THG boss Matthew Moulding has made one last dig at city critics as he takes the group’s Ingenuity arm private again.
The chief executive said in a LinkedIn post that while the division has been called “worthless, or worse, a huge liability”, the “reality” of a tech investment is that it takes time to pay off.
His comments come as THG shareholders voted in favour to spin off the technology arm at a valuation of £90m.
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The division, which has come under fierce scrutiny from city analysts, narrowed its losses from £227.6m to £140.9m in the year to 30 June, despite sales slipping 5% to £671.4m.
Moulding added: “Yes, Ingenuity had a cash burn of c$90m in 2024 as we invest in building out the proposition further, but this has been reducing fast as the business scales.
“This is the reality of tech investment: you build it first and then charge people to use it. You wouldn’t try charging for hotel rooms before a hotel was built, tech is no different.
“Spending endless energy proving otherwise to a UK market devoid of tech businesses is a zero-sum game,” he said, blaming the UK’s “much higher interest rates” and the “dwindling capital pool” of the London Stock Exchange.
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