Christmas voucher firm Appreciate Group to be snapped up by PayPoint for £83m
Christmas voucher firm Appreciate Group has been snapped up by PayPoint for £83m, with he firm’s shares jumping 50 per cent.
PayPoint is offering each share at 44 pence each meaning the deal would reach around £83m.
Shareholders of the company, which offers payments at 28,000 convenience stores across the country, while Appreciate Group stakeholders will keep five per cent.
Nick Wiles, chief Executive of PayPoint, said the acquisition “provides a compelling opportunity” with “significant headroom for growth across the UK consumer and corporate gifting markets which is valued at more than £8bn in the UK.”
He said the deal would focus on growth in areas including supporting “customers with budgeting tools for Christmas”.
Appreciate Group, which was founded by former Everton FC and Tranmere Rovers owner Peter Johnson, includes brands such as Love2shop, highstreetvounchers.com and Park Christmas Savings.
Ahead of the festive period, Guy Parsons, executive chairman of Appreciate Group, said the “offer represents an attractive premium for Appreciate Group Shareholders providing an opportunity to exit the majority of their shareholdings for cash”.