Wincanton and Virtualstock strategic partnership

23 January 2017

Legendary Investments PLC("Legendary" or the "Company")

Wincanton plc ("Wincanton") and Virtualstock Holdings Limited ("Virtualstock") partner to provide advanced Supplier to Customer service

Wincanton, the largest British logistics company, and Virtualstock, a Legendary investee company, have announced today the details of a new strategic partnership. This move is part of Wincanton's recently announced market-leading eFulfilment service, which includes partnerships with a number of innovative British technology companies.

Virtualstock provides a range of digital supply chain and marketplace solutions, enabling retailers to easily and cost-effectively expand their online product range without the need to carry additional stock.

Virtualstock's platform delivers integrated "Supplier to Consumer" (S2C) fulfilment functionality, allowing one retailer to sell another retailer or supplier's goods without ever having to stock or deliver them, driving significant opportunities for revenue growth, while protecting margins by mitigating the impact on operating costs. When allied with Wincanton's collaborative logistics capability, the two companies are able to rapidly transform a retailer's ability to quickly respond to an ever-changing market.

Paul Durkin, Director for Home and eCommerce at Wincanton, said: 

"Rapid growth in online sales, coupled with new players in the technology market, is fundamentally changing the end customer experience for the better. This is putting retailers under real pressure to improve their customer service levels and, critically, to increase the breadth of their offer.

"This new partnership with Virtualstock helps Wincanton's retail customers to respond to this challenge. By integrating Wincanton's recently announced eFulfilment service with the Virtualstock platform, we're able to expand retailers' portfolios, without them having to hold stock. Instead, Wincanton takes care of all the logistics, in a seamless and integrated way."

Andrew Mills, Executive Chair and CEO of Virtualstock, said:

"We are delighted to be working with Wincanton to develop a remarkable new service for British retailers. The combined scale of Wincanton's logistics capability with Virtualstock's proven platform, really will transform a retailer's business in a very short time. By using Virtualstock's The Edge™, Wincanton's customers can avoid lengthy redesigns of legacy systems leading to reduced time to market, compelling cost savings and, when combined with Wincanton's logistics capability, rapid improvements in customer experience."

 Zafar Karim, Executive Chairman of Legendary, said:

"We are delighted at the progress that Virtualstock continues to make. The partnership with Wincanton demonstrates the wide applicability of Virtualstock' services, and in one step provides a "shop window" for Virtualstock services to Wincanton's customers. As well as servicing the retail sector and the health sector, this latest partnership with Wincanton, the largest British logistics company, demonstrates Virtualstock services wide applicability."

- ENDS -

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain. 

Wincanton plc

Wincanton is the largest British logistics firm, providing supply chain solutions to some of the world's most admired brands across a wide range of industries including retail, construction, defence and energy.

As a trusted and respected business partner, we design and implement services and solutions that range from setting up and operating distribution networks through to bonded warehouses, technology hosting, container transport and storage. We strive for operational excellence in everything we do.

We work hard to understand and respond to our customers' needs, build long term relationships and use our skills and expertise to deliver a smarter, added value service, every day. Our customers rely on us to make their businesses operate more efficiently and to gain a competitive advantage in their sector.

Improved stock visibility and availability, reduction of lead times, collaborative warehousing and transport models, and an absolute commitment to continuous improvement, are just some of the reasons why many of our customer relationships extend to more than 20 years.

Key facts:

· Annual revenue in the UK & Ireland exceeds £1.1 billion

· Over 18,000 colleagues including 4,000+ drivers

· Operates from 200+ locations with 6.6 million square feet of warehousing across the UK and Ireland

· Operating responsibility for around 3,400 vehicles

www.wincanton.co.uk 

Virtualstock

Virtualstock is a leading, British SaaS company that is transforming global enterprise supply chains and marketplaces. Its game-changing product, The Edge™, has been successful in delivering supply chain optimisation for leading retailers, the NHS, suppliers and, ultimately, their customers. 

The Edge™ delivers best-in-class eProcurement functionality, including a consumer-style B2B marketplace, full procure-to-pay (P2P), product information management (PIM), catalogue management, order management, inventory and stock management, e-invoicing, track and trace, and analytics. The platform is GS11 certified.

1. GS1 is an international organisation that develops and maintains supply chain standards in healthcare, retail, transport and logistics and more.

www.virtualstock.co.uk

About Legendary Investments PLC:

Legendary Investments PLC is a proactive investment company that focuses on making investments in and assisting companies which exhibit the potential to generate returns of many multiples through capital appreciation. Typically, Legendary invests in small companies where there are clear catalysts for value appreciation and the companies are operating in sectors exhibiting long term growth. Examples of such sectors include technology, energy and natural resources.

www.leginvest.com