Administrator Begbies Traynor initiates Football Index customer claims process
Users of the self-styled football stock market, including those who self-excluded via GAMSTOP, are encouraged to submit claim as customers seek to recoup ‘losses’ of £90m
Former Football Index customers have been invited to make a claim against the collapsed Jersey-based company by rescue and recovery specialists Begbies Traynor.
On 26 March, the High Court of Justice ordered London-listed Begbies Traynor – which employs more than 500 people in 75 office locations across the UK – to administrate Football Index’s finances.
London-based Begbies Traynor trio Richard Toone, Adrian Hyde and Adrian Rabet were appointed as joint administrators and yesterday provided out-of-pocket Football Index users with a link to pursue a claim against the firm, which had its operating licence suspended by the UK Gambling Commission and Jersey regulator in March.
In an email seen by EGR, Toone wrote: “Communicating with all potential creditors is a statutory obligation of the administrators of the company.
“We are aware that some individuals may have excluded either on the Football Index platform or via GAMSTOP, but we are required to ensure all potential creditors are kept informed of this process.”
Customers are required to submit their claims via an online form which can be accessed here.
Football Index users are thought to have lost out on a combined £90m, which includes portfolio values and deposited funds, following the closure of the platform, on which consumers could purchase ‘shares’ in footballers and then earn dividends based on on-field performances and media attention.
These dividends (pennies per share) were slashed to a couple of pence before the company’s collapse, much to the anger of users.
UK government ministers are preparing to launch an investigation into how Football Index was allowed to operate without scrutiny before crashing into insolvency.
Legislators are “deeply concerned” over the role played by the UKGC, which first commenced a formal review of the Football Index business back in May of 2020.
EGR’s most recent long read covers the fall-out of the debacle following the abrupt departure of UKGC chief executive Neil McArthur.