Investment Platforms and Marketplaces

February 24, 2016 @ 11:00 am By JD Alois  |  

RealtyShares, a crowdfunding real estate marketplace, has closed on a $20 million series B funding round led by big name investor Union Square Ventures with participation from existing investors Menlo Ventures and General Catalyst Partners. Crowdfund Insider first revealed the capital raise this past January… Read More

February 24, 2016 @ 10:58 am By JD Alois  |  

Lendio, an online service that helps business owners find small business loans, says business soared in 2015 generating dramatic growth.  Lendio states it facilitated over $128 million in financing for the year. This represented over 5100 SMEs in all 50 states. Lendio compares this number… Read More

February 23, 2016 @ 10:09 pm By Midori Yoshimura  |  

    At the Continuum SF Innovation and Credit Conference in San Francisco I recently attended, those present listened to a solid lineup of speakers discuss business development and more in SF and across the Pacific in China. Speakers included SF Mayor Ed Lee; Rob Suber,… Read More

February 23, 2016 @ 8:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

RealtyShares, a real estate crowdfunding marketplace, has announced placing both a $3.75 million first lien loan and a $975,000 2nd lien crowdfunded loan for a single family home renovation in Tiburon, California. The first lien went to an institutional capital provider. Nav Athwal, CEO of RealtyShares,… Read More

February 23, 2016 @ 11:06 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, Latvia’s peer-to-peer lending marketplace Mintos announced it has closed its seed funding round, which has attracted €2 million from Skillion Ventures, a Riga-based venture capital firm. Mintos is an aggregation platform that allows investors to access loans originated on a plethora of platforms –… Read More

February 23, 2016 @ 7:10 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Capital Cell, the first European equity crowdfunding platform specializing in biotech and life sciences startups and companies, has successfully linked with entrepreneurs and investors on their most recent self-funding round. To date the Barcelona-based equity crowdfunding platform founded in 2015  by CEO Daniel Oliver, who also serves as the president of Asociación Española… Read More

February 23, 2016 @ 6:40 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Consumer fintech firm, MoneyMe, has announced a $30 million AUS capital raise after just two years in operation, signaling increasing confidence by the investment community in fintech who demonstrate an ability to achieve their growth projections and deliver true consumer value. The $30 million capital… Read More

February 22, 2016 @ 6:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

OnDeck (NYSE:ONDK) reported 4th quarter and full year results after the bell today.  The online lender beat expectations by $0.01 but guided lower than market consensus. According to the release, OnDeck loaned more than $1.9 billion to SMEs for  2015, increasing gross revenue by 61%… Read More

February 22, 2016 @ 9:24 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Maserati and the Centre for Entrepreneurs have launched the second annual ‘Maserati 100’ index. This list consists of Britain’s 100 most successful philanthropists, investors, mentors and advisors, and, ascending entrepreneurs who are supporting the next generation of up and coming business tale. Among those on the… Read More

February 22, 2016 @ 8:42 am By JD Alois  |  

Peer to peer lender ThinCats has topped £150 million in loans since its founding in 2010. ThinCats is an online lender that provides access to capital for British SMEs. The P2P lender shared the top four sector loan beneficiaries over past five years include financial… Read More

February 19, 2016 @ 3:18 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Australian marketplace lender, DirectMoney, announced that it has sold a total of $5 million of personal loans to Macquarie Group (Macquarie), a provider of financial, advisory, investment and funds management services. According to DirectMoney’s most recent quarterly report the platform held $8.49 million in loans at… Read More

February 19, 2016 @ 2:15 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Thursday, Business Insider UK announced its 100 Coolest People in UK Tech list. Among those who were named were CEO of Funding Circle Samir Desai, CEO/co-founder of Seedrs Jeff Lynn and Crowdcube co-founders Luke Lang and Darren Westlake. Sharing details about the list, the media outlet revealed:… Read More

February 19, 2016 @ 9:52 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

This week,  Seedrs offered up some advice on how businesses (small and large) may benefit from using the equity crowdfunding method. The UK-based portal revealed that unlike other forms of financing, the funding method has a number of additional advantages for businesses. Seedrs went on… Read More

February 19, 2016 @ 7:37 am By JD Alois  |  

Assetz Capital states that its Quick Access Account (QAA) has seen over £22.7 million invested in their new service. Byt March that number is expected to hit £30 million.  QAA competes with bank savings accounts by providing a higher rate of return for savers will… Read More

February 18, 2016 @ 4:18 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Crowdcube co-founder and CEO Darren Westlake recently shared his thoughts on crowdfunding, including several myths and misconceptions. While revealing the truth behind the myths, Westlake stated: “Myths exist in every aspect of business life and our industry is no different. Our job is to set… Read More

February 18, 2016 @ 10:46 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

This week, peer-to-peer (P2P) platform LendInvest announced it has appointed Hugo Davies as its new capital markets associate. Davies reportedly joins LendInvest from Goldman Sachs, where he worked in liquidity, cash and collateral management. He stated: “I joined LendInvest with a deep appreciation for detail,… Read More

February 18, 2016 @ 9:47 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Marketplace lender RateSetter announced on Thursday it has named Richard Bastin the new chief technology officer as it prepares for further growth in 2016. Bastin reportedly has 25 years of IT experience in a variety of industries, including financial services, e-commerce and telecoms, from large… Read More

February 18, 2016 @ 9:38 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Thursday, Seedrs offered up a new incentive to those who see and share its latest ads on the London Tube or Underground. The funding portal shared: “Spot one of the Seedrs  ‘Boring is the new Exciting’ large format posters on the London Tube or in… Read More

February 18, 2016 @ 8:05 am By JD Alois  |  

Moscow-based Finstar Financial Group has acquired a controlling stake (51%) in Prestamos Prima. According to the company, Prestamos Prima has been operating in the non-bank lending and alternative finance market, specifically Spain, since 2012. Prestamos Prima operates Viventor, a peer to peer investing platform open… Read More

February 18, 2016 @ 7:27 am By JD Alois  |  

Peer to peer lender Zopa has announced it will launch a trio of new products to replace its existing lending offerings. The new products; Zopa Access, Zopa Classic and Zopa Plus, are designed to offer more choice and flexibility to lenders.  For current lenders, Zopa… Read More