WHEN it comes to wanting a booking at the most sought-after restaurant last minute, tickets for the upcoming Tyson Fury fight, or a personal shopper, FirstLuxe are footballers’ first port of call.
A concierge service like no other, they have become the one-stop shop for Arsenal stars Ben White and Emile Smith Rowe, England international Kalvin Phillips, West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen, Olympic legend Usain Bolt and more.
Calaum Jahraldo-Martin, left, and Steven Haziza Metta run concierge service FirstLuxeCredit: Courtesy of FirstLuxe
The business was conceived by school friends Steven Haziza Metta and former Hull City defender Calaum Jahraldo-Martin around four years ago.
Members can pay £1,080 a year for exclusive experiences in London’s finest hotspot, which can be accessed by the FirstLuxe app.
Or, they can upgrade to a platinum membership for £2,400 a year which includes bespoke travel – with a planned expansion to incorporate sports star havens Marbella, Mykonos and Dubai in the near future.
This also gives them access to a company-hired personal shopper, who takes clientele around the likes of Harrods, Selfridges or Harvey Nichols for Dior trainers at £890 a pop to a full-styling experience which can run into the thousands.
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SunSport sat down with Haziza Metta and Jahraldo-Martin, who told us why they launched FirstLuxe.
“Calaum and I were best friends through school, and always wanted to set up a business together,” Haziza Metta revealed.
“With his contacts in the football and celebrity world and mine in the high net-worth world, we thought we were best-placed to do it. And there was a market for it.
“We also found ourselves acting as a concierge service for friends so it seemed a natural thing to do.
“What people really want is something where you know the person you’re speaking to knows the market.
“You are speaking to a human within minutes, knowing essentially that that person is a one-stop shop all your local needs.”
FirstLuxe’s most popular membership for high-earners and football’s elite is their platinum offering.
Haziza Metta told SunSport: “That gives you access to all our services, bespoke travel, and even preferential rates on things like hotels.
“And all these travel benefits we have – we do it on a global scale, including chartering private jets and hotels and villas, which we do globaly.
“Where we separate ourselves from competition is we provide a much more localised approach.
“So restaurant bookings, bars, a personal shopper, chauffeurs, tickets for events, even investment properties, we tend to do that currently in London and Paris.
“We know we’re not an expert in everything. But what we’ve done is taken time to shortlist the right businesses and people to be aligned with.”
As Jahraldo-Martin explained, the service they provide allows footballers to concentrate on their game and not their social life.
Usain Bolt was one of FirstLuxe’s first clientsCredit: Instagram / @firstluxegroupEngland international Kalvin Phillips poses with Jahraldo-MartinCredit: Courtesy of FirstLuxe
“A lot of footballers will have a family member or a friend who can do all these things for them,” he said.
“But they may be reaching out to three or four people. That’s time consuming for players, when they’ve got to be focusing on games or training.
“And are they getting the best prices? Do they have time to negotiate for better deals?
“A footballer recently told me that it takes them more time to do it themselves, so they would rather go on the app, talk to us directly on our chat option, and whatever they want would be sorted quicker.”
FirstLuxe prides itself on being able to deliver an A-list life to clients, where normal civilians might struggle to get a restaurant booking or entry to a club.
“Calling the mainline of a popular restaurant is often not going to get you what you want,” Haziza Metta said.
“The demand is so high. And unfortunately there are certain doors that can be opened by having certain relationships.
“So, we’ve personally built relationships with senior level people at high-end establishments.
“And we’re very confident to say, if we can’t do it it can’t be done.”
Already, FirstLuxe are taking orders for events – from seats on centre court at Wimbledon to front row at the Tyson Fury’s fight against Dillian Whyte next month.
Arsenal star Ben White booked a table at Novikov through FirstLuxeCredit: Instagram / @firstluxegroupWest Ham star Jarrod Bowen travels in style thanks to FirstLuxeCredit: Courtesy of FirstLuxe
While they are consistently on the phone to Mayfair’s incredibly exclusive Novikov ensuring their clients get a table for posh nosh.
“Most footballers want to be seen in the best spots,” Jahraldo-Martin explained.
“When they have a day off from their busy schedules, they want to let their hair down and have a good time.
“This is something we can obviously facilitate.”
For the moment, FirstLuxe are happy to stay in their lane. But they certainly see growth in their future.
They want to engage in more event-planning – from engagements to birthdays.
Bespoke hampers, sourcing perfect pieces of jewellery to even supplying personal chefs during the busy Christmas period are also soon to be in the offing.
Haziza Metta and Jahraldo-Martin are still to secure their dream client – both name-checked rapper Drake.
They want to expand to the artist side, but it will remain a strict process to be accepted into the FirstLuxe client database.
“We have an approval process and are selective with clients,” Haziza Metta divulged.
“We don’t necessarily approve everyone, we see who they are and see if they fit the brand. We have a waiting list of over hundred users but we can’t approve any until we’ve done our due diligence.”
Hard to come by restaurant bookings are sourced by the FirstLuxe team at London’s finest hotspotsCredit: Courtesy of FirstLuxeFirstLuxe give a shouthout to clients including Kalvin Phillips and Emile Smith RoweCredit: Instagram / @firstluxegroupCalaum Jahraldo-Martin is a former footballer who understands what footballers wantCredit: Rex
Lending themselves to a Soho House aesthetic, FirstLuxe are going places.
And it’s the Premier League’s superstars that are reaping the benefits.
