IG Design Group makes wrapping paper, Christmas crackers, greetings cards and stationery for retailers such as Tesco, Costco and Aldi. In May 2025 it sold its loss-making US arm, which was 60% of revenue, for $1 upfront. What remains is a smaller UK, European and Australian business with £217.9m of revenue, £54.6m of net cash and a reinstated dividend.
Crackers, giftwrap and homeware for the big retailers
The group designs, sources and manufactures gift packaging, cards, stationery, craft and homeware. It sells about 550 million units a year in roughly 70 countries. Its Tom Smith brand has held a Royal Warrant for Christmas crackers and wrapping paper since 1906. It splits its products into Celebrate (giftwrap, cards, party goods) and Create (stationery, homeware, craft).
It has three segments. DG Europe (£103m revenue) makes giftwrap in the Netherlands and Poland and trades homeware. DG UK (£82m) manufactures about two-thirds of its products in Wales and Newport Pagnell and uses a sourcing office in China. DG Australia (£34m) is the smallest. Customers are mainly large value and mass-market retailers. 16 Jun 2026 2 Dec 2025
A three-year turnaround that worked at first
Before 2025 the group was mid-way through a turnaround. Adjusted operating margin rose from 1.8% in FY2023 to 3.9% in FY2024. Net cash grew from $50.5m to $95.2m, even though revenue fell 10% to $800m, mostly in the US. Paul Bal became CEO in April 2023 and Rohan Cummings CFO that July.
Management set margin targets. By 31 March 2025 it wanted to restore the pre-Covid margin of at least 4.5%. By June 2024 it was also aiming for annual sales of around $900m at a margin above 6% by 31 March 2027. The shares reached 217p in June 2024. 28 Nov 2023 25 Jun 2024 30 Apr 2024 25 Oct 2023
The US market turns against it
Consumer demand in the US weakened and retailers cut orders. Freight costs rose and customers went bankrupt. In September 2024 the company said profit would land below market expectations. In January 2025 it said profit would be near break-even, with about $15m of customer bankruptcy provisions. The shares fell from 152p in December 2024 to 62p in January.
FY2025 adjusted operating profit was $5.2m on $729m of revenue, far short of the 4.5% margin target. The fourth-largest US customer went bankrupt, and the group took a $54.2m impairment on DG Americas assets. A strategic review began in early 2025. New US tariffs in April, which hit a division reliant on Chinese imports, made matters worse. 26 Sep 2024 17 Jan 2025 30 Apr 2025 29 Jul 2025 26 Nov 2024
“The year has been dominated by numerous external challenges, felt most acutely by DG Americas.” 29 Jul 2025
Selling the Americas for $1
On 30 May 2025 the group sold DG Americas to Hilco Capital for $1 upfront plus 75% of any future net proceeds. DG Americas had made $500m of revenue in FY2024. The company said the sale stopped further losses and protected the profitable remainder. It booked a £110m loss on disposal. Hilco is selling assets and liquidating the entities, and the company values its share of any proceeds at nil.
CEO Paul Bal stepped down in June 2025 and Chair Stewart Gilliland became interim executive chair. In July the group refinanced with a £40m three-year facility from HSBC and NatWest. The shares ended May 2025 at 85p but slid to 45p by November. 30 May 2025 29 Jul 2025 20 Jun 2025 14 Jul 2025 16 Jun 2026
What the sale settled and what it left open
The turnaround repaired margins and cash, but it could not offset the US business. A downturn in demand, customer failures, freight and tariffs hit one division that was 60% of sales. The group chose to exit rather than restructure further. Management has not said why the earlier fixes did not work.
The US disposal and the 4.5% margin miss ended the old plan. After the sale the company gave new targets in dollars and later sterling. Its filings since the sale do not mention the $900m, 6% target for March 2027, and the company has not said what became of it. 29 Jul 2025 16 Jun 2026 25 Jun 2024
New CEO, new CFO, insiders buying
Gerald Kuehr, who ran a 3,000-employee business across ten markets at PPF and has made five acquisitions, becomes CEO on 1 July 2026. He advised the group from January and bought 1.25m shares at 69p in May. Stewart Gilliland then reverts to non-executive chair. CFO Rohan Cummings leaves on 31 August 2026 and Ari Bensoussan replaces him. Bensoussan bought about 466,000 shares at 91.6p in October.
Founder and non-executive director Anders Hedlund bought 16.6m shares at 88p off-market in June 2026, and Gilliland bought 50,000. Fidelity (FIL) lifted its stake from 10% to 15% between June and October 2026. Canaccord and Octopus reduced their holdings. 16 Jun 2026 16 Apr 2026 20 Aug 2026 8 May 2026 17 Jun 2026 17 Jun 2026 9 Oct 2026 20 Jun 2025
Smaller, profitable, and handing cash back
FY2026 revenue fell 3% to £217.9m. Adjusted operating profit dropped from £16.0m to £9.6m, a 4.4% margin. Tariffs, price pressure and softer UK demand caused the fall, and UK revenue fell 12%. The company said results beat expectations and that it generated £16.2m of cash as stock normalised. Net cash ended at £54.6m. In February 2026 it had raised guidance, and it sold a surplus UK warehouse for £3.1m in March.
A court-approved capital reduction in March 2026 created distributable reserves. Management proposed a 1.0p dividend and launched a buyback of up to 10% of shares in June. A second buyback of up to 4.5m shares followed in September. Shares in issue fell from 98.3m to 93.1m. In April 2026 it bought Glenart, a South African cracker maker, for about £5.3m. The shares closed October 2026 at 92p, against 45p in November 2025. 16 Jun 2026 16 Jun 2026 25 Sep 2026 11 Feb 2026 25 Mar 2026 15 Jan 2026 30 Apr 2026 24 Sep 2026
Modest growth targets and a 78% orderbook
Management says FY2027 should bring 0-5% revenue growth, adjusted operating margins of 4-5% and about £5m a year of free cash. It first set the 4-5% margin and low single-digit growth in July 2025. The 0-5% growth range came in February 2026. The orderbook stands at 78% of budgeted revenue, against 75% a year earlier. Strategy rests on four themes: pricier products, a wider product range, new customers and channels, and stronger sales skills. The company calls this 'evolution rather than revolution'.
The board lists cost pressures, inflation and weak consumer sentiment as risks. Hilco's proceeds, Glenart's integration and the new CEO's plans remain unproven. 16 Jun 2026 11 Feb 2026 29 Jul 2025
“The Board acknowledges the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty, including cost pressures, inflation, and softer consumer sentiment, but remains confident of delivery in the period ahead” 16 Jun 2026
Written by AI from IG Design Group's own announcements since Oct 2023 · every paragraph links to its sources