Rushmore Group raises £500,000 in two weeks through crowd-funding: Rushmore Group, the six-strong London bar operator led by Jonathan Downey, has raised £500,000 in 15 days through crowd-funding on website Crowdcube. The latest round of fund-raising means the company, which operates Milk & Honey and Giant Robot, has raised a total of £2m since November 2011 through crowd-funding. Rushmore Group, which has now sold just under 20% of its equity to around 300 investors, is currently is negotiations on three sites in the east area of London – a 6,000 square foot site, a 7,000 square foot site and a 26,000 square foot site. Rushmore is no looking at raising up to a further £1m via a bond – investors are likely to receive a 20% coupon each year in the form of a bar tab and can opt to be repaid at either three or five years. Of the latest fund-raising, Downey told Propel: “I think it shows a lot of faith from the Rushmore Group membership. We now have town hall meetings rather than annual general meetings.” Rushmore Group originally opted to take the crowd-funding route in November 2011 and raised a remarkable £1m in a month – one of the most successful ever examples of crowd-funding. At the time, the company stated: “Our aim is to attract up to 200 new shareholders from our existing membership who are each prepared to invest £5,000 or more in to the Group. We are an industry leader with a thirst for expansion. We have been held back by a fire that destroyed our acclaimed club, The East Room, in 2010 but we now have the opportunity to create an even more extensive and exciting space in the heart of Soho, early next year.” The Soho site has become the subject of litigation by Rushmore Group but the company has opened the Rotary Bar and Diner in Shoreditch. One blogger stated: “Rotary features a members’ only subterranean cocktail lounge that’s straight out of Mad Men with pressed tin ceilings and bar panelling, art deco light fixtures, tessellated geometric carpeting and South American inspired drinks.”