Answer
What investors check after the pitch
What do investors check after a pitch?
After a pitch, an investor or their adviser checks what you said against the records: the filed accounts and the model behind the forecast, the cap table, the contracts, who owns the intellectual property, and, for an SEIS or EIS round, whether HMRC has given advance assurance. Much of it is on public registers.
Last reviewed 7 October 2026. Written by HAM Agency.
The pitch is the part you rehearse. What follows it is reading, and the reader is looking for the place where what you said and what the records say don't match.
What they can see without asking
Some of the checking needs nothing from you.
- Companies House. Filed accounts, the confirmation statement, the officers and the people with significant control are public for every UK company. If the deck says one thing about ownership or trading history and the register says another, that's the first question.
- The trade mark register. The Intellectual Property Office's search shows whether a mark is registered or only applied for, and in whose name. "Protected" in a deck and "pending" on the register is exactly the kind of gap a reader looks for.
What they'll ask you to send
| They ask for | What they're testing |
|---|---|
| The accounts and the financial model | Whether the forecast starts from the real numbers |
| The cap table | Who owns what, and what has been promised |
| Commercial contracts | Whether "signed customers" means what it sounds like |
| Employment and contractor agreements | Whether the company owns the work its people made |
| Advance assurance, for SEIS or EIS | Whether HMRC has looked at the company and the round |
Where SEIS and EIS come in
If you're raising under the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme or the Enterprise Investment Scheme, HMRC runs an advance assurance service: you apply before the round, and HMRC says whether the investment looks likely to qualify. HMRC's guidance lists what to send with the application.
The scheme rules, the limits and whether your company fits them are a question for your accountant. What you can do yourself is have the documents in one place and consistent with each other.
What to do with this
- Search your own company on Companies House and read it as a stranger would.
- Search your own trade marks and check the status and the owner.
- Put the five things in the table in one indexed folder, and check the numbers agree across them.
That last step is what Raise Ready builds with you.
Questions
Can an investor check my company without asking me?
Yes, in part. Companies House publishes filed accounts, confirmation statements, officers and people with significant control for every UK company, free to search. The Intellectual Property Office's register shows whether a trade mark is registered or still pending, and who owns it.
Do I need advance assurance before I talk to investors?
It isn't a legal requirement. HMRC runs the service so a company can find out, before the round, whether an investment looks likely to qualify. HMRC's guidance sets out how to apply and what to send. Your accountant confirms whether the company and the round qualify.
Does Raise Ready do this checking for me?
Raise Ready builds the data room, the model and the investor story with you and reads the pack the way an investor's adviser would. It doesn't give tax, legal or investment advice. Your accountant and your solicitor confirm those points.