Crowdfunding platform set up to help students August 14, 2015 A FINANCIAL technology start-up is attempting to revolutionise student finance by dramatically reducing the cost of student loans. EdAid, which, pending approval by the Financial Conduct Authority, will launch in September, and is offering prospective students an alternative to government loans through a digital crowdfunding platform. Under the programme, the loans will be repaid at [...]
How businesses are using crowdfunding in their CSR strategy: The evolving relationship between platforms and corporates August 13, 2015 Crowdfunding has democratised investing and made it more efficient. But the landscape has evolved significantly. Once dominated by platforms simply enabling people to make donations to causes, debt-based crowdfunding is now by far the largest subsector, and fashionable equity gets a lot of airtime. But despite less exposure these days, the original donation-based crowdfunding is [...]
Ignore the snobs: Why crowdfunding is bringing diversity back to business August 10, 2015 Venture investors on competitive deals are used to missing out to other funds. It’s part and parcel of the industry. But last month, tech-focused VCs missed out to the crowd, as the first successful exit of a crowdfunded company returned capital to investors in E-Car Club, which sold to Europcar. E-Car Club raised funding [...]
What crowdfunding means for mini-bonds August 6, 2015 Harriet Green looks at the developing relationship between platforms and the increasingly popular debt instrument With attractive rates to be had, mini-bonds are proving increasingly popular with investors. Since maverick men’s toiletries firm King of Shaves issued the so-called Shaving Bond via an online platform in 2009, a growing number of SMEs have used [...]
Crowdcube raises £6m from Numis, Tim Draper’s Draper Esprit and Balderton, with plans to open access to IPO investments August 5, 2015 Crowdfunding investment platform Crowdcube has raised its own round of funding, which will allow it to offer a new way for investors to access companies which are about to go public. The £6m comes from stockbroker Numis, among others. The pair will work together to bring IPO investment opportunities to the platform. Renowned Silicon Valley [...]
Neil Woodford’s Patient Capital Trust and Rothschild-backed Augmentum Capital lead £10m investment into crowdfunding platform Seedrs July 30, 2015 Star fund manager Neil Woodford and a venture capital fund backed by Lord Rothschild have led a funding round into online crowdfunding platform Seedrs, valuing the business at £30m. Woodford's Patent Capital Trust and Augmentum Capital said they will invest £7.5m into London-based Seedrs. The company will raise an additional £2.5m by targeting existing shareholders and other individual investors [...]
How crowdfunding will revolutionise R&D: What platforms offer the world’s most innovative businesses July 30, 2015 Iriss Medical recently closed a round on Seedrs, 197 per cent funded. The company makes an innovative medical device which performs automatic eye tests aimed at the early detection and prevention of lazy eye in children. It raised £491,387 for 4.92 per cent equity. Over the past decade, donation-based crowdfunding has played a reasonably [...]
What should investors make of the first equity crowdfunding exit? July 22, 2015 Harriet Green asks what equity crowdfunded firm E-Car Club’s buyout means for the growing sector If you're putting money into equity crowdfunding, the first question at the front of your mind is “will I get a return on my investment?” – and then “will it be decent?”. Last year, equity crowdfunding in the UK [...]
Building the next five years in alternative finance: How marketplace lending is becoming part of industry furniture July 15, 2015 When we look back, 2015-16 will be seen as the watershed moment: when peer-to-peer (P2P) lending and crowdfunding made the big time, transitioning from quirky innovation to a respected alternative source of finance and investment opportunities. The government has clearly been persuaded of the potential benefits of so-called alternative finance – especially as a [...]
Sir Clive Sinclair is crowdfunding a new invention: The A-Bike Electric July 14, 2015 Fresh from his victorious fundraising for an updated ZX Spectrum, Sir Clive Sinclair has a new invention seeking crowdfunding – the world's lightest and most compact electric bike. The A-Bike Electric – an upgrade of the original which launched nearly a decade ago – is about to launch on Kickstarter, where Sinclair's team is [...]