Equity crowdfunding exits: what the crowd made, and what it lost
As of 4 Nov 2026, Raise Sonar documents 14 companies that raised money from the crowd, with the price paid, what became of it and the multiple, realised or on paper, each with its sources. Raise Sonar chose them, winners and losers, while Beauhurst counts 6% of UK crowdfunding rounds from 2011 to 2021 reaching an exit.
Past returns are not a guide to future returns. General information, not advice.
How often it happens
What became of UK crowdfunding rounds from 2011 to 2021, as a share of rounds, against venture rounds. Source: Beauhurst, The State of UK Equity Crowdfunding, 30 January 2025 (opens in a new tab).
Of those rounds, 6% exited, by IPO or acquisition, against 11% of venture rounds; 18% moved on to a later stage, against 22%; 57% stagnated, against 49%; 20% gone under, against 12%.
- Exited, by IPO or acquisition
- 6%11% of venture rounds
- Moved on to a later stage
- 18%22% of venture rounds
- Stagnated
- 57%49% of venture rounds
- Gone under
- 20%12% of venture rounds
These are the only base rates on this page, and they are UK figures from one data provider. Beauhurst (opens in a new tab) counts rounds, not companies or investors: "just 6% of crowdfunding rounds between 2011 and 2021 went to companies that have since exited the private market, either through an IPO or acquisition". The figures come from its 2022 report, so rounds from the later years had little time to reach either end. They add to 101% as published.
An exit is not a gain. Beauhurst's exit figure counts the sale, whatever it paid, so a crowd holder can sit in the 6% and still lose money, as Freetrade (opens in a new tab)'s later backers did. We found no comparable published base rate for the US or the EU, so none is stated here.
What each round returned
Of the 14 companies, 13 have a multiple to draw, from about 400x on Revolut to 0x on BrewDog.
The money back for each 1 put in, on a log scale, from 1x, which is money back. Past returns are not a guide to future returns.
- Realised
- On paper
- A total loss, which a log scale cannot place
Not drawn: BeatBox Beverages, as its return has not been published.
Every case
Largest multiple first. Choose a heading to sort by it, and a company for its full story and sources.
| Revolut | Crowdcube | UK | 2016 | Share sale opened to crowd holders at $865.42 a share (2024) | About 400x | Realised in part |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZigZag Global | Crowdcube | UK | 2015 | Bought by Global Blue from Circularity Capital (2021) | 38x | Realised |
| ContractPodAi | Crowdcube | UK | Not verified | Insight Partners led a $55m Series B (2019) | 30x | Realised |
| Monzo | Crowdcube | UK | 2016 | Marked at £14.41 a share in a March 2024 funding round (2024) | About 28x | On paper |
| Mettrr | Crowdcube | UK | 2012 | Crowdcube's first secondary share trades (2017) | 9x | Realised in part |
| OfficeRnD | Seedrs | UK | Not verified | Partial share sale to one of its venture investors (2020) | 7.8x, or 24.6x with tax relief | Realised in part |
| KoRo | Companisto | Germany | 2018 | Investors voted to sell to venture firms including HV Capital (2022) | 6x | Realised |
| Cityvarasto | Invesdor | Finland | 2015 | IPO on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland at €16 a share (2025) | 5.25x | On paper |
| E-Car Club | Crowdcube | UK | 2013 | Bought by Europcar (2015) | 3x to 4x | Realised |
| Camden Town Brewery | Crowdcube | UK | 2015 | Bought by AB InBev, at £1.0861 to £1.2526 a share (2015) | 1.68x to about 2x | Realised |
| Beta Bionics | Wefunder | US | 2016 | Nasdaq IPO at $17 a share, opening at $22 (2025) | 0.86x at the IPO price, 1.12x at the first trade | On paper |
| Freetrade | Crowdcube | UK | 2021 | Bought by IG Group for £160m, at £1.19 a share for A Ordinary and B Investment holders (2025) | 0.13x for the 2021 round; up to 15x for the earliest backers | Realised |
| BrewDog | Equity for Punks, BrewDog's own scheme | UK | 2009 | UK and Irish business sold to Tilray for £33m; no return to equity holders (2026) | 0x | Realised |
| BeatBox Beverages | Wefunder | US | 2022 | Anheuser-Busch bought 85% for up to $490m (2026) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
How to read this
A multiple is the money back for each 1 put in. 2x doubles it, 1x is money back, and anything under 1x is a loss. The chart is on a log scale, so each step along it is ten times the last, and the distance between 1x and 10x looks the same as between 10x and 100x.
Realised means a sale paid or offered cash for the crowd’s shares. “Realised in part” means only some shares or some holders took part. “On paper” is a mark at a valuation or a listing, with no payout on record. “Not disclosed” means a sale happened and what the crowd received has not been published.
A multiple is before fees and tax unless the page says otherwise. Many of these figures come from the platform that hosted the round, which has a reason to publish its winners, and no filing confirms them. Each page says where its figure comes from.
We chose these cases, so they say nothing about how often this happens: the base rates above do that. A case is here because the outcome is documented and instructive, whichever way it went.
Past returns are not a guide to future returns. These pages are general information, not advice or a recommendation to invest in anything. Sources read .