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A bulletproof shield manufacturer has raised more than £300,000 through crowdfunding to protect itself from the “turmoil” of the General Election.

Graphene Composites, which makes shields to protect children from school shootings, has raised more than £334,000 on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube.

The company has previously raised more than £500,000 through the site but took to the website last week in the hopes of raising a further £100,000. With 20 days still left of its campaign the company has smashed its target, and is now overfunding.

A total of 773 people have invested in the company during its current campaign, investing an average of £432. The investment was received in return for a 1.55% stake in the company, valuing it at more than £21m.

Graphene Composites was founded in 2016 and has now taken its GC Shield product to the market. However, the firm said it needed to raise the money to protect it from uncertainty after next month’s general election.

Sandy Chen, CEO of Graphene Composites, said: “We are big fans of Crowdcube! Although it has been quite hectic - fielding 300-800 emails per day - it has also been great to connect directly with shareholders old and new.

“We’ve found it heartening to have such strong, loyal support from our shareholders through nearly four years of hard work - and with our efforts finally beginning to yield commercial contracts, we’re looking forward to a period of significant growth.

“As for the timing of this Crowdcube round, we wanted to top up our funding ahead of the º£½ÇÊÓƵ elections - just in case there is a period of turmoil following the elections. The funds raised will help to fund our cashflow requirements as we pursue these expanded opportunities.”