A Pair of Landmark Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns

We have an update on two very successful equity crowdfundng campaigns, “Salty” and “JustPark”, that have raised around £5.5m between them.   

The JustPark campaign has more than tripled its investment target on leading equity crowdfunder Crowdcube – raising £3.7m from 2,900 investors. JustPark is an app and website based technology that matches London drivers with vacant car parking spaces. The company took just 34 days to rocket to the £3.7m mark. The campaign toppled its original target by £2.7m on its way to becoming the largest amount ever raised through the Crowdcube platform, the most overfunded project in Crowdcube’s history and the largest technology-based equity crowdfunding round in UK history. Not a bad effort then!

Crowdcube’s Co-Founder and CMO Luke Lang weighed in:

“JustPark is one of a growing number of more established businesses to seek finance through crowdfunding. With JustPark already being backed by leading venture capital firms, we were not at all surprised in the level of interest from the crowd that this pitch received. JustPark was a fantastic investment opportunity and the results prove that.”

2,900 new shareholders join the likes of BMW’s venture capital arm BMW i Ventures and leading technology VC Index Ventures in owning a piece of the JustPark puzzle. The campaign has closed just a few days after marketing software company Rockabox opened up a £500k equity crowdfunding campaign on Venture Founders. Rockabox is already backed by prominent VC firms Frog and Notion Capital. It's clear that the smart money in the equity crowdfunding space is following the venture capitalists and angel investors.

That, indeed, is the core USP of the rapidly growing equity crowdfunder SyndicateRoom – which has accomplished an industry “first” of its own. Sunday saw the successful completion of a £1.8m round for Hollywood film “Salty”. The campaign, which launched back in early August 2014, is part of a broader, now-fully subscribed £10m fundraise. The film’s Director Simon West boasts a portfolio that includes ConAir, Tomb Raider, The General’s Daughter, Expendables 2, When a Stranger Calls and The Mechanic. Salty’s completion marks the first time in history that retail investors have had the chance to share directly in the profits of a major Hollywood production.

Gonçalo de Vasconcelos, founder and CEO, SyndicateRoom, commented:

“To have a major Hollywood director and his latest project shun the studio system and turn instead to equity crowdfunding in the UK is both exciting and significant. It shows the strength of this new funding concept and promises much for future funding of creative projects that have a wide appeal amongst a general public that has previously not been able to invest and benefit from financially.”

JustPark and Salty. Two very different campaigns, but two campaigns that reflect the pace of development within the world of equity crowdfunding. They encapsulate three key evolutionary angles: a rapid growth in volumes and individual ticket sizes, more regular access to VC/Angel-backed deals and the increased applicability of the equity crowdfunding model.