Wombat further bolsters advisory board ahead of £10m Series A funding round

Micro-investing platform Wombat Invest has appointed David Davies and Iqbal Gandham to its advisory board as it prepares to raise a £10m Series A funding round to support its rapid growth and forthcoming expansion into Europe.

The London-based startup has appointed Davies, the current CEO at  Navos Technologies and former CIO at Hargreaves Lansdown, and Gandham, the UK MD at Ledger and former MD at eToro, on three-year advisory deals.

They join a heavyweight team of advisers including fintech investor Chris Adelsbach, UK BAA Angel of the Year 2018/19, and COO of Your Parking Space and former UK GM at the Trainline James Moore.

The appointments come as Wombat, backed by Fuel Ventures, gears up for a Series A funding round as it prepares to launch into Europe – where it estimates it has a total addressable market of 100m users – and increase its investment in marketing and product development.

Launched in 2019, Wombat has seen rapid growth as novice investors flock to access its range of theme-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and curated UK, US and EU fractional shares. It now has more than 160,000 users and 15% month-on-month user growth.

In July, Wombat cut its annual platform charge to just 0.1%, making it the cheapest platform in the UK for ISA investors buying individual stocks.

“We’re fortunate to have a stellar team of advisers and David and Iqbal will further enhance the wealth of knowledge we have around us as we continue to rapidly scale the business,” says Kane Harrison, CEO and co-founder of Wombat. “The Series A funding round will support our initial expansion into Europe and help us launch and market some exciting and unique new products and features. David and Iqbal’s counsel will be invaluable as we continue on our journey and we are thrilled they have agreed to join the advisory board.”

David Davies says: “Wombat is one of the fastest-growing investment platforms in the UK and has exciting plans to expand in Europe and beyond. Its straightforward proposition is perfectly placed to attract huge numbers of new users in every market it enters and I’m delighted to become an adviser to Kane and the Wombat team as they continue to deliver on their ambitious growth strategy.”

Iqbal Gandham says: “Wombat is a hugely impressive business with incredible growth potential and a leadership team with vision and skill. I have been following the business closely since launch and it is a pleasure to join the team as an adviser at such an exciting stage of its development.”