Smartbox Group has been acquired by Moonpig

Smartbox Group UK Limited, the UK’s leading gift experiences platform, has been acquired by Moonpig Group, the leading online greeting card and gifting platform in the UK and the Netherlands.

The combination of Moonpig Group and Buyagift will accelerate the Group’s strategy to become the ultimate gifting companion.

The acquisition unlocks the £6 billion UK gift experiences segment of the £57 billion total addressable gifting market. The experiences segment is growing at a faster rate than total gifting as a result of the secular consumer trend towards experiential gifts such as days out, meals and activities rather than physical gifts.

Within this segment, specialist gift experiences platforms such as Buyagift have consistently increased their market share by providing superior choice, flexibility and assurance of quality to consumers across the UK. As the leading platform in a large and fragmented market, Buyagift is well positioned to accelerate market share gains within the growing experience gift market.

Buyagift’s portfolio of gift experiences will deliver an instant step-change to the breadth and relevance of Moonpig Group’s range without requiring additional inventory. It will enable us to combine the Group’s proprietary dataset on gifting intent with an expanded offering to produce highly relevant gifting recommendations as well as allowing us to leverage location-based data relating to recipients.

The proposed acquisition will enable digital delivery of gifts on Moonpig Group’s technology platform. This includes both the opportunity to “make the greeting card the gift” through gift vouchers printed within the card, and unlocks the same-day gifting market through embedding the gift experience in an e-card delivered instantly.

Rothschild & Co advised on the sale of this transaction. For further detail please contact Gavin Orde.

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