Betfair set float price

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andyfuller
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If I have understood correctly Legal & General Group Plc (L&G) have acquired a 3.04% of voting rights in Betfair:

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.as ... 552471375M
andyfuller
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Share price has been on a nice rise of late helped I guess by the buying pressure from Legal and General and Betfair.

One thing I have noticed the last few days and need to look at more is that the share price seems to perform well in the last couple of hours of trading.

Betfair's buying is representing a significant proportion of each days traded volume and going off the lowest price and highest price paid each day it would seem to indicate that they go into the market later in the day.

A possible angle perhaps?
andyfuller
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An interesting blog post that is worth a read about Turnover and Revenue:

http://thesportspunter.blogspot.com/201 ... lysis.html
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Euler
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Location: Bet Angel HQ

Revenues down 7% in latest management statement: -

http://www.investegate.co.uk/article.as ... 6723N&fe=1
andyfuller
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Several interesting things in the Management Statement, 2 that were of particular interest for me:

Looks like they are pleased with the new Premium Charge, though the reason they give seems somewhat different to what was stated else where about getting a fair return from PC payers:

"Towards the end of the period, we introduced targeted pricing changes for a very small number of customers which we believe will improve the balance of the Exchange ecosystem and ultimately lead to higher revenue growth. Whilst the impact will be assessed over the longer term, we are pleased with initial results."

Also does anyone know what they actually do with our funds on deposit? They made £900,000 in Q1 up from £700,000 in the previous year Q1 from what they call Revenue from management of customer funds. Are they actively using our money or is it just interest they earn on it?
Last edited by andyfuller on Tue Sep 06, 2011 12:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Iron
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Whatever Betfair does with the money, I hope they're insured, so that they can always be sure of returning everyone's money, whatever happens...

Jeff
andyfuller wrote: Also does anyone know what they actually do with our funds on deposit?
andyfuller
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They have always said the funds are ring fenced so I don't think there are any issues with money being returned I just don't recall ever seeing anything that said what they actually do with the funds and where they are ring fenced.

I just found it interesting that the revenues have grown in this area it could just be from increased funds being held I guess.
Iron
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andyfuller wrote:They have always said the funds are ring fenced so I don't think there are any issues with money being returned.
True, but let's say the money is put into a savings account.

If the holding bank goes bust, then the money you deposited could go up in smoke.

You'd like to think that Betfair have taken precautions, like using more than 1 bank and insuring the deposits against that outcome. But if your deposit does go up in smoke, you can be sure that Betfair will point to some T&C clause saying that they're not liable...

Jeff
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jimrobo
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the funds might be ring fenced and seperate from company funds but there is nothing stopping them investing those ring fenced accounts.

From posts I've seen elsewhere there was mention that they were actively investing which is slightly worrying but obviously I have no idea whether this is true or not
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Euler
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The trustee deed for funds is pretty broad. So it's only ring fenced from Betfair using funds for their business by the look of it.

"17 Additional Powers of Trustee

(a) power to invest the Trust Fund in any bank certificate, money market account, deposit account or in any other Investment;

Investment means money market bank deposits, certificates of deposit, corporate bonds, commercial paper denominated in sterling, interests or participations or commitments in a limited partnership or other collective investment scheme (including, in particular, money market funds), derivative Instruments (including futures, options and contracts for differences) entered into for hedging purposes, and such other categories of investment as may from time to time be agreed by the Trustee on the one hand and the Banks on the other hand as being suitable investments for the Trust Fund on the basis (among other things) that they are low risk in nature;"
andyfuller
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Euler wrote:The trustee deed for funds is pretty broad. So it's only ring fenced from Betfair using funds for their business by the look of it.
I doubt many people realise this tbh. I always (stupidly) thought the money was held on deposit at a bank(s).

Who actually runs this fund?
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Euler
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Location: Bet Angel HQ

Interesting conferance call from the results: -

http://www.investis.com/betfair/results ... nfcall.wav
andyfuller
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Just listened to it and they seem pretty pleased with the new Premium Charge and sounds like very few people affected by it have changed their habits. So it is here to stay but no doubt will be tweaked to catch more people in the future.

The share price has been doing pretty well recently despite the general stock market declines.
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Euler
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Mark Davies, a member of the founding team at Betfair, and his wife Miranda, as trustees of two family trusts, are seeking more than £4m in damages from their lawyers Speechly Bircham over the sale of their shares in the London-listed company, according a High Court writ seen by This is Money. According to the legal document Davies, who left the operator in July last year, reportedly instructed the law firm to sell his shares at £13 a share following the betting exchange’s IPO in October 2010, but was allegedly told a sale would not be possible as the shares had not been registered properly. They are trustees of two family trusts that held stakes in the company. Davies recently joined the board of mobile gaming specialist Probability as a non-executive director.
andyfuller
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Link from Scott Ferguson's blog:

Twaits is a scratching at Betfair

Betting exchange Betfair could lose its chief executive before the High Court decides on a critical case that could determine the future profitability of the corporate bookmaking industry.

Andrew Twaits informed staff on Friday of his intention to resign from the company, which is half-owned by James Packer's Crown. Twaits will stay on until February, marking seven years with the group which has helped lead the challenge against traditional tote operators in Australia. Don’t be surprised to see him leveraging his online and e-commerce expertise into a role helping businesses outside the racing industry.

Betfair is conducting a global search for Twaits’s replacement. The High Court deciding on the fees corporate bookmakers should pay Racing NSW for access to racefields information. Betfair argues that a 1.5 per cent levy on its gambling turnover is protectionist and discriminatory.


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/busines ... 6135201443
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