Invivo halfway to its $2m funding target

Invivo founders Tim Lightbourne and Rob Cameron with British talk show host Graham Norton.

Fast-growing wine company Invivo Wines raised more than $1 million in the space of a few hours after its equity crowdfunding campaign opened yesterday.

Auckland-based Invivo's capital raising began on the Snowball Effect platform at midday and had secured more than double the $500,000 minimum funding target by 5.30pm.

The company is looking to raise up to $2 million, the maximum allowed through a crowdfunding campaign, and has said it will use the capital to ramp up its expansion in international markets.

If fully subscribed, 20 per cent of the company - founded by Tim Lightbourne and Rob Cameron in 2008 - will be sold through the offer.

Lightbourne said he and Cameron, Invivo's winemaker, had travelled throughout New Zealand over the past few weeks promoting the offer.

"We've spread the word far and wide," he said. "And over the years we've built up a great support base that have also come on board."

Invivo, which counts British talk show host Graham Norton as an investor, has hired John Moore of Miro Capital Advisory as a capital raising adviser.

Moore had managed to get some traditional sharebrokers involved in the crowdfunding campaign, said Lightbourne, who declined to name the brokers.

Invivo, which has experienced more than 200 per cent revenue growth since 2011, has forecast net income of $152,000 from sales of $5.1 million in the 12 months to March 31 this year. It is targeting revenue of $25 million by 2020.

The offer, which closes on April 13, will value Invivo at $10 million if $2 million is raised.

Equity crowdfunding was made possible by new securities legislation that came into force last year.

Invivo is also considering listing on NZX's soon-to-launch NXT market, targeted at firms valued at up to $100 million.

New Zealand's biggest crowdfunding campaign was the $1.5 million drone company Aeronavics raised through Snowball Effect last month.