Pockit Scores With Football Legend Sir Alex As Award-Winning Firm Raises Over £1m
(PRWEB UK) 19 May 2014 -- Pockit, the leading prepaid card provider, is poised for a major consumer launch following the completion of a first round of funding which has attracted a number of high profile investors including Sir Alex Ferguson and Mark Newton-Jones, the interim CEO of Mothercare.
The online business – http://www.pockit.com - was founded by Danny, Yuvraj and Virraj Jatania in late 2011. Since then it has raised over £1million from a group of external investors which comes on top of an initial £1million seed funding by Danny Jatania, co-founder of Lornamead.
As well as the former Manchester United manager and Mark Newton-Jones, who spent nine years transforming the Shop Direct Group into Europe’s leading online retailer, other investors include Denis Shafranik, Simon Barklem and Ian Langley.
Over the last few months Pockit has further strengthened its senior management team and invested in a new website and platform in readiness for a major marketing push which is set to disrupt the prepaid card market through innovation and aggressive growth.
In its first test year, Pockit was singled out as the best newcomer in the PrePaid 365 Awards for its exceptional customer value and innovative approach. By securing exclusive deals with a number of high street retailers Pockit customers can earn up to 10% cashback when they shop in-store or online.
Pockit is available to all and provides a secure and simple way to manage cash. Customers can load their Pockit card with cash at 28,000 locations in the UK and can then use it to make withdrawals or purchases online and in stores.
Pockit co-founder Virraj Jatania said: “We are delighted to have completed the investment round and in particular the backing from Sir Alex Ferguson and Mark-Newton Jones which demonstrates the confidence they have in our business model and growth plans. Whilst they come from completely different backgrounds, football and retail respectively, both of them have shown how an organisation can be built to dominate their space and help change their industries.
“As a business Pockit is all about being entrepreneurial and having an intuitive understanding of what builds customer and stakeholder loyalty, two qualities both Sir Alex and Mark share in abundance.”
Sir Alex, the most successful manager in the history of British football, commented:
“I am excited by the plans for Pockit, their management team is superbly placed as the Jatania family has an outstanding track record of building businesses from the ground up and growing brands. I am looking forward to watching the business develop.”
Mark Newton-Jones has vast experience in the online retail sector where he grew sales substantially at Shop Direct Group – the country’s largest catalogue and online retailer - and in his previous role heading up Next Directory.
“Pockit is a dynamic, entrepreneurial start-up business and has proved there is demand for its model amongst both consumers and retailers during its development period over the last 18 months,” said Newton-Jones. “There are nearly three million people in the UK who don’t have access to full banking which means that they are currently unable to benefit from the convenience and savings shopping online can bring. With Pockit we are able to democratise the internet by giving the cash community the same opportunities without the risk of running up debt on the card and falling into financial trouble.”
For further information on Pockit, visit http://www.pockit.com.
Information
The Pockit Prepaid Card is issued under the MasterCard brand, which means it can be used in more than 30 million locations globally as well as at ATMs.
Prepaid365 Awards Best Newcomer Prepaid Card category: A prepaid card in any category that has been launched in the last 12-18 months and has made waves in consumers circles.
For further information, please visit the website https://www.pockit.com/
About the Jatania Family
The Jatania family are widely known for establishing the Lornamead Group, which was founded in 1978 by Danny and his brothers, just a few years after the family escaped Uganda prior to Idi Amin’s expulsion of Asians. Lornamead is now a leading global marketer in personal care and features top consumer brand names Harmony, Simple and Lypsyl within its portfolio, which together boast a turnover in the UK alone of over £100 million. The business was sold last year to Hong Kong based conglomerate Li and Fung.
The Sunday Times 2013 Rich List valued the family businesses at £400m.
Ends
Issued on behalf of Pockit Prepaid Card by Fleet Street Communications. For further information, please contact Steve Dann at FSC, Tel: 0121 262 3900, Mob: 07973 886084, Email: steve(at)fsc(dot)uk(dot)com or Alastair Gray at FSC, Tel: 0121 262 3904, Mob: 07967 320050, Email: alastair(at)fsc(dot)uk(dot)com
Steve Dann, Fleet Street Communications, +44 7973886084, [email protected]
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