The founders of ethical trading platform Circa5000 are considering transforming it into a public company in the future after getting their first taste of the London Stock Exchange.
The business, which has offices in Liverpool and London, launched a range of exchange-traded funds (EFTs) on the open market earlier this week.
It's the first such move the company has made since it was established in 2017 and has been described as the "culmination of the co-founders' original vision".
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The new ETFs will invest in green energy and technology, sustainable food and biodiversity, clean water and waste, social and economic empowerment as well as and health and wellbeing.
Starting out as Tickr, Circa5000 was established by Tom McGillycuddy and Matt Latham and now has around 170,000 customers in the UK who invest an average of between £3,000 and £6,000.
Its headcount stands at 20 while management are hoping to break even for the first time by the end of 2024 or early 2025.
The company, which is backed by Ada Ventures, is also on the verge of launching a new crowdfunding campaign, having raised £10m to date.
Speaking to BusinessLive after the launch of the EFTs, Mr McGillycuddy said: "It's huge and the culmination of the original vision that we had which we roughly sketched out before we even started the business.
"The plan was to launch the consumer retail impact investment platform, which we have, and as we are proving that demand exists for this kind of investing we wanted to build our own funds that power the core investment offering.
"To finally launch them on the market, after two or three years worth of work, is slightly surreal.
"Now the job is all about growth having done the major build in terms of the team, technology and funds.
"Phase one of the business is probably done now and phase two is just expansion. It's a huge moment for us.
"The ETF launch opens up expansion into the EU because the funds themselves are regulated by both the UK and EU.
"We will look to keep the retail platform UK only but in the EU we will sell the funds.
On why the company has seen a steady rise in customers over recent years, he added: "We have stayed true to the original DNA of the business which is that we are only going to invest in companies that we see as the most positive impact companies in the world now and in the future.
"I think it resonates that we don't do that as an add on or as a side feature. It's what attracts people to invest with us.
"We think that there is a strong returns case for investing in these businesses over the long term.
"The other element is an extreme transparency in how we invest and where we invest in. I think that will go up a notch now.
"For each fund that we have launched, we have a 20 to 30-page report on each company, showing all of our workings and why we think it's a positive business.
"We don't expect everyone to read every page for every business but that's just the level of transparency that we provide.
On whether Circa5000 might return to the London Stock Exchange for an initial public offering one day, Mr McGillycuddy added: "I think we definitely would consider becoming a public company. That would be a nice next-time visit to the LSE.
"It's probably a way away but we could always consider an earlier listing like some businesses have done on AIM for example.
"I think we will probably be back there and a listing, at whatever stage, is probably a likely future event. It depends on how we do but I would not rule it out."
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