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Crowdcube
Finance and Risk Capital
Impact for scaleups
952
UK companies backed
29%
Follow-on investments
47%
Investments outside of London
473
Growth-stage investments
Key sectors
Crowdcube invests in UK companies and has offices in Exeter and London.
Online equity crowdfunding platforms, on which businesses pitch to receive investment, have become an established conduit for finance among seed, early-stage and scaling businesses, bridging the gap from family and friends funding rounds and later, larger institutional rounds. The institutionalisation of equity-based crowdfunding continues as VC firms, professional and retail investors co-invest on and with the platforms.
While the average amount raised on the platform is £800,000, with funding available as equity investment or mini-bonds, the size of investment rounds has increased in the past year. Since January 2016, there have been 473 growth stage investments made into UK companies – 50% of all the companies that have used the platform for fundraising.
Food and drink companies, mobile apps, internet platforms and e-commerce have been the most popular sectors among companies raising finance on the platform. Notable scaleups to have used the Crowdcube platform to access equity finance include what3words, Honest Burgers and BrewDog.
The platform provides companies that raise funds via the platform with access to a help centre and a campaigns team, access to a network of founders, and support with marketing and investor relations. Recently, it has launched Cubex, a secondary marketplace to enable retail investors to buy and sell shares in high-growth private European companies. It has announced a partnership to enable its retail investor members to invest in Octopus Investments VCTs. This reflects the maturing age, size and profile of companies raising capital via Crowdcube.
