Jorginho-backed investing app Gather Being re-emerges from administration
An investing app backed by Arsenal star Jorginho has been re-launched after being put in administration, CityAM can reveal.
Gather Being, which was founded as Gather in 2019, was launched in the summer 2023 after the Italian midfielder acquired a 10 per cent stake. But within months the startup was issued a winding-up petition over unpaid loans.
According to a filing by administrators AABRS, Gather defaulted on a million-pound loan from the government-backed Future Fund as it “did not appreciate” it would have to repay it, after assuming the debt would convert automatically into equity.
But under proposals to keep the company afloat, “a number of investors” expressed an interest to purchase the unpaid debt “and not to seek payment from the company until a much later date.”
It was not clear whether Jorginho was among the consortium of investors who rescued the business, or whether his stake was wiped out by the administration process.
Gather Being did not respond to a request for comment. The app, which is designed to resemble popular music streaming services, allows users to buy into investment funds managed by Blackrock.
Jorginho previously said his involvement in Gather was motivated by a desire for long-term investment.
“Everyone knows my football career is short and so I want to look after me, my family and the ones that I love after I finish playing,” he said, adding that the app is designed to help educate users about how to make the right investment calls.
Jorginho said in 2023 he hoped to play a bigger role in helping steer the company’s strategy as it grows, as soon as he got his head around the finer details of the app’s mechanics.