Debt: The alternative lending landscape July 1, 2015 Loan-based alternative finance might be victim to sloppy definitions, but it is too significant to ignore Alternative finance grew by 168 per cent in the UK last year, according to a report by Cambridge’s Judge Business School. While the oft-vaunted equity crowdfunding saw volumes totalling £83m in 2014, debt-based lending, via crowdfunding and peer-to-peer [...]
London coffee chain surges past £600,000 crowdfunding target June 30, 2015 ARTISAN coffee brand Notes smashed through its £600,000 fundraising target yesterday, reaching over £670,000 by last night. The firm chose crowdfunding as its method to raise the funds, and is using the Crowdcube online platform to do so. Over 25 per cent of the target amount was raised within 48 hours of the pitch going [...]
Crowdfunding Greece: This Indiegogo Grexit bailout crowdfund has reached a six-figure sum June 30, 2015 Sceptical of the power of people? Us too. But you can't help but be impressed by the fact this crowdfunding campaign to help Greece meet its debts has already reached a six-figure sum. At 2pm on Tuesday the total raised had reached nearly €125, 000 from donations made by 7,743 people in just one [...]
Greek debt crisis: This Londoner is crowdfunding a Greek bailout fund on Indiegogo June 29, 2015 Greece has a rather large bill to pay. Read more: This Indiegogo Grexit bailout crowdfund has reached a six-figure sum As the country approaches the deadline for repaying loans to its creditors – €1.6bn of which is due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) tomorrow – it's the kind of cash that a country doesn't just find [...]
Private equity firm Agilitas snaps up Danish firm MH Group June 22, 2015 Private equity firm Agilitas has added to its portfolio of recycling companies by backing a management buyout of Danish firm MH Group. The UK-headquartered firm will back current MH boss Christian Rindbol by acquiring the financial interests of Michael Henriksen Holdings. MH was founded by Michael Henriksen in 1997, but he died last year. MH [...]
The great adventure: How to navigate the world of equity crowdfunding as an investor June 18, 2015 Debt and equity crowdfunding have the potential to revolutionise small business funding. In 2012, The Breedon Report predicted a funding gap of £59bn for UK companies by 2016, if nothing was done. The government’s response was to make funds available via alternative finance providers and to enhance the benefits to equity investors via the Enterprise [...]
Eyeing property crowdfunding? The nuts and bolts of the new sector’s leading platforms June 17, 2015 In the space of half an hour, 126 people clubbed together to buy a house via a property crowdfunding platform last month. The £212,900 two-bed flat in Byfleet, a half-hour train journey from Waterloo, was listed on platform Property Partner. Founded this year, it counts Betfair co-founder Ed Wray as one of its backers [...]
Bob Diamond’s Atlas Mara sells stake in Zimbabwe private equity firm Brainworks Capital Management June 17, 2015 Atlas Mara, the Africa-focused financial services group owned by former Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond, has sold its 10.1 per cent stake in Brainworks Capital Management, which describes itself as "Zimbabwe's pre-eminent private equity investment and advisory firm". Read more: Why would Bob Diamond want to buy a bank in Rwanda anyway? The deal netted [...]
Private equity firm TPG to move offices to Mayfair’s Park House June 16, 2015 Private equity firm TPG has signed a deal to relocate its European headquarters to a new development opposite Selfridges department store on Oxford Street. The US-based firm, which is currently based at 5-7 Carlton Gardens in London’s St James, has agreed to take the entire fifth floor of Park House on a 15-year lease, the [...]
Grind looks to Crowdcube for £1.5m crowdfunding coffee fix June 15, 2015 Coffee chain Grind is looking to tap up latte and espresso lovers through crowdfunding service Crowdcube for its next phase of expansion, after launching a £1.5m bond issue today. Grind was founded four years ago by Australian DJ and musician Kaz James and entrepreneur David Abrahamovitch, who were unsatisfied with the quality of the espressos [...]