Eleven years after launch, Moonpig.com founder Nick Jenkins is reportedly selling his online greetings card company to private equity-owned online photo business Photobox.co.uk. If the sale goes through, Jenkins could enjoy a windfall of up to £100m. Photobox is owned by private equity firm Index Ventures, which also invests in Skype and Betfair. The business has been expanding quickly and now operates in 15 countries.
Moonpig was set up in July 2000 with £750,000 of Jenkins’ own savings, and he raised a further £1.35m to expand the business when sales took off. TV advertising campaigns have been a driving force for spreading word of the brand, and the company is now sending out 12m cards a year and employing 100 staff. With a turnover of £40m, Moonpig has proved to be one of Britain’s fastest-growing companies.
A former sugar trader at commodities giant Glencore, Jenkins said he was not interested in launching in the ecommerce sector again, preferring to concentrate on other investments, particularly green energy.
Through the website Moonpig customers can choose from the best selling greetings card designs from the high street, and personalise the captions to create a completely unique card. The cards are produced at a hi-tech production facility in Guernsey and can be sent to the original customer or directly to the chosen recipient.
