What The Very Group does

The Very Group is an integrated digital retailer and FCA-regulated financial services provider headquartered in Liverpool, UK. It operates multi-category online retail platforms Very.co.uk and Littlewoods.com (plus Littlewoods Ireland) serving approximately 4.2 million active customers across the UK and Ireland with roughly 2,000 brand partnerships spanning electrical, home, fashion, toys, beauty, and now sports nutrition. The distinctive proposition combines digital retail with Very Pay, an FCA-regulated flexible payment platform that operates on an average debtor book of approximately £1.71 billion and generated £433.6 million of finance revenue in FY25.

The technology estate is built on a cloud-based MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless) architecture delivered through the proprietary Skyscape e-commerce platform hosted on AWS, with AI and machine learning embedded across product discovery (Constructor), personalized sizing (True Fit across 300 fashion brands), augmented-reality virtual try-on (ModiFace for L'Oréal Paris/Maybelline/NYX lip products; Benefit brow try-on), customer service (Very Assistant chatbot, ~268k-344k chats/month at 75% first-contact resolution), and AWS-based forecasting and generative AI tooling (Bedrock, Q, QuickSight). Operations are anchored by the highly automated Skygate fulfilment centre in the East Midlands and an expanded InPost UK partnership providing 14,000+ locker collection and return points, with over 30% of returns now routed through lockers.

The Group's revenue model combines retail product sales (FY25 revenue of £2.09 billion), finance/BNPL interest and fee income from Very Pay, and an emerging retail media and creative services stream via Very Media Group (Very iD) and HelloStudio. Own-brand ranges (Everyday with 85% of SKUs at £30 or less, V by Very, The Very Collection Home) drive margin and customer value. Following Carlyle Group's November 2025 acquisition from the Barclay family, the business is being prepared for sale at a reported ~£2bn valuation, supported by a February 2026 £150m capital injection and refinancing that reduced senior secured note coupons from 13.25% to 9.75% and extended maturities.

Name

The Very Group

Legal name

Shop Direct Home Shopping Limited

Website

https://theverygroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The Very Group is a UK-based integrated digital retailer and FCA-regulated flexible-payment provider operating Very.co.uk and Littlewoods.com, serving 4.2 million active customers across fashion, home, electrical, and beauty via its Skyscape MACH platform and Very Pay credit book.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Liverpool

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Sales: Multi-category online retail sales across Very and Littlewoods brands. Sells electrical, home, fashion, toys, beauty and more. Revenue generated from product sales with approximately £2.1bn annual revenue.
2. Very Finance / Very Pay: Flexible payment options and financial services provided via Very Pay platform, regulated by FCA. Generates revenue from interest income on debtor book and payment plan fees. Very Finance revenue of £433.6m (FY25). Average debtor book of approximately £1.71bn.
3. Very Media Group / Retail Media: Retail media network leveraging customer data and insights to help brand partners engage the Very audience. Includes HelloStudio creative agency providing multi-channel creative services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Very Group operates multi-category online retail platforms Very.co.uk and Littlewoods.com, selling fashion, home, electrical, beauty and toy products to 4.2 million active UK and Ireland customers, integrated with FCA-regulated flexible payment options via Very Pay. It also runs a retail media network (Very Media Group), an in-house creative agency (HelloStudio), and own-brand ranges (Everyday, V by Very, The Very Collection Home), supported by an automated Skygate fulfilment centre.

Product overview

The Very Group operates a multi-brand digital retail platform combining online retail with flexible payment options. The core offering consists of two retail brands—Very.co.uk (primary) and Littlewoods.com (secondary)—serving 4.2 million active customers across electrical, home, fashion, and more. The business uniquely integrates Very Pay, an FCA-regulated financial services platform enabling flexible payment options, with retail operations. Supporting services include Very Assistant (AI chatbot), Very Media Group (retail media network), and HelloStudio (in-house creative agency). Own-brand collections include Everyday (value fashion/home) and The Very Collection Home. The company also operates Skygate, a highly automated fulfilment centre in the East Midlands.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Everyday: Own-brand value fashion and home collection featuring over 700 products, with 85% of items available for £30 or less
• V by Very
• HelloStudio
• Very Media Group
• The Very Collection Home
• NotifyNOW
• Very Pay

Products and services

• Very.co.uk Flagship multi-category online retail platform of The Very Group, selling fashion, home, electrical, beauty, toys and more to UK consumers, integrated with flexible payment options via Very Pay.
• Littlewoods.com Secondary digital retail brand of The Very Group offering multi-category online shopping similar to Very, serving UK and Irish value-conscious shoppers.
• Very Pay FCA-regulated flexible payment platform providing buy-now-pay-later and instalment credit options to customers shopping on Very and Littlewoods, with an average debtor book of approximately £1.71bn.
• Everyday (own-brand collection) Value-focused own-brand collection spanning women's, men's and kids' fashion and homeware, with 85% of items priced at £30 or less.
• V by Very (own-brand fashion) Own-brand fashion collection developed by Very's in-house team.
• The Very Collection Home Own-brand home category range featuring furniture, soft furnishings and decorative accents.
• Very Media Group Retail media network leveraging first-party consumer data, including the Very iD data solution, to enable brand partners to engage the Very audience through targeted advertising.
• HelloStudio In-house creative agency offering multi-channel creative services using data-led creativity, insights and AI-assisted design for internal and external brands.
• Very Assistant AI-powered chatbot providing customer service across the Very website and app, recognising natural language and resolving around 75% of queries on first contact.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fastest order dispatched in 12 minutes
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability9 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Better You, High5, Optimum Nutrition, Science in Sport (SiS)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 16 June 2026Sports nutrition brands added to Very's range with 140 new lines including energy gels, protein powders, health drinks and multivitamins.
• InPost UKcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 June 2026Expanded partnership with InPost UK to offer delivery collection from over 14,000 lockers nationwide, including next-day delivery option. Over 30% of returns already coming through locker network. Standard delivery free on orders over £30.
• DUSK.comminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 18 May 2026Home furnishings brand partnership launching 170 DUSK.com product lines across furniture and textiles on Very platform.
• Zalando, About You, ASOS, Boozt, Ellos Group, New LookminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 February 2026Launch of unified Retailer Brand Due Diligence Questionnaire and One Retail Hub digital platform with Cascale and Fair Wear to streamline HREDD compliance for apparel and footwear sector.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or Integration · 22 October 2024AWS providing generative AI and data analytics tools including Amazon Bedrock, Amazon Q, and Amazon QuickSight for automated product marketing, customer service and hyper-personalization.
• ConstructorcoreTechnology or Integration · 14 February 2023AI-powered product discovery solution implementing search, browse and autosuggest tools using natural language processing and machine learning for personalized product recommendations.
• AmpliencecoreTechnology or Integration · 24 May 2022Partnership to transform content management system using Dynamic Content solution. Enables simplified content management across brands and devices, improving customer experience and SEO.
• True FitcoreTechnology or Integration · 4 May 2022AI-powered personalized size and fit guidance across 300 fashion brands. Uses machine learning to help customers find right size and reduce fit-related returns.
• commercetoolscoreTechnology or Integration · 1 March 2022Partnership to transform ecommerce platform using MACH principles (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless). Major step in tech stack modernization for faster customer experience improvements.
• JeanologiaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 October 2021Denim finishing technology specialist partnership to improve sustainability of own-brand denim production. Uses EIM platform to assess water and energy consumption.
• adidas and ReebokcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 October 2021Stockless fulfilment model launching with adidas and Reebok, shipping products directly from brands to Very customers. Created biggest ever drop of new product lines.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Zalando: European multi-category online fashion and lifestyle platform with embedded payment solutions (Zalando Pay). Comparable in being a digital-first multi-brand retailer with integrated financial services and a heavy tech platform investment thesis.
• Argos (Sainsbury's): UK multi-category general merchandise retailer within the Sainsbury's group selling electrical, home, toys and fashion with click-and-collect and home delivery. The most like-for-like multi-category digital and physical retailer competing for family shoppers.
• Currys plc: UK specialist electrical and home retailer with both online and store channels and a credit offering (Currys Pay Monthly). Direct overlap with Very on electricals, large appliances and consumer credit.
• John Lewis Partnership: UK department store and online retailer selling electrical, home, fashion and beauty with a financial services arm (John Lewis Finance). Closely comparable in multi-category breadth, brand portfolio and credit offerings.
• Next plc: UK multi-channel retailer with a strong online platform selling fashion, home and beauty, plus a third-party platform (Total Platform) and consumer credit (NextPay). Comparable in scale, multi-category mix and digital-led go-to-market.
• Wayfair: Online home goods specialist selling furniture, furnishings and décor across the UK. Direct competitor as Very expands its home category (Very Collection Home, 450+ home brands, DUSK partnership).
• ASOS: UK online fashion marketplace with own-label and third-party brands, serving a younger digital-first customer. Competes with Very on the fashion category and on technology investment in personalisation and discovery.

Broad incumbents

• Amazon UK: Largest online retailer in the UK selling across categories Very targets (electrical, home, fashion, beauty). Competes head-on for the same digital-first UK family shopper, with embedded credit via the Amazon Store Card.

Emerging players

• Klarna: Global BNPL provider whose payment products are integrated across many retailers including those competing with Very. While not a retailer, its embedded credit offering competes directly with Very Pay at the checkout.
• Boohoo Group: Multi-brand online fashion retailer targeting value-oriented, digital-first UK consumers. Overlaps with Very's fashion offering and own-label strategy on the Everyday and V by Very ranges.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-very-group
• Instagraminstagram.com/lifeattheverygroup
• Xx.com/theverygroup

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Very Group