CrowdCube has published data of Crowdfunding deals on their platform for the first quarter of 2015. The figures relate to a strong start of the year, which could lead the platform to break above the £100 million barrier this year.
During the quarter, 36 business were funded, raising nearly £17.5 million, with just over £24 million being invested through the site. The funding was raised with installments of 15,405 individual investments made by CrowdCube account holders.
Among funded deals was JustPark, which raised £3.7 million, while The Pressery had the designation of the ‘Fastest Funded Pitch’ at just one hour and forty minutes. The successful JustPark funding was an example of where crowdfunding excels. The company initially planned raising £1 million, but experienced a lot of support from users of their parking space rental app. Of the 2,919 investors who participated in the Funding Round for 15.61% of company equity, a third are believed to be users of the app.
£3.7million! We've reached the limit. Our crowdfunding round is now closed. A huge THANK YOU to all our believers :) pic.twitter.com/RICoaWLPbc
— JustPark (@JustPark) March 16, 2015Overall, the CrowdCube’s growth reveals that after triple digit growth in UK equity crowdfunding taking place in 2014, the sector continues to be strong in 2015. According to estimates used by the UK’s financial regulator, FCA, equity crowdfunding is believed to have been around £84 million in 2014, compared to only £28 million in 2013. As such, at CrowdCube’s pace for Q1, they could be on track to beat the funding recorded for all of the UK in 2014, just by themselves.
