New report says European alternative finance market could top EUR7bn in 2015

Today the first comprehensive pan-European benchmarking of alternative finance has been published by the new Centre for Alternative Finance at University of Cambridge Judge Business School and professional services organisation EY.

It shows that the European online alternative finance market grew by 144% last year to nearly 3bn euros and could top 7bn euros in 2015.  The UK is by far the largest European country for alternative finance at 2.34bn euros (£1.78bn) in 2014.

Julia Groves, Chair of the UK Crowdfunding Association, said: “These figures demonstrate the increasing strength and popularity of crowdfunding across Europe, as both individuals and institutions look for alternative destinations for their money.  The UK has long been a global leader in alternative finance but it is really encouraging to see the EU coming online in this area and we hope that policymakers at both the national and regional levels will work to create a supportive environment for this fast-growing field.”

The full press release can be found at: http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/media/2015/european-alternative-finance-market-could-top-e7b-in-2015/

The full report can be accessed at: http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/fileadmin/user_upload/research/centres/alternative-finance/downloads/2015-uk-alternative-finance-benchmarking-report.pdf