Tim Eisenhauer, Managing Director at OnMarket, said: “Anthony’s experience in capital raising from a founder’s perspective multiple times over, will provide valuable insight for Queensland’s start-up and early stage growth business community”.

Queensland and especially Brisbane has one of the most vibrant start-up and scale-up scenes in Australia. Since equity crowdfunding commenced in Australia over two years ago, there has been approximately $50m raised by over 75 companies, of which nearly $10m has been raised by Queensland domiciled companies.

Eisenhauer stated: “We are delighted to attract someone with Anthony’s experience. We see Anthony taking a very active role in helping and guiding companies raise much needed capital in Brisbane, as well as the larger regional Queensland areas like Rockhampton, Toowoomba, Townsville, Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast.

“We believe that growth companies in Queensland, who are on their journey from seed to IPO are currently underserved for experienced capital raising advice. Having a member of the OnMarket team located in Brisbane will provide a far more seamless path for Queensland based companies to become investor-ready. This will enable well-prepared growth companies to attract capital from the 51,000 investors on our platform who are looking to invest in innovative and disruptive Australian businesses”, Eisenhauer said.

Queensland Chief Entrepreneur, Leanne Kemp, welcomed OnMarket to Queensland saying, “Queensland has an incredible innovation ecosystem known as much for generating amazing ideas as it is for being a truly collaborative place to do business. From social enterprises to agtech and international scale-ups to microbusinesses, there are around 35,000 entrepreneurs in Queensland.

“Customers drive revenues, revenues impress investors, investors fund growth, growth leads to big exits. And big exits lead to a robust ecosystem. This is the secret to Queensland stepping up its scale-up successes.

In Queensland, great ideas turn into great businesses. With more local capital available, we can leverage local strengths and see more companies on the journey from seed to success,” Kemp said.

Crowd-sourced funding legislation allows unlisted private and public companies the opportunity to raise up to $5m per year from the crowd. OnMarket has become one of the leading equity crowdfunding platforms in Australia, successfully raising capital their 51,000 strong investor database.

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SendGold is an alternative to bank money as it allows its customers to save, invest, gift and pay using gold. The SendGold technology platform is highly scalable and its business model addresses some of the largest markets in the world, including not only gold, but payments, gaming and rewards, targeting Asia’s fast-growing and increasingly wealthy middle class.

SendGold CEO and co-founder Jodi Stanton said, “We believe the world’s current money systems are based on technologies and institutions that are outdated, expensive and slow. It can still take days to send funds to another country even with a global internet and 6 billion mobile phones in people’s hands. Bank currencies tend to lose their buying power, especially in Asia, the company’s target market. Money is one of the last major domains awaiting an internet upgrade.”

Ms Stanton stated “SendGold is peer-to-peer, instant, and global like Bitcoin, but is based on a real asset that is simpler to understand, simpler to secure, and less volatile. SendGold delivers these benefits in a way that complies with global banking regulations.”

SendGold is currently live in various forms in India, Australia, India, New Zealand, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines.

SendGold continues the tradition of new entrants aiming to disrupt mobile payments and investment accessibility. Mobile payments are growing 33% year on year and simple investment apps like Robinhood and Acorns/Raiz are both stealing market share and creating new market segments. Robinhood, founded in 2013, was recently valued at US $5.6 billion.

SendGold plans to spend the funds it will raise via equity crowdfunding platform OnMarket to grow their team, further develop the platform, and substantially drive customer and business acquisition.

Ben Bucknell CEO of OnMarket commented “SendGold has previously raised $2.3mil from high net worth investors. We are delighted to offer retail investors the opportunity to invest in this innovative fintech company for the first time. SendGold has embraced the new equity crowdfunding laws by using the OnMarket platform to enable all investors the chance to own equity in SendGold.”

Key points:

• Equity crowdfunding offer to raise up to $2 million, closes Friday Sept 14
• Operating in the highest trending sectors in the world – mobile payments, peer-to-peer transactions, online gifting, social gaming and digital rewards
• Based upon a real asset, customers are the outright individual owners of 99.95% pure physical gold bullion
• Built to an institutional standard, AML and KYC compliant and fully regulated under Australian law
• Currently live in 9 countries in Asia Pacific, home to 43% of the world’s population, including India and China
• Major B2B deals signed in Rewards and Gaming
• Early traction and brand recognition via 7,000 app downloads, 180,000 Facebook followers, over 20% monthly customer and transaction growth
• Previously raised over $2 million from sophisticated investors, first time SendGold has been offered for investment to retail investors

The new crowd-sourced funding legislation allows unlisted public companies the opportunity to raise up to $5 million per year from the crowd. OnMarket has become the leading equity crowdfunding platform in Australia, successfully completing several equity crowdfunding deals in the short time since receiving an equity crowdfunding intermediary licence from ASIC.

The SendGold equity crowdfunding offer is live via the OnMarket platform till September 14. SendGold is targeting a minimum raise size of $500,000, and a maximum of $2 million. The minimum bid size into the offer is $250.

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Ben Bucknell

OnMarket has been awarded the 2018 FinTech Australia award for ‘Excellence in Crowdfunding’ at last week’s Finnies Awards held in Sydney.

The Finnies are Australia’s only industry-backed awards, which are supported by FinTech Australia and the NSW Government’s Jobs for NSW. The Finnies recognise and celebrate the best and brightest in the rapidly growing and exciting fintech industry. The award was presented to OnMarket by Stone & Chalk CEO Alex Scandurra, after each entry was assessed by a panel of 81 domestic and international judges.

OnMarket CEO Ben Bucknell said that his company’s ‘Excellence in Crowdfunding’ Award was great recognition of the hard work the OnMarket team had put into the equity crowdfunding space over the past year, “It is fantastic to be recognised amongst the crowdfunding and fintech communities. We look forward to continuing to innovative our capital raising platform, and bringing our 48,000 investors access to the most innovative and growing Australian companies seeking capital.”

OnMarket has become the leading equity crowdfunding platform in Australia, successfully completing two equity crowdfunding deals in the short time since receiving their equity crowdfunding intermediary licence from ASIC in January 2018. The new crowd-sourced funding legislation allows unlisted public companies the opportunity to raise up to $5mil per year from the crowd. The Finnies award for ‘Excellence in Crowdfunding’ follows on from OnMarket winning ‘Crowdfunding Innovator of the Year’ at the FinTech Business Awards earlier in 2018.

CEO Ben Bucknell stated “In our most recent equity crowdfunding deal we helped bring together the largest ever crowd to participate in an equity crowdfunding raise. This shows what we at OnMarket believe to be the true essence of equity crowdfunding, that is, to bring together the community to invest in companies making a difference. The capital raising provided solar energy focused retailer DC Power Co. with 15,000 people to be a ready-made engaged customer base.” DC Power Co. raised $2.25 mil through OnMarket in a deal led by co-founder and Managing Director Rosemary Kennedy.

Equity crowdfunding brings entrepreneurs and investors together for the first time, and that is what OnMarket was able to achieve with Revvies, which was the first equity crowdfunding deal to close in Australia. Revvies successfully raised close to $300,000 from over 250 investors via the OnMarket platform. Revvies has developed an innovative, fast dissolving mouth strip that delivers 40 mg of caffeine.

“OnMarket will continue to make investing in IPOs and equity crowdfunding an efficient, simple, and transparent process that is accessible to everyday Australian investors and businesses seeking to make a change in the world. We are extremely proud to be the winners of the 2018 Finnies ‘Excellence in Crowdfunding’ award”, Mr Bucknell said.

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OnMarket CEO Ben Bucknell said “OnMarket has now helped over 70 companies list on the ASX. We are pleased to announce that we’ve recently entered into an agreement with Listcorp to help these companies better communicate with investors throughout Australia.

“The fundamental benefit that both Listcorp and OnMarket are providing to Australia’s retail investors is access. OnMarket provides retail investors direct access to IPO and equity crowdfunding opportunities, and Listcorp provides retail investors access to much needed information about the companies they have invested in, or are looking to invest in”.

OnMarket and Listcorp work very closely with listed and unlisted companies of all different sizes, helping them build awareness and promote their company to Australia’s investor community. OnMarket helps early stage, growth stage and IPO companies raise much needed capital from their 47,000 strong investor database. Listcorp enables listed companies to publish content, and disseminate their message instantly to 30,000+ investors via their website, as well as through their partners, including stockbrokers Evans & Partners and Baillieu Holst, and the Australian Shareholders Association.

John Daly CEO of Listcorp stated, “There is a strong alignment between what OnMarket and Listcorp are both trying to achieve. We are both businesses driven to improving the relationship between investors and listed companies through the use of technology”.

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Rosie Kennedy

Equity crowdfunding platform OnMarket has successfully closed the world’s most popular equity crowdfunding offer.

Solar energy retailer DC Power Co. has crowdfunded close to $2.5mil from over 15,000 investors.  DC Power Co. is “Australia’s first solar-focused energy retailer” which offers to optimise household solar systems to use less energy and earn more money.

Table 1: World’s biggest equity crowdfunding deals by number of investors

Equity crowdfunding is the new way for everyday investors, mums and dads, and the millennial generation to invest in early-stage and growth-stage businesses. Where traditionally, this capital raising space was dominated by wealthy individuals, venture capitalists and angel investors, now everyone is able to handpick a company, invest and gain a stake.

OnMarket Managing Director Rosie Kennedy said “Equity crowdfunding provides broader access to investment markets and brings entrepreneurs and investors together for the first time. Australia’s $15bil retail electricity market is undergoing significant change with the increasing popularity and accessibility of renewable sources, OnMarket has been excited to bring this equity crowdfunding opportunity to all Australians.

“DC Power Co. is the world’s biggest equity crowdfunding deal by number of investors. In an amazing display of how equity crowdfunding works, over 15,000 Australians have invested and become shareholders in DC Power Co.

We anticipate significant ongoing interest in this form of capital raising going forward, from both companies looking for capital, and investors looking for access to innovative, disruptive and growing Australian companies.”

DC Power Co. was founded six months ago by social entrepreneur Nic Frances Gilley, Flexicar founder Monique Conheady, investment banker Emma Jenkin and solar expert Nick Brass. DC Power Co. are hoping to tap into the almost 2 million solar households in Australia and a potential 6 million by 2050.

DC Power Co. co-founder Nic Frances Gilley commented, “We see renewable energy as the way of the future, both as a business model and as an environmentally responsive solution to current outdated energy business models.

“The beauty of accessing the crowd is that our new investors will now become our endorsers, our influencers and our advocates.”

Key points:

• OnMarket has completed the world’s biggest equity crowdfunding by number of investors
• New legislation enabled by the Crowd-sourced Funding Act 2017, allows companies with less than $25mil in gross assets to raise up to $5mil a year
• Retail investors were able to bid between $50 to $10,000 into DC Power Co.
• OnMarket was granted one of the first equity crowdfunding intermediary licenses in Australia by ASIC in January 2018
• The DC Power Co. equity crowdfunding offer opened on March 15, 2018 and closed on April 15, 2018
• DC Power Co. successfully raised nearly $2.5mil. via the OnMarket platform through equity crowdfunding from over 15,000 investors
• DC Power Co. is the second equity crowdfunding offer completed by OnMarket within the first 3 months of equity crowdfunding launching in Australia. Revvies, a caffeine energy strip maker, successfully closed Australia’s first equity crowdfunding offer, raising over $250,000 in March 2018.

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Ben Bucknell

Equity crowdfunding platform OnMarket has successfully closed Australia’s first equity crowdfunding offer. Revvies Energy Strips Limited (Revvies) has become the first company in Australia to raise capital by utilising the government’s new equity crowdfunding legislation.

Equity crowdfunding is the new way for everyday investors, mums and dads, and the millennial generation to invest in early-stage and growth-stage businesses. Where traditionally, this capital raising space was dominated by wealthy individuals, venture capitalists and angel investors, now everyone is able to handpick a company, invest and gain a stake.

OnMarket founder Ben Bucknell said “Equity crowdfunding brings entrepreneurs and consumer investors together for the first time, and that is what we have been able to achieve with Revvies.

“This is the first equity crowdfunding deal to be completed in Australia. We anticipate that there will be significant interest in this space going forward, from both companies looking for capital and investors looking for access to innovative, growing companies, just like Revvies.”

Revvies was founded in 2012 and has developed an innovative, fast dissolving mouth strip that delivers 40 mg of caffeine. It provides athletes, students and busy people with the ability to have a faster, sugar-free, safe and consistent caffeine boost. Revvies supplies 6 national sports teams, 20 professional clubs, and Olympic athletes from Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

Revvies co-founder John Nolan-Neylan commented, “We were very excited to use equity crowdfunding through OnMarket to raise capital for our business. The beauty of accessing the crowd is that our new investors will now become our endorsers, our influencers and our advocates.

“We found that equity crowdfunding to be a great way to build brand awareness for Revvies, and an exciting new alternative to the more traditional ways small companies like us would normally raise capital.”

Key points:

• New legislation enabled by the Crowd-sourced Funding Act 2017, allows companies with less than $25mil in gross assets to raise up to $5mil a year
• Retail investors are able to invest up to $10,000 per company per year
• In January 2018, OnMarket was granted one of the first equity crowdfunding intermediary licenses in Australia by ASIC
• The Revvies equity crowdfunding offer opened on February 15, 2018 and closed on March 23, 2018
• Revvies has successfully raised nearly $300,000 via OnMarket through equity crowdfunding from 239 investors
• The minimum investment size into the Revvies offer was $250

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Equity crowdfunding brings entrepreneurs and retail investors together for the first time and is only now possible following today’s licence approval. Equity crowdfunding enables Australian retail investors to contribute as little as $50, or as much as $10,000 in a business. The new licenses follow federal legislation announced last year.

OnMarket will bring investment opportunities through Australian businesses to ordinary Australians through its online platform and app. Investors will be connected to Australian businesses like Revvies, which makes  innovative caffeine strips to support the nation’s athletes. OnMarket is also in discussions with a leading Medicinal Cannabis company to raise over $2 million via equity crowdfunding.

The businesses will make history as the first in Australia to raise capital through equity crowdfunding this year.

OnMarket founder and CEO Ben Bucknell said the approval marked a significant milestone for Australian businesses and retail investors alike.

“It’s time all Australians had a fair go and access to Australian businesses of the future. Previously, investing in businesses like Revvies would only be accessible to angel investors or venture capital firms but through equity crowdfunding investment democratisation is here to stay,” Mr Bucknell said.

“Equity crowdfunding is an innovative way to fund someone else’s dream,” he said.

Equity crowdfunding is already worth $US2.6 billion in the United States, and is proving popular in the United Kingdom and New Zealand as a way for entrepreneurs to succeed. Equity crowdfunding was only established in the UK in 2013 and last year had grown to £272m^[1] in the UK.

Australia has more than 1.2 million entrepreneurs employing two thirds of the country’s 12 million workers, and already contributes more than $343 billion to the economy annually, so the opportunity from equity crowdfunding is significant.

Unlike rewards based crowdfunding, which is essentially an advance payment for a product or a gift, equity crowdfunding allows investors to have an ongoing connection by owning part of the company.

It is estimated that 200,000 small and medium sized Australian businesses have difficulty growing because banks won’t lend them money.

According to Macquarie research, Australian entrepreneurs want to borrow up to $60 billion a year more than they currently are allowed, to grow their businesses, hire new staff and innovate^[2].

OnMarket has enabled investors to access more than 80 IPOs. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull launched the platform shortly after becoming Prime Minister in September 2015.

Mr Bucknell said “Young Aussies, in particular, want to make a difference and invest in businesses they believe in. In a recent survey, 79% of millennials described themselves as impact investors seeking both financial and social return^[3].
“Likewise, Australian entrepreneurs are some of the most inventive in the world, but banks won’t lend them the money to get their businesses off the ground. Equity crowdfunding solves that problem,” Mr Bucknell said.

Under the new Australian Government rules, unlisted companies with less than $25 million in assets and revenue will be able to source up to $5 million a year through equity crowdfunding.

Australians interested in equity crowdfunding, can find out more information from the OnMarket website: www.onmarket.com.au.

Case study: Revvies – The Australian Invention supporting Australian athletes

Revvies, the caffeine strips providing professional athletes with an instant energy boost, helps them beat fatigue. Revvies is looking at raising capital through equity crowdfunding to grow through increased global marketing, human resources and product development.

Approved by sporting regulators, Revvies to date have been produced in limited supplies, primarily for professional bodies.  With global energy drink sales worth $US50.5 billion, the Australian invention is a more effective and sugar-free alternative ripe for disrupting the global energy drink market.

Revvies is already being used, or is being trialled, by:

• AFL clubs Brisbane Lions, Adelaide Crows, and the Gold Coast Suns
• NRL clubs Parramatta Eels and Penrith Panthers
• Super Rugby Clubs the Canterbury Crusaders, Waikato Chiefs and NSW Waratahs and the All Black Rugby 7’s team
• Professional English soccer teams Leeds United, Middlesbrough and Hull City
• Members of the Australia Olympic team
• United States Olympic team
• Australian Institute of Sport
• High Performance Sport New Zealand
• Queensland Academy of Sport
• Cricket Victoria including Melbourne Stars
• A-League clubs Newcastle United Jets, Wellington Phoenix, Brisbane Roar and the New Zealand national football team the All Whites
• Super Netball League teams Sunshine Coast Lightning and Adelaide Thunderbirds

Revvies founder John Nolan-Neylan said he was proud to support Australia’s athletes and equity crowdfunding would help the business grow.

“Unlike energy drinks, these energy strips do not contain sugar and give an instant effect. When athletes begin to tire and fade, Revvies gives them a legal hit to help them keep going,” Mr Nolan-Neylan said.

“Equity crowdfunding gives us an opportunity to accelerate our growth and bring Australians who believe in our product with us along the way,” he concluded.

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IPOs returned an average of 25.4%, more than triple the 7.5% delivered by the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index. Floats raising less than $50 million delivered the best results, returning 32.2%, while those issuing more than $50 million returned 14.7%.

“While the conventional wisdom may say, ‘the larger the company, the safer the investment’, companies with offer sizes of less than $50 million were the clear winners last year, gaining an average of 32.2% by the year’s end. That is an encouraging statistic for IPO investing,” said Ben Bucknell, Chief Executive of OnMarket BookBuilds (OMB).

IT floats were the best performers, with an average gain of 70% by year end. Other strongly performing sectors were consumer staples (up 37%) and healthcare (up 24.2%).

Some surprising non-performing floats were financials, down an average 8.1%, barely ahead of energy floats, which fell on average 10%, the report found.

OnMarket BookBuild’s Bucknell said smaller IPOs could continue to outperform large ones, given the way IPOs are priced by sellers.

“Why is it that smaller IPOs are undervalued on float? Perhaps due to the paucity of institutional funds for microcaps, companies need to under-price in order to attract retail investors. Or perhaps it is that a higher return is needed to offset the higher risk of companies seeking growth capital,” he said.

Average Year End Price Performance by IPO Offer Size

Bucknell said the outlook for the IPO market in 2017 is bright, given the strong opening to equity markets and the large number of IPOs that were deferred from late 2016.

“We anticipate a strong start. If the commodity rally continues, the number of resource-based IPOs could pick up after a few lean years. We also expect that more listed investment companies will come to market in 2017 after a strong 2016, where investors took advantage of their comparatively low cost for diversification.”

2016 Average IPO Returns

During 2016, first day returns averaged 16.7% for the year’s 96 IPOs, which together raised $8.3 billion in new capital. The OnMarket 2016 IPO Report reveals average first day returns were 5% higher in 2016 than in 2015, indicating a robust aftermarket for most new floats.

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Mayfield Childcare is operating in the childcare industry, one that many Australians know intimately and that has grown by 11.7% annually over the last five years. The offer is open until November 18 with an expected listing date of November 28. The indicative market capitalisation of the company post-listing is $30.01 million, with an implied forecast dividend yield for CY 2017 of 7.65%.

Dean Clarke, CEO of the Company said: “Mayfield provides care for children between six weeks and six years of age and since the number of Australian children is growing just as female workforce participation is increasing, Mayfield Childcare is in a great place to take advantage of the growth opportunities these trends present.”

“We think it important to give every Australian investor, not just a select few, the opportunity to take advantage of this growth story. Our partnership with OnMarket reflects that.”

“Considering 37% of our members are so-called Millennials, or Gen Y, the fact that Mayfield Childcare has made its IPO available OnMarket also gives this generation the opportunity to invest in an industry that is relevant to them,” said Rosie Kennedy, a Managing Director at OnMarket.

Peter Lowe, Chairman of Mayfield Childcare, said that the company has assembled a management team with deep understanding of the sector that will be important to facilitate the growth plans of the company that include both optimizing existing childcare centres and acquiring additional ones.

“Centralising operations and management will increase efficiency and quality of care,” he said. “The majority of Mayfield’s Centres are within a 160km radius of the Melbourne CBD, which not only allows us more flexibility in staffing, rostering and management but also takes advantage of the demand for childcare in high-density residential areas so this is a great place to be,” Lowe added.

Mayfield Childcare will derive the majority of its revenue from a combination of the daily fees paid by parents and government subsidies. The company’s revenue for CY17 is forecast to be $29.0m, with a forecast NPAT for CY17 of $3.5m, giving the offer a forecast CY17 price to earnings (P/E) multiple of 8.5x.

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Wyatt Roy

H2Ocean Ltd, a company which invests in a diversified global portfolio of early and growth stage financial technology (fintech) companies, says it is delighted to be extending the reach of its Initial Public Offering (IPO) and offering shares to retail investors through fintech firm OnMarket.

“We are delighted that investors can subscribe for H2Ocean shares through OnMarket, a fintech in its own right, and a platform that is designed to allow retail investors to access IPOs just like H2Ocean,” said Ben Heap, co-founder of H2Ocean.

H2Ocean is set to list on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on October 16 and is looking to raise up to $55 million via its IPO. The minimum investment size is $2,200, and all Australian investors can participate. The offer closes on October 11.

For an interview with Ben Heap, visit the OnMarket website where he answers five questions about H2Ocean and its IPO.

The IPO will provide investors with the opportunity to access a diversified portfolio of typically privately held fintech ventures, with the objectives of delivering capital growth and providing an investment alternative to traditional listed equities.

Nick Motteram, a managing director of OnMarket BookBuilds, said H2Ocean chose to offer its IPO to the public using the OnMarket portal to get a broader reach to investors.

“There is growing awareness in Australia of the huge potential that fintech has to transform our financial system and disrupt the traditional financial institutions. Fintechs like OnMarket BookBuilds have strong growth potential and H2Ocean is backing the sector because of the significant opportunity that exists to provide more efficient and consumer focussed financial services using technology,” Motteram said.

Brothers Ben and Toby Heap are the co-founders and directors of H2Ocean, and will be joined on the board by non-executive directors, media personality David Koch, Wyatt Roy, the former federal innovation minister, and Beyond Bank chairman Anne O’Donnell.

“Through H2Ocean, we are allowing all investors access to fintech investments – the companies that are disrupting or reshaping financial services as we know it today – as a hedge against traditional bank and insurance investments that are at risk of digital disruption,” said H2Ocean’s Heap.

The Australian IPO market gained momentum in August, with the 10 companies which listed raising $1.2 billion and returning an average 34.1%, according to a new report, the OnMarket August IPO Report 2016.

The average monthly return from the August IPOs compared to a 2.3% drop for the S&P/ASX 200. Year-to-date returns have been strong at 24.8% compared with 13% for the same period in 2015.

These returns build on an impressive IPO performance in 2015, when the average return of the 93 companies that listed on the ASX that year was 23%. That return compares well with the S&P/ASX 200, which lost 3% in the same period, led by losses for large-cap stocks.

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