The crowdfunding sector is healthy. The latest numbers presented by the Politecnico di Milano at the presentation of the seventh of the Italian Report on Crowdinvesting confirm this. The Observatory of the School of Management of the University of Milan produced the study. Although a slight slowdown (-2.2 percent) compared to the first half of 2021, Italy’s fundraising in the last 12 months has been excellent. The 90 crowdfunding platforms active in Italy have raised 1130 million euros, surpassing the billion-euro threshold for the first time since 2014 and putting a +27% increase over the previous year
In more detail, annual equity crowdfunding funding was 97.79 million euros for non-real estate projects (with some decline in the first half of 2022), adding 44.10 million for real estate projects. Minibonds placed on portals increased to 37.63 million euros: this segment did not exist until the first half of 2020 and grew by 68.7 percent. Lending portals contributed in the last year with 65.49 million euros lent to individuals (+51.7% despite the few active platforms) and 102.44 million to businesses through generalist portals (down in the first half of 2022), plus 83.15 million from portals specializing in real estate, on the contrary in a sound increase in the last six months (+56.7%) thanks mainly to the proliferation of portals. As predicted by researchers, real estate crowdfunding continues its run: there are now 27 dedicated platforms, and in 12 months, they have raised as much as 127.25 million euros, +38.1% compared to the previous period.
Equity crowdfunding
As of June 30, 2022, 51 portals for raising capital online were authorized by Consob, precisely the same as last year, although a good number have not yet been activated. In the past 12 months, 36 minibond placement campaigns have been completed on the eight portals currently authorized, totaling 37.63 million euros. There were 219 venture capital campaigns organized by 215 different companies in the same period, some with multiple rounds. The success rate remains high: in the first six months of 2022, it is 88.9 percent, well above the overall average for the entire sample since 2014 of 79.3 percent. Cumulative venture capital funding over time is 429.04 million; in the last 12 months, the flow was 141.9 million, including 58.99 million in the first half of 2022.
The average collection target value for non-real estate projects is 204,762 euros. For real estate projects, it is 1,078,633 euros. On average, 8.65 percent of the capital is offered in exchange for non-real estate projects (value decreasing to 5.83 percent in the first half of 2022), and the practice of providing non-voting securities below a particular investment threshold (and voting securities above the threshold) is strengthened. SMEs continue to gain space among issuers, but the market is still dominated by innovative startups (56 percent of cases in the past year, joined by 16 percent of innovative SMEs). The vast majority, as for years now, operate in Lombardy, then Emilia Romagna and Lazio, and are active in the information and communication services sector. The median pre-money valuation is around 2 million euros.
The platform that has finalized and raised the most capital so far is still Mamacrowd (€83.61 million actual as of June 30, 2022), followed by Crowdfundme (€71.09 million and the most significant number of published campaigns ever, 192) and Walliance (€68.46 million). On average, each campaign receives the support of 96.2 investors (primarily male, around 45 years old), and the average amount invested is €3,913 for individuals and €35,740 for legal entities, trending upward compared to the past.
Lending crowdfunding
As far as lending is concerned, as of June 30, 2022, there were seven platforms active in Italy aimed at financing individuals (consumer, one more than last year), 12 dedicated to businesses (business, four more), and as many as 20 specialized in real estate (6 more), that is 39 in total. Funding in the last 12 months was 65.49 million euros for consumer platforms, with a cumulative total over time of 188.82 million: leading the way is Soisy, with 43.26 million euros in the last year. The generalist platforms in the business segment add 102.44 million euros to their assets, reaching a cumulative total of 272.97 million: October excels in the part with 83.20 million euros raised, of which, however, a good portion comes from professional non crowd investors. Real estate platforms record an annual flow of 83.15 million euros raised and a total of 176.49 million: the first is Rendimento Etico, with 24.3 million euros in assets in the last year. Some platforms provide protection funds to repay any defaulted loans, while others leverage the public guarantee of the State SME Fund.
Real estate crowdfunding
As predicted by the Observatory, the real estate crowdfunding industry has continued to be exceptionally vibrant in Italy: while a year ago there were only 18 active, dedicated platforms, today there are 27. Typically, these are short- to medium-term projects that aim to redevelop or build from scratch real estate properties with subsequent sales. Crowdfunding has an essential boost in initial financing due to the speed of raising and the absence of collateral. Projects financed in the past year in this sector raised an impressive 127.25 million euros, up 38.1 percent.
