The new Liquity platform launched this week in London shows how automated platforms can bring investors and private firms together. The step-by-step process for Sellers the new platform is:

Source & Copyright©2013 -  Liquity 

There is a similar process for investors.

The new private equity marketplace, supported by UBS Wealth Management, seeks to bring together company chief executives, angel investors, venture capitalists and other finance professionals in order to facilitate transactions between qualified investors, shareholders, and the boards of UK private companies, matching individuals and institutions which respectively want to raise money or invest in high growth companies. The online technology platform also has law firm, Wedlake Bell, as a supporter to ensure the legality and certitude of the transactional procedures. 

The value of unquoted company equity in the UK is over £300bn, and the UK is home to thousands of established and profitable private companies that could represent good investment opportunities. However, there are currently significant practical and legal challenges for all types of online investors to access these businesses – something which the Liquity platform is seeking to solve.

Longer-term impact
In the short term, the new launch is unlikely to be of interest to large multinational corporations (MNCs) or treasuries at this stage, excepting those looking for high-growth, risky alternative investment opportunities in the present low-interest rate environment, but it a possible way for smaller firms and start-ups to raise money. 

In the longer term, this new platform could be significant, as it illustrates how technology can potentially replace the personal face-to-face networking relationships of old and expand their reach way beyond the financial centres. Private investment could be going global.