Sparks

Dotdigital is on track to meet full-year expectations after a first half with revenues ahead by 10% in constant currency, with Fresh Relevance (bought in September 2023) now fully integrated. The additional capabilities in cross-channel and on-site personalisation are helping to drive up-selling and cross-selling, with further investment in sales and professional services teams set to support improving traction with larger potential customers.

Underlying markets remain difficult but, while this brings obvious downsides, the upside is that it drives clients to look at more effective ways of reaching their own potential customer bases with relevant and timely marketing. The addition of WhatsApp as a channel is currently in its trial phase, with initial indications looking promising, and this may prove to be an effective customer recruitment tool. Other innovations in integrations with TikTok and LinkedIn are improving and broadening the retargeting offering.

Dotdigital had £45.7m of cash as at end-December and lease debt only, meaning plenty of firepower for further acquisitions.