In some cases investors are turning to platforms such as Launchbay, Crowdcube and Caplight, where the above figures are from. Other times it’s the companies themselves arranging off-market sales to help workers get their hands on much-needed cash and boost their valuations along the way.
Hungry investors have placed US$50 million ($67.07 million) of unfilled orders for Klarna stock. Early employees of Revolut have been waiting months to cash in more than US$500 million of their holdings. Monzo has a nine-figure potential order book for its equity.
With the IPO market still largely frozen, there’s been a surge of interest in secondary sales — a way for existing shares in private companies to trade without the rigmarole of a stock exchange.
