THG reposted this
Founder & CEO at THG | Building a global giant from the UK
“Today is going to be the day that they’re going to throw it back to you”. Never have the lyrics of true Manchester royalty, the Gallaghers, been so relevant for me. Following huge shareholder support, the demerger of THG’s tech division is now approved. Tomorrow, when Big Ben rings in 2025, THG Ingenuity will once again officially be a private company. Like anyone, I’ve had some tough years in my career, and 2024 has been another. And yet, this even surprises many closest to me. Most people presume I can’t have many worries. Yes, I have a lifestyle I didn’t know existed when growing up in a small Lancashire terrace house - I pinch myself most days. And sure, my family office recently completed one of the UK’s biggest commercial property deals in 2024. And tomorrow, Ingenuity will be a private company again, with me back as the majority shareholder – putting my money where my mouth is. So how can I have had a tough year? Lifestyle and deals are what people see. But anyone involved in similar activities knows the gruelling effort, energy and risks in delivering these projects. Add in the day job, an ever-dwindling LSE, and the grind is real. A useful skill is smiling through tricky times…swan like above the water, with serious peddling going on beneath. But it’s the stuff people don’t see that often brings pain, plus the burden of responsibility. I’ve some of the best people around me – the THG team, our Board, some incredible shareholders - plus family and friends. I know they feel it too 🙏🏻 This is more than an unpaid job to me. It’s a passion, a responsibility to prove what I know to be right. Since THG joined the LSE 5 years ago, some labelled Ingenuity worthless, or worse, a huge liability. This is despite us investing $1.5bn over 20 years to build Ingenuity into a truly global platform that today services many of the world’s biggest brands. Ingenuity has c3,800 staff with annual revenues and profits/EBITDA approaching c$800m and c$35m respectively. Yes, Ingenuity had a cash burn of c$90m in 2024 as we invest in building out the proposition further, but this has been reducing fast as the business scales. This is the reality of tech investment: you build it first and then charge people to use it. You wouldn’t try charging for hotel rooms before a hotel was built, tech is no different. Spending endless energy proving otherwise to a UK market devoid of tech businesses is a zero-sum game. The UK’s much higher interest rates than Europe post Brexit hasn’t helped, with the dwindling capital pool of the LSE exacerbated further. Taking Ingenuity private was the obvious solution. And so, the City has now thrown Ingenuity back to me – quite literally. My arms are wide open, as are the arms of hundreds of small investors joining me in taking Ingenuity private. Feel free to throw the rest of my Wonderwall back to us anytime too 😉 (Video is from my annual presentation 2 weeks ago) #wonderwall #tech #deals