Puma Investments has slashed the minimum contribution to its IHT relief fund to £25,000 as more people look to avoid the death tax.

The Puma Heritage investment company offers secured loans and leasing agreements to businesses that qualify for tax exemption under the business property relief scheme. The previous minimum contribution to the fund was £100,000.

Puma is making the fund accessible to a wider range of investors that want to limit their inheritance tax given the threshold has been frozen at £325,000 till 2019. The limit for couples is £650,000.

Investments are exempt from the tax after two years in the fund and if the money remains in Heritage at death.

“This also comes at a time when HM Revenue & Customs is consulting on restricting the splitting of the nil-rate band between every trust a settlor creates, which may encourage people to seek alternative solutions to mitigate inheritance tax,” Puma adds.

Puma Heritage chairman Peter Wisher says the much-lower contribution size will place the company well to pick up more investors.

“We are extremely grateful for the efforts of Puma Investments in assisting in the launch of the prospectus and we look forward to welcoming new shareholders to the company and continuing to deliver on our strong pipeline of lending opportunities.”

Puma Investments chief executive David Kaye says he looks forward to the latest chapter of Heritage’s growth.

“We have seen significant demand for Puma Heritage and are pleased with the progress the company has made in making a number of secured loans to strong counterparties.”

In a recent deal, Heritage moved into residential property deals. It extended a £5m loan to Citrus PX, a company that delivers “rapid purchase services” for homeowners and developers. That means agreeing to buy properties to allow the owners to move without worrying about the sale falling through.

Heritage charges a 2.5 per cent promoter levy on entry and a 1 per cent dealing fee on exit. An annual advisory fee of 1 per cent is due if the fund makes its 3 per cent minimum return each year. A 40 basis point administration fee is also added.