The UK-based electric vehicle charging station supplier POD Point is launching a new crowdfunding round — with a stated goal of raising £1.75 million in new funds — according to recent reports.
The funds raised via the new crowdfunding round will reportedly be used by POD Point to finance the upcoming rollout of POD Point Open Charge (the company’s next-generation public charging network), as well as using the funds simply as growth capital.
As far as “growth capital” goes, this is (in this case) in reference to the support of marketing and sales capability, further technological/technical development, and the improvement of utilized software. Crowdfunding investors will be receiving shares in the company in return for the cash put forward.
A recent email sent to EV Obsession and CleanTechnica provides more:
In an innovative move the total will be raised from two distinct financial instruments with £1.5 million of the target coming from an equity investment dubbed ‘Electric Equity’ and the remainder from a £250k crowdfunded ‘Open Charge’ bond. Both will be hosted on the crowdfunding platform Crowdcube. POD Point continues to demonstrate leadership in how alternative finance can best be utilized to help expand one of the UK’s fastest growing tech companies.
…The £250k bond finance is being used to fund the initial roll out of the company’s new Open Charge network of public charge points. Open Charge makes electric vehicle charging more accessible through intuitive free-to-use web and mobile apps with Open Charge POD Points no longer requiring the use of RFID cards. The bond will pay 8% per annum (paid quarterly) in interest and will return the original investment after 3 years.
Erik Fairbairn, the CEO and founder of POD Point, commented: “We’re incredibly excited to be launching these two campaigns. We’ve always looked to do things a bit differently at POD Point and giving the public and those concerned about the environment a stake in the future of the electric vehicle market in the UK seemed the right way to go.”
“We’re keen to press on with our mission of providing facilities for electric vehicle charging everywhere the public stops for an hour or more. This new funding will bring that idea closer to being a reality.”
As it stands, POD Point has delivered more than 20,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to date.