The UK Crowdfunding Association welcomes the news that Crowdcube has become one of the first platforms authorised as a Public Offer Platform (POP) under the new Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations (POATR).

We congratulate the Crowdcube team on achieving this authorisation. It represents a significant operational and regulatory milestone — both for the firm and for the wider private capital markets and crowdfunding sector.

This development is also the result of sustained engagement between UKCFA directors, member platforms, HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority over several years. UKCFA members have worked closely with policymakers to ensure that the replacement of the EU Prospectus Regulation delivered a proportionate, workable framework for public offers via regulated platforms.

POATR, which came into force on 19 January 2026, replaces the legacy prospectus regime with a disclosure-based approach. The POP framework is central to that reform. It allows authorised platforms to facilitate primary public offers by private, unlisted companies without requiring an FCA-approved prospectus.

Under the previous regime, private companies were effectively capped at raising €8 million from the public without triggering full prospectus requirements. That cap created a structural constraint between early-stage crowdfunding and later-stage institutional rounds.

POP removes that ceiling.

As an authorised Public Offer Platform, Crowdcube can now facilitate uncapped primary offers, including substantial pre-IPO rounds. Retail investors can therefore participate in larger growth-stage raises within a regulated environment.

This represents an evolution in the role of crowdfunding platforms — from early-stage capital facilitators to regulated gatekeepers of retail participation in later-stage private markets.

The impact is strengthened by Crowdcube’s partnership with London Stock Exchange Group, enabling retail access to the Private Securities Market through the PISCES sandbox. Together, these reforms provide a clearer lifecycle pathway for companies raising capital while remaining private.

For the sector, this is a tangible example of regulatory reform shaped through industry collaboration. It expands capital access, maintains appropriate safeguards, and strengthens the UK’s private capital markets and crowdfunding ecosystem.

UKCFA looks forward to continuing to work with government, regulators and members to ensure the POP regime delivers on its objectives in practice.