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Invivo ‘ecstatic’ at crowdfunding record
A New Zealand winery has become the country’s first business to attract the NZ$2 million (£1m) maximum investment permitted via a crowdfunding campaign.
Rob Cameron and Tim Lightbourne of Invivo Wines
Invivo Wines reached this limit less than two weeks after launching its offer on the Snowball Effect crowdfunding platform, bringing on board 439 new shareholders in exchange for 20% equity.
The response raised 400% more than the Auckland-based company’s original target, which founders Tim Lightbourne and Rob Cameron were seeking in order to expand their export business.
An increasingly popular method for wine and beer producers seeking investment, crowdfunding has only been possible in New Zealand since the end of July 2014, when the country’s financial authorities relaxed legislation.
Having closed the offer two weeks early, Lightbourne told the New Zealand Herald he was “ecstatic” about the final investment, describing it as “a vote of confidence in us but also in New Zealand wine.”
Established in 2008, Invivo Wines has reported 200% revenue growth since 2011 and is aiming to hit sales worth NZ$25m (£12.6m) by 2020. This projection comes at a buoyant time for New Zealand wines as a whole, with exports rising 8.2% last year to hit a record high.