Seedrs has reported another annual loss while its turnover almost doubled during a year in which the Neil Woodford-backed equity crowdfunding platform had its highest level of investment ever.
The figures
Turnover rose to £2.02m in 2017, up from £1.08m the year before.
Pre-tax loses narrowed to £3.8m, down from £4.08m.
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Why it's interesting
It was a year of change for Seedrs, as boss Jeff Lynn stepped back from day-to-day business in August to become executive chairman while operating chief Jeff Kelisky took over as CEO.
It also raised another £10m to support growth, including £4m from Neil Woodford and £6m from an equity crowd raise, giving the company a value of £50m.
But there is a long way to go for Seedrs to turn a profit, and the business itself admits that much of its potential income is "difficult to quantify", since it relies on the companies which are funded via the platform succeeding.
Not all companies make it, as demonstrated by last month's collapse of Hummus Bros which had raised money on Seedrs twice.
Seedrs said in its accounts that it plans to improve efficiencies in cost base and increase revenues this year, as well as adding new products. One new feature has already been added, as it opened a secondary market to allow investors to trade shares.
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What Seedrs said
In a statement signed by chief exec Jeff Kelisky on behalf of the board, Seedrs said: "The performance of the group during 2017 has been very encouraging, with the platform achieving record levels of investment and fundraising activity while introducing market-leading products. Increased expenditure has been due to continued investment in the group's core business in addition to the research and development of new products and features."
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