Freetrade has raised more than £7 million from more than 8,000 people in a Crowdcube fundraise - the largest equity crowdfunding campaign to be completed in the UK this year.

The funds will be used to accelerate the stock trading app's growth, which has increased in the past year to 150,000 customers. In 2019 the startup raised $15 million, including a Series A with venture capital firm Draper Esprit.

“We’d always planned on crowdfunding in 2020 and the meteoric growth we’ve seen this year made us think that was still the right thing to do,” said founder and chief executive Adam Dodds. “Still, it’s been incredible to see so many people invest in Freetrade despite the precarious situation the world is in."

Separately, workplace pension platform Husky has beaten its £300,000 crowdfunding target in less than 15 days.

The free mobile app, Husky for Everyone (H4E), aims to be the gateway to pension scheme choice and responsible investments for employees, while taking care of employer’s legal and compliance burdens, saving firms and their staff up to an estimated 88 per cent of fees.

Husky has already onboarded over 1,000 clients with monthly recurring fees to employers in a three-year subscription model.

The funding will be invested in sales and direct marketing to scale the business and take its Salary Exchange app to the mass market.

Chief executive Brendan Shanks commented: “We are looking forward to disrupting the workplace pensions industry together and empowering all individuals on one of the biggest investments of their lives.”

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