Asset Match to host auctions in the shares of Tottenham Hotspur

 Asset Match, the online marketplace to buy and sell shares in UK unquoted companies, announces today that in response to interest from shareholders, it will host a series of share auctions in Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur starting in March. 

Tottenham Hotspur shares delisted from the AIM market in January 2012 citing that the Listing restricted the club’s ability to secure funding for its development.  Since then shareholders have been advised that shares can be bought and sold via the company’s Registrar, Capita.

Stuart Lucas, Co-CEO of Asset Match, commented: “In our discussions with shareholders it is clear that they are frustrated by the lack of transparency in the current arrangements. Neither buyers nor sellers can see any pricing and there are no details of completed transactions.  Because of this they cannot be sure they are getting a fair price for their shares and this is causing liquidity issues for minority shareholders.”

Tottenham Hotspur has over 30,000 shareholders, of which more than 15,000 own just one ordinary share each.  The club is majority owned by Daniel Levy and Joe Lewis who together control approximately 85% of the shares in issue.

Asset Match have been advised by Tottenham Hotspur management that they are happy with their current service

Stuart Lucas continued: “Our aim is to help shareholders in private businesses to achieve liquidity in their investment.  Tottenham Hotspur has a significant number of minority shareholders with substantial holdings who collectively own over 28 million shares. It is these investors who would benefit from our open and transparent share trading platform. Because the shares are freely transferable and CREST enabled we are able to assist those who are restricted by the inherent illiquidity of the current arrangement.”

The first auction will open on Thursday 10th March, closing on Thursday 17th March and will take place on a regular basis thereafter.  For further information, interested participants should register with Asset Match or contact [email protected]

How the Tottenham Hotspur share auctions work

1.       Current shareholders and prospective investors will need to register on the Asset Match website.

2.       Once registered, participants will be able to place buy and sell limit orders when the auction opens on Thursday 10th March. During the period of the auction buyers and sellers are able to monitor progress and are able adjust their bids and offers accordingly.

3.       At the close of the auction a non-discretionary algorithm determines the final price and the number of shares that will trade. The indicative closing price is visible throughout the auction.

4.       Subject to any demand or supply constraints, buyers with bids higher than or equal to the final price will be successful and sellers with offers lower than or equal to the final price will be successful.

5.       All successful buy and sell orders are transacted at the same price and are settled via normal stockbroking arrangements.  Asset Match can make arrangements with The Share Centre for shareholders who do not have an appointed stockbroker.

Providing shareholder liquidity is a common problem shared by many private companies.  Asset Match aims to address this by giving companies and their investors an alternative liquidity strategy.  The online trading platform hosts regular auctions on behalf of companies or at the request of their shareholders.  Unquoted companies that have had their shares traded on Asset Match include the UK’s leading IFA wrap service company, Integrafin, Scottish craft brewery, Brewdog and the Co-Operative Bank.

For further information about the Asset Match Tottenham Hotspur share auction, terms and conditions and fees please visit www.assetmatch.com.

ANDY MURRAY BACKS HIS FIRST BRITISH ENTREPRENEURS OF 2016 ON THE UK’S NO.1 EQUITY CROWDFUNDING PLATFORM SEEDRS

• Tennis champion Andy Murray backs British entrepreneurs on UK’s No.1 equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs
• Andy Murray invests on Seedrs in Oppo, CommuterClub, Landbay, We Are Colony and Readbug
• Andy Murray makes five early-stage business investments on Seedrs

Tennis champion, world number two Andy Murray announced today that he has made his first investments in start-ups of 2016 on the UK’s No.1 equity crowdfunding platform, Seedrs.

Murray identified the five, very different businesses he wanted to back, investing undisclosed amounts into each. He plans to make further investments on the platform as the year continues, as part of his strategic relationship with Seedrs.

His investments include: 2015’s Start-up of the Year Oppo Ice Cream; FinTech50 2015, annual travel ticket subscription service CommuterClub; the UK’s fastest growing P2P lender Landbay, which recently announced a partnership with Zoopla; We Are Colony, a global film streaming platform founded by BAFTA-winning filmmaker Sarah Tierney; and Readbug, the ‘Netflix for Magazines’.

Oppo Ice Cream successfully raised over £390,000 in just over a week on Seedrs, far exceeding its fundraising target of £150,000 within just four hours of going live. Oppo is on a mission to prove that health and indulgence can go hand in hand; guilt-free luxury ice cream with fewer calories than an apple is just the start.

CommuterClub, described as one of ‘the hottest FinTechs in Europe’ is currently fundraising on Seedrs, having raised over £350,000 to date of its £650,000 target.  CommuterClub helps commuters save time and money by offering season tickets as a subscription service.

Landbay, who recently announced a strategic investment from Zoopla, is back for its fifth Seedrs raise since December 2013. The proptech lender focuses on prime residential mortgages and is now the UK’s fastest growing peer-to-peer platform. They have raised over £1.2m in their current round. 

We Are Colony, a global film-streaming platform, is currently raising £500,000 and has surpassed 70% of its target in just a fortnight. The site creates beautiful special edition bundles of quality films with exclusive extras, such as interviews, deleted scenes, stills, scripts and more. The brand only launched publicly in Spring 2015 but already has registered account holders in 115 countries.

Murray’s final investment is into Readbug, having missed out on its first funding round in May 2014 when it exceeded its funding target. Readbug is looking to raise £50,000 this round with the campaign already hitting its target and overfunding on Seedrs just a week after going live. Readbug offers a curated selection of independent magazines all in one app, and is on a mission to change the way digital magazines are consumed.

Murray said about the investments, “Giving recognition and support to British entrepreneurs is important to me, especially those who are the driving force behind growth-focused businesses. Every one of these entrepreneurs is inspirational and dedicated to their business and I’m excited to have invested in their team’s vision and work ethic.”

“It’s been an exciting start to 2016 for me, for many reasons. To see Seedrs reach £100 million on the platform and so many ambitious and dynamic businesses currently fundraising, means it’s a great start to 2016 for them as well.”

Jeff Lynn, CEO and co-founder of Seedrs, said, “It’s great to see Andy supporting British entrepreneurs so actively on Seedrs by investing in their businesses. Seedrs is now the most active seed-stage equity investor in the UK, and our continued growth and leading position in the market are testament to our reputation and the support from people like Andy.”

Savills IM repositions UK Income & Growth Fund with £47 million of transactions

Savills Investment Management (“Savills IM”), the international property investment manager, has completed £47 million of retail warehouse and industrial transactions as part of the repositioning of its UK Income & Growth Fund (the ‘Fund’).

The transactions include the sale of the Gallagher Retail Park in Bristol to CCLA’s Local Authorities’ Property Fund for £32.325 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.9%.

The capital raised has been reinvested in the Fujitsu Data Centre in Stevenage, for £8 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 4.70%. The property is let to Fujitsu Data Services Limited until 2035 with annual rental increases fixed at 2.5%.

Unit 6, Henley Business Park, Guildford has been acquired for £7.3 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.25%. The property,  acquired off-market, is let to Meridian Metal Trading Limited on a new 15-year lease with rent reviews linked to RPI.

Jamie Pearson, Fund Manager UK Income & Growth Fund, commented: “These transactions are part of our strategy to defensively position the Fund for the next phase of the market cycle and ensure it continues to deliver a low risk 5% income return to investors in the long term. Given market capital growth is likely to moderate, most of the return will come from income and income growth.  The Fund is well positioned on both fronts with an income distribution higher than it’s benchmark and with 69% of the portfolio including contracted rent increases.

“UKIG has continued to deliver solid growth both in terms of capital and income returns. It’s consistent track record can be attributed to its focus on buying assets with sound fundamentals that have provided safe and reliable income streams together with the team’s ability to add value via asset management.”

Savills IM was advised by Savills. CCLA was represented by Clay Street; the private vendor of the Fujitsu Data Centre was represented by JLL; and Meridian Metal Holdings was represented by Deloitte.