SOUTHAMPTON is among the best places in the UK to raise investment for a start-up by crowdfunding, it is claimed.

The finding comes from research by the secure payments provider Paymentsense, which analysed crowdfunded projects around the world.

There were 186 such projects based in Southampton and listed on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter as of May, attracting an average pledge of £17,182 per project.

That was substantially behind the amount raised per project in first-placed Worcester, where there were only 66 ideas but they attracted an average of £55,754 in pledges.

The research also found that gaming was the most likely industry to attract crowdfunding, with £24,767 raised for each project on average.

Gaming projects also exceeded their fundraising objectives by the highest amount, raising an average of 550 per cent of their initial target.

Jon Knott, head of customer insights at Paymentsense said: “As small businesses begin to grow in the UK their need for financial support remains, and a lot of start-up businesses have found that the fastest way to raise funds are by creating crowdfunding campaigns.

“Some small businesses have found that they may sometimes struggle to get loans or traditional forms of funding. That’s why looking for public investments for projects through online crowdfunding platforms can be vital for small businesses to be able to get off the ground.

“These online crowdfunding services can act as a valuable form of marketing and a way to test the public’s reaction to a product or service as well as gaining funding for projects the public believes in.

“As reflected in the data we can see that crowdfunding has become a viable asset for business ventures across the globe, with countries such as the UK and US seeming to be the most popular for this alternative investment opportunity.”

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Payment sense analysed 35,880 live projects listed on Kickstarter in May.

Most start-ups rely on private investors, but crowdfunding works by the general public donating small amounts to fund projects they support, raising capital quickly.