Crowdcube has raised £1.5 million through what it describers as a ‘new world record’ for funds raised via an equity crowdfunding platform.
Founded in February 2011, Crowdcube allows businesses to showcase themselves and secure growth capital from a large group of investors.
Crowdcube says it first set out to raise £250,000 but, having raised that within the first five hours, made it live for a further three days to raise the rest of the amount. In total, 259 investors contributed to the round.
When Crowdcube last tried to raise capital through its own service it raised £320,000 from 162 investors. However, the process took seven days longer than its latest attempt.
By securing £1.5 million in return for a 21 per cent equity stake in the business, Crowdcube now has a value of £7.1 million.
More on Crowdcube’s history:
Darren Westlake, CEO and co-founder of Crowdcube, comments, ‘The response from our members was truly overwhelming and really demonstrates the power of equity crowdfunding to provide a platform for people to support businesses they think are worthy of investment.
‘To raise £1.5 million in only three days is an astonishing achievement and it puts us in a strong position to realise our growth ambitions on behalf of our new investors.’
Crowdcube itself is eligible for EIS tax relief and has so far raised £8.2 million for businesses in the UK from its base of 34,000 registered investors.
In February, Crowdcube inked the authorisation it had spent over a year pursuing from the Financial Services Authority. The accreditation, which was the first of its kind for a UK platform, was sought so that the regulators were comfortable with what Crowdcube was doing.
Crowdcube has allowed a range of businesses to raise capital via its platform including: ginseng-based alcohol business Kamm & Sons, Darlington Football Club and oil supplier Universal Fuels.
