NVM Private Equity (“NVM”) announces that following musicMagpie’s successful admission to AIM this morning the partial exit by its funds has generated proceeds and retained value at the IPO price of £72.5 million, a 12.1x return against the cost of the original investment.
The funds retain a 16.1% holding in the newly listed business, musicMagpie plc, which has a market capitalisation of £208 million at IPO, with NVM’s funds’ retained shareholding worth £33.4 million.
musicMagpie is a leader in re-commerce in the UK and US in the circular economy of consumer technology (including smartphones, tablets, consoles and personal computers), books and disc media (including CDs, DVDs and video games). The company, which is based in Stockport and founded in 2007 by Steve Oliver and Walter Gleeson, has an established presence in the UK and in the US. Operating through two brands – musicMagpie in the UK and Decluttr in the US – the Group’s core business model is to provide consumers with a smart, trusted and sustainable way to buy, rent and sell refurbished consumer technology and physical media products.
NVM first backed musicMagpie in 2015, providing £6 million of development capital in a transaction led by Andy Leach. Andy joined the Board at the point of investment, and has since played an active role in shaping strategy, remaining a director through to the company’s admission to AIM.
Today’s partial exit is NVM’s third successful exit announcement in less than six months following the exit of It’s All Good in December 2020 and the 8.4x return generated from the sale of Agilitas in November 2020.
Steve Oliver, CEO of musicMagpie plc said – “We are thrilled to have created such an exceptional result for NVM, who have been such a fantastic supporter and partner of the business since their investment in 2015. We have very much enjoyed working with them and we look forward to continuing our relationship with them as our largest individual institutional shareholder”.
Andy Leach, Partner at NVM said – “We are delighted for the team at musicMagpie which under Steve and Walt’s leadership, following its Admission to AIM today, has reached a key milestone in the company’s history. musicMagpie’s re-commerce model has always been ahead of the curve and, with the current focus on the circular economy, has been acknowledged as a key player in the drive for more sustainable consumer and business behaviour. The business has evolved significantly over these past five years, and is well positioned to continue its growth in the future. I am personally very proud of everything that the business has achieved through this period and look forward to watching their progress over the coming months and years.”
-ENDS-
NOTES TO EDITORS
For further information please contact:
Katy Horrocks (NVM: Marketing Director) – 07725 218 579 katy.horrocks@nvm.co.uk
Andy Leach (NVM: Partner) – andy.leach@nvm.co.uk
NVM Private Equity (“NVM”) – NVM is independently owned with over 30 years’ experience of investing in the UK SME market. We are a generalist investor, currently investing from an institutional fund, and are differentiated by having executives living and working in regional business communities throughout the UK. We invest into UK based businesses requiring equity investment of between £5 million and £15 million and are actively seeking to both identify and support ambitious management teams realise the potential in the businesses they run. The teams we back may be looking to grow organically, acquire another business or secure a management buy-out. www.nvm.co.uk
musicMagpie plc (“musicMagpie”) – musicMagpie is a leader in the re-commerce of consumer technology (including smartphones, tablets, consoles and computers) and disk media (including CDs, DVDs and games) and books, with sustainability running to the very heart of its operations.
Founded in 2007, the Group has an established presence in the UK, with operations in Stockport, Greater Manchester, and in the US in Atlanta, Georgia. Operating through its two trusted brands – musicMagpie in the UK and Decluttr in the US, the Group’s core business model is simple: to provide consumers with a smart, trusted and sustainable way to buy, rent and sell refurbished consumer technology and physical media products.
It has a strong environmental and social focus, as demonstrated by its trademarked ‘smart for you, smart for the planet’ ethos. Over 400,000 consumer technology products were resold to consumers in the year ended 30 November 2020 by the Group. In addition, the Directors estimate that that the Group re-sells approximately 2,500 tonnes of books and disc media each year that could have ended up as waste. As a result, the Company has received the London Stock Exchange’s Green Economy Mark, which recognises companies that derive 50 per cent. or more of their total annual revenue from products and services that contribute to the global ‘Green Economy’.
When selling to musicMagpie, the customer is offered a fixed valuation via the website, provided with free logistics to ship the products and (subject to it being ‘as described’) receives payment for their product on the day of arrival at the Group’s warehouse.
Customers purchasing from musicMagpie receive branded refurbished product for a fraction of the price of buying new. All consumer technology products sold by the Group are sold with a free 12-month warranty.
The Group has the highest number of seller reviews on both Amazon and eBay (approximately 10 million globally on each platform as at 31 January 2021) and has consistently achieved extremely positive feedback scores. The Group also has a 4.7* rating on UK Trustpilot, from over 180,000 reviews completed (as at 31 March 2021).
For further information please visit: www.musicmagpieplc.com
