Crowdcube have seen their most successful quarter, with a hike in on-year revenue and the most funds raised in a single quarter.
The firm are the world’s first and largest equity crowdfunding platform, giving entrepreneurs the opportunity to cut out banks and pitch their ideas to the general public, in return they have direct access to the capital they raise.
The firm was founded in 2011 and has since gone on to collect a total of £490 million in funds from the general public, with 560,000 registered investors and involvement with 700 different companies.
Crowdcube’s recent success saw the firm raise a total of £47.4 million for 58 businesses in the second quarter. Additionally, Q2 revenues were up 43% on-year to £1.6 million. Adding this to the impressive figures form the first quarter, Crowdcube achieved a record-breaking first half, with total revenues reaching £2.67 million, up 32% on the year before.
The successful start to 2018 has largely been attributed to Crowdcube’s intelligent business model, based on efficient spending and structural investment on personnel and technological expansion. Such investment began towards the end of 2017 and has extended to 2018, with the firm’s Q1 introduction of the ‘entrepreneur dashboard’ and Q2 introduction of an insight process which allows businesses to see performance statistics for their crowdfunding and marketing campaigns, as well as the source of any investment being made.
Luke Lang, co-founder of Crowdcube, said “Our two consecutive record quarters are a reflection of real progress over a long period by the team. By investing in the business, we’ve been able to develop our technology and our processes to enhance the fundraising experience, allowing us to attract and support more companies and accelerate our revenue growth, while improving efficiency and productivity to manage costs. We’re getting fitter as a business while providing more companies with access to finance and bringing more investment opportunities to investors.”
The recent triumphs for Crowdcube come on the back of opening up innovative investment opportunities to the general public, when traditionally, such opportunities would have been reserved for corporate bodies.
The platform has had an integral role in raising funds for businesses such as Brewdog, Monzo, Zing Zing, The Eden Project, eMoov, Parcel2Go, Freetrade, Pod Point, JustPark, Mindful Chef, Innis and Gun, Grind and Revolut.
The last opportunity listed above represents an instance of success for all parties involved. Revolut is a fintech firm that provides a digital banking alternative, and has grown exponentially since its Crowdcube campaign in 2016, where it raised £1.01 million. Since being worth £42 million in 2016, Revolut has gone on to become the second member of Crowdcube’s Unicorn Club – after Brewdog – which is reserved for businesses worth over a billion dollars. In 2016, Revolut’s crowdfunding venture offered investors the chance to invest up to £5000 in the firm, and as of today, they were given the choice to either keep their stake in the company or sell it back to Revolut. Those that chose to sell, have seen a 1900% return on their original investment.