18 October 2022

UP Global Sourcing Holdings plc

"Ultimate Products" or "the Group"

Russell Hobbs licence renewal

Ultimate Products, the owner of a number of leading homeware brands including Salter (the UK's oldest houseware brand, est.1760) and Beldray (est.1872), is pleased to announce that it has renewed its trademark licence agreement with Spectrum Brands, which grants the Group an exclusive licence to use the "Russell Hobbs" trademark in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and New Zealand for non-electrical kitchen and laundry products . The new agreement is on a rolling four-year basis, rather than the previous fixed-term arrangement due to end in March 2023. This significantly reduces the licencing risk for the Group, as the licence will always have four years to run, rather than having a fixed end date. 

Russell Hobbs is a British heritage kitchenware brand for which Ultimate Products has had the licence for cookware lines since 2011. Ultimate Products' Russell Hobbs offering spans a range of non-electrical kitchen and laundry products specifically designed to help with chores in the kitchen and beyond. The Group's licence with Spectrum Brands does not include Russell Hobbs electrical appliances.

In FY22, the Group generated unaudited revenues of £20.2m under the "Russell Hobbs" trademark, representing 13.1% of the Group's total revenue for that period. Following the Group's acquisition of Salter Brands Limited in July 2021, Russell Hobbs is the only licence agreement that Ultimate Products operates.

 Commenting on the agreement, Simon Showman, Chief Executive of Ultimate Products, said:

"We are delighted to continue our relationship with Spectrum Brands and are privileged to be able to use the Russell Hobbs trademark on a range of non-electrical kitchen and laundry products. Moving from a fixed-term arrangement to a rolling four-year contract decreases the ongoing licence risks, allowing us to focus on the long-term growth of the brand, which will increase the benefits of the partnership for both Spectrum Brands and Ultimate Products."

For more information, please contact:

Ultimate Products +44 (0) 161 627 1400

Simon Showman, CEO

Andrew Gossage, Managing Director

Chris Dent, CFO

Shore Capital +44 (0) 20 7408 4090

Mark Percy

Malachy McEntyre

Powerscourt +44 (0) 207 250 1446

Rob Greening

Sam Austrums

Notes to Editors

Ultimate Products is the owner of a number of leading homeware brands including Salter (the UK's oldest houseware brand, established in 1760) and Beldray (a laundry, floor care, heating and cooling brand that was established in 1872). According to its market research, nearly 80% of UK households own at least one of the Group's products.

Ultimate Products sells to over 300 retailers across 38 countries, and specialises in five product categories: Small Domestic Appliances; Housewares; Laundry; Audio; and Heating and Cooling. Other brands include Progress (cookware and bakeware), Kleeneze (laundry and floorcare), Petra (small domestic appliances) and Intempo (audio).

The Group's products are sold to a broad cross-section of both large national and international multi-channel retailers as well as smaller national retail chains, incorporating discount retailers, supermarkets, general retailers and online retailers.

Founded in 1997, Ultimate Products employs over 370 staff, a significant number of whom have joined via the Group's graduate development scheme, and is headquartered in Oldham, Greater Manchester, where it has design, sales, marketing, buying, quality assurance, support functions and warehouse facilities across two sites. Manor Mill, the Group's head office, includes a spectacular 20,000 sq ft showroom that showcases each of its brands. In addition, the Group has an office and showroom in Guangzhou, China and in Cologne, Germany.

Please note that Ultimate Products is not the owner of Russell Hobbs. The Company currently has licence agreements in place granting it an exclusive licence to use the "Russell Hobbs" trademark for cookware and laundry (NB this does not include Russell Hobbs electrical appliances).

For further information, please visit www.upgs.com