Thursday February 14th 2019

Thursday February 14th 2019

News about 5 UK growth companies and/or accelerators + turnover in the GRID marketplace 14th -20th October 2018:

hairbrushes - cardboard packaging - fishing tackle

- veterinary products –

toys & games

London :: West Bromwich :: Rotherham :: York :: Oldham

Tangle Teezer £21.4m | Diamond Box £23.5m | Fishing Republic £9.15m | Animalcare £ 83.7m | Character Group £115.3m

TANGLE TEEZER: hairbrushes - London

Bad hair day at Tangle Teezer, founded by Shaun Pulfrey | The Sunday Times. October 14 2018

DZ profile: Tangle Teezer Limited

Business: manufactures and sells hairbrushes to professional hair salons, retail stores, and beauty divisions through worldwide distributors and online. Products are sold in more than 90 countries worldwide and 86 per cent of its turnover now comes from overseas. China and US are key growth markets. Over 40 million of hair brushes have been sold. Has had endorsements from many salons and celebrities including Victoria Beckham, Nicole Scherzinger and Cara Delevingne. Persuaded BOOTS to stock the brush in 2008. In 2009, his company turned a profit

Launched: 2005

Location: south London

Founder: Shaun Pulfrey, 56, a professional hair colourist by trade

Staff: 31. Matt Lumb, CEO since 2010.

Financials: Sales were up to £21.4m, pre-tax profits down from £417,000 to £28,000 after fees of £462,000 related to its search for external investment and increases in R&D; costs.

Investment: in 2007 asked the Dragons on the Dragons’ Den BBC show for a £80,000 investment in return for a 15% share of the company and was rejected. In 2016-17 tried to sell the company for £200m – with EXPONENT, INFLEXION, BRIDGEPOINT and BAIRD involved in the sale process.

News: Pulfrey spent £98,000 of his own money patenting the design of his detangling brushes and has made more than £12m from the intellectual property rights.

DIAMOND BOX: cardboard packaging - West Bromwich

Just don’t ask for a frying pan shaped box | Liam Kelly, The Sunday Times. October 14 2018 

DZ profile: Diamond Box Limited

Business: makes cardboard packaging. It buys sheets of cardboard, prints designs on them, cuts them to size and glues them together. As well as boxes for archives, moving house and storing items, the company makes bespoke packaging for ASOS, BOOHOO and MARKS & SPENCER. Internet retailers make up about a fifth of sales with DEBENHAMS, SELFRIDGES and the WHITE COMPANY among its customers.

Launched: 2007

Location: West Bromwich

Founders: Rani, 41, and Kavi, 38, Jundu

Staff: 150

Financials: sales of £23.5m and pre-tax profits of £260,000 in the year ending March 2018

Investment: no external investment

UK businesses seek value from pet owners and hobbyists | Andy Bounds and Chris Tighe, FT. October 19, 2018   

FISHING REPUBLIC: fishing tackle - Rotherham

DZ profile: Fishing Republic Plc

Business: UK fishing tackle business that sells over 16,500 product lines - from coarse and carp fishing gear, to sea, fly, predator and specialist tackle - through 14 retail outlets and online.

Launched: 1985

Location: Rotherham

Financials: Revenue £9.15m; Pre-Tax losses -£-2.26m to 31-Dec-17. Interim results on September 28 showed it had just £516,000 of cash on June 30, despite a £1.3m fundraising in January. Revenues in the first six months of the year fell £3.4m from £4.1m the year before. Its loss before exceptional items, interest and taxation, depreciation and amortisation was £1.4m, against zero the year before. The reported pre-tax loss was £2.5m (£0.1m).

Investment: joined Aim in July 2017. Investors include Terry Leahy, the former Tesco boss, with 9.3 per cent, the Kamani family, of online fashion retailer Boohoo.com, and Bill Currie, a longtime retail investor.

News: has been closing lossmaking stores to try to stay afloat and shares were suspended on October 16. It announced that its proposed new chief executive, Daniel Quinn, who has worked at GO OUTDOORS and TESCO, will instead become an adviser rather than chief executive. Is under pressure from listed competitor ANGLING DIRECT through price undercutting and building a national store network to complement its online operation.

ANIMALCARE: veterinary products - York

DZ profile: Animalcare Group Plc

Business: veterinary products company which turned itself into a pan-European business through last July’s reverse acquisition of Ecuphar. The Belgian-headquartered private company specialised in pharmaceutical products for pets, production animals and horses. Animalcare now sells to seven European countries, including the UK, and exports to 50 markets.

Launched: 1988

Location: York

Staff: new chief executive Jenny Winter, who joined on October 1

Financials: revenue £83.7m; Pre-Tax £0.54m to 31-Dec-17. In the six months to June 30, based on combined Animalcare and Ecuphar trading, revenues were £48m, with pre-tax profit £494,000, against £2.3m in the same period last year.

Investment: Floated on AIM in Jan 2008

News: Last month’s £2.6m sale of MEDINI, its wholesaling company, is intended to enable it to focus on the higher-margin veterinary pharmaceutical business.

CHARACTER GROUP: toys & games - Oldham

DZ profile: Character Options Limited (Character Toys)

Business: design, development and international distribution of toys and games, with merchandise products such as Peppa Pig, Ben & Holly, Minecraft, Teksta, ChillFactor, Doctor Who, Fireman Sam, Teletubbys, Little Live Pets. It designs and sells its merchandise, mostly from a former textile mill in Oldham with manufacturing in Asia.

Launched: 1991

Location: offices in London, Manchester, Hong Kong and China

Staff: 200. Jon Driver, joint managing director

Financials: Revenue £115.3m + pre-tax profits £12.2m to 31-Aug-17. Forecast results for 2018: revenue £108m, pre-tax profits £11m.

Investment: Floated on Aim in Dec 2005

News: On October 18 it bought 55 per cent of PROXY a Danish toy distributor paying DKr2.5m (approximately £300,000) now and up to DKr25m (approximately £3m) depending on performance, over three years.