Seedrs celebrates record year for international growth and investment

Today (January 7), Seedrs has revealed 2018 was a ‘record-breaking’ year for European growth with the highest levels of investment on the platform to date.

The Woodford-backed platform saw a near 60 per cent increase in investment activity, recording £195m invested into pitches on the platform in 2018.

2018 saw 186 successful pitches from businesses who raised on Seedrs from 12 different countries, 28 of which were fundraises of over £1m.

Highlights included fast-growing international money transfer platform Transfergo, which raised €11.3m from 1,047 investors, German portfolio company Sono Motors, one of Seedrs’ biggest European success stories, returned to raise €6.1m, and wellness platform Urban Massage raised £3.5m.

The Seedrs Secondary Market, which launched in June 2017, also grew over the past year. Over 5,800 exits to investors are said to have been delivered.

Jeff Kelisky, CEO at Seedrs, said: “The past 12 months have been sensational for Seedrs; we’ve seen record levels of investment on the platform, while increasing our momentum in delivering real product and service innovation to the market.

“We launched another industry first in 2018 with AutoInvest, which alongside the ongoing success of our Secondary Market, delivered two entirely new financial products in this asset class, both of which demonstrated strong adoption from launch.

“These efforts continue to solidify our leadership in early-stage private equity at a pan-European level. We have big plans for 2019, starting with the launch of the Seedrs EIS100 Fund in the first quarter, with more to come as the year unfolds.”

Investors have been generating ‘profitable’ returns on the Seedrs Secondary Market, with the largest being a 23.3x return in portfolio company DeskLodge; many of these returns have been magnified further by UK EIS and SEIS tax reliefs.

In July 2018, the launch of Seedrs AutoInvest marked the sector’s first expansion into investment automation. The product allows investors to build a portfolio of early-stage businesses.

Tim Levene, CEO at Augmentum Fintech plc, a significant shareholder in Seedrs, added: “In 2018 Seedrs once again proved itself to be the market leader in this exciting and growing industry.

“From record-breaking numbers to sector-changing initiatives, we are delighted with their performance over the past twelve months, and looking forward to further growth and innovation throughout 2019.”

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