A former Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) executive has teamed up with institutional investors to launch a service allowing people to invest in AIM companies.
Dave Mutton, who was the online retailer's head of UK business development and Yahoo Europe's head of commerce, has become the chief operating officer of PrimaryBid.
PrimaryBid, which launched on Thursday, will enable private investors to gain access to placings, fund-raisings and initial public offers (IPOs) of AIM-listed firms.
The company also announced a £500,000 Series A fund-raising, which has attracted backing from several key brokers and institutional investors including Shore Capital, Finncap and Arden Partners.
High net-worth individuals and an investment company majority-owned by funds managed by Henderson Global Investors are also supporting it.
Mutton said: "The fund-raising has shown that brokers and other institutions support the concept of allowing private investors to gain the same access to investing opportunities in AIM-listed companies that they enjoy."
Finncap chief executive Sam Smith said: "This brings a simple crowd-funding approach to IPOs and fund-raisings, which could also improve market liquidity."