Cannabis and Finch firms are among the businesses most likely to be funded in 2019, Crowdcube has revealed in a company statement.

The crowdfunding platform flagged AI, Fintech and cannabis companies as the businesses likely to receive investment in the New Year.

Crowdcube also aannounced that it proved a particularly successful year for the platform, with various record breaking raises taking place.

It added that its 2018 revenue was up 50% to £6 million, an improvement from the £4 million posted in 2017.

The company said q4 proved its most successful quarter ever, with revenue of £1.8 million, up from £1.2 million reported during the same period in 2017.

The number of successful raises on the platform increased from 45 to 49, rising 9%.

Of these successful raises, the average amount increased £732,000 to £1,430,000, marking a rise of 95%.

Overall, investment pledged to companies listed on the platform was for the year was up 72% to £224 million, up from £130 million recorded a year previously.

Successful raises on the platform came in at 198, 35% more than last year’s total of 147.

Some of Crowdcube’s biggest success stories of the year included BrewDog, securing a record £10 million in funding, after initially raising £5 million in just 3 days.

Similarly, last year challenger bank Monzo raised £20 million in the largest-ever crowdfunding round for a fin-tech firm.

Luke Lang, co-founder of Crowdcube, commented: “It’s been an incredible year for Crowdcube, as entrepreneurs at ever-larger companies chose Crowdcube to connect with crowd investors who want to back young companies they believe in. Entrepreneurs increasingly understand that a Crowdcube round not only raises funds, but builds their brand and communities, which are crucial to the success of new businesses in these digitally-connected times.”

Read about why cannabis could be the next hot investment sector here.