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Investment and Share Option Agreement Templates

Raise funding, structure equity incentives and prepare for EIS investment with solicitor-drafted templates designed for UK companies. This hub brings together our three specialist template collections covering share investment agreements, share option agreements, and the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). All templates are drafted by experienced corporate solicitors and maintained in line with current UK legislation.

Whether you are a start-up raising capital, a growing business rewarding key people with equity, or an investor or company exploring EIS, you’ll find practical, editable documents supported by complementary board minutes and shareholder resolutions where relevant.

Share Investment Agreement Templates

Use these templates when a company is issuing shares in return for investment.

This collection includes:

  • Cash-for-equity share investment agreements.
  • Shares-for-services (“sweat equity”) agreements, useful where a business can’t yet pay cash fees but can offer an equity stake instead.
  • Supporting shareholder resolutions and board minutes for each route.

These documents are compliant with the Companies Act 2006. The templates do not address tax or accounting implications, so independent advice is recommended.

Share Option Agreement Templates

A share option agreement gives a person (often an employee, investor or founder) the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell shares in a company at a future date on specified terms. These agreements can help attract, retain and incentivise key people as the business grows. 

This collection of templates includes:

  • Standard option agreements with different trigger and exercise structures.
  • Call and put option variants.
  • EMI (Enterprise Management Incentive) scheme templates and supporting documents, aligned with UK company law and HMRC requirements.
  • Exercise notices and a deed of surrender for cancellation or termination of option rights.

Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) Templates

EIS is one of the HMRC-approved venture capital schemes designed to encourage private investment into growing British companies by offering tax reliefs. Investors may be able to invest up to £1 million per tax year in new shares in a qualifying company and receive income tax relief of 30%, provided the shares are held and the rules followed for at least three years. Simply Docs

This suite of templates includes:

  • An EIS guidance note.
  • An EIS term sheet.
  • Subscription agreement and application letter templates.
  • An Advanced Assurance letter template.
  • Board minutes to approve EIS investment.

These templates relate to new shares subscribed for in cash and are not suitable for investors entering into Advanced Subscription Agreements. They are intended as starting points and cannot be assured as acceptable to HMRC, so independent legal and tax advice is strongly recommended.

Please click on the links below to select and download documents:-

Investment and Share Option Agreement Templates is part of Corporate. Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Corporate for 1 year.

Frequently Asked Questions

An investor wants to put money into our company. Why do we need an investment agreement rather than just issuing them shares? +
Because the bare allotment paperwork records the transaction but not the deal. An investment agreement sets the terms around the shares: how much is invested for what stake, any conditions to be met before completion, warranties about the company's position and what each side must do at and after completion. Without it, disputes fall back on memory. The Share Investment Agreement templates here cover cash investment and are supported by matching board minutes and resolutions.
Can we give someone shares instead of paying them for their work? +
Yes, that is sweat equity: an agreement to provide services in return for an eventual shareholding, useful when a start-up needs skills it cannot yet pay for. Define the services, milestones and the equity precisely, and take tax advice before signing, shares received for services are generally taxable as income for the recipient, which surprises people. The Shares for Services agreement in this group documents the arrangement; the tax position is deliberately left to your advisers.
When is a share option better than giving someone shares straight away? +
When you want commitment before ownership. An option gives the person the right, not the obligation, to buy shares later at agreed terms, so the equity only lands if they stay, perform or a defined event happens, and until exercise they have no votes, no dividends and no place on your register. That makes options the natural tool for retaining key people and structuring future deals. The Share Option Agreement collection covers the common variants.
What does EIS offer our investors and is our company likely to qualify? +
Investors can claim income tax relief of 30 percent on up to 1 million pounds invested per year, 2 million where the company is knowledge intensive, plus capital gains exemption if they hold the shares at least three years and the rules stay satisfied. Your company must be unquoted and within the scheme's size and funding limits, which were raised substantially from 6 April 2026. HMRC advance assurance is the practical first step. The EIS sub-folder holds the guidance and documents.
Do the usual share issue rules still apply when the shares come via an investment or option? +
Yes, nothing here bypasses company law. Whenever shares are actually allotted, at completion of an investment or on exercise of an option, the directors need allotment authority, pre-emption rights must be handled and the register, certificate and Companies House filing follow as for any issue. Options need this thinking at grant: make sure the authority will exist at exercise. The Issuing and Transferring Shares group covers those mechanics and links from each template here.
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