Bloom pair launch crowd funding site

Businesswomen Amanda Boyle and Michelle Rodger are aiming to raise more than £20m over the next three years via their company Bloom Venture Catalyst.

It is a crowd funding site – a way of raising money via the web from friends, family, contacts and other investors. In return for investing, the people who put up cash get "rewards" from the companies they invest in. Bloom has picked eight companies.

The company will get a 5 per cent cut of any project that receives its full funding target via the site. Bloom's executive board includes Phil Male and chairman Jane McCracken.