Electricals retailer snaps up the specialist photography brand from Peter Jones while reporting higher sales and profit for the first half
AO World has bought camera retailer Jessops and posted a jump in first-half profit, as the online electricals seller pushes into new product categories.
The Bolton-based group, which sells fridges, washing machines and other appliances online, expects pre-tax profit to rise more than 20% to around £21.5 million for the six months to 30 September.
Revenue is set to grow 5.5%, a solid showing against what the company called a sluggish UK retail backdrop.
AO said its full-year profit expectations were unchanged, citing planned investment including a new enterprise software system and a tougher comparison in the second half.
The Jessops deal, funded from existing cash, hands AO a well-known photography brand and its founder-backed heritage.
Jessops was sold by the entrepreneur and Dragons' Den star Peter Jones, who rescued the chain from administration more than a decade ago.
AO said the brand brought specialist expertise in cameras and optical kit, while its second-hand arm, Camera Jungle, sits neatly alongside musicMagpie, the recommerce business AO already owns.
Buying into adjacent categories is central to AO's strategy of giving customers more reasons to shop and lifting its share of their spending.
Cash generation remains a bright spot.
The company expects to end the period with more than £200 million of liquidity headroom, even after paying a £10 million dividend in June and completing half of a £10 million share buyback.
Founder and chief executive John Roberts said the business had carried its momentum into the new financial year, with more than £29 million of discounts handed to members in the period through what he called its shared economics model.
