Online estate agent eMoov has smashed its £1m target on Crowdcube with eight days left to go of its campaign.
Initially offering 5% equity to its investors, along with an EIS tax-relief opportunity, the amount raised so far values the company at more than £20m.
“Having now reached our target, it’s become evident that some remarkable things have happened in the last three weeks,” said Russell Quirk, former estate agent, now CEO and founder of eMoov.
“More than a third of our workforce have invested their own money into the business, some as much as £5,000, while existing investors have committed £470,000 so far with more promised. We’ve had bankers invest, VC funds, and PWC accountants from Singapore. Plus a number of industry insiders.”
The crowdfunding round was also joined by Quirk’s dad and brother, investing £10,000 apiece, as well as a friend who could spare £50,000, with the largest single investment reaching £350,000.
The firm puts some of the interest down to the growing importance of digital house sales, increasing from 2% to 8% of the UK market.
This latest investment comes on top of £2m raised earlier this year from VC firm Episode 1, which is backed by Alex Chesterman, the CEO of fellow online property firm Zoopla.
eMoov also received seed investment from the Dragon’s Den’s James Caan back in 2013.
The company is anticipating following London’s proptech unicorn Zoopla into an IPO next year.