Online investment platform PrimaryBid has closed a £7m funding round.
The investment enables the London-based company to expand its sales and marketing efforts as well as accelerate IT product development.
The FCA-regulated online platform connects publicly listed companies with investors for discounted share issuances.
The round was led by Pentech and Outward VC with participation from new and existing investors.
Craig Anderson, a partner at Pentech, will join the PrimaryBid Board of Directors with Outward VC having a Board Observer seat.
This year the firm said it had made key executive appointments and extended services beyond the UK following a commercial agreement with Euronext, the pan-European exchange in the Eurozone.
The partnership gives the company access to nine new geographies, with the first new site launching in France later this year.
“We are on a mission to democratise public equity offerings,” said co-founder and CEO of PrimaryBid, Anand Sambasivan.
“Everyday investors are a vital part of the stock market and yet unable to buy discounted share deals – a longstanding imbalance in the public markets. This is true whether it is a government selling down its holding in a large company or a quoted company is raising growth capital.
“Our online platform addresses this challenge, giving small investors the same access as traditionally afforded to large institutional investors. We are grateful for the backing of our lead investors as well as our other institutional and angel investors. With their support we are confident of executing our vision quickly and efficiently.”
Craig Anderson of Pentech added: “We believe equity capital markets infrastructure is dominated by an institutional focus and is not geared for retail investors, which unfairly restricts consumer access to the primary equity markets.
“PrimaryBid addresses this problem by using technology to emocratise the equity capital markets to provide a new asset class to retail investors. We are very excited to be working with Anand and the PrimaryBid team to help realise that mission.”