Thank Fathom it’s Friday

WeWork: a fantasy valuation?

Kevin Loane 16 August 2019|

Last Thursday, a group of Fathom staff got together after work to conduct an auction of Premier League footballers. While business here is going well, none of us are owners of top-tier English football clubs (yet). Rather, the money was play and the auction was for this year’s work fantasy league – an increasingly popular pastime where real-life players earn pretend managers points based on how well they play in actual games. A couple of sceptical colleagues saw the event as an excuse to bunk off work early and discuss the upcoming season. However, the evening was not without its economic insight. Auctions have been heavily studied by economists, including us, but the conditions Fathom’s managers were subject to are unlikely to be found at Christie’s or Sotheby’s. Each bidders’ budget was both known and identical to all others (200 million), as was their needs (a squad of fifteen players). The initial stages of bidding acted as a form of price discovery. Liverpool FC’s Brazilian goalkeeper, Alisson, sold for 32 million. With past performance seen as a good guide to future returns,