The Impact of Semper's Acquisition, Kroo's Crowdfunding Success, and Joining...

The inactivity in the public markets during the past 18 months has generated more curiosity in the private markets among existing public market players. Growth-stage businesses have faced difficulties finding ways to secure primary and secondary liquidity in the frozen funding environment and are looking for alternative options. At Crowdcube, our mission is to make private market investments accessible to both retail and mass affluent investors. For founders, this provides a way to raise capital, offer a liquidity event to employees, and build a supportive network of investors to propel the business forward. As an example, Chip recently closed a funding round with us in November, collecting £5mn from 5,000 individual investors. Having tapped into Crowdcube on various occasions, they have now acquired a following of 66,000 retail investors. To maximize profits, Chip want as many people as possible to benefit from their success. From a business perspective, raising capital from customers brings up every customer’s potential worth — shareholders of Chip are 500% less apt to end their relationship than non-shareholders. Additionally, Kroo Bank obtained £2mn from 2,000 of our investors at the end of 2023. They allowed their expanding customer base to be shareholders which conveyed the idea that customers can have an input in how the organization conducts its business affairs, from the services and items it provides. Originally, our attention was directed at primary capital, but since there has been limited new stocks available in public markets and the venture market has shrunk, organizations are now in search of different liquidity options for personnel and initial investors. Founders face the difficulty of keeping and encouraging their key personnel, those who have been significant to their growth and may want to give up some of their shares. The market for secondary shares is flourishing due to the emergence of two new trends, presenting unparalleled possibilities for both vendors and purchasers. We recently acquired the top secondaries platform, Semper, to provide an unprecedented opportunity for founders to recognize their transcending staff and pioneering angel investors by granting them shares, at the same time constructing an investor network within their consumer group. This acquisition enables retail investors to join sophisticated institutional investors in secondary transactions with some of Europe’s most promising late-stage private companies. This provides an unprecedented chance for individuals to invest in private businesses outside of traditional primary fundraising opportunities, potentially allowing them to benefit from the growth of these companies. Until now, secondary deals were limited to professional and institutional investors, but now companies have the option to involve both their institutional partners and their customers in these liquidity events. We collaborated with RetailBook in early 2023 to give retail investors access to IPOs. The public markets have been slow this year, but they are sure to rebound. As they do, our relationship with RetailBook will ensure that our retail investor base has the same opportunities as institutional investors. The UK is at the forefront of providing retail investors with access to the private markets, but other European countries are also beginning to understand the advantages of this. Entrepreneurially led enterprises are enjoying extended periods of privacy, whilst investors are turning to private markets for potential growth and variety. Ultimately, it is those investors who were originally barred from such investments that will benefit most from this change. The content first appeared at https://www.siliconroundabout.org.uk.

Source: https://siliconroundabout.medium.com/what-do-the-acquisition-of-semper-success-of-kroos-recent-crowdfunding-campaign-and-joining-5ca94fd8282d?source=rss------fintech-5