First secondary share trade completed on Crowdcube platform
Mettrr Technologies has become the first company to provide financial returns for its crowd investors through a secondary share sale via a crowdfunding platform.
It comes just six months after Crowdcube announced that it would pioneer secondary liquidity on its platform, delivering on its mission to help investors realise their investments.
Investors, who backed the tech startup in 2012 on Crowdcube, received a 9x return on their original investment after angel investors acquired a stake in the company. Following the transaction 10 investors collectively realised £50,000 in Mettrr Technologies, previously GetSiteTracked.com. Two further investors realised £250,000 in an off platform transaction.
Darren Westlake, Crowdcube’s CEO and co-founder, said: “Following successful exits from Camden Town Brewery, E-Car Club and Wool and the Gang, we’re delighted to facilitate a healthy return for investors in Mettrr Technologies, one of Crowdcube’s early success stories, as they realise their equity investment through this pioneering secondary share sale. This liquidity milestone, which comes hot on the heels of the share buy-back by Celixir, is the eighth Crowdcube funded business to deliver returns and brings the total amount now returned to investors to over £5 million, through equity exits and bond interest repayments.”
Since raising £100,000 on Crowdcube in March 2012 from 25 crowd investors, the company has developed a market leading artificial intelligence software that builds DIFM (Do It For Me) websites for small business owners in seconds.
Whether it’s through large white label partnerships or using wholly owned brands such as SoleTrader.com, Mettrr Technologies then connects these small business website customers with deals and supplies that they need to complete jobs that are generated from their own site. Recently, the firm partnered with Crazy Domains – Australia’s largest domain provider.
It is this technology IP that has garnered interest from institutional investors and enabled Mettrr Technologies to secure £1 million investment in 2016.
Sebastian Lewis, founder of Mettrr Technologies, said: “Getting the business to where we are today wouldn’t have been possible without our early crowd investors. I’m delighted to give those investors the option of a healthy return on their investment but I’m also pleased that 17 of the original 25 crowd investors want to stay with us for the next part of our journey to global expansion; I look forward to providing further liquidity events in the future.”
Darren Westlake added: “Delivering a return for shareholders is the ultimate goal for any high-growth business and its investors and Crowdcube has led the way in delivering more exits and returns in equity crowdfunded businesses than any other UK platform. We’ll continue to look to facilitate investor returns through secondary trading for businesses that are maturing as well as working with more established and venture backed businesses.”
Paul Hale, a professional investor and an early shareholder in Mettrr Technologies, said: “I invested £45k in two rounds in the start-up because I knew that, as an entrepreneur, Sebastian would have the drive and determination to make a success of it. Mettrr has evolved over time and its value now lies in its technology, widening its opportunities. I am delighted that I have been given the chance to trade some of my shares and make a tidy profit while keeping a portion invested so that I can see the business through the next stage of its development.”
