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Seedrs has joined Funding Circle and iwoca in partnering with Natwest

Equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs has become the latest alternative finance provider to join a major Natwest programme that aims to open doors for UK SMEs to sources of finance.

The bank’s Capital Connections offers Natwest’s business and commercial customers with introductions to the different alternative finance avenues available to them through their relationship manager.

In being admitted to the scheme, the crowdfunding platform has joined fellow alternative finance companies Funding Circle, Assetz Capital, iwoca, Together and Natwest’s own Social and Community Capital, in a move that attests to the growing mainstream acceptance of supposedly ‘alternative’ finance options for businesses.

Jeff Lynn, Chief Executive and Co-Founder of Seedrs, said that the new partnership would help to open up even more investment for early stage businesses in the UK.

Last year, Seedrs was named as the most active investor in UK private companies and accounted for over half of the UK’s crowdfunding market. It will be the only equity finance provider taking part in Capital Connections.

Lynn added: “As the most active equity investor in UK private companies, Seedrs has already funded over 500 investment rounds for fast-growth SMEs, with more than £210 million invested into campaigns on our platform to date.

“Through the partnership we look forward to working with many more entrepreneurs with exciting growth focused businesses across the UK to deliver the funding they need from seed to Series A and beyond.”

As part of the programme, the Natwest panel signposts customers to suitable sources of finance, whether that’s peer-to-peer (P2P) through Funding Circle and Assetz Capital, or marketplace lenders such as iwoca or Together, with no commision or royalties changing hands to help promote transparency.

Alison Rose, Chief Executive Officer of Commercial and Private Banking at NatWest, said: “We are pleased to welcome Seedrs onto our esteemed panel of alternative finance providers. Sometimes traditional funding routes are not always the best option for hyper-growth startups.

“As the biggest supporter of British business, we are committed to improving the support we can offer, which is why we have teamed up with a fantastic range of alternative funders through Capital Connections.

“The scheme is instrumental in offering funding solutions to the many innovative businesses we are seeing coming out of the UK right now.”

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