Crowdcube raises £10m for global expansion
Crowdcube has raised £10m to support its global expansion.
The UK-based equity fundraising platform said the investment was led by Circle Internet Financial, which owns US fundraising platform SeedInvest, and aligns two of the most prominent platforms in their respective markets.
“The strategic partnership will help pave the way to a global marketplace at every level of private fundraising, from seed stage to public offering,” Crowdcube said.
Crowdcube said the funding round, in which existing backers Molten Ventures and Balderton Capital also participated, will help it to expand across Europe, capitalising on the new harmonised EU crowdfunding rules.
The deal is Circle’s largest strategic investment to date in the European market.
Ryan Feit, director of Circle and co-founder and chief executive of SeedInvest, will join Crowdcube’s board and Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and chief executive of Circle, will be an observer.
Crowdcube said it is considering opening this latest investment opportunity to users on its platform.
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“Combining Circle’s strategic investment with our decade of knowledge and experience of capital raising in Europe, Crowdcube is extremely well positioned to capitalise on our first-mover advantage into Europe’s high growth investment market,” said Darren Westlake, co-founder and chief executive of Crowdcube.
“Capital raising and private company investing have never been so exciting.
“In the first instance, we’re considering a crowd round to offer Crowdcube’s community of investors the opportunity to participate in our round, alongside Circle, supporting our growth as Europe’s preferred private investment marketplace.”
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SeedInvest’s Feit said that online equity fundraising is at a “pivotal moment of maturation”.
“We are thrilled to work with Crowdcube to roll out online fundraising across Europe and are confident this will be a significant milestone towards the inevitable global future of the industry,” he added.
“Expanding online fundraising to new markets creates a massive opportunity for internet native capital formation where individuals and businesses can connect and transact digitally from anywhere.”
A number of P2P platforms have raised funds via Crowdcube, including Plend and JustUs most recently.