Trading Platform Freetrade Raises over £1M, Starts New Crowdfunding

Freetrade, a UK-based stock trading platform, has raised over £1m from 'previous investors and early access signups'.

The company in an update on Twitter said it had raised £1,314,400 from 1,976 investors.

This is even as the commission-free trading platform kicked off its latest crowdfunding campaign on Thursday.

Over £1m raised from previous investors and early access signups.

Going live at 12 PM to everyone else, stay tuned.

Capital at risk pic.twitter.com/uiRSDh1VoI

— Freetrade (@freetrade) September 15, 2022

Finance Magnates reports that the startup earlier in the year failed to gain the high valuation it had hoped for after prospective investors backed out.

Freetrade had projected to hit a valuation of £700 million from a funding round to be supported by new backers, but the deal fell apart.

At the end of November last year, the trading platform had set its target at a pre-money valuation of 650 million.

Adam Dodds, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, ascribed the development to an unfavourable macroeconomic environment during the advanced stage of the deal. Dodds noted that the venture capital market shrank during the period.

However, later in May, Freetrade secured £30 million in the form of a convertible loan from its existing investors.

Revenue Boost

During its 2021 fiscal year which ended on September 30, Freetrade recorded a 647% boost in its yearly revenue. The startup was able to generate £12.7 million during the period.

Additionally, the boost in revenue corresponds to the huge trading volume growth Freetrade recorded during the period. The company’s trading volume reached £3.3 billion at the end of September, which is a 313% surge from the fiscal year of 2020.

However, while Freetrade recorded a total client base of 886,743 during the 2021 fiscal year, it crossed the 1 million mark at the end of December.

On the contrary, the commission-free brokerage platform suffered a pre-tax loss of £18.2 million during the fiscal year.

Meanwhile, in January, Freetrade introduced German-listed stocks to its users by providing direct access to the German stock market.

Dodds described the move as 'a key step' for the company to launch its expansion into Europe and beyond.

“Our mission is to get everyone investing while keeping prices low. Freetrade’s unique direct-to-market access and proprietary brokerage platform help to unlock cost-savings that we can pass onto our customers through a simple and low-cost investment experience,” Dodds explained.