Investment raised on Crowdcube tops £150 million
We’re pleased to say that thanks to the crowd, we’ve helped growing businesses raise a total of £150 million in investment since the platform launched in 2011, £83 million of which was raised in 2015 alone. The milestone was reached last night, as innovative shoe company Vivobarefoot hit – and exceeded – its target of £750,000, thanks to more than 700 investors.
The investment has resulted in 381 successful raises, through equity crowdfunding and bonds, following investment from the crowd, which now stands at more than 267,000 people. The most represented sector is technology, followed by internet businesses and then the food and beverage sector. To date, 28% of the companies that have raised finance on the platform have been start-ups seeking seed-stage investment, with 72% early or growth stage businesses raising growth capital, check out more stats on the infographic below.
The crowdfunded capital has also had a wider economic and social impact. Equity-based crowdfunding now represents 15.6% of all UK seed and venture-stage equity investment, according to a recent report from Nesta and the University of Cambridge. Crowdcube data forecasts that the businesses behind the 381 successful raises will create more than 7,000 new jobs in the first three years after reaching their targets.
Reaching the ‘£150 million raised’ mark means much more than just a milestone for Crowdcube. We’re celebrating the positive impact the investment has had on the UK economy, fuelling the growth of hundreds of businesses and creating jobs. We’ve also seen many of those businesses use their investment to expand globally, selling their products and services in overseas markets, including Faction Skis, Righteous, Rollasole and Sugru, to name just a few. It’s our crowd that has driven this – their investment has made it all happen.
Highlights during the five years and one month it has taken Crowdcube to go from ‘nought to £150m’ include:
-The biggest raise: JustPark, which raised £3.5m in March 2015. The business also attracted the highest number of investors – 2,702.
-The fastest raise: Digital banking start-up Mondo, which raised £1m in just 96 seconds in March 2016.
-The £1 million club: there have been 34 raises over £1m on Crowdcube, 24 of those since the start of 2015.
-The biggest single investment: One investor put £1m into Sugru – creator of the world’s first mouldable glue – in July 2015.
-The first crowdfunded exits: In 2015, E-Car Club was acquired by Europe’s leading car rental company Europcar, then Camden Town Brewery sold to the world’s biggest drinks company AB InBev.
-The first bond returns: Crowdcube Bonds have raised over £16m and so far have paid back a total of £722,000 in gross interest to investors.
-Government backing: The UK government invested £1.25m in nine deals via Crowdcube in 2015 as a result of its London Co-Investment Fund partnership.
Crowdcube has firmly established itself as market leader with Beauhurst, a leading source of data on high-growth companies, naming it ‘Most Active Investor’ in its report The Deal 2015/16 for funding the most deals in 2015. The report also listed Crowdcube as the top investor for venture-stage deals and joint third for growth-stage deals, sharing the accolade with leading European venture capital firms Balderton Capital and Index Ventures.
See the full press release and infographic here.
