Trading Update and Contract Wins

RNS Number : 0512F

4GLOBAL PLC

17 March 2022

 

17 March 2022

4GLOBAL PLC

("4GLOBAL" or the "Company")

Trading Update and Contract Wins

4GLOBAL, a UK-based data, services and software company focused on major sporting events and the promotion and measurement of physical activity, is pleased to announce a positive trading update for the year ending 31 March 2022 and significant new contract wins.

4GLOBAL experienced strong trading in the second half and the Company has achieved revenue growth of approximately 35% for the year ending 31 March 2022, which is in-line with market expectations, with adjusted EBIT and EBITDA expected to be significantly ahead of expectations* for the period, subject to audit.

The interim results for the six months to 30 September 2021 (announced on 21 December 2021) highlighted the Company's strong project pipeline with good visibility on subscription revenues. Progress has continued in final quarter of the financial year with the award of a £225k project from a major sporting event taking place this year. 4GLOBAL will be assisting and supporting the delivery stages of the event and stakeholder management. This role is expected to place 4GLOBAL at the centre of stakeholder coordination and management at tournament, event rights owner and governmental levels.

The Company is also delighted to be awarded a contract to provide assistance with the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this summer. 4GLOBAL is providing support to manage the delivery of security operations for the entire event. This role will provide assurances that the correct planning has been undertaken to date, validating security strategies and testing operational plans. The contract value is estimated at £130k with revenues expected to accrue in the financial year 2022/23.

Further to the announcement on 17 January 2022, the Company is also pleased to report that it has won a number of licence contracts with both local authorities and operators for the use of 4GLOBAL's Social Value Calculator ("SVC"). The SVC enables leisure providers to measure and provide evidence of the social value created from investment in sport and physical activity enabling clients to calculate and estimate of the monetary value arising from investment.

As part of the UK's Euro 2028 bid, 4GLOBAL has been appointed to assist the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport ("DCMS"). The contract value is estimated at around £260k to be completed in the year ending 31 March 2022. The UK Government plans to invest circa £200m on new grassroot football facilities in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales and 4GLOBAL's team has been appointed to assist in evaluating where there is the greatest demand and highest return on investment can be predicted. The Company will be deploying its data, technology and know-how to advise on this project.

Eloy Mazon, Chief Executive Officer of 4GLOBAL commented:

"We are delighted by the current trading performance of the Company and our unique business model is demonstrating again its value to governments, cities and local authorities, sporting federations and activity providers across the globe. The recent listing of the Company on AIM in December 2021 has added significant credibility to our business, resulting in an enhanced pipeline of new opportunities, which is at the highest point in the Company's history. As a result of strong recurring revenues, new business wins and healthy pipeline of opportunities, the Board is optimistic about the future prospects for the Company."

*Broker research note dated 2 November 2021 - turnover of £3.6m and (adjusted) EBIT expectations (before exceptional costs associated with the Company's IPO in December 2021) of £316k and (adjusted) EBITDA of £325k for the year ending 31 March 2022

For further information please contact:

4GLOBAL		c/o IFC Advisory
Eloy Mazon (CEO)
Spark Advisory Partners - Nominated Adviser		0203 368 3554
Neil Baldwin
Oberon Capital - Broker		0203 179 5300
Michael Seabrook, Chris Crawford
IFC Advisory		0203 934 6630
Graham Herring / Zach Cohen		07793 839 024

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE UK VERSION OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION NO 596/2014 WHICH IS PART OF ENGLISH LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS AMENDED.  ON PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INFORMATION IS CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

About 4GLOBAL

4GLOBAL is a UK-based data, services and software company focused on major sporting events and the promotion and measurement of physical activity. The Company uses its proprietary data and software solutions to convert data into actionable insight which enables clients to promote sports participation, to reduce physical inactivity and to achieve economic, social and healthcare outcomes.

The Company works with, and supports, a range of clients including governments (e.g. the U.K. Government and Sport England), cities and local authorities (e.g. Neom, Saudi Arabia, and Manchester, UK), sporting federations and activity providers (e.g. The Gym Group), to address the problem of physical inactivity, to produce significant and measurable health, social and economic benefits.

Historically, 4GLOBAL has used major sporting events as a catalyst to help address the issue of physical inactivity issue. Physical inactivity, the key problem addressed by the technology offering, is a global phenomenon. Across the globe, physical inactivity has yet to be met with concerted government action. Addressing this issue is an essential element of 4GLOBAL's potential growth. Its relationships with governments, and public and international sports bodies, makes 4GLOBAL ideally placed to provide a solution.

Over time, the role that these sports and sporting events play at national and city (or in the U.K. at local authority) level has evolved. 4GLOBAL management identified the London 2012 Olympics as a transformational point. Since then, increasing emphasis has been placed on leaving a "legacy" once the event has ended - economic legacy (in terms of transformation and regeneration of host cities), social legacy (in terms of improving local/national health, crime reduction, education improvements) and participatory legacy (to increase the participation in sport by the host country's population). 4GLOBAL's management realised that measurement and monitoring of these outcomes requires relevant data. As a consequence, the Company has built the Sport Intelligence platform, which tracks and manages activity data that has been collected and stored on the Company's DataHub, its GDPR-compliant database.

The Directors believe that demand for its offerings will continue to increase. This is driven by underlying growth in key channels to market, such as a long-standing relationship with the U.K. Government, and increased development of proprietary models that highlight the social return of investment in sport, rising health and social cost pressures, regulatory and technology change and continuing consolidation in the sports and technology services industry.

The Group also has a vision to capitalise on the transformation in the role of sport towards a wider public purpose around health and wellbeing through the promotion of physical activity, which in turn produces health benefits to people and society. In this way, and through its proprietary sports participation data platform, Sport Intelligence, the Company differentiates itself from more generalist sports and/or health technology and services businesses.

 

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