Online gold-bullion exchange recognized for ground-breaking service to private investors
LONDON, 21 April 2009 - The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category has been conferred on London-based BullionVault, the groundbreaking and hugely popular gold-bullion ownership and investment service.
BullionVault has been recognized for enabling private investors to access the cost-savings and safety of the professional wholesale gold bullion market.
Until this innovation, launched in April 2005, the wholesale bullion market was virtually inaccessible to individuals. This was because of tight controls on bullion integrity and high minimum trade sizes, which meant private investors were forced to trade gold coins and small bars, where they had to accept materially higher trading costs.
Now however, BullionVault users buy and sell physical gold online, owning it inside secure, market-approved vaults in their choice of London, New York or Zurich. Their dealing costs are reduced by approximately 80%.
The Queen's Award citation references the reduced costs available to users, the innovative development of automated internet dealers, and thirdly – perhaps most importantly – the fact that the user's ownership of gold is then proven each day by a unique Daily Audit of all client property, which is freely accessible on the internet to provide complete transparency to investors.
Now enabled in four languages – German, French, Italian and English – and attracting over 13,000 active users worldwide, BullionVault today looks after £400 million. It has 7,800 active customers in the UK, each holding an average of 34 ounces of gold, worth £20,500.
The company's turnover grew 549% in 2008.
Commenting on the Award, Paul Tustain, founder and director of BullionVault, said: "It's one thing to spot an opportunity, but quite another to make it happen. I'm very proud of the hard work done by BullionVault's development team, building precisely the simple, secure and low-cost access to professional market bullion which the gold market was so clearly lacking.
"In the current environment, private individuals want the reassurance of holding physical gold as part of their investments, with the flexibility of buying and selling when they want to, and at their own price. I'm honoured that the Queens Award has recognized BullionVault's innovation."
Notes to editors:
BullionVault is today the world's leading online exchange for gold bullion investment and ownership. More than 13,000 people from 83 countries use BullionVault to own and trade physical gold, benefitting from direct access to live "wholesale" pricing and cost efficiencies.
BullionVault now stores over 16 tonnes of gold, more than most of the world's central banks. Every ounce is owned privately and stored in the accredited professional bullion market vault of the client's choice of London, Zurich or New York.
In the last two years investors have bought more gold through BullionVault than through any other direct bullion ownership service in the world, benefitting from one of the lowest commissions available (0.8% on the first US$ 30,000 of purchases). There is no minimum investment requirement, making BullionVault's services available to all investors who want to hold gold as part of their portfolio.
For more information please visit www.BullionVault.com.
About the Queen’s Awards
The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the UK’s most prestigious Awards for business success. Established in 1966, there are now four categories of Queen’s Awards – three for business success (International Trade, Innovation and Sustainable Development) and one for individual achievement in encouraging UK entrepreneurship (The Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion).
More information can be found at www.queensawards.org.uk.
Gold bullion - Buy online at live gold prices.
