Just days after the UK’s voters made the surprising decision to leave the European Union (EU), Finland’s equity crowdfunding platform, Invesdor, weighed in on the big vote.
The funding portal’s communications manager, Mikko Savolainen, revealed in a blog post:
“Late last week, the UK voted in favour of leaving the EU. ”Brexit” has sent the financial markets tumbling as uncertainty over the future is taking hold. We want to emphasise that nothing about Invesdor’s operations will change in the short term. Furthermore, as far as we know, Brexit will not make cross-border investing from or to the UK more difficult in the longer term. Instead, the most damaging immediate effect is likely to stem from uncertainty in the markets.
“It is now even more important for us to have a physical presence in the UK, which is why we will soon be opening up a branch in the UK. This will enable us to build a strong team in the UK and continue to work closely with the UK crowdfunding industry. Invesdor is already an active member of both the UK Crowdfunding Association, the UK Business Angel Association and Innovate Finance. We believe we will be in a unique position to be a bridge between Nordic and UK entrepreneurs giving them access to investors worldwide.
“We have already addressed the cross-border aspect of our business; after all we already operate in four different countries with four different currencies. Now we are scaling up, and the UK will continue to be an important part of that.”
In regards to EU’s future, Savolainen added:
“At the moment, it is too early to tell exactly when the UK’s exit from the EU will actually happen and what its effects will be. There are still many negotiations ahead, and it’s been reported that the exit will take at least two years to finalise. Markets rely on confidence to operate, so right now the best thing for all of us to do is to not be overly pessimistic. For the moment, let’s just keep calm and carry on.”
