PrimaryBid, a UK-based online platform that enables retail investors to gain access to discounted equity offerings of publicly listed companies, announced on Thursday it completed a £2 million investment round led by funds managed by Lombard Odier, family offices and a series of angel investors. The funds from the round will fuel Primary Bid’s pan European expansion plan, which will give retail investors exclusive opportunities to buy shares in quoted companies across the Eurozone at discounted rates.
Founded in 2012, PrimaryBid reported it has grown from early beta stage through to a dynamic, award-winning investment platform. To date, more than £56 million has been sourced through its online platform.
“We trade across multiple sectors and have so far provided opportunities to thousands of private investors. Though currently focused on AIM listed companies, we are moving toward expansion into other markets in the near future.”
While sharing details about the investment round, Anand Sambasivan, co-founder and CEO of Primary Bid, stated:
“A key objective for Primary Bid is to allow pan-European retail investors seamless access to pan-European public equity offerings. Whether a publicly listed company is issuing new equity or the government is selling down its holdings, we believe retail investors deserve the same access as institutional investors.This vision is very much in line with the European Capital Markets Union legislation, which aims to further integrate capital markets across EU states.”
Previously, retail investors were shut out from buying shares in listed companies – and listed companies that wanted to engage with their retail shareholders had no efficient method to connect with them directly. Sambasivan went on to add:
“This latest founding round brings us closer to achieving our ambition to extend our service beyond the UK and make it easier for retail investors to participate in new share issues in different markets. We are fixing a huge, longstanding inefficiency in the stock market and look forward to generating more client opportunities through our expansion plans.”