Freetrade confirms £50m Series B Raise

Commission-free share trading platform Freetrade has closed a £50m series B funding round, coming less than a year after a huge crowdfunding round.

Freetrade has been one of the fintech companies to benefit from the pandemic, which has seen a growing number of retail investors put their cash into stocks. Initially seeing a surge in interest in the March market turmoil in 2020, Freetrade has gone on to launch a paid-for service as well as lay the groundwork for international expansion since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. It is now seeing quarterly trading volumes exceed £1bn.

The deal saw participation from Left Lane Capital, The Growth Fund of L Catterton, the largest global consumer-focused private equity firm, and LSE-listed VC, Draper Esprit.

The round would be one of the largest fundraises by a savings and investment-focused fintech, following Nutmeg's £45m raise led by Goldman Sachs two years ago.

Led by CEO Adam Dodds, who confirmed the story of the new fundraise on social media yesterday, Freetrade last raised £7.1m in May 2020 in a public crowdfunding round. In total 8,500 retail investors participated in the crowdfunding. 

Dodds, said: “This is a transformational investment that will supercharge our mission to get everyone investing. It’s painful to see millions of investors across Europe stuck paying high fees and bogged down by complex terms and conditions. The costs of offering essential services like share dealing are simply not justifiable and erode valuable returns. Everyone already invests their time and their money on a daily basis, but there is so much more that millions can be doing to get the most out of their money. We are committed to helping everyone to achieve better financial outcomes.”

Freetrade now has c.600,000 customers in the UK. It is poised for international expansion also with France and Australia in its sights as new geographies to launch into.