Oxstones Investment Club™Seedrs alumnus FreeAgent has floated on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM, marking the first time an equity crowdfunded company has gone on to IPO.
This announcement comes directly after Beauhurst announced that Seedrs has completed 122 deals in private companies by the end of Q3. This is more than any other investor during the period, according to a report released by the independent research firm.
More than GBP160 million has now been invested into campaigns on Seedrs since July 2012 when the company launched and October became a record-breaking month with almost GBP20 million invested into campaigns.
Perkbox, the UK’s top employee and customer engagement provider smashed its GBP1 million target, overfunding to GBP4.35 million and becoming Seedrs biggest fundraise to date. With more than 300 investors, including world number one Andy Murray and prominent venture capital firm Draper Esprit investing on the same terms as the crowd, the campaign highlighted a growing trend of VC firms leading or supporting crowdfunding rounds on Seedrs.
The UK fintech company also saw the world’s first peer-to-peer money transfer platform, WeSwap, set a record for the most investors in a single campaign on Seedrs, with more than 3,000 investors backing the GBP1 million raise which overfunded to GBP2.4 million. This round boasted the largest number of investors, also including Andy Murray, for any independent business fundraising on a UK equity crowdfunding platform.
Jeff Lynn, CEO and co-founder of Seedrs, says: “We are breaking records this year and by the end of Q3 we had exceeded the amount invested on the platform across the whole of 2015, while opening new offices in Berlin and Amsterdam as we push forward our European expansion.
“We congratulate FreeAgent following today’s float on AIM and for becoming the first equity crowdfunded IPO. As the early stage investment space matures in the coming years, we look forward to seeing many more Seedrs companies floating or exiting. We strongly believe that this asset class will be very fruitful for investors with diverse investment portfolios, and FreeAgent’s listing is an early example of that.
“Despite Brexit, the UK is still attractive and safe for inward investment and will continue to be one of the number one destinations for entrepreneurs to set up a business with its favourable tax reliefs, streamlined business incorporation and simple transport abroad.”
http://www.wealthadviser.co/2016/11/16/245841/seedrs-sees-record-levels-investment-and-fundraising-activity
Tags: alternative asset class, Andy Murray as VC investor, entrepreneurs, equity crowd funding, first equity crowdfunded IPO, opportunities for early stage investments, Perkbox, Seedrs, Seedrs alumnus FreeAgent, Seedrs companies going public, start-ups, UK equity crowdfunding platform, UK Fintech, Venture Capital, venture capital firm Draper Esprit, venture capital for the main street investors, WeSwap, world's first peer-to-peer money transfer platform