English
This following paragraphs draw on the research presented in ‘Moving Mainstream – The European Alternative Finance Benchmarking Report’
The state of the European online alternative finance market is strong. Between 2012 and 2014, the University of Cambridge surveyed 255 platforms in 27 European countries, which facilitated €4,655m worth of funding to European consumers, entrepreneurs, creative artists, SMEs, social enterprises, renewable energy projects, community organisations and good causes.
They found that the overall European alternative finance market, including the UK, grew from €487m in 2012 to €1,211m in 2013 to €2,957m in 2014, with an impressive average yearly growth rate of 146%.
[12:30:44] aldo cammara: The UK, as an innovative leader in alternative finance, dominates the European market with some of the most advanced online platforms and sophisticated alternative finance instruments.
The UK online platform-based alternative finance industry reached an impressive €2,337m (i.e. £1.78bn7) in 2014 with a 168% year-on-year growth rate. The UK alternative finance sector increased its share of the overall European market from 72% in 2013 to 79% in 2014.
Outside of the UK, however, the alternative finance market is also flourishing, with France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the Nordic countries recording the highest rates of growth. The European online alternative finance market, excluding the UK, grew by 147% from €137m in 2012 to €338m in 2013. In 2014, although the growth rate for the overall market slowed to 83%, the European alternative finance market grew by €282m to reach €620m. The three-year average growth rate for the European market is 115%.