Bristol app Fanhub scores big with 100,000 UK fans - with support of Natwest

Published by

Peter Davison

FanHub founders Harley Thorne and Gareth Lippiatt

Tech start-up FanHub has achieved a landmark goal by ranking in the UK app charts’ top 10 thanks to its fresh take on fan loyalty.

Founded in 2021 by Bristol natives Harley Thorne and Gareth Lippiatt, FanHub’s innovative technology gamifies fan behaviour and rewards football lovers with incentives, including free refreshments and fan merchandise, in return for showing loyalty to their team.

Users win points for completing tasks such as clocking up miles by travelling to away games and correctly predicting final scores, which they can then trade in for rewards.

The app has soared in popularity since its launch and now boasts over 100,000 users from across the UK, placing the fan back in the heart of the community.

The business has been a member of NatWest’s Accelerator Hub for the last year, making use of the free office space on offer to work out of the Bristol co-working space full-time.

The NatWest Accelerator programme supports and empowers entrepreneurs across the South West to scale their businesses to the next level, offering one-to-one coaching, a programme of thought leadership and events, access to a network of like-minded peers, and full-time use of a modern co-working space.

Based out of NatWest’s state-of-the-art Trinity Quay offices, the scheme offers local businesses the chance to work in the heart of Bristol.

The programme is currently accepting applicants, with ambitious entrepreneurs encouraged to apply soon before spaces fill up. Entrepreneurs can also search for the “NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator” online to find out more and apply.

FanHub was created after its football-loving founder realised that fans were the only party not being rewarded for their role in the game, leading Harley to design a platform that puts fans first and recognises their commitment to their teams.

Harley, Gareth, and the team are gearing up for the app’s latest launch, which will see members use the platform as a social network and connect with other like-minded fans to bond over their common interests and even travel to games together.

Commenting on the support for the business, Harley said: “I’ve always been a big football lover myself and got fed up with seeing every other party involved – for example, players, teams and even gambling sites – being financially rewarded while fans were left out of pocket.

“We decided to launch FanHub as a way to give back to that community, offering them the chance to earn prizes in return for their loyalty. The response has been amazing, and we’ve seen huge growth in the past year.

“It’s been invaluable to have NatWest working alongside us on that journey, and the support of the Entrepreneur Accelerator Hub came at exactly the right time.

"The mentorship on offer means we have direct access to tailored, personal advice and we’ve also been able to connect with other entrepreneurs who are at a similar stage in their journey.

Visit Hampshire Biz News for bright, upbeat and positive business news from the county

“The launch of our new app feature is a huge milestone for us and will enable fans to make genuine connections that will go beyond just the virtual world. We’ve designed it in a way that will let fans meet up and even travel to games together.”

NatWest’s Bristol Accelerator Hub provides advice and support to businesses within the South West’s vibrant enterprise community from its base in Trinity Quay.

Those interested in finding out how NatWest could help their business scale and thrive are encouraged to apply for a spot ahead of the application deadline on August 18.

Peter Davison

Peter Davison is deputy editor of The Business Magazine. He has spent his life in journalism – doing work experience in newsrooms in and around Bristol while still at school, and landing his first job on a local newspaper aged 19. By 28 he was the youngest newspaper editor in the country. An early advocate of online news, he spent the first years of the 2000s telling his bosses that the internet posed both the biggest opportunity and greatest threat to the newspaper industry and the art of journalism. He was right on both counts. Since 2006 he has enjoyed a career as a freelance journalist. He lives in rural Wiltshire with one wife, two children, and three cats.