INSIGHTS / News

Exeter SETsquared members, Crowdcube, opened and closed their bid to raise £1.2 million on 22nd July after taking just 16 minutes to hit its target. This was 12 times faster than the previous record for the fastest crowdfunded pitch and set a World record for the fastest equity crowdfunding raise. The crowdfund, hosted on their own website, followed the announcement last week of £3.8 million of investment from venture capital firm Balderton Capital.

141 investors backed their Series B round of crowdfunding. The average amount invested was more than £8,500.

Darren Westlake, CEO and co-founder commented “We’re delighted to have given everyday investors the opportunity to invest in our fast growing business. This record-breaking fundraise from our crowd of registered investors at the same time as backing by an established VC firm is a huge thumbs up for our business, team and the growth path that we outlined.

This is the first time that any sizeable fundraise has meshed traditional and alternative finance methods and we expect to see more of this in the future. Crowdcube is in a fantastic position to pursue growth plans and continue to support both investors and small and growing businesses in their investment and finance requirements.”

As announced last week, Crowcube will use the £5 million total investment to further expand operations in the UK and internationally. We are planning to double the team to 50 staff, expanding the head office in Exeter and opening new offices in London and Scotland. They are also expanding internationally beyond the seven joint ventures already established.