27 Apr 2015 07:00
Press Release | 27 April 2015 |
TechFinancials Inc.
"TechFinancials", the "Company", or the Group"
Contract Wins and Senior Management appointment within OptionFair
TechFinancials (AIM:TECH), a software developer that supplies simplified trading solutions to online brokers, is pleased to announce its recent contract wins and a senior management appointment within OptionFair.
Recent Contract Wins
Since its successful admission to AIM (the "Admission") in March, TechFinancials is able to announce expansion of its client base with the completion and signing of eight new contracts licensing the Company's market leading financial trading software.
The European market continues to be a focal point of the Company's activities and seven of the new brokers signed plan to focus on this region. As outlined in the Company's Admission Document, the European market is currently the world's leading and most mature market for Binary Options and it's the Group's intention to utilise funds raised at Admission to further its software development needed for the regulated European market.
Additionally, the Company is able to announce its first contract with a broker focusing on the Arabian Gulf Region. There have also been further developments in Asia, where an existing key customer of TechFinancials has entered the PRC (People's Republic of China) market through collaboration with a local Chinese partner. This partnership is adopting a multi-brand strategy and has now launched eight brands in the PRC market. This marks an important step in realising the Group's intention to expand in the high growth potential Chinese market. TechFinancials launched its Chinese B2B desk in 2014 and has appointed an experienced Chinese business development professional to secure further contracts with online brokers and to develop relationships with strategic partners in the region. The Group intends to open an office in China in the near future to sell and support TechFinancials' software in the growing market.
Senior management appointment within OptionFair
The Group has appointed Mr. Jonathan Shkedi as new CEO within its online broker division, OptionFair. Mr. Shkedi has spent the last three years as V.P. Sales for the B2B software licensing division of TechFinancials. His success in this position has prompted his promotion to the management team of the Company. As CEO of OptionFair, Mr Shkedi brings with him a rich experience in sales, media and affiliate positions in a variety of online industries. The new appointment is part of a strategic plan to take OptionFair forward and extend the division's global reach as the Binary Options market looks set for exponential growth (ForexMagnates Report).
Commenting on the Operational Update, Asaf Lahav, Group CEO of TechFinancials, said: "TechFinancials is very pleased to have made significant progress in diversifying its global product offering by signing contracts with eight new brokers covering various target markets of the Group. We are also pleased to have appointed the Company's management team. The Company believes Mr. Shkedi's experience will be a vital asset in moving forward with the Group's strategy to extend its global reach."
- Ends -
For further information:
TechFinancials, Inc. |
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Asaf Lahav, Group Chief Executive Officer | Tel: +357-25-503164 |
Yuval Tovias, Chief Financial Officer | www.group.techfinancials.com |
Grant Thornton UK LLP (Nominated Adviser) |
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Colin Aaronson / Melanie Frean | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7383 5100 |
Northland Capital Partners Limited (Broker) |
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John Howes / Mark Treharne | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7382 1100 |
Argento Capital Markets Limited (Financial Adviser) |
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Alan MacKenzie / Jim McGeever | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7093 0353 |
Media enquiries:
Abchurch Communications Limited |
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Henry Harrison-Topham / Jamie Hooper | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7719 |
TechFinancials@abchurch-group.com | www.abchurch-group.com |
Notes to editors:
TechFinancials was formed in 2009 to create a simplified trading solution for online brokers wanting to provide a platform for retail customers to trade in Binary Options. Founders Asaf Lahav, Eyal Rosenblum, Eyal Alon and Jeremy Lange, are a group of four experienced senior executives with technology, FOREX and online marketing backgrounds, while Chairman Christopher Bell has 20 years' experience in the gambling industry and was the chief executive officer of Ladbrokes plc until 2010.
The Group's platform is based on a proprietary pricing engine, which enables online brokers to price and market short-term Binary Options and Exotic Options. The Group launched a beta version of its platform with two online brokers: OptionFair, the Group's own online regulated broker, and www.24option.com, the largest Binary Option broker in the world today, in April and July 2010, respectively. The Group subsequently launched a live version of the platform in January 2011. Currently, around 18% of all deposits which are made to trade Binary Options globally are processed using the Group's software. In early 2014, TechFinancials began to focus on the Asian market, securing distribution in Japan and China. The Group has experienced substantial growth, with revenues of almost US$7.2 million in H1 2014, an increase of approximately 100% compared to H1 2013.
Binary Options are well-suited to retail customers because no in-depth knowledge of the financial markets is required in order to trade. Sometimes referred to as an "all-or-nothing option", Binary Options either pay a fixed amount or nothing at all, depending on whether a certain condition is fulfilled when the option expires. By contrast, traditional or "Vanilla" options can have a range of outcomes. Binary Options can also serve as a gateway to more professional financial trading products such as FOREX.
Since the simplified Binary Options market was first introduced in 2008 by etrader.co.il, it has experienced significant growth, both in number of online brokers operating in the market and trading volumes. That growth is set to continue as the online trading market becomes better established and subject to increased regulation, which will result in larger and better known financial organisations entering the Binary Options market. It is estimated that the global trading of Binary Options will reach approximately US$13.61 billion for 2014 and US$29.81 billion in 2016. Europe is currently the world's leading market for Binary Options.
About OptionFair
The Group's own online broker, OptionFair (www.OptionFair.com), operates as a broker regulated by CySEC since September 2013. It serves retail customers based principally in Europe. Launched in 2010, OptionFair was one of the first online Binary Options brokers to be established and offers Binary Options referenced to a wide range of financial instruments and assets. OptionFair utilises the technology developed by TechFinancials and also assists TechFinancials in trialing and evaluating products that it has under development.
OptionFair is now one of the leading EU regulated online Binary Options brokerages, generating revenues of US$4.1 million in H1 2014, an increase of approximately 160% compared to H1 2013. This growth was achieved by concentrating on multiple European markets, with a particular focus on the Eastern European market. In addition, in October 2014 OptionFair started to offer TechFinancials' new simplified FOREX trading platform in beta mode to a number of its customers.
The Group plans to use some of the proceeds from the Placing for OptionFair to enter new regulated markets which the Directors believe have significant growth potential, such as the US and Japan.