CapitalRise, the online property crowdfunding platform that connects prime real estate developers seeking finance with investors seeking attractive returns, has today publicly launched its first equity crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs, giving investors across Europe an opportunity to become shareholders in this fast-growing business.
The initial campaign target of £1.5 million has already been reached following exceptionally strong demand during the private phase of the launch, which was exclusively open to members of CapitalRise and Seedrs’ communities and filled in just 3.5 days, generating support from almost 300 individual investors. In order to allow a wider pool of investors gain access to the exciting opportunity, the raise is now open to over-funding, enabling the business to invest in accelerating its growth even quicker than planned.
CapitalRise will use the funds raised to drive forward business activities through the expansion of its expert team and investing in the marketing required to achieve its £100 million target of total lending, the next major milestone for the business. To date, CapitalRise has lent over £25 million against over £270 million of prime property assets in locations such as Mayfair, Knightsbridge and the Home Counties, while demand for finance remains robust with a record c. £1.6 billion of loan enquiries generated in the past six months.
Offering 8-12% p.a. returns through asset-backed investments to support the development of some of the UK’s finest properties, CapitalRise’s platform allows retail investors with as little as £1,000 to access investment opportunities that would have traditionally only been available to Ultra-High-Net-Worth individuals and large institutions with millions to invest.
The platform has already paid back £7 million to members, with its latest redemption - which closed on schedule, on Friday - delivering returns of 11% p.a. to investors who put their money into the Central London project 24 months ago. Furthermore, CapitalRise has seen a more than twofold surge in registered user numbers over the past 12 months, with every investment opportunity launched generating oversubscribed demand, and clearly demonstrating the strong appetite for access to this market.
Following its launch in 2016, CapitalRise raised £2 million in seed funding in April 2018 in a round led by the family of renowned banking entrepreneur Rana Kapoor who founded YES Bank, India’s fourth largest private sector bank. This seed funding allowed CapitalRise to expand its lending team, facilitating a significant increase in lending volumes and enabling the delivery of flexible and tailored financing solutions for multiple unique prime property development projects throughout the last 12 months, resulting in a fourfold increase in funds extended.
Uma Rajah, Co-Founder and CEO at CapitalRise, commented: “This fundraise will allow us to build on our success and give many existing CapitalRise investors the opportunity to purchase equity in the company they have helped grow. We’re humbled by the show of support already received from our community, and now look forward to introducing the business to an even wider audience of crowdfunding investors through the Seedrs platform.
“Whilst this raise will be used to expand the business, this year we are also looking to write increasingly bigger ticket loans, whilst ensuring we never compromise on the quality of assets we lend against, so that we can maintain our impressive track record.
“We’re very excited to be working with Seedrs, who are highly respected in the equity crowdfunding space. As a fellow crowdfunding platform, we’re confident that Seedrs are a great partner for us and we look forward to a positive response from their member base.”