TopCashback

Top Online Partners Group Ltd., trading as 'TopCashback' is a British cashback website with dedicated sites for markets in the United States, India, China, Japan and Germany.

TopCashback
TypePrivate
IndustryCashback website
Founded2005 (2005)
FounderOliver Ragg & Michael Tomkins (Co-founders)
HeadquartersStafford, England, United Kingdom
ProductsOnline Retail Cashback Program
ParentTop Online Partners Group Ltd.
Websitetopcashback.co.uk

History

TopCashback was incorporated in January 2005 by founders Oliver Ragg & Michael Tomkins and is headquartered in Stafford, England.[1][2] During the first six-years of operation membership grew to 1.2million users and the company became listed on the Sunday Times Fast Track 100, which ranks the UK's fastest-growing privately held companies by sales growth (% per annum) for three years: TopCashback was ranked fifth in the 2011 rankings with a sales growth rate of 189.27%, 35th in 2012 with a sales growth rate of 89.81%, and 98th in 2013 with a sales growth of 50.35%.[3][4]

TopCashback receives referral commissions for directing its customers to retailers and in return offers various incentives to its users, mostly using percentage discounts that are given up to 12 weeks after purchasing items online or by offering small payments for signing up to insurance or subscription services,[5][6][7] which has raised criticism for whether it is impartial and working in the consumers interest.[8] Another criticism of this model is that it isn't regulated, meaning that customers have no compensation rights in the case that they were to go bankrupt. [9]

In 2012 the company entered the US & Indian markets with dedicated sites and the US site grew to four-times the UK site within its first year of operation generating sales of $16million with cashback paid out of $1million for its users.[10][11] The following year, TopCashback introduced a premium membership option where members pay a fee for additional perks [12]

In 2015 TopCashback launched the ability to link a banking card and receive incentives for in store use, and in the first year the service was found to yield £1.2million worth of sales to retailler Argos with 68% of TopCashback users new to using Argos through the service.[13] The same year saw the company grow to a membership base of 4.5million and the website undertaking a rebrand which introduced their hummingbird logo intending to "create a global brand identity".[14] By 2017 TopCashback saw continued growth with TopCashBack reaching 6.5million users and ranking at 141 in the Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200, and reaching international sales of £24.8million.[15][16]

In 2018 Top Online Partners and Maple Syrup Group, the owner of rival cashback website Quidco, agreed a merger to form a single group named 'CB Group Ltd.' prompting the UK Competition and Markets Authority to launch a probe into the merger which began in 2018 [17] and in 2019 the CMA announced concerns with regards to the size and lack of competition that the new company would have, resulting in Quidco and TopCashback abandoning the merger.[18][19][20]

Q4 of 2018 saw TopCashback increase revenue by 57% with a global database of over 11 million members and 5,350 retailers, and the company reporting an annual turnover increase of 18% to £129m with a pre-tax profit of £9.28m.[21][22] The company has been recognised by winning the Moneyfacts cashback site of the year award four times and being highly commended on five previous occasions.[23][24][25][26][27]

References
  1. "TOPCASHBACK LIMITED - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  2. Bloomberg. "TOP Online Partners Group Ltd". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  3. Implementra Limited (21 March 2012). "Habits of a highly successful web team: an interview with one of the UK's fastest-growing web businesses". Conversion Rate Experts. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  4. Fast Track, Sunday Times. "TopCashback". Fast Track. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  5. Mikhailova, Anna. "Your five-minute guide to … Cashback websites". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  6. Burns, Catherine (26 May 2012). "Cashback websites: how do they work?". BBC News. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  7. Palmer, Kate (16 May 2015). "Cashback loophole: 'I earn £30 an hour without spending a penny'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  8. Hill, Jennifer (23 April 2008). "Shoppers turn to net to bag bargains". Reuters. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  9. Papworth, Jill (22 January 2011). "Cashback websites: is there a catch to cash for free?". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  10. Latham, Cheryl (3 January 2013). "Money-saving website TopCashback goes Stateside". Metro. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  11. The Economic Times. "Topcashback (india) Private Limited Information - Topcashback (india) Private Limited Company Profile, Topcashback (india) Private Limited News on The Economic Times". The Economic Times. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  12. "TopCashback launches premium paid-for membership". uk.finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  13. "Argos increases average basket spend by 400% | SRS". Southern Retail Systems. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  14. Mortimer, Natalie. "TopCashback rebrands to reflect change in audience". The Drum. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  15. Cloud, Reward. "Reward Cloud's Partnership With TopCashback Will Help Customers Earn More Online". www.prnewswire.co.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  16. James, Laura (19 February 2019). "These are the local firms listed among UK's top 200 fastest growing businesses". stokesentinel. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  17. "TopCashback / Quidco merger inquiry". GOV.UK. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  18. Graham, Victoria. "Topcashback, Quidco Merger Raises Competition Concerns, U.K. Says (1)". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  19. GC Staff Writer (22 March 2019). "CMA halts probe as TopCashback, Quidco abandon merger plans". Government Computing Network. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  20. Cotton, Barney (21 March 2019). "Merger between top cashback sites cancelled | Business Leader News". Business Leader. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  21. Strachan, Emily. "Making Waves In The Affiliate Industry: TopCashback copy". Visualsoft. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  22. "Top Online Partners Group Ltd - Annual Report". Companies House. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  23. Moneyfacts. "Cashback Site of the Year Winner TopCashback | moneyfacts.co.uk". Moneyfacts. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  24. Braadbaart, Lieke (26 January 2018). "Moneyfacts Consumer Awards 2018 winners revealed | moneyfacts.co.uk". Moneyfacts. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  25. "Consumer Awards - 2017 Winners". www.moneyfactsgroup.co.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  26. "Consumer Awards - 2016 Winners". www.moneyfactsgroup.co.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  27. "Consumer Awards - 2015 Winners". www.moneyfactsgroup.co.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
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