Record breaking crowdfunding

Lowndes Jordan is pleased to have advised Waiapu Investments Limited on its very successful crowdfunding campaign. Waiapu looks to invest in economically, socially and environmentally sustainable businesses based in Te Tairāwhiti (the East Coast region). Its first investment opportunity is in Hikurangi Cannabis Company Limited, which aims to be a leading medicinal cannabis research and cultivation business in New Zealand.

The Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 limits the amount that a company can raise in a crowdfunding campaign to $2 million in any 12 month period. Using PledgeMe’s equity crowdfunding platform, Waiapu's campaign included two stages of crowdfunding: a private roadshow to give local communities the first chance to invest, followed by a nationwide public campaign.

In its private roadshow, Waiapu raised almost $1.4 million. At the public launch, Waiapu then effectively reached its cap of $2 million within 10 minutes of launch (according to PledgeMe). This timeframe was PledgeMe’s record to date in terms of equity crowdfunding and the campaign also held the record for temporarily crashing PledgeMe’s website twice in two days due to overwhelming public demand!

Congratulations to the team at Waiapu. And it's not over yet. Waiapu continues to be open to assessing applications from qualifying investors.

Michael Busch led the Lowndes Jordan team advising Waiapu Investments Limited and was ably assisted by Associate, Joshua Woo.