Social networking site lists on Seychelles’ Trop-X – a securities exchange ideal for start-ups

UEFA Champions League 2008-09 semi-final first leg between Arsenal and Manchester United. (Wikimedia) The two Barclays Premier League clubs are amongst the users of the SoccerHubb website. Photo License: (CC BY 2.0)

(Seychelles News Agency) - A new social networking site for football enthusiasts, SoccerHubb, has listed on the Seychelles’ securities exchange, Trop-X, bringing the total number of listed companies on the new exchange to three.

The .NET tech firm is the first start-up in the world to raise capital through an ongoing Initial Public Offering (IPO) launch on the brand new stock exchange – allowing the company a greater range of immediate growth. Trop-X, which was launched last year, is a multi-asset, multi-currency modern financial exchange.

The company offered 1,386,000 shares at $1.00 each at the launch of the IPO in April, of which 966,450 were taken up, raising a total of almost $1 million for the fledgling company to further develop the social networking site, which has been available as a beta site since April this year.

The start-up’s shares are currently trading at $1.05, up 5%, which can be monitored via the Trop-X website or live on Reuters and Bloomberg under the ticker name SHI:SZ.

Although the company plans to generate most of its income from advertising, the venture needed to raise funds to get off the ground, hence the decision to take the company public. SoccerHubb is hoping that the stock will perform well, forecasting a yield of between $14 and $28 for every dollar invested in the IPO within the first five years.
 

A beautiful beginning

Often called the ‘beautiful game’, football, or soccer as it is called in America, has an estimated 3.5 billion fans worldwide, each with a preferred national team and club to support.

Firmly believing that a social networking site dedicated to football was a recipe for success, founder and group CEO Rik Matthews went from working in a cramped home office with three other people to offices in the historic Elm Hill area of Norwich, England. Within the next five years, Matthews plans to grow his team to over 250 staff members.

With over 500,000 followers on Twitter and 1,000,000 sign-up requests before the beta site had even launched, SoccerHubb.com is steadily establishing itself as a home for football fans.

A first for Africa

Daron Walker, the Managing Director of Constant Capital, a financial services company based in the Seychelles, said the listing was not only a first for Seychelles but also for Africa.

“No other exchange in Africa can offer venture capital companies this innovative way in which to raise capital,” said Walker. “This would not have been possible without the faith and vision of the government of the Seychelles, its people and the operators of the exchange. This is just another step closer to the Seychelles achieving its goal as a major financial hub in the region.”

In an email interview with SNA, the Group CEO of Soccerhubb Limited, Rik Matthews said that although the risk taken on both Trop-X and SoccerHubb’s part was moderately high, he believed the benefits were mutual.

“Lots of people have asked us ‘Why Trop-X?’,” he said. “The simple answer is they are the only securities exchange offering opportunities for start-ups similar to SoccerHubb.”

“We are in the tech industry and as such consider ourselves innovative and Trop-X offered us a unique and innovative approach. This route may not be the right for every start-up, however we have a fantastic product, brilliant team and outstanding sponsor advisors who have worked hard for us and Trop-X, but they also understand the market and industry.”

The beta site currently allows fans to keep up to date with their favourite teams and discuss games and players.

The social network, which is an official Microsoft technology partner, plans to introduce social TV to allow fans to watch games via the platform. It also plans to offer young players the opportunity to promote their skills and offer amateur teams a dedicated place to announce their own news, fixtures and results.