Football INDEX is the world's first football stockmarket where you can trade top players with real money
Business overview
Location | London, United Kingdom |
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Social media | |
Website | www.footballindex.co.uk |
Sectors | Entertainment Digital Mixed B2B/B2C |
Company number | 08283149 |
Incorporation date | 6 Nov 2012 |
Idea
Introduction
Our mission is to establish a Tradable Market in football by issuing Virtual Shares in the World’s Top Players, and to become 'the Currency of Football'.
As a result we will share in the estimated £17billion that will be bet on Football in the UK, as well as providing an exciting alternative to the dull financial markets for many.
The Company has built a revolutionary gambling platform that replicates the trading activity of a “stockmarket” and may also be applied to sectors such as sport and celebrity.
Football INDEX addresses a huge impassioned audience with a unique and compelling proposition: BUY, SELL, BET, indeed “invest” real money in the world’s Top Players. Build value in your portfolio (capital appreciation), earn dividends (ROI), and ultimately sell at a profit.
Existing investors include Victor Chandler, founder of Bet Victor and Mark Blandford, founder of Sporting Bet, and our cornerstone investor.
Intended impact
We are empowering Football Traders to profit from their deep knowledge and passion for the game, by trading the world's top players in a similar way that trillions are traded in the financial markets daily.
Our vision for the product is a Trader in a Costa Coffee queue with 30 seconds to spare; not long enough to get lost in his Facebook news feed, but just time to ‘check his stocks’. This is already a reality.
Every piece of football news in the media is a trigger to think about your Football INDEX portfolio. Who should you buy? Is it the right time to sell? Who is going to offer long term returns?
Substantial accomplishments to date
Over £1.85m has been invested to build and launch this revolutionary platform, which has a gambling software license, and through it's wholly owned Jersey subsidiary has gambling operator licenses from both UK & Jersey Gambling Commissions.
Football INDEX was launched in October of 2015, but significantly revised in September 2016, to a 'full liquidity' model with a Buy/Sell 'spread'. Traders can instantly sell at the published Sell Price, eliminating uncertainty and Sell Queues.
Trading volumes (Buys/Sells) were transformed from £314k in September '16 to £6m in April '17 - trading volume for May was over £9m.*
In 2016 we were nominated for the Penrose Innovation Award.
The platform is feature rich and available across all devices, now with addition of real time pricing, meaning that the screen flashes every time a trade is executed - it's hypnotic!
'Fame INDEX' a celebrity version of the platform will be launched in collaboration with Argyll Entertainment through their 'Rock my World' portal in Q3 2017.
*Source: unaudited management accounts
Monetisation strategy
Our Gross Revenue is as a result of the sum of 'Shares Bought' (by Traders) less sum 'Shares Sold', plus 2% Sales Commissions on 'Shares Sold' less the daily Dividends paid out.
The value of 'Shares Sold' is reduced by 2.5% (approx) as a result of the spread - the difference between the buy price and the sell price.
We report this 'Gross Gambling Yield' to the UK Gambling Commission upon which 15% gambling is paid. The balance is attributed against marketing & overhead. Our Gross Gambling Yield varies from month to month but was been as high as £491,046 (Jan 2017). *
Our Margin on individual Virtual Shares traded is the spread between the Buy & Sell price (2.5%) plus Commission (2%) less the cost of paying out the Dividend (approx 1.27% in the last two months).
Ultimately like any Trading Platform we expect to see a relatively low margin on very high volume.
*Source: unaudited management accounts
Use of proceeds
Use of funds:
- 40% Marketing budget to continue to scale the platform to global brand.
- 40% Liquidity reserve to continue to provide liquidity to the market.
- 10% Tech infrastructure, HR to build out team, product enhancements.
- 10% Foreign Territories and new products.
Please note: There is an outstanding loan to the Company by the Founder/CEO of £42,515. This sum is being repaid to him in lieu of salary. The funds raised may be used in respect of this.
There is also an outstanding loan of £20,000 held by BGG Holdings. The funds raised will not be used to repay this loan.
Market
Target market
UK based football fans who are 18+ are our primary target audience, although we are starting to also target other territories also.
Football transcends traditional demographics, engaging a massively high percentage of males aged 18 - 35 and above.
Global fan following of the Premier League is 1.46 billion – or 70 per cent of the world’s estimated 2.08 billion football fans. Football is big business.
'Trading' as a concept is universally understood and trillions are traded on the financial markets daily, but only by a relatively small group of privileged Traders who understand them.
To many football fans who may be attracted to the idea of Trading these markets are dull and intimidating, so for those that don't know their Footsie from their Forex we give them the opportunity to trade something they do understand.
The Product also fills a vacant space between two massive markets with huge followings - football sports betting & fantasy football – but has advantages over both in many respects.
For many 'Trading' is seen as a smart and aspirational alternative to 'just betting'.
Characteristics of target market
Football betting is the largest sportsbook activity. UK Gambling Commission data projected a remote football betting turnover of a massive £17.7billion for 2014/15 with a Gross Gambling Yield of £789 million, and all indications are this will grow.
However sports betting can be brutal, focused heavily on quick ‘event’ outcomes, You may have a good idea who will win the match at the weekend, but so does your bookie, so it’s hard to find value and it can be an expensive form of entertainment.
Football INDEX provides a 'softer' alternative with less binary win/lose outcome. We don't just sweep the stake off the table and the Trader can 'stay in the game', with his stake just varying in value over time.
We're targeting also the Fantasy Football market which is a mainstay of UK online recreation. The Premier League claim in excess of 3 million players engaged each week, and every significant publisher has it’s own version.
We intend to add Opta performance data for next season and consequently have broad appeal to this large group of fans also.
To many the idea of trading financial markets is attractive and aspirational, but can be intimidating - they simply don't know their Footsie from their Forex, but they do know their football.
We are providing this group the opportunity to 'invest' their knowledge and passion in a market that they do understand.
Marketing strategy
Football fans are passionate and excitable, they want to appear knowledgeable and crave information that will give them an edge. It is an established daily anchor for these fans to search for news of their favourite teams and players which provides a wealth of digital marketing opportunities.
Our marketing campaigns have given us the potential to reach and engage these Football Fans and turn them into Football Traders. Some actually building portfolios with a value in excess of £100,000.
We have now had campaigns on TalkSport Radio, and the London Underground. Our TV commercial has been seen on ITV and across the SKY Network, and we have also sponsored the Europa Cup Highlights on ITV and have plans to sponsor the World Cup Qualifiers on ITV also.
These channels combined with digital, Facebook and Twitter have driven driven over 75,000 registered Users since launch, with over 29,000 of them depositing cash and trading on the platform.
Competition strategy
Our revolutionary platform is to our knowledge, unique in the market place with no direct competitors.
Indirectly we compete with football sports betting and fantasy football for share of wallet.
Our “trading” platform provides a “soft” alternative to Sportsbook that is far less dangerous, with entertainment value extended over a much longer period. To Fantasy Football fans Football INDEX offers extended engagement 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with 'more skin in the game'.
Any competitor wishing to compete directly with us would need to evaluate our product, present it to their board for approval, allocate development resource and find a vacant spot in development roadmap, build and test the product, and get tested and licensed by the UK Gambling Commission and also have Gambling Operators License in place. All of the above is likely to take a significant period of time, and afford us significant first mover advantage.
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