You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Just over a week ago we revealed that we intend to offer up real shares in Singletrack this coming September. We intend to do this using the CrowdCube system with investments set in a number of tiers. Each tier will come with an increasing number of special perks and below we have our preliminary investment list. This is our early perks list and may very well grow more over the coming weeks as we build up to the big launch in September. Hundreds of you have already signed up to our investment newsletter and by now you should have received…
Quick question, so are you offering a share in the company or is it like a sponsorship thing?
My understanding from reading the email was that it's intended to be more of a share thing, saying something along the lines of "if the company makes a profit everyone will share in it" or similar
Quick question, so are you offering a share in the company or is it like a sponsorship thing?
TBF it does take a bit of finding....
Mark, I reckon this bit should be more prominent
The value of each tier is the equity it will grant in Singletrack (Gofar Enterprises ltd).
And how much is the business "worth"?
I'd imagine the value of the printed magazine isn't a huge amount of £££s these days but guess there is money tired up in staff, servers, etc.?
Is this a bit like selling the business but keeping a hand in? Any guarantees?!!
If one STW enthusiast put a substantial amount in, would just one investor be enough?
Quick question, so are you offering a share in the company or is it like a sponsorship thing?
It reads as equity, but what performance are you getting ie are dividends paid out annually, what does each tier get you in terms of ROI. Whats the Gross Profit for last 5 yrs and turnover for the last 5 yrs?
What are they intending to do with the millions they raise?
What is the business plan for the next 5 yrs ?
You might get people dabbling with their savings at the lower end, but no way would I put large sums of money in without any further info being provided.
12 reasons to invest in Singletrack
What are the 12 reasons ?? I didnt see that in the article. Or are the 'perks' reasons and there is no ROI
I will be interested to see what the real offer is rather than these gimmicks that are of no real value.
As the other say
what’s the share price
what’s the business plan and value of the business
what is the expected roi
how do I sell any shares I want to divest of
sounds like some of you got lost on the way to the London Stock Exchange. This isn't exactly Thames Water selling Class A and Class B equity here - my understanding is it's more a crowd-funding type model of a grassroots community, and at the lower price points that feels like a good fit.
I'd agree if someone is thinking of putting £10k in, it's a different comparison - but I still wouldn't be comparing and cross-shopping with a TFSA
my understanding is it's more a crowd-funding type model of a grassroots community,
We're not talking about a campaign to raise money to build a local pumptrack, we're talking about a business that is asking for people to invest to "not just be a reader of Singletrack but to own part of it" so the business can "thrive as a media brand".
Seems perfectly reasonable that those people should want further information on the terms of that investment.
You can get most of the info from companies house by searching for "go far enterprises". I'd want to know the exact relationship with "single track media" and which company owns which assets.
Trying something new to bring cash into the business is to be applauded but if I’m honest, I’d have waited for the full picture to be clear rather than advertising the ‘teasers’. It would have avoided the confusion and negativity in this thread.
The ‘perks’ aren’t very perky, they feel more like a case of offering up whatever was found at the back of the store room. I personally don’t see anything that incentivises the level of spend without really understanding what is being offered in STW itself.
I've done 9 equity crowdfunding investments through Crowdcube. Two were taken over at a loss, two are still going, 5 went bust. That's actually a very successful ratio.
In most cases, selling your shares is very, very difficult. Best hope is that the company is taken over.
I'd want to see a detailed investment plan for the funding raise - and hope it's more than "keep the business running for a bit" - and also understand why this funding route has been chosen rather than any other funding option.
Don't invest anything you can't afford to lose. Equity crowdfunding is very high risk and you generally need to be either "high net worth" or a certified investor (though this seemed to just involve answering some fairly obvious questions).
[EDIT - If you don't already subscribe to STW in some form that might be a better way of spending your money]
I'd want to see a detailed investment plan for the funding raise - and hope it's more than "keep the business running for a bit" - and also understand why this funding route has been chosen rather than any other funding option.
This. How is this different from the perspective of STW as a business to the previous fundraising pleas and 502 raffle stuff?
How is this different from the perspective of STW as a business to the previous fundraising pleas and 502 raffle stuff?
A certificate! And a £250 lapel pin if you fancy it.
I understand the questions and the need for details and they will be forthcoming. No one will be expected to buy into the company without first getting details of what the money will be used for and what the legal position of each shareholder is. The launch date is set for early September and all the details and legal positions, including the business plan will be set out when the Crowdcube campaign officially launches in August. A lot of the legal work is done by crowdcube on our behalf. What I can say now is yes, there's a business plan, with contingencies depending on the total raised.
- Yes, the shares will be real and will confer dividend rights to profits.
- The shares will be held and managed on your behalf by Crowdcube
- Our turnover for the last three years has been around £450k.
- We have made profit in one year and losses in the others.
- On the whole we have typically operated on single digit profit margins, as is typical of media.
- Take away our covid BBL debts and we are comfortably profitable.
- Our covid debts are due to be repaid in just over 12 months time.
- As a business we are vulnerable to changes in the markets mainly because our margins are so small.
- I believe there is untapped headroom in the market and there is demand for what we do, not just from readers but also the industry. But for us in particular, we won't tap into it without investment.
- We want to remain independent.
- 45% of our revenue comes from subscriptions and merch sales.
- 55% comes from advertising.
- Advertising is a very volatile revenue currently.
- Subscriptions revenue is stable and predictable.
- There is room in the market for growth in both. I'd like more of the latter but that will be a tough ask without investment.
If I was to try and sum it all up into a simple sentence or two I'd say we are at a plateau and we can sit where we are and do what we are doing and hope that is enough to keep the Singletrack brand going or we can take a bigger step and invest in the company and grow it in order to sustain it's future. Personally I'm struggling to maintain the energy and mental strength required to keep us going with the very limited resources we have right now. For me there's only one option, and that's to strengthen the brand, adapt and grow it.
Some useful info to be found here
https://www.crowdcube.com/explore/a-guide-for-first-time-investors
Thanks for some of the clarification Mark
I do feel that you may have drip fed information too soon.
Where will board meetings be held, what happens if you get 10 people investing the minimum amount each and no further investment? That surly would be more of a pain than a help ?
Sorry for giving more negative points, but investors come with lots of hassles
One of my investments (still going!) is Innis and Gunn. Not because I was a fan of their beer, but I liked their niche and their plans. They hold an annual shareholders event that seems to be a bit of a get together/big party for investors, you can see how Singletrack could run a similar event including a ride somewhere.
There can be different types of shares issued - generally they don't have voting rights or give any influence on the business so no need for "board meetings" attendance.
Mark what's your print / digital split (for both income and expenditure) and how has it changed over time?
I read that as each year? So £64,250.00 annual salary each?
you didn’t put a smiley so I guess that’s a serious question. Turnover is before any expenses are taken off. Deduct rent, electricity, phone, costs of producing the mag, servers, etc, etc, etc then see what is left to pay salaries
How are you supporting 7 salaries on that, no matter how meagre?
I think the answer to that is they cant and hence why they are doing this 'share issue'!
I love this forum and subscribe to the magazine just to support it and in the hope it continues.
But (and I may be alone in this and apologies to the owners) the recent request for donations via raffles seemed a bit off to me. This share issue seems even worse - especially with the release information given to date. I think pushing this as some kind of investment is a bit off - given the figures mentioned above and the state of the media industry I really struggle to see how this is likely to realise any real dividends or profits.
Maybe it will all seem a lot clearer when full details come out but at the moment it feels like people are basically just being asked to fund the wages of the existing team in a business model that isnt working or at least has no long term future.
Sorry, bit harsh but this type of scheme opens you up to it I'm afraid.
May be not all staff are full time?
And despite the demographic on this forum, not everyone needs £75k+ to live on.
Many people run businesses for the pleasure of it and the freedom it gives them.
Well equivalent full time = 5.4.
And we've managed to sustain those meagre salaries for 25 years and like I said earlier the choice is do we continue as we are, look for a corporate buyer and hand it all over and walk away (we've had valuations and looked at options there too) or invite you to own a piece and use the money raised to grow. Investment is for growing the business and allowing us to do what we need to do to be sustainable and profitable. It may work and we raise the funds we need to do that or it may not. It's a risk all round. If it doesn't work for us then I'll have to come up with a new plan.
If you are looking for a calculated investment to give you a return then this sort of offer is very risky - as is clearly laid out all over the Crowdcube website. If you are looking to own a piece of a media brand that you really like and want to see continue and thrive with the possibility of a return if we get into comfortable profit or if we sell it on down the line.. or if you just want to be part of a community owned media brand with a real stake in it, then that is what we are planning to offer.
My mum and dad are in.
the donations thing was really clumsy
In your view. From our perspective we are still here. The Guardian has been relying on donations and constantly asking for such for many years. We've done it once, because it was necessary and we'll be ever grateful to those that donated. It's why we are still here now.
Thanks for discounting my view. Well I do donate to the Guardian as has value to me in doing so, it is not a niche publication, and is a model that works for them (and by media accounts successfully).
Had been a mag buyer in shops, whsmith/lbs etc. and then later via subs since mid 2000's so about 20years of support, but only recently stopped - times have just changed.
But wish you well and hope you make it work, would be a shame to see it disappear even it it does not have to appeal to me personally it once had.
But wish you well and hope you make it work, would be a shame to see it disappear even it it does not have to appeal to me personally it once had.
Thanks rootes1 and apologies if you thought I was discounting your view. I really wasn't.
The Guardian point is very well made and like others here I'm happy to donate to them when needed as well as subscribing. I would also be very sad if this place disappeared not only because of the forum but independant journalism itself is becoming tougher. I was talking to a friend from one of the major UK newspapers at the weekend and he was saying that journalists themselves are now just a commodity (apart from big names of course). I don't read all of the magazine when it comes in but I definitely read it. Thanks Mark for the explanation and the long poster earlier and I'll watch for what happens. None of the perks have really excited me (well apart from the weeks riding) but I'm really more excited by what the possibilities are to get out of the hole you are in so will be interested in that
Some people seem to be quite touchy about the proposals and past fundraising efforts. From my perspective, and I’m not a massive user or posting big hitter, I am happy for Singletrack to ask me to participate, donate, buy shares, whatever. If I like the proposal, have the funds and value the outcome of increased investment in the service, I will join in… if I don’t I won’t. Nobody is forcing us and I certainly don’t think it’s “off”.
In terms of funding in general: I do understand that I can’t have something for nothing for ever and if I want to continue to use the forum someone will have to pay something… and as a user that should probably include me. I’d get a bit anxious if I sat in a cafe or pub for ages without buying a drink so I have the same feeling here.
I would also like the Mag to thrive. I feel the same about Bikepacking.com and subscribe to the collective… mainly in that case to use the site. The publication is a nice addition but in their case it’s the website I value most.
The perks are just that.. perks. No one should be investing on the basis of a perk. They are just icing on the cake. We have tried to come up with perks that reflect the point of the exercise, which is that Singletrack is a community. Badges are neither here nor there in terms of an incentive but what they do convey is belonging to something, which I hope many of you feel about this place.
Thanks for the updates. The box to add yourself to the mailing list is missing for me on both articles, both on my pc and phone.
I didn’t get my email. Would be useful to understand personal tax situations for investment. I’m a lifer from 2016. Might be time to pop some more Pennie’s in the pot.