
We have now seen the first complete exit for crowd investors with the sale of E-Car Club to Europcar in July. The sale gave 63 investors, who invested a total of ?100,000 via crowdfunding, a three times return on their investment.
E-Car Club ? the UK?s first entirely electric car sharing club for businesses and communities ? has become a milestone in crowdfunding history, not just as the first crowdfunded exit, but also as an indication that the worlds of alternative and traditional finance are colliding. The business secured initial support from the Technology Strategy Board, went on to raise seed investment through Crowdcube, followed by angel investors, before finding a socially minded institutional investor in Europcar. This mix of the old and the new has led to a successful trade sale to one of the world?s largest car-hire and mobility businesses in just four years. Since we launched our business more than four years ago, investment crowdfunding has grown quickly. Crowdcube reached its own milestone recently, helping to raise ?100m ? the first crowdfunding platform to do so. While E-Car will go some way to proving the doubters wrong, it shows a lack of understanding about the types of businesses raising finance through crowdfunding. The majority of businesses that raise funds via the crowd have a team with proven experience and serious business nous. They have a clear business plan with a keen eye on how an exit might be given and in what timescale. Read more about crowdfunding in the UK:- The top 15 most oversubscribed crowdfunding projects
- Exploring the true power of the crowd ? it’s not all about money
- Britain becoming a divided nation over crowdfunding concept
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