MatchPint unveils £1.1m French signing Allomatch

Online platform MatchPint, founded by Leo MacLehose and Dom Collingwood in 2012, revealed it is set to launch in France – it’s third territory after the UK and Ireland – following the £1.1m acquisition of Allomatch.

Founded in 2007 by Fabrice Bernhard and Benoît Charles-Lavauzelle, Allomatch counts more than 900 pubs, bars and restaurants among its customers, including sites operated by Charles Wells, Beds & Bars, and a host of independent retailers.

In the past year, more than 2m pub-going sports fans have used MatchPint, which counts 3,700 venues – across groups such as Mitchells & Butlers, Greene King, Punch and Ei Group – among its clients.

The group reported 101% year-on-year growth in turnover to £1m while also raising £3m to fund expansion and investment in new technology. The group has also secured a further £700,000 investment from private and existing investors.

This comes as the Premier League’s global sponsor Budweiser announced a partnership with the pub finder to launch the Budweiser Premier Predictor. Redeemable in more than 2,000 participating pubs across the UK and Ireland, the activation asks fans to predict the results of all televised matches over a weekend, with fans winning a Budweiser each week if they get a prediction correct.

Global ambition

“We’re delighted to welcome Allomatch into the MatchPint family,” Leo MacLehose, co-founder and CEO at MatchPint said. “Fabrice and Benoit have built a great business in France and we’re looking forward to working with Allomatch customers to deliver more value in the next year through product upgrades and international activation campaigns.

“In addition, we're excited to bring some of Allomatch's brilliant products and features into the UK market as we seek to bring more fans together than ever before in UK pubs and bars.

“Sport is pure unscripted theatre. You don’t have to be a sports fan to get captured by a sporting moment when surrounded by friends in a pub.

“We’re obviously incredibly excited to be growing into new countries. What’s great is that watching sport with friends over a beer is a shared moment without borders. Every country does it.

“This is the first step in proving the international scalability of the business, with a launch in Australia and New Zealand planned for December, and further countries in Europe and the US beyond in 2020.”