Crowdfunding comes of age as Crowdcube passes £10m

Crowdfunding hits another milestone as Crowdcube raises £10m

It’s been hailed as a potential lifeline for many startups struggling to find finance from traditional bank loans, and now it seems crowdfunding is coming of age. Crowdcube, an equity based platform has announced today they’ve become the first crowdfunding platform in the world to raise over £10m.

Scroll for Infographic on Crowdcube’s £10m

To date, Crowdcube’s been used to raise funds for a number of London-based startups including London-based fashion-tech startup, Silkfred. Seedrs, a London-based competitor of Crowdcube also recently reported they’ve raised £1m in the past 9 months.

“Today’s banking system is outdated”

Luke Lang (pictured above) took part in our first roundtable where we discussed the future of crowdfunding, back in May. Commenting on the news today he said:

“Today’s banking system is outdated. It doesn’t give early stage small businesses and start-ups access to the funding they need to grow and drive the desperately needed economic recovery. Even when the banks do offer to lend, the interest rates and other terms and conditions are often crippling”.

In the first half of 2013 the average investment raised per pitch on CrowdCube was £2,700. OVIVO, a London-based virtual mobile network (MVNO) was the 59th business to raise funds through the platform and pushed them over the £10m mark, with their pitch being overfunded by 29% of their original target.

Commenting on OVIVO’s campaign, Luke told Tech City News:
“The UK tech scene is in rude health at the moment and we’re delighted to have played a role in helping OVIVO and many other tech-based businesses secure the investment they need to grow. Equity crowdfunding is growing rapidly and gives tech entrepreneurs a much needed alternative to traditional underperforming sources of finance.”

See below for an infographic on Crowdcube’s recent successes

SOURCE: Tech City News