Crowdcube expands across Europe as EU crowdfunding takes flight

Crowdcube announces it will be the first platform to operate under new EU regulations. The leading online investment marketplace will now be uniquely positioned to help more European companies raise capital and drive engagement, loyalty and advocacy from their communities.

From today, new EU regulation will come into effect harmonising for the first time the existing patchwork of crowdfunding regulations across Europe. The uniform regulatory framework will unlock huge potential for capital raising led and shaped by retail investors to expand across all European markets. Companies in the UK and EU will now be able to raise up to €13m from retail investors in a single offering of either primary or secondary shares (€8m from UK investors and €5m from European investors).

CEO and co-founder Darren Westlake, comments: “This change in regulation in the EU has been a long time coming. We are delighted that this form of fundraising is now more readily available to founders and companies across Europe. We have a decade of knowledge and expertise in the UK, which we can now leverage fully in a much larger market, and are well-positioned to capitalise on the new regulations and help businesses engage with their customers and communities in Europe for the very first time.” 

Having raised €1.2bn for 1,130 UK and European businesses like Revolut, Cowboy, and Citymapper from a community of over 1.2 million retail investors, Crowdcube brings its experience and community-building to new markets across the continent. 

Rob Moffat, Partner at Balderton, comments: “This is an enormous opportunity – founders will have access to more cross-border funding options, with the engaged and supportive shareholders to match. It’s a proven way for businesses to raise finance from their communities, particularly in the UK, and we’re excited to see it take off across Europe.”

Martin Mignot, Partner at Index Ventures, says: “If you are a consumer-facing company in Europe the rationale for involving your customers as shareholders via equity crowdfunding is incredibly strong. These new regulations make that possible for the first time at scale which is great news.”

For a long time, the amount of money privately-owned EU businesses could raise without a prospectus was too small to be effective for high-growth companies. Since 2018 they’ve been capped at €1m. The regulation increases the limit of how much businesses can raise to €5m, as well as setting a new legal framework for the day-to-day operations of crowdfunding platforms and strengthening protections for investors.