Manchester delivery tech firm Sorted Group Holdings is set to be sold for £1, subject to shareholder approval, two years after Location Sciences completed its reverse takeover of the platform in a £66.73m deal.
As part of the takeover, Sorted Holdings Limited was renamed Sorted Group Holdings and admitted to the AIM market on the LSE on Monday February 19, 2024 and Simon Wilkinson, the former CEO of Mobica and chairman of Location Sciences, was appointed chairman.
He said at the time: “It’s been a long road to complete this transaction but all along we’ve believed that Sorted has the potential to once again be a leading player in the eCommerce space.
“Now with our shareholders and team in place we can begin to execute on that opportunity.”
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Wilkinson was an investor in Sorted, alongside Mahmud Kamani, the founder of Boohoo Group, and Richard Hughes, the founder of Zeus Capital.
Since the acquisition, the company has reduced staff numbers from 90 to 37, closed its London office, and sold its Clicksit App for £775,000.
In a statement to the LSE the company said: “Notwithstanding the above progress, as a software as a service business that remains in its growth phase of development, it remains apparent to the board that the business continues to require significant cash consumption in order to scale and reach profitability in the medium term.
“Sorted Holdings Limited has benefited from approximately £71.07m in equity investment and approximately £4.36m in debt financing. More recently the business has benefited from a £2m equity raise and the ongoing loan facility agreement with Bidco 3 Ltd.
“The board believes that committing further significant investment towards enhancing elements of the business is not in the best interests of shareholders.”
The disposal will take place in the form of the sale by SHL to the buyer of the entire issued share capital of SGL for a nominal cash consideration of £1 and become an AIM cash shell.
The buyer is listed as Bristol-registered Brislington Holdco Limited.
The company statement added: “In addition, as part of the disposal, Shard and Shard Credit Holdings Limited have entered into a deed with each of SGL, SHL and Clicksit App Limited (the obligors) under which Shard releases the obligors from all obligations and security granted to Shard, including the funding facility under which SGL currently owes £3.52m to Shard, conditional on, and taking effect on the day following.
“In addition, as of April 1, 2026, the other members of the group have agreed to release SGL from all obligations, including indebtedness, owed to them and security granted to them outstanding at that date.
“The board of directors of SHL, with the support of the board of directors of the company, consider that the disposal will benefit SHL and that the consideration of £1 being paid for the entire issued share capital of SGL represents the fair market value of SGL, because SHL and other members of the group are being required to provide financial support to SGL as it is loss-making, and both boards consider that the outcome for the employees of SGL will be better under the stewardship of the buyer.”
The global software company, whose customers include M&S, Asda and Boohoo, was launched in 2010 by David Grimes but ran into financial difficulties after raising nearly $100m in investment.
