6 Jun 2013 12:30
LiteBulb Group Limited
("LiteBulb" or the "Company" or the "Group")
Update on acquisitions
LiteBulb (AIM: LBB), the brand and product development specialist, provides the following update on recent acquisitions:
The integration of Bluwstuff Limited ("Bluw"), acquired in February this year is progressing well and is trading ahead of budget as we have introduced its product portfolio to a wider audience of retail clients. Bluw received purchase orders and forward order confirmations from major retailers in excess of £1m in April and May alone. These included orders from Debenhams, Tesco, and Menkind, a website selling novelty gifts for men, across a wide range of Bluw products. In addition, Bluw has also received its first orders from HMV, WH Smith and Shop Direct Group.
Rizon Studios was brought into the Group in March and is acreative agency specialising in creating new brands or bringing fresh ideas to long-established brands. Trading continues to grow strongly, with a number of recent client wins, notably from Disney, Miramax, Mattel, WWE, HIT, Chuggington and Beatrix Potter. Billing for May totalled over £100,000 and the pipeline of sales going forwards is extremely encouraging.
Furthermore, following on from the announcement on 16 April 2013, the first license deals on the Miramax back catalogue are now being entered into, with 12 contracts signed over the last five weeks. We are now actively looking to expand this division with new hires and further acquisitions.
The integration of Bluw and Rizon Studios has allowed the streamlining of the combined businesses, consolidating duplicated functions and driving operational efficiencies. The consolidation of the product sourcing and development teams between Bluw and Premium Factory has created operational efficiencies and has led to the closing of the Premium Factory operation. Most significantly, this is expected to reduce Group indebtedness by just over £400k and provide considerable operational cost savings. Future sales and development of premium products will be processed by Bluw and the Litebulb Innovation and Design division.
We are pleased with the Group's progress and the integration of the various acquisitions, which remains a key strategy for the Litebulb Group. We hope to update you further on trading progress in the near future.
Simon McGivern, CEO of LiteBulb, commented, "We are delighted with the rapid integration and performance of our recent acquisitions, which are trading ahead of our expectations. These acquisitions are benefitting considerably from the strong relationships with blue chip retailers in place, whilst operational synergies across the Company are providing significant cost savings. We are also currently considering a number of acquisition opportunities and hope to update shareholders on progress in due course."
LiteBulb Group Limited | www.litebulbgroup.com |
Simon McGivern, Chief Executive | Tel: 020 3384 7131 |
finnCap (NOMAD & Joint Broker) | Tel: 020 7220 0500 |
Stuart Andrews/Ben Thompson (Corporate Finance) | |
Joanna Weaving (Corporate Broking) | |
First Columbus LLP (Joint Broker) | Tel: 020 3002 2070 |
Chris Crawford | |
Walbrook PR Limited | Tel: 020 7933 8780 or litebulb@walbrookpr.com |
Bob Huxford | Mob: 07747 635 908 |
Paul McManus | 07980 541 893 |
About LiteBulb Group
LiteBulb Group is a full turnkey solutions provider enabling innovative brands and products to be rapidly and successfully taken to market. LiteBulb's successful brands include:
Bluwstuff - Range of innovative gifts and toys
Rizon - Product innovation and brand specialist agency
ila Safety - Stylish and functional personal safety accessories for women
Scootrix - Accessories for personalising children's scooters
Shirt Box - Lunch and sandwich boxes with designs of favourite football teams and superheroes
Cartoon Stripz - Snap and twist collectable play sets for children
BLINK Mints - UK distribution for confectionary product range
Scarlet Willow - Stylish tableware and personalised gifts
LiteBulb products are sold by a large number of blue chip retailers including: ASDA, BHS, Tesco, Wilkinsons, Sainsbury's, WH Smith, Halfords, Morrisons, QVC, Next, Fenwicks, Toys R Us and Dunnes Stores in Ireland.
In addition, the Company has unrivalled access to market intelligence from multinational advertising company Bartle Bogle Heggarty (BBH), which own 13% of LiteBulb and co-founded the business in 2009 in order to outsource development, production and distribution of its innovative products. BBH's on-going research into markets and trends on behalf of its clients means that it is continually identifying gaps in markets, allowing them to work with LiteBulb to create innovative products to fill those gaps.