Derby Brewing Co increases equity available to investors

25-Apr-2017 - Last updated on 26-Apr-2017 at 10:16 GMT

Funding drive: Derby Brewing Co has a £500,000 target

Derby Brewing Company has increased the equity of its business on offer after raising more than £150,000 within a couple of weeks of giving its customers the chance to become part of the company.

The company launched its crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube at the beginning of April, releasing part of the business with investors able to buy shares in values from £100 up to £25,000.

The total raised so far is £154,530 from 199 investors, with a target of £500,000 to be reached in the next 21 days.

Following feedback from potential investors, consultation with Crowdcube, industry peers and discussing it as a family, the company has taken steps to alter the level of equity on offer of the company to potential investors and, as such, the value of the company.

The company has now agreed to increase the equity on offer from the outlined 3.86% to 6.5% of the business. As a result, the business will subsequently be valued at £7,192,307 from the previous £12,459,364 valuation.

“The support shown and positive feedback for our future ideas has been fantastic in such a short space of time but we wanted to take on board feedback from potential investors,” director Paul Harris said.

“The objective of this crowdfunding round is to achieve funding that will enable us to scale the business and take advantage of the huge opportunity in the real ale, craft beer and the quality venues market.

“As such, it is important for us to offer potential investors great value as we grow together, and we do not want the potential valuation or equity on offer to be a barrier to investment and people joining.”

Further rewards

There are reward incentives that increase in respect of how much investors put in, including a tutored beer tasting event and annual six-pack of beers for those committing £500.

“As a small family business, we wanted to be sure that all our investors are excited to be part of #TeamDBC and feel invested in our exciting plans for the future,” continued Harris.

“We have taken this bold step because, on reflection and as a family, the important driving factor in our crowdfunding is to create a positive and passionate crowd, which is excited about our next chapter as a business and not to create any unnecessary barriers.”

Derby Brewing has said it has “lots of existing plans” lined up for 2017, from launching a new range of craft, developing the existing venues and growing new ones, as well as sharing the great beers with the world.