PrimaryBid launches pan-European Connect platform

October 25, 2022 - PrimaryBid, the capital markets fintech bringing individual investors into public company fundraisings, announced the launch of its pan-European B2B "Connect" platform.

The open-access technology enables investment platforms, wealth managers, retail brokers, IFAs and fintechs across the UK and in the European Union to offer IPOs, placings and bonds directly to their retail investor customers.

Connect represents a new stage of partnership with over 60 brokerage partners signed up to PrimaryBid, including the UK platforms AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown and interactive investor and a number of discretionary wealth managers which collectively have contributed over £500m in transaction demand through PrimaryBid since 2020.

In the EU, Connect was launched in collaboration with PrimaryBid's strategic partner, Euronext, to facilitate pan-EU expansion and cross border capital formation. In France, Bourse Direct, Boursorama and EasyBourse are fully integrated into PrimaryBid's Connect API enabling at-scale automated distribution, and a number of leading EU retail intermediaries are in the process of completing integration.

Investment in the PrimaryBid Connect platform reflects growing scrutiny on public companies from regulators and policymakers around the limited access everyday investors have to 'institutional-only' fundraisings. As an independently regulated company, PrimaryBid has a track-record in winning access for retail investors to IPOs and secondary fundraisings working alongside all major investment banks and has completed over 200 deals since the start of 2020.

For individual investors, PrimaryBid Connect brings deals directly into their chosen investment platform, maximising the opportunity to make use of tax-efficient wrappers such as ISAs or funds on account. Partners also have a choice over their preferred interface to PrimaryBid, including straight-through API processing for digital-first platforms. Other enhancements include shareholder verification and transaction audit functionality that meet emerging best practices around deal allocation and post-deal regulatory reporting.

James Deal, PrimaryBid's Head of UK said: "The launch of PrimaryBid Connect is an exciting milestone in our mission to deliver public inclusion in our capital markets through technology. In the UK, HM Treasury's recent capital raising review authored by Mark Austin stated clearly that retail investors should be included in all public company fundraisings. HM Treasury is also working to remove other practical barriers to public inclusion, including arbitrary limits on retail participation in the UK Prospectus regime, soon to be reformed through the Financial Services and Markets Bill.

"The launch of Connect will enable corporate issuers and their advisers to efficiently execute on the new governance standards by accessing the broadest range of platforms and retail investors. PrimaryBid stands ready to unlock nearly ~£500 billion in retail capital for UK plc alongside our distribution partners: the PrimaryBid Connect platform is the next stage in our ambition to simplify and enhance this process."

Eric Low, PrimaryBid's Head of EU, added: "Encouraging retail investor participation in the capital markets is a core feature of the European Commission's recent strategy and consultations. We are working with our European partners to simplify the capital formation process and deliver broad-based retail inclusion through technology, very much in the spirit of policymaker plans for Capital Markets Union."