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Publisher buys 50pc stake in group-buying website

A regional publisher has branched out into a new area by buying a 50pc stake in a website which offers group-buying discounts to people.

Archant has announced its 50pc acquisition of tickles.co.uk, a site where businesses offer significant discounts on a product or service if a minimum number of people agree to buy it within a limited time period.

The partnership with Archant will see Tickles promoted through its publications, while its sales teams will negotiate deals for customers.

Archant plans to buy the rest of the company within the next three years and a mechanism has been put in place for this, but no financial details of the deal have been given.

  • Archant group business development director Serge Taborin is pictured with Aimee Hunt and Jon Shannon from Tickles.
  • Tickles, which was launched in May last year, is currently operating in Norfolk and Cambridge but is set to launch in Ipswich soon and the rest of the country within weeks.

    Archant chief executive Adrian Jeakings said: “Archant’s long-standing presence in the local communities we serve means that we are ideally positioned to negotiate the best deals with local businesses and then give them maximum exposure to attract local customers through our newspapers, magazines, websites, mobile sites and apps.

    “This addition to our portfolio of products demonstrates Archant’s drive to find the most innovative and cost-effective ways for our local advertisers to reach their target audience.”

    Local ‘Ticklers’ have already saved more than £200,000 in Norfolk and Cambridge since the launch of the site.

    Jon Shannon, Tickles business development director, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Archant, as it pairs the already-proven Tickles model with Archant’s local sales teams and extensive promotional capability.

    “This will give our users even better local deals in the future and our business partners can look forward to even more new customers.”

    The Tickles service is free to users who sign up to receive local offers and can choose to purchase them online but are not charged anything unless the minimum number of people also buy the produce or service.