Top story
Online greeting card group Moonpig has proposed a £124m deal to acquire gifting experiences company Smartbox Group UK, which trades as Buyagift.
It is an acceleration of Moonpig’s strategy to become “the ultimate gifting companion”.
The deal would deliver “a step-change” in the group’s gifting proposition, creating the UK’s leading range of physical and experiential gifts, Moonpig told the stock exchange this morning.
Smartbox boasts of 3.3 million customers across its Buyagift and Red Letter Days brands, with consistent double-digit revenue growth CAGR over past ten years.
Moonpig plans to leverage the group’s capabilities in technology, data and brand-building to accelerate revenue growth in Buyagift.
CEO Nickyl Raithatha said the proposed acquisition of Buyagift rapidly accelerated Moonpig’s journey to become “the ultimate gifting companion”.
He added that there was strong strategic rationale for the transaction and “compelling” financial benefits.
“Buyagift is profitable and highly cash generative, with a proven track record of strong growth and we are excited by the ways that we can further transform the business using the group’s proven playbook.
“We see significant potential for the cross-selling of gifting experiences to Moonpig Group’s loyal customers. We look forward to working with the Buyagift team to deliver an enhanced proposition for our customers and to create value for our shareholders.”
Based on the anticipated completion of the acquisition by the end of July 2022, Moonpig expected revenue for the enlarged group in the 2023 financial year to be about £350m.
Shares in Moonpig have shot up almost 14% this morning to 267p.
Morning update
Ready meal firm Parsley Box has appointed Jo Coomber as marketing director.
Coomber will join the team in June and be responsible for leading the group’s refreshed marketing strategy and further developing the Parsley Box brand.
Prior to joining Parsley Box, Coomber held board level brand strategy, commercial, marketing, communications and insights focused roles, including director of public engagement for the National Galleries of Scotland and marketing director at Dobbies Garden Centres.
Parsley Box said that in both roles Coomber closely marketed to the over 65s audience segments, which is the key demographic for the DTC meal provider.
She has also held senior marketing and communications roles with Standard Life, Elmwood Design consultancy and Sony Ericsson.
Parsley Box CEO said: “We are absolutely delighted Jo is joining the team. We have taken our time to find the right mix of skills, values, and experience for this important role. Her knowledge of our often overlooked and poorly understood target demographic will be invaluable for the growth of Parsley Box and will help drive cost effective customer engagement and acquisition.”
The FTSE 100 has started the new week on the front foot, with the index up 0.8% to 7,450.53pts.
Early risers in food and drink include Hellofresh, up 3.6% to €35.79, Delivery Hero, up 2.8% to €30.18, Greggs, up 2.1% to 2,200.8p and SSP Group, up 2% to 239.4p.
THG also opened up another 0.6% to 145.8p following the surprise takeover bids on Thursday evening. The stock still remains well behind the rejected 170p-a-share offer price.
Early fallers included Nichols, McBride, Devro and Reckitt Benckiser, down 1.3% to 1,305p, 0.9% to 34.7p, 0.5% to 203p and 0.5% to 6,208p respectively.
This week in the City
A busy week kicks off tomorrow with the latest monthly grocery market share data from Kantar, full-year results from pig processor Cranswick and interims from sandwich maker Greencore and food-to-go operator SSP Group.
Wednesday sees Steve Rowe deliver his final set of annual results at Marks & Spencer before bowing out of the chief executive role, while Peter Pritchard does the same at Pets at Home, which also is due to report preliminaries.
There are also trading updates at meat supplier Hilton Food Group and prepared meals producer Bakkavor ahead of AGMs on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
No comments yet