Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong.
Take 2 mins to learn more
Risk Summary

Estimated reading time: 2 min

Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.

What are the key risks?

  • You could lose all the money you invest
  • Most investments are shares in start-up businesses or bonds issued by them. Investors in these shares or bonds often lose 100% of the money they invested, as most start-up businesses fail.
  • Checks on the businesses you are investing in, such as how well they are expected to perform, may not have been carried out by the platform you are investing through. You should do your own research before investing.

You won't get your money back quickly

  • Even if the business you invest in is successful, it will likely take several years to get your money back.
  • The most likely way to get your money back is if the business is bought by another business or lists its shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange. These events are not common.
  • Start-up businesses very rarely pay you back through dividends. You should not expect to get your money back this way.
  • Some platforms may give you the opportunity to sell your investment early through a 'secondary market' or 'bulletin board', but there is no guarantee you will find a buyer at the price you are willing to sell.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket

  • Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well. A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments. Learn more here.

The value of your investment can be reduced

  • If your investment is shares, the percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares.
  • These new shares could have additional rights that your shares don't have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment.

You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong

  • Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker.
  • Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated platform, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.

If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA's website here.

For further information about investment-based crowdfunding, visit the crowdfunding section of the FCA's website here.
Portfolio News
Admin
· 1 min read
· Updated on

GCV celebrates its fifth anniversary

A growing North East financial technology company has hit a series of milestones as it celebrates its fifth anniversary.

Launched in 2015, by co-founders Norm and Craig Peterson, Growth Capital Ventures (GCV) is an FCA authorised investment firm that supports investors build a diversified investment portfolio whilst helping entrepreneurs raise capital to launch and scale high growth businesses.

Five years after launching, the business has hit a number of key milestones and GCV now employs a team of 22 and has facilitated £35 million of investment into some of the North’s most exciting high growth businesses including challenger banks; Atom Bank and Bank North and technology businesses, Hive.HR and Intelligence Fusion. 

Co-founder and CEO, Norm Peterson explains; “The past five years have seen the business evolve significantly. We started life as a technology-led investment firm developing and launching our online investment platform connecting investors to high-quality growth-focused investment opportunities.

Initially, we focused on early-stage business with high growth potential but our investment activity has expanded over the past five years to include growth-focused property transactions too.”

GCV currently operates across three core areas that include; Venture building through G-labs, a private investor network through G-Ventures and specialist investment software development through the businesses’ most recent arm, Quva.

The last five years have seen the team grow from just 2 to 22 people. GCV’s portfolio companies and property transactions have created over 300 high-quality jobs and the team are looking forward to the next stage of growth which will involve strengthening the team further over the coming months.

Read More
Driving Growth.
Creating Value.
Delivering Impact.

Backed by

Growth Capital Ventures (GCV) is backed by funds managed by Maven Capital Partners, one of the UK’s leading private equity and alternative asset managers.