Information on crowdfunded firms - July 2023

In response to question one, please see the following table listing the number of new authorisations or variation of permissions between 1 January 2018 and 25 July 2023.

In response to question two, the following tables list the number of investment-based and loan-based crowdfunded firms that cancelled their authorisations between 1 January 2018 and 25 July 2023 because they are winding down and no longer carrying out regulated activities.

Please note, firms may apply to cancel authorisations for various reasons, such as ceasing to trade, ceasing to carry out specific regulated activities (while continuing to trade), notifying the FCA they have never carried out specific regulated activities, entering voluntary liquidation or business transfers. Whilst firms will state the reason for cancelling authorisations on application forms, each firm's circumstances are subject to change and may be different after the effective cancellation date.

In response to question three, the FCA does not have powers to resolve formal complaints against financial firms. The Financial Ombudsman Service is the statutory body which resolves complaints against regulated firms. The FCA may receive queries from consumers, some of which may include expressions of dissatisfaction, but these are referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service where appropriate. The FCA may also receive whistleblowing reports from individuals but these, too, are not recognised as complaints and are handled in accordance with the FCA’s whistleblowing process. You may wish to contact the Financial Ombudsman Service for this part of your request.