PrimaryBid, an online crowdfunding platform that enables investors to gain access to equity capital raises of AIM-listed companies, has facilitated £30 million in crowdfunding during 2016. In its first year of operation, since the formal launch in March 2016, the platform has undertaken 14 crowdfunding transactions for publicly quoted companies operating in a variety of sectors from technology to natural resources. PrimaryBid credits its success to both the aggregated demand stimulated by PrimaryBid users and forward-thinking corporate brokers partners that made fundraising more easily accessible to all kinds of investors, not just institutions.
“With £30 million of capital invested through the platform in 2016, PrimaryBid is showing the City that there is a seamless and efficient way to allow all types of investors to participate in equity capital raises of quoted companies,” explained PrimaryBid COO Dave Mutton. “Through PrimaryBid, ordinary investors are benefitting from fast, easy and equal access to share placings, while quoted companies and their corporate brokers are tapping into additional sources of capital from this important segment of the investment community. We are looking forward to facilitating many more transactions in 2017.”
Average monthly traffic on PrimaryBid.com has increased rapidly since the platform’s launch and now more than a quarter of all traffic is via a mobile device. In November, PrimaryBid launched its first mobile app available for both iOS and Android devices, enabling users to monitor companies by creating a bespoke ‘watchlist’ within the app. Nearly every AIM-listed business is now on a PrimaryBid user’s watchlist.
“PrimaryBid’s rapid growth in 2016 has clearly demonstrated how important it is to facilitate equal access to quoted company fundraisings across the full spectrum of investors,” added Sam Smith, finnCap CEO, a corporate broker supportive of the PrimaryBid model. “I expect we’ll see more and more corporate brokers using PrimaryBid as an engine for accessing incremental demand for fundraisings in the months ahead.”