This interview with Geoff Hoodless clearly shows a very positive outlook for retail stockbroking. He and The Share Republic have a clear understanding of some of the greatest challenges in this sector. For this reason this venture has a good chance of success. Unlike the old sleepy retail stockbrokers Geoff is building a business that recognises the needs of the market and is utilising modern technology and creative thinking to develop a 21stcentury version of stockbroking. I wonder if we are seeing a new breed of retail stockbroker ready to step into the outgoing shoes of the old and it did not need an Asteroid just a bit of imagination and bravery to evolve. By Gary Wright, CEO B.I.S.S. Research.
The Share Republic plc and other entrepreneurs will be presenting at the Google Campus, 4-5 Bonhill Street, London EC2A 4BX on 9 May 2013 at 6pm, to present their business case to investors as part of the launch of Funding Alpha SEIS Fund 2013.
Harry Furneaux presented Active Snaps, his instant 3D photo business at the 2012 University of Greenwich Business Plan Competition and won. He is now poised for a giant leap as the provider of the main photography service at London’s Madame Tussaud’s waxworks and Sealife Centre, having been snapped up by Merlin Entertainments.
Final year Politics BA Hons student Harry, 24, taught himself to write the software which takes a 2D image and overlays it on to a 3D background. He is also set to appear on BBC TV’s Dragons’ Den this summer.
Geoffrey Hoodless, one of the judges at the Business Plan Competition, says: “Harry’s success is a fantastic story and shows how entrepreneurs bring new ideas to complement and take forward or challenge existing businesses. The role of start ups in the economy cannot be underestimated, they are the ones who take the risks and look at the market differently and inject new ways of operating that will eventually make legacy systems obsolete. We no longer check a word in a dictionary, we Google it, and that is how things have changed.” Full story.
Wealthy investors are being offered more incentives to put money into start-up ventures as part of the government’s push to promote Silicon Valley-style “angel investment”. A waiver on capital gains tax (CGT) for investors in early stage enterprises is being extended for another year, a senior official at HM Revenue & Customs said. The move should increase the number of people benefiting from George Osborne’s seed enterprise investment scheme (SEIS) – a package of measures to aid angel investment – announced in last year’s Budget. By Jonathan Moules, FT Enterprise Correspondent Full story.
In 2013, The Share Republic was open for subscription for £150,000 in return for 10% of equity under SEIS scheme. This implies that the investor will get 50% income tax relief on his/her investment. In addition, if the investor sells share during the tax year, it can also claim capital gains tax relief on the amount invested in the Share Republic under the SEIS scheme. To illustrate in figures, if you are a 50% tax payer and have made profit by selling shares this tax year, if you invest £100 in the share republic, you can claim £78 back on your tax return. It effectively means that you get £100 worth of shares at £22. For an SEIS calculator, click here.
In November 2011, George Osborne hatched a plan to give investors up to 78 per cent tax relief on investments into small start-up companies. He called it the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (Seis).
SEIS, which kicked off in April 2012, offers upfront income tax relief of 50 per cent, and an exemption from capital gains tax if the investment comes from gains realised in that tax year. On top of this, if the company fails, losses can be offset against an income tax liability.
According to Doug Richard, top-rate taxpayers who combine all of these reliefs can end up with 100.5 per cent of their initial investment protected. “I had HMRC check the numbers,” he adds. Read full article by Duncan Robinson FT Financial Services 12 September 2012.
The Share Republic received its Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme Advance Assurance from the UK HMRC on 10 September 2012. This implies that The Share Republic is authorised to issue share certificates under section 257EC(1) ITA 2007 for ordinary shares issued to individual investors. The Share Republic became a plc and issued an offer for subscription for £150,000 under SEIS in November 2012. This offer for subscription is still open. We believe The Share Repubilc business in online share trading software development is an excellent SEIS opportunity, because of the significant team experience in agile software development combined its CEO, Geoffrey Hoodless’ years of experience in online share dealing platforms. The company owns 100% of The Share Republic.com Limited, which is an FCA authorised firm, which implies extensive compliance experience in the team.