Growth options
Digitonic considering IPO or sale to SPAC
Grant Fraser: rebound
Mobile marketing specialist Digitonic is considering a stock market listing in either the UK or North America and is also actively speaking to a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that could lead to an acquisition of the company.
Co-founder and CEO Grant Fraser said the Glasgow-based company has rebounded from a setback early in the pandemic and has plans for expansion.
“While we’re on a track to IPO-readiness, with a stock market flotation potentially on the cards over the next twelve to eighteen months,” he said.
“We have also been approached by a SPAC and we will be continuing this conversation alongside our planned route to IPO.”
The company is on track to double revenue to approximately £16 million following a record year in 2020 when the business posted revenue of £7.8m.
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It also expects to report double-digit growth in profitability for the full year to the end of October.
The company, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in April, grew its headcount by around 50% to 45 in 2020 and is planning further hires this year.
More than 95% of Digitonic’s clients are in North America and the company established a US subsidiary in 2020. With a growing number of clients in Vancouver and Toronto, the company is planning a Canada office opening in 2022.
The North American offices will support Digitonic’s headquarters in Glasgow, and its UK satellite office in London.
Digitonic last year acquired stock market review site for retail investors ValueTheMarkets, an acquisition that has helped drive further client wins. The company is considering further growth by acquisition over the next 18 months.
Mr Fraser said: “Last March and April were really challenging months for the business and our revenue streams were impacted quite severely at the time, so to rebound in the way that we have since is testament to the hard work of our entire team and the quality of our products and services.
“We like being based in Scotland and we’ve proven that we can export our technology expertise to the US and Canada to great effect.”
Commenting on the financial support the company received from Scottish Enterprise during the first few months of the pandemic via Scottish Enterprise’s Pivotal Enterprise Fund, he added: “We had phenomenal support from Scottish Enterprise, we can’t speak highly enough of them.
“It was encouraging to see them back a fast-growing Scottish company that is truly internationalising and focused on a specific international market.”
In 2021, ValueTheMarkets.com has already received over 2 million visits from global retail investors who want information and news on publicly listed companies in order to make informed investment decisions.
Digitonic’s in-house built marketing technology helps the London Stock Exchange, Canada Securities Exchange, OTC Markets Group and Nasdaq-listed companies ensure that their latest news can be accessed by retail investors.
