Crafter’s Companion, which is owned by Dragons’ Den star Sara Davies, has seen its losses widen as the number of people tuning into TV shopping channels plummets.
The business, which sells a range of arts and crafts supplies, suffered pre-tax losses of £5m in the year ending March 31, 2023, up from £1.3m during the previous 12 months.
The accounts have only just been filed with Companies House, six months after the deadline of December 2023. The firm’s results for its most recent financial year are due to be filed by the end of 2024.
Group revenues plunged 21 per cent to £29.8m, with the largest fall suffered in global sales – predominantly US – which saw a 24 per cent slump, which the company blamed in part on the high tariffs for importing Chinese products imposed by the Trump administration. In the UK, revenues fell by 18 per cent to £10.3m.
Founder Sara Davies, the Dragons’ Den entrepreneur who started the crafting business nearly 20 years ago from her university bedroom, said in an interview with The Mirror in April that it had “been a rough couple of years”.
A report alongside its most recent results, posted on Companies House, said that lower TV sales impacted the results, adding: “A combination of the record heatwave by the UK in the summer of 2022 and the societal recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in lower market activity.”
In the months since the period-end, the group has secured a significant equity package from Growth Partner LLP.
In the report bosses add: “In addition, new bank facilities have been agreed with Santander in the UK and HSBC in the US. This provides a much stronger financial base that will enable the group to reshape operations and return to monthly cash profitability in the next year.
“The management team are focused on quickly growing sales, creating new sales channels, improving product margin, reducing costs, stemming operating cash outflows and relationships with key stakeholders.”