Manchester-founded Inc & Co has announced its second-year results, which show a group turnover of over £30 million. Fuelled by several acquisitions – including the innovative logistics provider Caribou, data-management company Wood for Trees, and high street eatery Chop’d – this turnover marks a major milestone for the award-winning business group.
Despite business challenges associated with COVID-19, these second-year figures unveil huge potential for the next phase of Inc & Co’s growth. The group may be one of the UK’s newest to the scene, but Inc & Co’s forecasts project a 2023 group turnover of £100 million. In particular, the group expects its retail and property arms to increase turnover as high street footfall rises post-pandemic.
Inc & Co Brands
Inc & Co currently comprises 15 brands across retail, food and drink, property, logistics, and technology sectors. The group welcomed eight of these brands over the past year alone, making many of these acquisitions under its retail arm, Inc Retail. These acquisitions include high street healthy eatery Chop’d, luxury bag brand KNOMO London, on-demand laundry service Laundrapp, plant-based milk alternative provider Gut Instinct, and unisex children’s clothing brand Tootsa. Together, these brands have brought 800 employees to Inc & Co’s collaborative team.
Other Inc & Co acquisitions include the digital agencies Skylab, Insight Analysis. Plus, Inc & Co has launched two sister companies:
- incspaces, a shared and flexible workspace provider that is expanding to offer office spaces across the UK.
- Incforge, the DevOps specialists that ensure security and data regulation compliance for many of Inc & Co’s brands.
Inc & Co also made its first strategic sale this year, selling the consent and data management platform MyLife Digital to the data privacy and information security company DataGuard.
‘This year has definitely been tough for many businesses, ours included,’ says Group CEO Jack Mason. ‘There’s been widespread uncertainty that has meant that consumers haven’t been spending, and businesses have naturally been wanting to hold back budgets. However, we’ve been fortunate that in the past 12 months we have had a number of fantastic opportunities to acquire some well-known brands, such as KNOMO London, and at the same time protect as many jobs as possible. Our 2021 results show huge growth and are a testament to the hard work of every one of our teams for their dedication and tenacity in the face of uncertainty.’
‘A targeted acquisition strategy, diversification into related and complementary markets, strengthening recurring revenues, programmed restructuring and tight cost control. These were the key financial drivers which resulted in net operating cash generation in 2020 despite the challenges of the Covid lockdown,’ adds Inc & Co’s Group Finance Director Chris Hatfield.
Inc & Co’s Latest Expansion Plans
Thanks to Inc & Co’s expansion, the group has hired an additional 50 staff members to ensure each business receives the guidance, advice, and support it needs to set and achieve inspiring goals. The group has now grown its team to over 800 people, each of whom offers invaluable skills to help the group’s brands flourish. Inc & Co is looking to recruit another 100 team members over the next year to strengthen its workforce.
Jack Mason has also confirmed the rumours that Inc & Co will launch a UK-wide retail and office-working project this autumn. Meanwhile, the group is signing seven leases across England – and plans to introduce another five by the end of 2021 – to offer a wealth of workspaces and retail expansion opportunities across the UK.
About Inc & Co
Inc & Co offers the collaborative platforms that brands throughout the UK need to thrive, expand, and reach heights they perhaps didn’t think possible. The group preserves each of its brands’ identities – shaping, honing, and growing each for success.
Following Inc & Co’s rapid expansion, the group has now introduced four sub-groups, each of which supports businesses with advice from industry experts. This way, Inc & Co’s acquisitions can make the most of sector-specific guidance, cash injections from the capital investment agency Fresh Thinking Group, and shared top-level resources. Together, these essential tools enable businesses to stay at the forefront of their markets.
About Jack Mason
Jack Mason launched Inc & Co as a collaborative business group in 2019. He oversees the collective’s strategic direction, brings together brands that need assistance with business development, and cultivates dynamic teams that brainstorm key solutions. By taking the helm of Inc & Co’s supportive platform – and inspiring inter-sector knowledge share – Jack Mason has built a network of industry-leading brands that transform and digitise their product and service offerings so they can prosper, no matter the market conditions.
