Growth Capital Ventures (GCV) has secured a £1.1m investment from UK private equity firm Maven Capital Partners.
The funding comes via the firm’s managed Venture Capital Trusts.
London-based GCV develops and operates online investment and capital introduction platforms designed to connect investors to entrepreneurs, early-stage businesses and crowdfunding campaigns.
It launched its crowdfunding investment platform GrowthFunders in 2014 and will use the new funding to launch a peer-to-peer lending-focused platform.
The capital will also be used to support development of its platforms as well as increasing deal flow in sectors including high growth SMEs, real estate, technology and clean energy.
Company co-founder and CEO Norman Peterson said, “As a result of Maven’s investment, we will be able to evolve the GrowthFunders platform, and add P2P lending to our model that will enable investors to access an additional number of asset classes and build a diversified and balanced portfolio.
“We will evolve the platform to offer investment opportunities in property and clean energy projects that provide access to asset backed investment opportunities where value can be added through development and/or active asset management.”
GCV claims the UK’s alternative lending market saw £3.2bn raised last year, up from £1.74bn in 2014.
Company co-founder and COO Craid Peterson said, “The alternative finance sector has a valuable part to play in stimulating economic growth and innovation in the UK.
“Equity and lending-based platforms have seen an increase in co-investment from institutional investors, a trend we believe will increase significantly in the coming years.
“Our online investors are keen to participate alongside specialist institutional investors to support businesses and projects that have the potential to make a difference precisely because they are tackling problems in underserved markets.”
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