UK lottery firm gets early bonus
A new rival to the British national lottery was on a roll today after the value of the company jumped by £1.6m (€2.3m) on its first day on the stock market.
Chariot, which claims it will offer better odds of winning and higher contributions to charity when tickets go on sale later this year, saw its share price rise by 10p to 125p – creating an immediate bonus for the woman who came up with the idea for the business.
Susan Counsell, who is a non-executive director, owns 12.8% of Chariot and saw the value of her stake rise by around £200,000 (€292,000) in early dealings.
Around £9.6m (€14m) has been raised towards marketing, promotion and start-up costs following the sale of 8.35 million shares issued today. An additional £4.4m (€6.4m) was generated from investors last October.
The initial trading in Chariot shares means the company is worth around £19.9m (€29m).
Chariot promises to give players better chances of winning lower prizes and will make a bigger contribution to charity than the 28p in every £1 given by the National Lottery.
Players will primarily take part over the internet and will be able to nominate which charity benefits from the “good causes” part of their entry fee from one of over 50 organisations who have signed up to be involved.
Managing director Craig Freeman, who has a 1.8% stake in the firm, said: “The funds raised will provide us with a strong platform upon which to launch our game in 2006.
“We look forward to delivering a new and exciting lottery for the benefit of players and charity partners alike.”
Chariot is chaired by Tim Holley, the former Camelot chief executive who launched the National Lottery more than a decade ago.
The firm said that by giving its players the choice of where their money went, it was addressing concerns raised by National Lottery players, critical of some of the good causes it has given money to.
