Seedrs helps plough record £195m into start-ups in ‘sensational’ year

Seedrs, which raises funds for start-ups, on Monday said investors ploughed a record £195 million into businesses advertised on the company’s website last year — a 60% increase.

Big hits included Urban Massage, pictured, which raised £3.5 million last year, and an €11 million fundraise for money transfer firm Transfergo.

In total 186 companies raised money through Seedrs, with 28 of them raking in more than £1 million.

Seedrs chief Jeff Kelisky, an IBM and Microsoft veteran, said 2018 was a “sensational” year for the business, with record investment levels.

Seedrs, which boasts it is equity crowdfunding “done properly”, also has a secondary market where punters can buy and sell their shares. Since 2017, 5,800 investments have sold.

The company is backed by fund manager Neil Woodford, Faber Ventures, Augmentum Fintech and more than 2,000 customers.

Established firms that have used Seedrs in the past include British wine-maker Chapel Down, salad bar chain Tossed and the car share company HiyaCar.