City round-up: Strix Group; LBG Group; United Living Group; Huddled; B+M
Isle of Man-based Strix Group grew annual revenues in the year to December 31, 2024, but saw pre-tax profits decline, although debt levels have fallen, it said today.
The business, which designs and makes kettle safety controls and other complementary water temperature management components, achieved turnover, on a constant exchange currency basis, of £147.4m, compared with £143.8m in 2023. Pre-tax profits of £18.7m were down from £22.3m. Net debt was reduced by £20m to £63.7m.
The group said macroeconomic conditions continue to be challenging and it still remains too early to determine the global net impact of the evolving tariff arrangements. So, to be prudent, the board has decided to reinstate the FY24 final dividend of 1.28p per share but for payment to take place in December 2025 alongside the FY25 interim dividend.
Looking ahead, the group said there is some evidence that macro-uncertainties could weigh on Q225 Controls sales, potentially deferring volumes into Q325.
But, despite some initial weakness in certain sectors, Consumer Goods is now in a stronger and better focused position to execute on the sale of more profitable products, geographic expansion and new product innovation, it said.
CEO, Mark Bartlett, said: “Strix has continued to make strong progress on achieving its goals for the year, in particular the restructuring and rebasing of the business which has been transformative, and reduction of our net debt position to well within our targeted range.
“Strategic progress has been made across all divisions – with our Low-Cost controls successfully launching in less regulated markets, significant new partnerships secured by the streamlined Consumer Goods division, and Billi’s return to double-digit growth in Q424, to provide clear validation of Strix’s approach to acquisitions which support the Group’s longer term growth opportunities.”
He added: “During the period, Strix cemented the foundations for its medium term growth prospects – further improving our competitive position and delivering adjusted profit before tax slightly ahead of consensus.
“Whilst macroeconomic conditions remain challenging, at least in the short term, we continue to see opportunity in our key markets and appropriate investment across the group remains ongoing to protect new product development and other projects to support our medium term growth aspirations. We look forward to continuing this momentum in the coming year.”
::
Solly Solomou
Manchester-based LBG Media, the group behind the LadBible Group online platform, reiterated its forecast of a 10% uplift in 2025 revenues in a half-year trading update, to March 31, 2025, this morning.
It reported positive momentum, reflecting a diversified model and demand from brands and social audiences, with revenues in the six months up 13% to £43.9m and adjusted EBITDA ahead by 16% at £12.2m.
The group reported progress across its three growth lenses with US expansion following its step-change acquisition of Betchers in 2023, direct revenues up by eight per cent and indirect revenues up by 17%.
LBG’s global audience has increased to 520 million, up from 494 million at the same point a year ago and 503 million six months ago.
Net cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period stood at £32.9m, up from £27.2m at September 30, 2024.
The group said, while mindful of heightened macroeconomic volatility, the board remains confident of delivering an increase in revenue of approximately 10% in FY25, as previously indicated. This reflects LBG Media’s diversified model, momentum from wins in the US, healthy pipeline and audience engagement.
CEO, Solly Solomou, said: “LBG Media had positive momentum in the first half of the year, with a strong revenue, profit and cash performance. This reflects our diversified revenue streams and positive progress in the US, the world’s largest advertising market, where we are seeing demand from global blue-chip brands.
“Today, LBG Media is the UK’s fifth largest social and digital business; reaching 70% of the UK’s Gen Z population. We continue to expand our global social audiences and our brand is recognised as a leading social entertainment brand for young adults.
“LBG Media’s diversified model, momentum from wins in the US, healthy pipeline and audience engagement support the board’s confidence of further progress in the second half of the financial year.”
The group intends to announce its 2025 half-year results on June 24, 2025.
::
United Living Group, the Warrington-based provider of infrastructure, affordable housing, property services, and telecoms, is one of the first North West firms to benefit from the Liverpool Bay CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) project.
Last week Italian energy company, Eni, reached financial close with the UK Government’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) for the scheme.
Eni is the operator of the CO2 transport and storage system (T&S) of the HyNet industrial cluster and the financial close allows the Liverpool Bay CCS project to move into the construction phase, unlocking key investments in supply chain contracts, the majority of which will be spent locally.
United Living Group today confirmed that its subsidiary, United Living Energy, has been selected as one of the primary contractors to deliver CO2 T&S infrastructure. The project is worth approximately £250m over a three-year period.
The HyNet CO₂ pipeline will take CO2 captured by industrial emitters across the region and transport it through new and repurposed infrastructure to permanent storage in depleted natural gas reservoirs under the seabed in Liverpool Bay.
Neil Armstrong, chairman and CEO of United Living Group, said: “We are incredibly excited about the potential of this CO2 Transportation and Storage (T&S) infrastructure project and the positive impact it will have on CO₂ emission reduction. We are acutely aware of the pressing need to transition to a lower-carbon future and see CCS as a crucial element to the UK achieving its net-zero target.
“This project will also deliver huge benefits to the North West region, bringing major investment in local skills development, employment opportunities, and strong growth prospects for local businesses.“
::
Martin Higginson
A lack of available warehouse space has constricted the growth of Huddled, the ecommerce business whose brands include DiscountDragon, Nutricircle and Boop Beauty.
A sale of remnant and legacy stock from Discount Dragon to free up space for Nutricircle and Boop Beauty had a short-term hit to revenue and margin.
In a trading update to the stock market this morning, the AIM Listed business formed by Martin Higginson, said: focus now is on “optimising both the supply chain and picks per order, saving time and allowing us to process more orders across the Group.”
The first quarter of 2025 has seen Nutricircle report Q1 2025 revenue exceeding £1.2m, and Boop Beauty recorded Q1 2025 revenue of £0.7m, with over £0.3m of this in March 2025 alone.
Discount Dragon’s revenue in Q1 2025 fell by £0.5m to £2.5m, largely due to the space constraints in the warehouse and the clearance of remnant stock in January 2025, which saw revenue in the month fall to £0.6m. Trading picked up again for Discount Dragon in February and March 2025 with total revenue of £1.9m for these two months.
Martin Higginson, Chief Executive Officer of Huddled Group PLC, commented: “We are pleased with the progress we made in the quarter, adding almost 63,000 new customers is a testament to the demand for our offering. The operational issues in March were painful; if it hadn’t been for these, we believe we would have been close to operational profitability across the three trading divisions. That said, these are process challenges which can and will be overcome. We are already starting to see solid improvements in both the throughput of orders and quality control, both of which will allow us to scale accordingly.
“The growth in Nutricircle and Boop Beauty has been very encouraging, which, when combined with the proven potential of Discount Dragon, further underpins our confidence in the business model of saving surplus stock from waste and delivering great value to our growing band of loyal customers.”
Huddled was formed after Let’s Explore Group sold its VR business and acquired North West e-commerce company, Huddled Group for £3.95m. The firm, previously known as Immotion, owns the Discount Dragon and BeerMonster brands.
::
B&M’s head office in Liverpool
B+M has appointed Mike Schmidt as interim CEO, alongside his role as CFO as the Liverpool headquartered discount retailer still hasn’t found a successor for Alex Russo who will be “retiring” as Group Chief Executive Officer with effect from today.
In a statement to the stock market this morning (20 April 2025) the company said: “The Board continues to make good progress on CEO succession and will update the market as soon as the recruitment process has concluded.”
