Partner Article

Crowdfunders in South West agree merger

A merger between two of the UKs largest platforms for crowdfunding was announced on Tuesday, with hopes of growing the market by an estimated £80m in the UK, and by $1.5bn worldwide.

Exeter-based Crowdfunder, which is ran by Crowdcube, have agreed a partnership with Plymouth-based peoplefund.it, which was launched by KEO digital.

The deal will bring both firms’ technology and marketing platforms together, along with both companies’ branding and staff.

Potential rivals of the newly merged firm have already been identified, as the company hopes to compete with new entrants into the market, such as the US-based Kickstarter.

Nick Underhill, peoplefund.it’s co-founder commented: “It’s a game-changing move for Peoplefund.it and makes us the UK’s leading crowdfunding network.

“Our aim is to inspire, engage and transform communities through enterprise - and following the arrival of Kickstarter in the UK - this is another huge step forward for British crowdfunding.”

Crowdfunder’s founfer, Darren Westlake, said: “The merger of Crowdfunder and Peoplefund.it makes a huge amount of sense for UK projects that need funding.

“It will deliver scale, expertise and marketing reach - essential for those projects who want the best funding platform possible.”

Peoplefund.it was able to move to the South West after a partnership with Plymouth University, who welcomed the merger deal.

Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive, Prof Wendy Purcell, commented: “This is a very exciting step for Peoplefund.it and opens all sorts of opportunities not only for the learning community at Plymouth University, but also for enterprise in the region.”

Since 2010 when it launched, Crowdfunder has raised over £330,000 for nearly 200 projects, while peoplefund.it raised £40,000 in just six days for one of the UK’s fasted ever crowdfunded projects, The Bicycle Academy.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .