Risk Warnings

Investing through Crowdbase is high risk. You should be prepared to lose all of the money you invest.

This page describes the main risks. It does not describe every risk, and it is not advice. If you are unsure whether an investment is right for you, speak to an independent financial adviser before you commit.

You can lose everything

Early stage companies fail. Property projects run late, run over budget, or do not sell. If a company you have invested in fails, your shares are usually worth nothing, and there is typically no asset left for shareholders and no guarantor to fall back on.

Unlike a bank deposit or a bond, there is no guaranteed return, no guaranteed income and no guaranteed return of your capital.

You are not covered by any compensation scheme

Our crowdfunding services are not covered by the deposit guarantee scheme established under Directive 2014/49/EU.

Transferable securities and admitted instruments for crowdfunding purposes that you acquire through our platform are not covered by the investor compensation scheme established under Directive 97/9/EC.

In plain terms: if you lose money on an investment made here, no scheme will pay you back.

You will not be able to sell easily

The shares and instruments offered here are not listed on any stock exchange and there is no active market in them. There may be no buyer at any price, for years, or ever.

Invest on the basis that you cannot get your money out until the company is sold, floats, or otherwise returns capital. Some of those events never happen.

Your stake can be diluted

If a company raises money again after your investment, it will usually issue new shares. Your percentage of the company falls. That affects your share of any eventual proceeds and, where you have them, your voting rights.

Do not expect income

Most of the companies on our platform reinvest everything they make. Even a profitable one is under no obligation to pay a dividend. Assume that any return will come only when the whole investment is realised.

Valuations are uncertain

The price of a private company is a judgement, not a market price. Valuations of early stage businesses and of property can move sharply with interest rates, sentiment and the wider economy. A valuation at the time of a campaign is not a promise about what the shares will later be worth.

Property carries its own risks

Property projects can be delayed, cost more than planned, or need unexpected work. Expected rental income may not arrive. Selling a property, or an interest in the company that holds it, can take years.

What we do and what we do not do

We assess every company before it appears on the platform. We check who they are, look at their documents and their numbers, and we decline the great majority of proposals we receive. How we choose is set out on our page on how we choose which campaigns to list.

None of that is a recommendation. We do not give investment advice or tax advice, we do not tell you what to buy, and we do not judge whether an investment suits your circumstances. That judgement is yours, and you should do your own research on any campaign before you invest.

Rules and taxes change

Changes in law, regulation or tax can affect what an investment is worth to you. How gains, dividends and interest are taxed depends on your own position and on where you live. Speak to a tax adviser.

Protections that do apply to you

If you are a non-sophisticated investor, you have a four calendar day reflection period in which you can cancel any investment without giving a reason and without cost.

Before you can invest you will also take a knowledge test and a simulation of your ability to bear loss. If the test suggests crowdfunding may not be appropriate for you, we will warn you and ask you to confirm you have read and understood that warning. You can still invest.

Where a single investment is more than the higher of EUR 1,000 or 5 per cent of your net worth, you will get a further warning and we will ask for your explicit consent. Our page on how we categorise investors explains all of this in detail.

These protections reduce the chance of a bad decision. They do not reduce the risk of losing your money.