With just over three months to go before the June referendum on whether the UK should leave the European Union, new research¹ from Seedrs, the UK’s No.1 equity crowdfunding platform, finds that the Brexit jury is still out for entrepreneurs and early stage investors.
While half of investors (51%) and entrepreneurs (48%) would vote to stay in the EU, 47% of investors and 43% of entrepreneurs would vote to leave. Nearly one in 10 entrepreneurs (9%) said that they had no preference either way, compared to just 2% of investors.
In a separate poll, Seedrs asked respondents what impact Britain leaving the EU would have on the UK startup environment. Almost two thirds (63%) said it would have a negative effect, while 16% said it would be positive. More than one in five (21%) said they were unsure what impact it would have.
Jeff Lynn, CEO of Seedrs, said: “The very even split between the in and out vote shows what a complicated issue this is. It’s clear that this has become a debate lacking real information and that we are instead hearing soundbites from both sides. There is a need to present people with real information to help them make an informed decision in June.”
Along with the CEOs of a substantial number of other UK tech businesses, Jeff has put his name behind the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign. He explains: “As a business Seedrs is in favour of Britain remaining in the European Union. We are a pan-European platform with London at our core, and we believe that we and our users stand to benefit from the open market that comes with Britain’s continued EU membership; in contrast, leaving the EU creates a number of very real risks for the British business community.”
Last month, Seedrs announced that it has had more than £100 million invested on its platform since launching in July 2012 and, according to research firm Beauhurst, is the most active seed-stage equity investor in the UK.
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