By John Reynolds on Monday 6 January 2020
The crowdfunding platform said it had completed 250 deals in 2019, up from 186 the year previous.
Seedrs has reported a 49 percent year-on-year uplift in investment in pitches on its platform to £238m, powered by a number of fintechs using the crowdfunding platform.
Seedrs said it had completed a total of 250 deals last year, a jump from 186 the year before.
Fintechs which have raised funds via Seeders in the year include Scottish fintech Paysend, Capital Rise, the property-lending platform as well as property peer-to-peer lender The House Crowd.
Last year, Seedrs said it helped businesses from 16 different countries raise funds and receive investment from 78 different countries.
It said that 51 of the 250 completed deals were fundraises of over £1m.
Jeff Kelisky, CEO at Seedrs, (pictured) said: “It’s been an outstanding 12 months for the business. I’m excited to share our 2019 in numbers, announcing record levels of investment which demonstrate tremendous growth while continuing to deliver true pioneering achievements over the course of last year."
Speaking to CityAM, Kelisky said Seedrs could potentially open offices in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the Nordic countries depending on EU legislation.
He said: "We would be looking to put feet on the ground and engage with the local business and investor communities in each of the key markets."
The CEO told CityAM that the number of firms looking for funding had not been curtailed by Brexit.
"Brexit hasn't slowed down the growth of our industry or us in particular, and in some ways it has created more entrepreneurship," he said.
"What we have found is the greater the uncertainty the more you give birth to entrepreneurs because the entrepreneurs find opportunities in the uncertainty."
Other highlights of the year, said Seedrs, were 7,858 investor exits last year on the platform.
New features on Seedrs include auction pricing within the secondary marketplace and permitting businesses that have not used Seedrs for capital raising to access its secondary market.
According to its latest financial results, Seedrs, which is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, made an operating loss of £4.33m, a 12 percent increase on the year before.
Seedrs had previously said it plans to break even at some point this year.
21 March 2023
Daniel Lanyon