• Address
• Telephone number
• Email address
• Bank account

Crowdfunding is a method of funding a project or organisation by pooling the money of individual investors. It can provide a number of benefits beyond the financial including marketing, audience engagement and feedback. Crowdfunding allows good companies which don't fit the pattern required by conventional financiers, to break through and attract cash. There are a number of types of crowdfunding but the 3 main categories are:

• Reward or donation based crowdfunding – these are not investments
• Loan crowdfunding (often referred to as peer-to-peer loans or debt crowdfunding)
• Equity crowdfunding

Want to know more?

Please visit the UK Crowdfunding Association – ShareIn are one of the founding members.

NESTA have written a comprehensive introduction to crowdfunding. You can read it here.

Equity crowdfunding is the process whereby individuals or the "crowd" invest in an unlisted company (a company that is not listed on a stock market) in exchange for shares in that company.

Equity crowdfunding is a great way to match companies who need funding with individuals who wish to invest. Investors become shareholders and have partial ownership of a company. Individuals get a share in the future success of a company they believe in. If the company fails investors can lose some, or all, of their investment.

Yes – equity crowdfunding is a regulated activity in the UK and each country across the world has specific regulations regarding the adoption of equity crowdfunding.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK issued a Policy statement (14/4) The FCA's regulatory approach to crowdfunding over the internet, and the promotion of nonreadily realisable securities by other media, in March 2014.

In the US investment is restricted to Accredited Investors.

ShareIn Limited are the company that Aprirose are working with to deliver their equity crowdfund. ShareIn are authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 603332).

When you invest or top up your wallet, funds should be transferred to 'ShareIn Ltd'. ShareIn Ltd holds client monies in segregated accounts. ShareIn Limited (Firm Reference Number 603332) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The transfer details will be available at the time of investing.

Investing in early stage companies such as Aprirose involves risks, including loss of all your capital, illiquidity, lack of dividends and dilution, and it should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. This type of investment is only for investors who understand these risks.

A full risk warning can be found here.

You can lose all the money you invested but nothing more.

Investment in a company such as Aprirose carries high risks as well as the possibility of high rewards. It is consequently very speculative. As an investor, you should be aware that no established market exists for the trading of shares in private companies such as Aprirose. There could be difficulty in selling your investment at a reasonable price and, in some circumstances, it may be difficult to sell them at any price.

For UK tax payers there are some very generous tax breaks to encourage investment in early stage companies such as Aprirose. The scheme is referred to as the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and the benefits are listed below.

There is no guarantee that this tax relief will apply to an investment in Aprirose as conditions apply and you are recommended to take your own tax advice.

1. Income Tax Benefit From EIS Tax Relief

Tax relief of 30% can be claimed on investments (up to £1m in one tax year) giving a maximum tax reduction in any one year of £300,000, provided you have sufficient Income Tax liability to cover it.

The shares must be held for at least three years from the date of issue or the tax relief will be withdrawn. EIS allowances are allocated individually; therefore a married couple could invest up to £2 million each tax year.

2. Capital Gains Tax Exemption (CGT)

Gains are exempt from CGT if the shares are held for at least three years and the income tax relief was claimed on them.

3. Loss Relief

If shares are disposed of at a loss, the investor can elect that the amount of the loss, less Income Tax relief given, can be set against income of the year in which they were disposed or, on income of the previous year instead of being set of against any capital gains.

4. Capital Gains Tax Deferral Relief

Payment of CGT can be deferred when the gain is invested in shares of an EIS qualifying company. The gain can be made from the disposal of any kind of asset but the Investment must be made one year before or three years after the gain arose – connection to company does not matter. Unconnected investors are eligible for relief from both Income tax and CGT referral relief.

For more information, please see the HMRC website.

People resident in the United Kingdom who are either a "Certified High Net Worth Individual" or "Self-Certified Sophisticated Investor" (as these terms are defined in The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended)) or who can confirm that they will invest less than 10% of their net assets in this type of investment as a "restricted investor" (as this is defined in the FCA's Conduct of Business Sourcebook at Chapter 4.7).

People resident in the United States of America who are "Accredited Investors" as that term is defined in Rule 501 under the Securities Act of 1933.

You must not participate in the New Fundraise or make any other investments via the Company's website if you do not meet any of these criteria and you must not complete the online registration process as an 'INVESTOR'.

No. Aprirose would like to keep their list of investors private.

For a significant investment, we would be more than happy to enter into separate discussions as to whether we can accommodate this. It will be dependent on your particular circumstances and the regulatory framework in your country of residence. Please contact us at Team@ShareIn.com if this interests you.

UK investors - The money will only be taken from your account when the Aprirose deal completes. We use a payment provider called GoCardless. GoCardless is a Bacs approved bureau and is regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority as an Authorised Payment Institution. We’ve looked into the safest and most cost effective way to collect money from investors and GoCardless is the best option. Credit cards, debit cards and PayPal all charge more.

You'll be issued with a copy of the legal agreements before the funds are transferred and you can cancel your investment

US residents – The funds will be taken into ESCROW until the deal completes – you can cancel your investment before the deal closes and the funds will be returned.

In order to invest via this platform you must be categorised as a "client" for regulatory purposes. All investors are required to successfully complete the "Appropriateness Test". All UK individual investors are treated as retail clients.

All UK investors using this platform are eligible to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service or to claim compensation under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (although people cannot claim FSCS compensation for investment losses).

Different regulations apply in different regions and before being able to invest you will asked to confirm that you meet the eligibility requirements in your particular region.

There are no fees for making an investment in Aprirose.

Aprirose pay the fundraising costs associated with this funding round.

You can cancel your investment offer at any point before the funds are transferred by emailing team@sharein.com .

We want to give you superb customer service but sometimes things might go wrong. We can usually resolve most issues straightaway, so please email us on team@sharein.com or call us on +44 131 641 0018 to tell us how we can help.

What you'll need to tell us so that we can help you:

• Your personal details,
• What's gone wrong and
• What you want us to do to put things right.

We'll be in touch with you as soon as we can and let you know what will happen next. We'll try to resolve your complaint within 10 working days. For more complex issues it's likely that we will need longer to look into what's happened and we may ask you for further information to help us reach a decision. We'll give you regular updates. And once we've dealt with your complaint, we'll go back and see what we can learn from your experience.

If you're unhappy with the outcome UK Residents can ask the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to carry out an independent review of your complaint. In any event, you have the right to ask the FOS to review your complaint if we've been unable to resolve it within 8 weeks.

The FOS can help UK residents with most complaints if you are:

• A consumer
• A business employing fewer than 10 persons that has an annual turnover that doesn't exceed €2 million
• If you are unsure whether the FOS will consider your complaint, please contact them directly for advice. The service the FOS provides is free and impartial and contacting them at any stage of your complaint will not affect your legal rights. The contact details for the FOS are:

Their phone numbers are +44 (0)300 123 9123 or +44 (0)800 023 4567.

You can send an email to: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk