Alternative finance in Asia: Cambridge’s Robert Wardrop on this exciting, untapped market July 8, 2015 Alternative finance is a growing business in the West. In 2014, UK peer-to-peer and crowdfunding platforms made £1.74bn available to firms and individuals, with growth of 168 per cent in Britain and 144 per cent across Europe. But what does the landscape look like on other continents? Set to be published by the end [...]
Former Apple exec Jeff Martin joins London smart city startup Pavegen as crowdfunding reaches £2m July 5, 2015 London-based tech startup Pavegen which creates hi-tech flooring with the potential to power cities has announced that Jeff Martin, formerly a senior executive at Apple, will join its advisory board. The news came as the firm announced it has smashed its crowdfunding target, raising nearly £2m from online investors. Martin worked with iconic Apple founder [...]
Greek bailout crowdfunding campaign: Seven amazing numbers about the Indiegogo campaign to save Greece July 2, 2015 A campaign by one Londoner to crowdfund a bailout for Greece, first reported by City A.M on Monday, set the internet alight this week as the country teeters dangerously close to an exit from the Eurozone. The scheme to raise the cash needed to prevent Greece defaulting on its debts has gained astonishing attention – [...]
London coffee chain surges past £600,000 crowdfunding target June 30, 2015 ARTISAN coffee brand Notes smashed through its £600,000 fundraising target yesterday, reaching over £670,000 by last night. The firm chose crowdfunding as its method to raise the funds, and is using the Crowdcube online platform to do so. Over 25 per cent of the target amount was raised within 48 hours of the pitch going [...]
Crowdfunding Greece: This Indiegogo Grexit bailout crowdfund has reached a six-figure sum June 30, 2015 Sceptical of the power of people? Us too. But you can't help but be impressed by the fact this crowdfunding campaign to help Greece meet its debts has already reached a six-figure sum. At 2pm on Tuesday the total raised had reached nearly €125, 000 from donations made by 7,743 people in just one [...]
Greek debt crisis: This Londoner is crowdfunding a Greek bailout fund on Indiegogo June 29, 2015 Greece has a rather large bill to pay. Read more: This Indiegogo Grexit bailout crowdfund has reached a six-figure sum As the country approaches the deadline for repaying loans to its creditors – €1.6bn of which is due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) tomorrow – it's the kind of cash that a country doesn't just find [...]
The great adventure: How to navigate the world of equity crowdfunding as an investor June 18, 2015 Debt and equity crowdfunding have the potential to revolutionise small business funding. In 2012, The Breedon Report predicted a funding gap of £59bn for UK companies by 2016, if nothing was done. The government’s response was to make funds available via alternative finance providers and to enhance the benefits to equity investors via the Enterprise [...]
Eyeing property crowdfunding? The nuts and bolts of the new sector’s leading platforms June 17, 2015 In the space of half an hour, 126 people clubbed together to buy a house via a property crowdfunding platform last month. The £212,900 two-bed flat in Byfleet, a half-hour train journey from Waterloo, was listed on platform Property Partner. Founded this year, it counts Betfair co-founder Ed Wray as one of its backers [...]
Grind looks to Crowdcube for £1.5m crowdfunding coffee fix June 15, 2015 Coffee chain Grind is looking to tap up latte and espresso lovers through crowdfunding service Crowdcube for its next phase of expansion, after launching a £1.5m bond issue today. Grind was founded four years ago by Australian DJ and musician Kaz James and entrepreneur David Abrahamovitch, who were unsatisfied with the quality of the espressos [...]
Crowdfunding a bespoke car: Elemental explains how it raised capital for its road-legal track car, the Rp1 June 10, 2015 Elemental's Rp1 is built around a custom-designed carbon composite tub and race pedigree chassis Having received much acclaim for its development car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last year, Elemental Automotive Group was ready to find the funding to scale. Established in 2012, its team, all seasoned F1 and super car engineers and [...]