I think we've caught a live one here: after stumbling on a post made in a smaller UK poker forum, it would seem that a local live mtt player is trying to pull a fast one on not only his facebook friends, but also members of other forums.
As of writing this post; Mark Physick has sold 96 shares (£35 each) for a total of £3360. He plans to raise up to £20k before he starts his up-to year-long adventure as a live mtt player.
Notice how the terms are that he keeps 30% of the winnings, while 70% go to the investors. If he starts with a £20k roll, he will wager the £20k and be finished the stake; the total winnings will be what's split 30/70. I challenged him on this subject and said that he would be able to take his 30% commission daily, whereas the investor is locked in for a year. He denied the possibility of taking daily commission, and said that he will be locked in for a year also. I don't believe him, as he works as a long distance lorry driver, and still needs to remain employed to cover his travel + accommodation costs - so he could very easily take his 30% of winnings, or even skim off the roll by reporting re-entries that never happened.
The numbers are a complete joke, which is something I also brought up in the other forum. I mentioned how he could finish the stake with £8k profit on top of £20k target start roll, leaving the roll at £28k; after taking his 30% (£8.4k) the roll is left at £19.6k. So there's only one winner with the way this deal is structured, not to mention the charity front where he is giving his investors the opportunity to donate their share to one of the two charities he has picked.
Here is the original snip from his FB.
I was interacting with him yesterday on this topic, asking him many questions -- which he didn't give me satisfactory answers, and mostly avoided the tough ones. Now he seems to be ploughing ahead with this shady venture regardless.
There have been only a few others who have voiced their concerns, including another player named Jamie:
In this snip you can see the names Rick Gilby and Ky Hutchinson; these two are also involved in organising all of this, as it seems to be a three man operation. Rick Gilby is the one who is apparently going to hold the funds and deliver them to Mark whenever he needs them. The whole process sounds so convoluted and scammy.