Two Shields Investments PLC Update on WeShop Limited (0661T)

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RNS Number : 0661T

Two Shields Investments PLC

15 March 2019

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) 596/2014.

Two Shields Investments plc

("TSI", "Two Shields" or the "Company")

Update on WeShop Limited

Two Shields Investments plc, the AIM quoted investment company with a strategy focused on building a portfolio of investments in to fast growing disruptive markets including technology metals, cyber security, e-commerce and technology enabled businesses, is pleased to provide an update to shareholders on its investee company WeShop Limited ("WeShop"), following receipt of a shareholder update.

TSI has invested a total of GBP350,000 in WeShop representing approximately 1.2 per cent. of the issued share capital of WeShop.

A summary of the update from WeShop is set out below:

Introduction

WeShop has informed its shareholders some significant developments in its ambition to unlock the true potential of social commerce, including:

   --       Product and proposition enhancements 
   --       Strengthening the senior management team and the business's executional capability 
   --       New branding with more relevancy and specific user group focus 

-- The agreement of key commercial deals as part of the plan to develop a true social retail ecosystem

WeShop has strengthened its user proposition by agreeing access to an online product inventory which it believes will:

   --       Increase WeShop retailer count from 3,000 to 9,000+ 
   --       Increase UK product count from circa 5m to 150m+ 
   --       Provide access to a global product feed of circa 1.6bn products in 12 countries 
   --       Provide access to a global retailer count of over 20,000 merchants 

WeShop has announced that it has agreed a three year licensing agreement with a technology partner, giving consumers the fundamental choice of which merchant they buy a product from, and at what price point. The directors of WeShop believe this is a key milestone in delivering the best possible experience and proposition to its users.

WeShop has been working to ensure it can deliver the core elements of a best-in-class retail experience for consumers across:

    --     Choice of products 
   --     Best price 
   --     Social recommendations 
   --     Strong AI and personalisation 
   --     Mobile experience 
   --     Trusted supply of goods and delivery 

By the end of H1 2019, WeShop aims to fulfil all these criteria, ensuring that the business is ready to begin user acquisition in Q2 2019, and drive engagement and transactions at scale.

Strengthening the senior management team and the business's executional capability

WeShop also announces some additions to the senior team, tasked with executing and delivering its ambitious growth plans.

James Sowerby joins as Chief Executive Officer, from Avon Cosmetics, one of the world's largest social selling companies, where he headed up global business development, and previously Strategy. He brings with him deep experience in social selling, retailer partnerships, and executing global growth plans.

Paul Ellerbeck joins as Chief Technology Officer, with an excellent track record as a commercially-minded C.T.O in growth tech businesses including Easy Property Group, a disruptor in the online property market, and The Digital Property Group, one of the UK's largest property groups that merged with Zoopla.

Martin Best joins as Chief Marketing Officer, from World Remit, a major disruptive player in the money transfer market, having previously held various global Marketing and Commercial Director roles at Carlsberg. Martin has deep experience of practical execution of growth plans in disruptive industries.

Lisa Heidemanns joins as Chief Operating Office in Q2 2019, from LVMH where she has held a variety of senior management positions across the LVMH portfolio of brands, including most recently as Chief Client Officer of Rimowa. Lisa brings with her strong expertise in developing insight-led consumer propositions and experiences.

New branding with more relevance and focus

As part of WeShop's efforts to develop a compelling proposition and user experience, its proposition has been refocussed considerably on Gen-Z and Millennials (18-34 year olds), as they have the highest levels of engagement on social media, and penetration of online shopping, enabling the business to leverage existing behaviours. Considerable insight, testing and research has been carried out to ensure that the positioning, branding and messaging is as relevant and targeted as possible.

The agreement of key commercial deals as part of the plan to develop a true social retail ecosystem

Direct Integration: WeShop has announced that it has completed its first commercial agreement with a retailer to directly integrate onto the WeShop platform, allowing users to checkout on site. The retailer provides over 100 top brand names in the world of fashion. Not only will this lead to a frictionless checkout experience, but the commercial rates agreed are 300% higher than the current average affiliate.

Brand Relationships: WeShop has also announced that, over the past 3 months, it has developed several direct relationships with world leading brands and retailers, with signed Letters of Intent secured. These relationships will be progressed over the coming year with the ultimate view of directly integrating with their distribution centres. These will be formally announced to shareholders in the coming months.

For further information please visit https://twoshields.co.uk/ or contact:

 
                                 Two Shields Investments     [phone] 
Andrew Lawley                     plc                         1177 
                                 Spark Advisory Partners 
                                  Limited                    [phone] 
Neil Baldwin / Andrew Emmott      (Nominated Adviser)         3554 
 
 
                                                               [phone] 
  Andy Thacker                     Turner Pope Investments     4120 
                                   Ltd 
                                   (Brokers) 
  Graham Herring / Miles Nolan                                 [phone] 
  / Zach Cohen                     IFC Advisory Ltd            6630 
 

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March 15, 2019 10:45 ET (14:45 GMT)