Fintech PR
REWARD ACQUIRES UK’S LEADING HOSPITALITY DATA INSIGHTS COMPANY (HDI) TO ENHANCE COMMERCE MEDIA OFFERING, DELIVERING DEEPER CONSUMER INSIGHTS FOR THE RETAIL SECTOR
- Reward completes acquisition of Hospitality Data Insights (HDI), a UK market-leading data insights company and longtime partner
- The acquisition will strengthen Reward’s Commerce Media proposition, enhancing consumer insights capabilities that unlock growth opportunities for global retail partners
- This acquisition follows a period of strong growth for Reward, further bolstered by recent strategic investment from Experian PLC, A FTSE 25 company, solidifying Reward’s position as a leader in Customer Engagement and Commerce Media
LONDON, Nov. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Reward, a global leader in Customer Engagement and Commerce Media, today announces the acquisition of Hospitality Data Insights (HDI), a prominent UK-based data insights company and trusted partner. This acquisition is set to further elevate Reward’s Commerce Media capabilities, driving enriched consumer insights for retail and bank partners worldwide.
HDI is known for delivering high-quality, independent data solutions to over 100 global and national brands in the hospitality and convenience sectors, including industry leaders McDonald’s, Pizza Express, and Deliveroo. With a focus on high-spend, high-frequency sectors representing over 20% of household spending, HDI strengthens Reward’s capability to deliver significant consumer value, supporting Reward’s commitment to deliver over £2 billion in rewards by 2025.
By combining HDI’s SKU-level data, product range, pricing insights, and consumer sentiment analysis with Reward’s transactional and behavioural insights, the acquisition enhances Reward’s suite of products for retail marketing, performance optimisation, and operational insights. HDI’s extensive sector expertise and talented team of data analysts add further depth to Reward’s offerings, positioning the company for growth as it establishes itself as the preferred marketing and insights partner. This strategic focus aims to help banks and retailers better understand customers while securing a larger share of marketing budgets.
The all cash acquisition reflects Reward’s period of significant growth. The recent strategic investment from Experian PLC has further enhanced Reward’s consumer insights capabilities, integrating new assets like its Mosaic product. Reward has also expanded its international footprint, with new investment directed at scaling operations in key regions such as Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Effective immediately, Darroch Bagshaw, Managing Director of HDI, will join Reward’s Leadership Team, reporting to CEO Jamie Samaha. While HDI has been primarily servicing its global brands in the UK, Reward and HDI are well-positioned to scale their enhanced capabilities internationally. The combined efforts will start in the hospitality and convenience sectors and move into other high priority spend categories including convenience and grocery.
Jamie Samaha, CEO of Reward, commented: “In today’s fast-evolving Commerce Media landscape, expanding consumer insights capabilities is more critical than ever. This acquisition of HDI marks a transformative step in our journey to deepen our understanding of consumer behaviour and amplify the value we deliver to our customers, banking partners, and retailers. HDI’s diverse portfolio of leading hospitality brands and innovative insight products opens significant opportunities for us to strengthen our retailer relationships in this key sector, all while driving toward our goal of delivering $2 billion in rewards by 2025.”
Darroch Bagshaw, Managing Director of HDI, added: “HDI’s mission has always been to provide market-leading insights to businesses across the hospitality sector using accurate and actionable data. Reward’s endorsement of our services is testament to our aligned commitment to high quality data analytics that drive investment decisions for the world’s largest retailers. We look forward to combining insights capabilities to provide enriched products and services to retailers and greater value to customers.”
ABOUT REWARD
Reward is a global leader in Customer Engagement and Commerce Media, operating in more than 15 markets across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Uniquely positioned at the intersection of banking and retail, Reward’s platform combines technology, data insights and digital marketing to deliver personalised products and services that help brands deepen connections with customers.
As businesses strive to better understand and influence customer behaviour, Reward is poised to lead in the fast-growing commerce media space, offering consumer insights that enhance omnichannel experiences, boost sales and build customer loyalty.
Beyond unifying consumer insight and commerce, Reward is on a mission to make everyday spending more rewarding and every interaction count, delivering billions in rewards to customers.
For more information, please visit www.rewardinsight.com.
ABOUT HDI
Hospitality Data Insights (HDI) is a leading UK insights business, providing independent data insight to global and national brands operating in the UK hospitality sector since 2017, supporting over 100 different clients spanning Pubs & Bars, Restaurants & Casual Dining, QSR, Coffee Shops, Delivery, Convenience, Drinks Suppliers & Manufacturers, Investors and Consulting Firms.
HDI turns vast amounts of high-quality data into meaningful products and services that help operators improve their investment decisions, offer development and customer marketing; and help manufacturers sell and support their brands more effectively
Since late 2022, HDI have extended their capabilities into the UK grocery sector, tracking online pricing for 10 national grocers and monitoring customer spending patterns within over 40,000 individual convenience & grocery stores.
- EQT to sell Melita to Goldman Sachs Alternatives
- Under EQT’s ownership, Melita strengthened its position as a leading digital infrastructure owner and operator through strategic investments in its network and customer experience, while building a successful international Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity business
- Today, Melita is the only operator in Malta providing both nationwide Gigabit fixed and nationwide 5G mobile services, and is well-positioned to expand its footprint in the fast-growing IoT connectivity sector
STOCKHOLM, Nov. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — EQT is pleased to announce that the EQT Infrastructure IV fund (“EQT”) has signed an agreement to sell Melita (“the Company”) to Goldman Sachs Alternatives.
Founded in 1992, Melita is today a leading digital infrastructure owner and operator in Malta with a fully invested fiber-powered fixed network as well as a nationwide 5G mobile network with its own towers, backhaul and small cell footprint. With the largest data center in Malta, Melita delivers a full suite of digital services, including Gigabit broadband and 5G mobile connectivity, premium TV offerings, and data center solutions to households and businesses across the country.
Since EQT acquired Melita in 2019, the Company has made substantial investment in its infrastructure and enhanced its operations and service offering. For example, it has successfully developed Generative AI tools to support customers with billing, sales and technical queries which had a positive impact on customer satisfaction. The Company has also expanded internationally, establishing its presence in the rapidly growing IoT connectivity market via its proprietary platform and agile, customer-centric go-to-market approach.
Sustainability has been a core focus for Melita, becoming the first EQT portfolio company to have its near-term targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. The Company is investing in solar farms to produce renewable energy and has already replaced almost half of its car fleet with electric vehicles. It also established the Melita Foundation which supports impactful community initiatives.
Ulrich Köllensperger, Partner in the EQT Value-Add Infrastructure Advisory team, said: “Building on EQT’s long track record of investing in digital infrastructure, we supported Melita through strategic investments including in its 5G coverage and an upgrade of its fiber-powered network. We are proud of the rapid progress of Melita’s IoT business which, in just a few years since inception, has grown significantly and through add-on acquisitions, established a promising new business line with a pan-European reach. We believe the Company is well-positioned for further growth and would like to thank Harald and the entire team for their dedication and wish them continued success.”
Harald Rösch, CEO of Melita, said: “Thanks to EQT’s support, the past five years have been transformational, enabling us to make substantial progress across all aspects of our business and becoming the first operator in the European Union to deploy both a nationwide Gigabit broadband network and a nationwide 5G network. This transaction reflects the achievements of our entire team and the loyalty of our customers. With Goldman Sachs Alternatives’ support and expertise, we are excited to continue our journey sustainably, investing in our infrastructure, enhancing our services in Malta and driving further innovation.”
The transaction is subject to conditions including regulatory approvals.
EQT was advised by UBS (financial), Milbank and Camilleri Preziosi (legal).
Contact
EQT Press Office, [email protected]
This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com
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LONDON, Nov. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Space NK reveal growth during the last financial year, as turnover rose 34 per cent to £196.5 million in the year to the end of March, compared with the previous 12 months. Pre-tax profit rose from £1.5 million to £7.5 million during the same period.
This growth has continued into the current financial year, with half year figures up 38% per cent year-on-year. Diving deeper into this performance, it’s clear Space NK is truly an omnichannel business with shop sales rising 24 per cent and online sales increasing 35 per cent during the first six months of the year.
Performance has been fuelled by Space NK’s growth in customers, with its active base experiencing double-digit growth across all age categories, from Gen Z through to millennials and Gen Alpha. The fastest-growing category being the under-25s, at 164 per cent.
Andy Lightfoot, CEO, explained “We are delighted to report another record-breaking half of sales (April 24 – Sept 24) up 38% on last year, continuing our run of greater than 30% growth every year since 2020. Since then, the business has more than doubled its revenue and with our customer first mindset and expertly curated brands, we are delighted with our consistent and continuous growth”.
Plans to increase Space NK’s store portfolio by a further 10 additions to the existing estate are in flight – Meadowhall (Sheffield) opened November 17th 2024, a new store in Milton Keynes will open this weekend (23[rd] November) with further openings in Bluewater and other locations scheduled for 2025.
Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2565331/Space_NK.jpg
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Fintech PR
Cultural Finance Empowers New Quality Productive Forces in the Greater Bay Area’s Cultural Industry
GUANGZHOU, China, Nov. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — From November 20 to 22, the 2024 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Cultural Industry Investment Conference took place in Guangzhou. The event was attended by representatives from financial and securities institutions, industry associations, over 100 leading investment firms, more than 40 listed companies, as well as over 100 unicorn and gazelle companies, and cultural technology innovation companies.
This year’s conference centered on the theme “Cultural Finance Empowering the Greater Bay Area: Industry and Technology Reinforcing Each Other.” Several impactful cultural investment projects were launched, alongside a series of forward-looking and in-depth high-quality research findings in the cultural industry. The event showcased cutting-edge cultural technology achievements with independent intellectual property rights and practical application potential. Notable cultural projects and products, including the film Fall Into the Mortal World, virtual digital humans for museums, and “Humanoid Robot+,” made their debut, attracting significant interest from attendees. Core cultural industry cities within the Greater Bay Area, such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macao, are abundant in cultural resources and presented diverse offerings. Many enterprises in these cities are focusing on areas such as AIGC, digital creative production, smart cultural manufacturing, and new forms of cultural consumption, leading to the rapid formation of a vibrant digital cultural industry ecosystem.
During the conference, the “2024 Cultural Industry Investment Report” and the “2024 Report on the Trends of Cultural Industry Investment in the Greater Bay Area” were released, providing insights and strategic guidance for financing and investment development of the cultural sector from various perspectives, hotspots, and trends. The reports indicated that the total financing amount for the cultural industry in the Greater Bay Area reached approximately 52.82 billion yuan over the past five years. Guangdong’s cultural industry’s added value has ranked first in the country for 20 consecutive years, achieving an average annual growth rate exceeding 10 percent. In 2023, the revenue of culture and culture-related enterprises above a designated size in Guangdong reached 2.2483 trillion yuan, the highest in the nation. The province is home to 10,800 culture and culture-related enterprises above a designated size, accounting for one-seventh of the national total. Notably, Shenzhen’s culture and culture-related enterprises above a designated size generated over 1 trillion yuan in revenue, accounting for 8.5 percent of the national total. Revenue from the cultural manufacturing industry accounts for nearly half of the revenue from culture and culture-related enterprises, reflecting the strength of Guangdong’s manufacturing industry.
Guangdong produces four-fifths of the nation’s gaming and amusement equipment, with Guangzhou’s gaming machines capturing 20 percent of the global market share and one-quarter of global animation derivatives originating in Dongguan. The province exhibits distinct advantages in niche segments, such as films and TV programs, video games, animation, and creative design. The gaming industry’s revenue accounts for over 80 percent of the national total, while revenues from digital music, digital publishing, and animation account for approximately one-quarter, one-fifth, and one-third of the national total, respectively.
Contact：Zi Xiang
Tel.: 0086-15099961640
E-mail: [email protected]
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2565290/Guangdong_Province_Conference.jpg
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/cultural-finance-empowers-new-quality-productive-forces-in-the-greater-bay-areas-cultural-industry-302314075.html
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