Please read carefully the following risk warnings regarding investment in equity securities and financing with a pay back in wine for projects presented on WineFunding.
Investing in equity securities of unlisted companies can be financially rewarding and personally satisfying, but it involves a number of risks and challenges and may not be suitable for everyone depending on personal circumstances, financial knowledge and financial resources. Therefore, we recommend you to conduct a careful evaluation of the company, its business plan and its management team, as well as the potential risks and merits of such investment. You should only invest in an equity project if you understand the following risks and have sufficient resources to bear any loss that might result from such an investment.
Loss of Capital
Businesses failure is not infrequent, so if you invest in a business displayed on WineFunding, it is possible that you will lose all of your invested capital, but not more.
This means that you should not invest more money in the types of businesses displayed on the platform than you can afford to lose without altering your standard of living.
Illiquidity
Most investments you make in businesses displayed on WineFunding will be highly illiquid. There is currently no public market for the shares offered on WineFunding and there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the shares will develop in the future.
This means that if you invest in a business through the WineFunding platform, even if it is successful, you are unlikely to be able to sell your shares easily until and unless the business floats on a stock exchange or is bought by another company or if the company buys back your shares. Even for a successful business, a flotation or purchase or share buy-back is unlikely to occur for a number of years from the time you make your investment.
Rarity of Dividends
Businesses of the type displayed on the WineFunding platform rarely pay dividends. Although provision is made in the Articles of Association to allow companies to pay dividends to shareholders, companies like those using the WineFunding platform generally do not pay dividends. There is no guarantee that any company will pay dividends in the future.
This means that if you invest in a business through the WineFunding platform, even if it is successful, you are unlikely to see any return of capital or profit, until you are able to sell your shares, which is unlikely to occur for a number of years from the time you make your investment.
Dilution
Any investment you make in a business displayed on the WineFunding platform is likely to be subject to dilution.
This means that if the business raises additional capital at a later date, it will issue new shares to the new investors, and the percentage of the business that you own will decline. These new shares may also have certain preferential rights to dividends, sale proceeds and other matters, and the exercise of these rights may work to your disadvantage. Your investment may also be subject to dilution as a result of the grant of options (or similar rights to acquire shares) to employees of, service providers to or certain other contacts of, the business.
Fiscal consequences
Although investment in small and medium businesses may provide fiscal benefits to investors who are French resident for tax purposes, there may be no fiscal benefits for residents outside of France. Please also note that there may be tax consequences to investing in shares on the WineFunding platform.
This means you should take tax advice relevant to your own position on all matters relating to your acquiring, holding or disposing of shares on the WineFunding platform.
Diversification
If you choose to invest in businesses of the type displayed on the WineFunding platform, such investments should only be made as part of a well-diversified portfolio.
This means that you should invest only a relatively small portion of your investible capital in such businesses, and the majority of your investible capital should be invested in safer, more liquid assets. It also means that you should spread your investment between multiple businesses rather than investing a larger amount in just a few. .
When you finance a project with a pay-back in wine, the company is committed to sending you products or providing you with services as specified in the reward you chose.
If unforeseen events occur during the pay-back period, such as business challenges or adverse climate conditions, the company might not be able to offer you the exact product or services as described and agreed. In this case the company will make its best efforts to provide you with rewards as close as possible from the rewards planned.