We have seen a lot of anecdotal evidence that online capital formation platforms focusing on early-stage ventures continue to do pretty well in spite of the ongoing pandemic. Earlier today, Crowdcube co-founder Luke Lang tweeted out some numbers indicating robust performance on the platform during the month of April. The UK was put into lockdown mode at the end of March as COVID-19 rapidly spread. According to Lang, crowdfunding on Crowdcube increased dramatically in April – up by a whopping 58% versus March. Lang said that 24 businesses funded in April raising £9.2 million in investment – a year over year increase of 28%.
Entrepreneurs are getting on with it! Despite lockdown, 24 businesses funded on @Crowdcube in April & we had over £9.2m of investment, up 58% vs March when the lockdown really bit. Investments in April were even up 28% to 14,000 compared to the previous year. Encouraging signs 🙂
— Luke Lang (@lukelang) May 13, 2020
So will strong investment crowdfunding performance continue? It is tough to tell. But VCs have pulled back while growth capital is still in demand – this may be driving more interest in raising money on investment marketplaces. Now, we just need the Coronavirus to go away for good.
