TRC Family Entertainment

Founded in 2011 by Malta Enterprise, Chris Deering (credited as one of the main marketers of the successful PlayStation and PlayStation 2 video game consoles earning him the title of "The Father of the PlayStation"), Paul Taylor (previous CEO of Jetix Europe), TRC Media Ireland Limited and a group of private investors, with the aim to develop an online world for children, similar to Club Penguin and a range of digital media products.. Malta Enterprise acquired 15% equity (equivalent to €4 million) together with another €4 million in investment aid.

The company had completed a testing and validation phase of the Wishingtooth brand, receiving impressive feedback and reviews from a core consumer group of over 18,000 families in the US.

When enforcement was made in the UK in 2017 this led to Mr Smith declaring himself bankrupt in August 2017 after failing to make further payments to the company.

The Economy Minister Chris Cardona asked the opposition to shoulder responsibility for investing in TRC despite due diligence exercise.

[1] A new management team was subsequently appointed to head the project and continue with operations with good progress being achieved until the default by Euphoria Media (Ireland) Limited and Simon R. Smith in 2014.