Crowdfunding supports London Co-Investment Fund growing portfolio
Crowdfunding provides early-stage companies an alternative financing option to bring innovative ideas to life, and access to millions of supporters who can invest from as little as £10.
Over 93% of the crowdfunding market is shared between the first five platforms, Crowdcube, Seedrs, Syndicate Room, Venture Founders and Crowdbnk.
These revolutionary organizations have removed the barriers, placing the power into the hands of the people, reshaping at the same time the way many companies develop their strategies for growth.
A recent report from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP found that crowdfunding helps to address the gender funding gap, by supporting more women-led businesses.
In the UK, there have been notable success stories, including Monzo and Pavegen, companies still expanding their reach, and E-Car and Camden Town Brewery which returned multiples to their investors.
London Co-Investment Fund invested in 10 crowdfunded companies in a variety of sectors, from consumer driven businesses to core technology ones, from energy solutions to health tech and IoT solutions. Two of such companies are Powervault and Skin Analytics, both of which have gained significantly from being part of the LCIF portfolio.
Joe Warren MD of Powervault said “LCIF has supported Powervault since its early stages. Without their assistance, we would not have achieved the significant progress that the company has made – growing from seed stage to annual revenues of more than £1m in the two years since LCIF first invested.”
Neil Daly CEO, Skin Analytics said “Working with LCIF has been great. It was hard work to convince them to invest in us, but from the moment they decided to we’ve had some great support. Whether it be reviewing investment docs, introducing investors in the right field or running workshops which pull together good people, LCIF has created some interesting opportunities.”
The impact of the LCIF investment is far-reaching, between Q4 ’16 and Q1 ’17, our crowdfunded companies have doubled their revenues compared to the previous two quarters, underlining an exceptional growth rate.
Our crowdfunded companies have raised an estimated total of £12m in subsequent funding, created over 50 new jobs, and continue to influence our ecosystem.