Pigsback.com plans push into UK with €9m budget


3 Jun 2005

Pigsback.com, the online relationship marketing company, is to spend around €9m on a campaign to launch the company in the UK market.

The Irish company will initially focus on the Greater London area and will expand gradually to other urban areas through field marketing. It set up an office in the city several months ago in preparation for the launch, which culminates a long held ambition for the company to enter the UK market.

The company claimed it has attracted interest from the marketing sector in the UK and it has already signed partnerships with several leading brands including Ebay, Blockbuster, UGC cinemas, CD Wow, Figleaves, Last Minute and Virgin Wines.

Chief operating officer Rory Duggan said that Pigsback.com’s Irish business would yield considerable cash flows over the coming years. The company has added to these projected profits with an additional €2m in equity to fund the UK launch. “We expect to be profitable in the UK by year three,” he said.

CEO Michael Dwyer said in a statement that Pigsback.com takes in more than 30pc of all Irish online marketing spend. He estimated that the UK online marketing sector was worth £650m sterling and expressed the hope that occupying a niche in that market would present an “ample opportunity” for the company. “It is a huge challenge to our growing organisation, but one we have been working on for nearly three years,” he said.

By Gordon Smith