SFC Capital
SFC Capital is a London-based early-stage venture firm, formerly Startup Funding Club, that backs British startups at pre-seed and seed. It invests through SEIS and EIS tax-advantaged funds plus an angel network, and is one of the UK's most active seed investors. As of 2026 it has backed 2 water companies.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
SFC Capital began in 2012 when Stephen Page, a software entrepreneur who had already built and sold companies like the database firm DataEase, noticed that Britain's brand-new SEIS tax break, the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme, had created a wave of fundable startups and almost nobody writing the first cheque. He started Startup Funding Club as a small angel syndicate to fill that gap. Fourteen years on it is one of the UK's most active seed investors, and PitchBook has ranked it the single most active venture firm in the country.
SFC Capital is a generalist, not a water fund. It runs managed SEIS and EIS funds, the Enterprise Investment Scheme being the slightly later-stage sibling of SEIS, alongside an angel network where individual investors co-invest behind SFC Capital's team. The model is breadth and tax efficiency: spread small pre-seed cheques across hundreds of British startups, from fintech to healthtech to climate, and let the government's tax reliefs cushion the risk. More than 500 companies have been through it, including names like Onfido and Cognism that became some of the UK's larger tech exits.
Water shows up in that portfolio the way most things do at SFC Capital, as one or two early bets inside a very wide net rather than a dedicated thesis. SFC Capital has backed two water companies at pre-seed: Our Rainwater, which fits tank-mounted ultrasonic sensors to turn rainwater harvesting into a connected, measurable system, and Pipeline Organics, working on enzyme-powered fuel cells. This is water as a slice of a generalist book, not the whole library, which is why (don't) Waste Water rates SFC Capital's water commitment Committed rather than core.
For a founder building in water, SFC Capital is worth knowing for what it is good at: writing an early, SEIS-eligible cheque quickly and pulling a syndicate of angels in behind it. SFC Capital tends to invest alongside others, from the corporate venture arm of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners to the quant firm XTX's venture wing, so a young company gets volume and tax structuring next to a strategic name. It is a first-cheque generalist that happens to touch water, not a specialist you pitch for deep sector conviction.
Water Commitment Score
Compiled from official filings, third-party records, and direct intelligence from investors and founders, in Leviathan · recomputed monthly · as of Jun 2026.
How they invest
Portfolio · 2 water companies
Invests alongside
Highlighted = profiled on (don't) Waste Water.
Frequently asked
- What does SFC Capital invest in?
- SFC Capital invests in early-stage British startups across many sectors, including fintech, healthtech, deep tech and climate. It writes pre-seed and seed cheques through SEIS and EIS tax-advantaged funds and an angel network, and has backed more than 500 companies. Water is a small part of that book, with two companies backed so far.
- Does SFC Capital invest in water?
- SFC Capital is a generalist seed investor, not a dedicated water fund, but it has backed two water companies at pre-seed: Our Rainwater, a connected rainwater-harvesting platform, and Pipeline Organics. (don't) Waste Water rates its water commitment Committed, reflecting occasional water bets inside a much wider British startup portfolio.
- Who runs SFC Capital?
- SFC Capital is led by founder and CEO Stephen Page, who started it as Startup Funding Club in 2012. Its investments are run by Chief Investment Officer Joseph Zipfel, alongside Chief Operating Officer Angelika Burawska and Edward Stevenson, a Principal on the investment team. All four have been with the firm for years.
- Where is SFC Capital based?
- SFC Capital is based in London, United Kingdom, with its head office on Grays Inn Road and a second office in Northwich, Cheshire. It invests in British startups nationwide and is regulated by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority as an appointed representative of SFC Capital Partners Ltd.
- Is SFC Capital the same as the SFC regulator?
- No. SFC Capital is a London-based startup investment firm, formerly Startup Funding Club, founded in 2012. It is unrelated to the SFC that is Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission, and to similarly named firms such as Sustainable Forward Capital. SFC Capital is regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority.