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January 25th, 2023
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Crowdcube raises £10 million from crypto giant Circle and eyes European expansion
Evening Standard | Oscar Williams-Grut | Nov 23, 2021
Britain’s biggest crowdfunding platform Crowdcube is eyeing major expansion to Europe and could one day put company stock on the blockchain after raising £10 million from a US cryptocurrency business.US business Circle is backing the crowdfunding platform, which has helped the likes of BrewDog, Revolut and Mindful Chef raise money from small time investors. Existing investors Balderton and Molten also took part in the funding round.
Circle owns SeedInvest, a similar startup funding platform in the US. Crowdcube boss Darren Westlake told the Standard the investment extended a partnership between his business and SeedInvest. The pair have in the past partnered up to offer dual listings for startups looking to raise cash in both the UK and US.
“We’ve known SeedInvest for a longtime,” Westlake said.
See: Crowdcube partners with Seccl to shake up IPO market
The investment from Circle follows the collapse of merger talks with rival UK platform Seeders earlier this year. The deal was blocked by the competition watchdog, a decision that raised questions about the future of both businesses.
Westlake said Crowdcube had done “incredibly well” since then and became operationally profitable earlier this year. He decided to raise money to fund expansion to Europe after a rule change meant companies could raise up to €13 million from retail investors in Europe.
Crowdcube “spoke to all the usual suspects” about investment before being approached by Circle.
While Circle operates SeedInvest, it is best known for cryptocurrency. Founded in 2013, the Goldman Sachs-backed startup originally worked on crypto payment products but has found success with a ‘stablecoin’ -- a cryptocurrency pegged to the dollar. Its USDC stablecoin has a circulation of $33 billion
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