Part of the largest securities crowdfunding operation in the world, Seedrs has announced that it has topped 2000 successful securities offerings on the platform. Part of the Republic group of companies, the combination of the various platforms make Republic/Seedrs the largest online capital formation provider of its kind.
In total, Seedrs has facilitated more than £2.5 billion (or almost $3.2 billion) in capital formation.
Seedrs launched its first securities offering in 2012 when Swogo went on to raise a mere £17,500 backed by 47 investors. Over time, Seedrs has worked to provide access to capital and investment opportunity to a broader audience and more mature firms and now securities offerings are frequently measured in the millions of pounds.
In a blog post, Seedrs shares that Swogo went on to pursue four funding rounds on its platform with the company being acquired in 2022 and investors, depending on the stage of funding, generating a 9X to 16X return on their money.
The company has shared some of the most notable funding rounds to raise capital on Seedrs with several shared below.
Revolut, a well known Fintech and digital bank, raised early stage money on Seedrs starting in 2017. At that time, Revolut was valued at £275 million (pre-money). Today it is valued in the billions of dollars representing an increase of over 5000% for investors. Revolut has opted in to Seedrs Secondary Marketplace so shares can be traded online.
Senta, a cloud based platform for accountants, generated returns of 332X for investors in the first round (included SEIS benefits). This is the biggest return from any issuer. Of note is the fact that SEIS qualified issuers means investors do not need to pay capital gains taxes.
Investing in early stage private firms entails significant risk and is not for everyone. Many startups and early stage firms go bust. But if you understand this fact and are willing to shoulder the risk, you can benefit from outsized returns – especially on a portfolio basis.
Seedrs has benefited from a regulatory environment that has been supportive of online capital formation, combined with an entrepreneurial inclined population. Tax exemptions such as SEIS and EIS encourage investors to support risky firms which ultimately help to drive innovation, create jobs while boosting wealth and prosperity Over the years, Seedrs has been recognized as one of the most active venture investors in the country.
As part of Republic, you can expect Seedrs to list more international securities offerings as well as pursuing the EU market under ECSPR [European Crowdfunding Securities Provider Regulation] – the new rules that streamline pan-European securities crowdfunding.
