The funding round was led by the £800m Woodford Patient Capital Trust, which backs early-stage and early-growth firms as well as some blue chips, and VC investment company Augmentum Capital, which has an appetite for businesses that have the potential to dominate sectors.
The capital will be spent on marketing in the UK and Europe, and also platform enhancements. Elsewhere, following Seedrs’ 2014 takeover of Junction Investments in California, money will be spent on building out a US presence too. As part of the investment, which has provided Seedrs with a £30m valuation, Augmentum managing partner Tim Levene with join the company’s board of directors. He claimed the deal makes Augmentum “one of the UK’s leading fintech funds” as existing investment projects include Zopa, Borro, Interactive Investor and BullionVault. “We have been following the developments in equity crowdfunding for some time and believe Seedrs are the stand out company,” he said. “The market is still early in its development with many challenges to overcome. However, we believe Seedrs have the right blend of talent, vision, experience and rigour to ensure they become the leader in this exciting space.”
Additionally – in keeping with its roots – Seedrs is also hosting a £2.5m crowdfunding campaign of its own to provide shareholders and would-be investors the chance to get involved.
It’s been a busy couple of months for the company, which says it is growing at a rate of 15 per cent each month, with the hiring of Andy Murray and plans to focus on Welsh firms. Jeff Lynn, CEO and co-founder of Seedrs, added: “The capital we are raising will allow us to deliver our next stage of growth in the UK, Europe and the United States. As importantly, though, is the signal this investment sends to the market. “The greatest fund manager of our time and the greatest financial family in history have looked at the equity crowdfunding space, decided that there is a huge opportunity to be won, and decided that Seedrs is the one that’s going to win it. We are honoured to have both investors on board, we look forward to working with them as we continue to grow.” By Zen Terrelonge
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