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by | Dec 30, 2017 | Pyrrhuloxia

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Seedrs is an online equity crowdfunding company, headquartered in East London's Tech City, founded in 2009[1] and launched by Jeff Lynn and Carlos Silva in 2012.[2][3] Since 2022 it has been a subsidiary of American crowdfunding company Republic.

In 2020, Seedrs announced that 250 startups had raised funding through its crowdfunding platform during 2019.[4][5] By 2022, Seedrs reported that over £1.9 billion had been invested through the company.[6]

History

The company was founded in 2012 by Jeff Lynn and Carlos Silva as part of an MBA project at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford.[7]

In March 2012, Seedrs raised $1 million in seed funding from private investors including venture capital firm Draper Esprit.[8]

In May 2012, Seedrs became the first equity crowdfunding platform to receive regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority.[9]

In July 2012, Seedrs launched its platform to the public.[8][10]

In November 2013, Seedrs raised £750,000 in funding through its own platform.[11]

In June 2015, professional tennis player Andy Murray joined Seedrs in an advisory role, having previously used the platform as an investor.[12][13][14]

In June 2017, Seedrs launched a secondary market, becoming the first equity crowdfunding platform to allow investors to buy and sell shares in unlisted companies.[15][16][17]

In August 2017, Jeff Lynn stepped down as CEO to take up a position as Executive Chairman. Former COO Jeff Kelisky was promoted to CEO.[18][19]

In August 2017, Seedrs raised £4 million investment for challenger bank Revolut.[20][21]

In October 2017, Seedrs announced it had raised £10 million in funding.[22][23]

In December 2018, Seedrs launched a venture capital fund aimed at passive startup investors.[24]

In August 2019, Seedrs raised £4.5 million in funding.[25]

In 2020, Seedrs and Crowdcube agreed to a merger.[26] This was abandoned on 25 March 2021 after the Competition and Markets Authority raised concerns about the deal.[27]

In December 2021, Seedrs announced that it had agreed to be acquired by Republic, a US-based equity crowdfunding platform, for $100 million.[28] The acquisition was criticised by some of Seedrs' small investors over preferential treatment given to large shareholders.[29]

References

  1. ^ "Seedrs Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  2. ^ Silver, James (7 July 2012). "East London's 20 hottest tech startups". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Just some of the investors you'll run into at #TheEuropas, June 13, London". TechCrunch. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Seedrs says amount invested on its platform jumped 49 per cent in 2019". CityAM. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Fintechs help deals on Seedrs jump nearly 50 percent". AltFi. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Republic – Seedrs Ramp Up Cross-Listed Securities Offerings". Crowdfund Insider. 16 June 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  7. ^ "New Oxford Saïd research to study the economics of equity crowdfunding". Saïd Business School. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  8. ^ a b Russell, Jon (6 July 2012). "Seedrs Launches in the UK, Allowing Anyone to Invest in a Startup". The Next Web. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  9. ^ "FSA warning over crowdfunding sites". The Independent. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  10. ^ "Eating Its Own Caviar, UK Equity Crowdfunding Platform Seedrs To Crowd-Raise £500K As It Expands To Europe". TechCrunch. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  11. ^ Sparkes, Matthew (25 November 2013). "Crowdfunding start-up Seedrs raises £750,000 through its own website". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  12. ^ Dann, Kitty (8 June 2015). "Andy Murray joins crowdfunding firm Seedrs". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  13. ^ Sweney, Mark (19 August 2015). "Andy Murray uses crowdfunding firm to invest in UK startups". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  14. ^ "No1 Seedr? Andy Murray backs more UK startups". The Guardian. Press Association. 15 May 2017. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  15. ^ "Start-ups might be about to receive a boost after Seedrs announces launch of secondary market". The Independent. 8 May 2017. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  16. ^ "Seedrs lifts cap on size of share lots in shakeup of its secondary market". AltFi. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  17. ^ CNBC.com, Neil Ainger; Writer at (8 May 2017). "Seedrs to launch secondary market for crowdfund investors". CNBC. Retrieved 4 June 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "CEO switch for equity crowdfunder Seedrs". AltFi. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Jeff Lynn steps down as CEO of Seedrs to become executive chairman". Startups.co.uk. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  20. ^ O'Halloran, Barry. "Andy Murray among Revolut investors on Seedrs". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  21. ^ "Revolut's $5.3 million crowdfunding campaign is oversubscribed". TechCrunch. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  22. ^ Bounds, Andy (17 December 2017). "Crowdfunding a mission to save capitalism from itself". FT.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  23. ^ "Seedrs valued at £50m after crowdfunding raise". BusinessCloud.co.uk. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  24. ^ Evans, Peter. "Seedrs serves start-up fund". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  25. ^ Alois, J. D. (30 August 2019). "Seedrs Confirms £4.5 Million Funding Round, Larger Raise to Follow. Seedrs Users May Gain Access to Round". Crowdfund Insider. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  26. ^ Butcher, Mike (5 October 2020). "Crowdcube and Seedrs agree to merge, creating a significant private equity marketplace". TechCrunch. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  27. ^ Lynn, Jeff (25 March 2021). "Seedrs Terminates Merger with Crowdcube, Announces New Funding Round". Seedrs. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  28. ^ Butcher, Mike (1 December 2021). "Republic acquires the UK's Seedrs in $100M deal to push into Europe". TechCrunch. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  29. ^ Hurley, James (8 December 2021). "Seedrs sale to Republic a betrayal, say small backers". The Times. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2022.

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