Crowdcube’s record-breaking 2017 saw 32 businesses raise more than £1m

Equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube has finished a record year, during which a ground-breaking 32 businesses raised over £1m through the site.

According to statistics recently shared by the platform, a record-breaking 325 companies chose to fund on Crowdcube last year, marking a year-on-year rise of 23% and showing that fast-growing young companies are increasingly seeing crowdfunding as a preferable choice for raising new investment.

In addition, October to December was the platform’s strongest quarter to date, with 128 of these businesses launching their campaigns during this time.

In total, 2017 saw over 120,000 investments made through the platform, with a total of £130m invested – £9m of which was invested through the Crowdcube app.

Of the £130m, £90m was successfully invested in 148 businesses. These comprised of 41 start-ups, 65 early-stage and 42 growth-stage businesses. Those that raised over £1m included Young Guns and Startups 100-listed businesses Kokoon Technology and Monzo, 2016 Startups Awards Highly Commended start-up Mindful Chef, and Dragons’ Den success story GripIt Fixings.

While 2017’s average raise brought in an impressive £692,000, the biggest campaign of the year belonged to Vita Mojo, a restaurant chain where customers can order personalised meals; choosing ingredients, nutrients, quantities and more according to their tastes and requirements.

The business raised £3.2m from 1,179 investors for 14.15% equity, including attracting £1m from global catering firm Elior Group.

Meanwhile, challenger bank Monzo attracted a previously unheard-of number of backers, with 6,484 investors joining the business’ campaign.

In 2017 Crowdcube also attracted twice as much interest overseas as it did in 2016, with 23 non-UK-based companies raising over €8.3m between them. Notably, Spain celebrated its largest equity crowdfunding round ever when Santamania raised over €1m through the platform.

Overall, Crowcube’s website was visited four million times during 2017, with 147,000 new members joining its now 490,000-strong community.

Crowdcube has achieved these results during a year in which it has focused on improving its user experience, making it faster for growth companies to hit their funding target and easier for people to invest on the platform. £9m has now been invested via the Crowdcube iOS app, while the new Crowdcube Android app has just been released.

To find out more about Crowdfunding, take a look at our dedicated crowdfunding channel. Learn more about Crowdcube here.