vc

  • Playfair

    London, investing across the UK and Europe£100k to £1.5m

    From 100,000 pounds for angel rounds up to 1.5m for the largest pre-seed rounds, out of a $70m third fund. Pre-seed exclusively, which is rarer than it sounds. Worth knowing that they make roughly six investments a year, so the bar is genuinely high and a scattergun approach will not work here. Chris Smith is Managing Partner, Federico Pirzio-Biroli is Founding Partner and Chairman.

    playfair.vc

  • Seedcamp

    LondonNo standard range published

    Europe's original first-cheque investor, on their own description, and they have earned the phrase. Fund VII closed at $220m in June 2026 as part of $320m raised across two vehicles. They do not publish a standard cheque range, so do not go in assuming one. Reshma Sohoni and Carlos Espinal are the managing partners.

    seedcamp.com

  • Ada Ventures

    London and Bristol£250k to £1m

    250,000 pounds to 1m in your first funding round, and they state that they invest before there are clear signs of product-market fit, which is exactly the language you want to see. There is a send-us-your-pitch form on the site alongside a sourcing network of scouts and angels, so the cold route is real rather than decorative. Check Warner and Matt Penneycard are the founding partners.

    adaventures.com

  • Episode 1

    London£250k to £3m

    250,000 pounds to 3m from a 76m pound third fund, focused on pre-seed and seed B2B software, and often the first institutional money in. You submit a deck through a form on the site, which asks for current revenue among other things, so be ready to say zero and justify it.

    episode1.com

  • firstminute capital

    London£1m to £3m

    Tickets of 1m to 3m pounds from around $500m under management, and the site says no stage is too early. Application is a Typeform.

    firstminute.capital

  • Kima Ventures

    Paris€150k one-off tickets

    The outlier on this list, in a useful way. One-off tickets of 150,000 euros, any stage, any deal size, any sector, at a rate of roughly 100 new deals a year, which is about two a week. Backed by Xavier Niel. If you want a fast yes or no from a name that carries weight in Europe, this is the one that is built for volume.

    kimaventures.com

The SEIS and EIS route

The part a US list cannot give you, and the reason a UK founder with nothing but an idea has options a founder in San Francisco does not.

  • SFC Capital

    United Kingdom, FCA regulatedReported £100k to £300k initial

    Runs the UK's leading SEIS fund plus an All-Star EIS fund for follow-on, investing in 15 to 20 companies per fund and having backed more than 500 startups since Stephen Page founded it in 2012. Reported initial cheques of 100,000 to 300,000 pounds for 10 to 20 percent, though SFC does not publish a range on its own site, so treat that as indicative rather than a quote.

    sfccapital.com

  • Haatch

    United KingdomAround £350k (SEIS), £500k (EIS)

    Writes first cheques into pre-seed B2B SaaS teams and launched the first UK SEIS fund to use the raised SEIS limits. Average cheque around 350,000 pounds from the SEIS fund and around 500,000 pounds from the EIS fund, per their published fund review. Founded by Scott Weavers-Wright and Fred Soneya. You pitch through a form on the site.

    haatch.com

  • Ascension

    London£150k to £850k per round

    150,000 to 850,000 pounds per round at pre-seed and seed, across fintech, consumer and deep tech. They commit to reviewing every application and responding within a week, which is worth something when the alternative is silence.

    ascension.vc

SEIS lets a UK company raise up to 250,000 pounds with 50 percent income tax relief for the investor, and that relief is doing enormous work. It means an investor can back an idea with no product and no revenue and still have a defensible risk position, which is precisely why these funds can move at a stage where a conventional VC cannot. If you are UK-incorporated and pre-revenue, get advance assurance from HMRC before you start raising, because it is the first thing any of them will ask about.

What is not on this list, and why

This started as twenty funds and finished as twelve, because three did not survive the check.

Cherry Ventures came off. Their own about page states cheques of 2m to 7m euros with seed as the core stage through to Series A. Third-party databases list them at 500,000 euros to 5m. When a database and the fund's own website disagree, the website wins, and a 2m minimum is not a first cheque for a pre-product founder.

7percent Ventures came off. They publish no cheque size themselves and the third-party figures conflict badly, one source saying 50,000 to 200,000 pounds and another saying $250,000 to $2m. A range that wide is not information.

Fuel Ventures came off. The same problem, no published range and no reliable primary figure.

I have left these in because the omissions tell you more about the rest of the list than the inclusions do. Any list that never drops anyone was not checked.

How to use it

Do not email all twelve. Pick the two or three where your stage, sector and geography genuinely match, read what they have actually funded, and write to them about the specific thing you are building. A fund that makes six investments a year is not going to be moved by a mass send.

And keep the ordering right. Warm introductions first, people who already use what you have built second, and this list third.

Common questions

Which UK investors will fund a startup with no product or revenue?
Several, and they say so themselves. Concept Ventures writes up to $1.5m in first rounds and says you just need a concept. Ada Ventures invests before there are clear signs of product-market fit. Entrepreneur First and Antler go earlier still and back individuals before a company exists.
What is SEIS and why does it matter at pre-seed?
SEIS lets a UK company raise up to 250,000 pounds with 50 percent income tax relief for the investor. That relief is why SEIS funds can back an idea with no product and no revenue when a conventional VC cannot. If you are UK-incorporated and pre-revenue, get advance assurance from HMRC before you start raising.
Should a UK founder approach US pre-seed funds?
Usually not as a first move. Most US pre-seed funds invest close to home, so a cold approach from the UK is a poor use of a limited number of attempts. Start with UK and European funds, and start warmer still with people who already know you.
How current is this list?
Every figure was checked against the fund's own website on 30 July 2026, and the page is reviewed again in January 2027. Funds close, partners move and cheque sizes reset with each new fund, so if you are reading this long after that date, confirm before you send anything.

Will Bryant is the founder of Impact Change. He started in fundraising and investor relations, helped build and sell a company to American Express, co-founded and exited Reztorer in 2025, and has advised more than 1,500 founders across 75 countries on pitch decks, business plans, and raising money.

Last verified 30 July 2026 · Next review January 2027

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