What PDK does

PDK, trading as PDK Charnwood Ltd, is a privately-held UK e-commerce retailer founded in 1980 and headquartered in Newton Abbot, Devon. The company sells jigsaw puzzles, board games, soft toys, pocket money toys and related fundraising merchandise directly to consumers and wholesale buyers through its Shopify-powered storefront at pdk.co.uk, supplemented by telephone ordering. Its catalog spans thousands of adult jigsaw puzzles from 20+ brands (Ravensburger, Gibsons, Clementoni, Cobble Hill, Galison, Grafika, Otter House and others) and a broad assortment of board games, soft toys and party-bag-fillers. A separate sister site, Charnwood Fundraising, handles dedicated fundraising SKUs such as tombola games, charity collection buckets, raffle tickets and face paints. Distribution is primarily domestic UK with selective international shipping to the USA and Israel; the EU is explicitly not served.

The company operates with a small team (stated as 1–10 employees) and runs a horizontal segmentation across consumer puzzle enthusiasts, schools/PTAs, fundraisers and charities, and party planners/parents. Pricing is unit-based pay-as-you-go with individual retail prices and bulk/wholesale packs for fundraising and event buyers; example low-end SKUs are priced around $1.20. The technology stack is standard e-commerce — Shopify for the storefront, Google Analytics for behavioral tracking — with no disclosed AI, APIs, integrations or proprietary platform features. Marketing is driven by organic SEO, a 4.9/5 verified rating across 2,880 Reviews.io reviews, newsletter email and organic social sharing, with the 40+ year operating history cited as a core trust signal. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and the business carries no institutional investment, patents or regulatory actions on record.

Name

PDK

Legal name

PDK Charnwood Ltd

Website

https://pdk.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PDK (PDK Charnwood Ltd) is a UK-based e-commerce retailer founded in 1980 that sells jigsaw puzzles, board games, soft toys and pocket money toys direct to consumers and wholesale fundraising buyers via its Shopify storefront and sister site Charnwood Fundraising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Newton Abbot

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Retail Product Sales: Direct-to-consumer and B2B sales of jigsaw puzzles, board games, soft toys, pocket money toys, and fundraising products through their e-commerce website and telephone ordering. Products are sold in individual and bulk wholesale quantities with prices ranging from budget pocket money items to premium puzzles.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

PDK is a UK-based e-commerce retailer selling toys and games, centered on jigsaw puzzles from 20+ brands, board games, soft toys, and pocket money toys. It also supplies bulk fundraising products to charities, schools and event organizers via its sister site Charnwood Fundraising.

Product overview

PDK is a UK-based e-commerce retailer operating a unified online store selling toys and games. The product portfolio centers on four core categories: jigsaw puzzles (thousands of adult puzzles from 20+ brands including Ravensburger, Gibsons, Clementoni, and Cobble Hill), board games (family games, strategy games, party games, and licensed titles like Monopoly and Subbuteo), soft toys (primarily Keel branded), and pocket money toys/party bag fillers. The company also operates Charnwood Fundraising as a separate business area for fundraising products. The offering is a single retail catalog with products sourced from multiple manufacturers and brands, not a unified software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Jigsaw Puzzles Extensive collection of thousands of adult jigsaw puzzles from over 20 brands including Ravensburger, House of Puzzles, Gibsons, Galison, Grafika and Otter House, ranging from 500 to 2000+ pieces with various themes and difficulty levels.
• Board Games Wide range of board games including classic family games like Monopoly and Scrabble, modern games like Carcassonne and Catan, strategy games, card games, dice games, murder mystery games, party games, word games and traditional games.
• Soft Toys Quality soft toys including brands like Keel with various animal types, and collectable lines such as Keel Animotsu Wild, Keel Eco and Keel Signature Cuddle.
• Pocket Money Toys Wide range of pocket money toys and party bag fillers in wholesale quantities, including stationery sets, flying toys, wooden toys, jewellery, mini jigsaws, temporary tattoos, stickers, craft kits, musical toys and bubble toys for various occasions and themes.
• Inspector McClue Murder Mystery Games Host-your-own murder mystery party games containing everything needed for dinner party entertainment, accommodating 6 to 12 guests with various cases available.
• Subbuteo Classic table-top football game reintroduced after 15 years, featuring improved player strength and flexibility with an enhanced pitch for quick gameplay.
• Monopoly Branded Games Various Monopoly-themed board games including Lab-Opoly, Wine-Opoly, Fantasy-Opoly, Farm-Opoly, Dog-Opoly, Shih Tzu-Opoly and German Shepherd-Opoly.
• Party Board Games Party board games for family gatherings and children's parties including Articulate, Tension and various themed party games.
• Fundraising Products (Charnwood Fundraising) High quality fundraising products including tombola games, charity collection buckets and boxes, duck races, raffle tickets and face paints, available through the dedicated sister site Charnwood Fundraising.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.9/5 customer rating from 2,880 verified reviews

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Hobbycraft: UK largest specialist hobby retailer with extensive toy, games, and puzzle ranges plus arts and crafts supplies. Comparable overlapping categories with PDK but operates at significantly larger scale with physical stores.
• The Works: UK high street discount retailer carrying books, toys, games, and puzzles at value price points across many physical stores plus e-commerce. Comparable as a multi-category UK toy/games retailer but with broader assortment and physical footprint beyond PDK's pure-play model.
• WHSmith: UK general retailer with a substantial toys and games range (including puzzles) sold via high street stores and online. Overlaps with PDK on puzzles and party products but operates across many categories beyond toys.
• Amazon UK: UK arm of the global e-commerce marketplace offering toys, puzzles, and games from all major brands at competitive prices. Represents the dominant competitive pressure on PDK's category despite not being a specialist.

Direct peers

• The Happy Puzzle Company: UK-based specialist puzzle retailer selling jigsaw puzzles, brain teasers, and educational puzzles via e-commerce. Closely comparable to PDK's puzzle category with similar target customer (puzzle enthusiasts), multi-brand inventory approach, and direct-to-consumer model.
• Bigjigs Toys: UK-based toy retailer offering wooden toys, puzzles, games, and educational toys via e-commerce. Comparable to PDK across toys, puzzles, and games categories with a similar target customer (parents, gift buyers, schools).
• Tobar: UK toy wholesaler and retailer selling pocket money toys, party bag fillers, novelties, and licensed character merchandise. Comparable to PDK's pocket money toys and fundraising product categories with B2B/wholesale overlap.
• Jigsaw24: UK jigsaw puzzle specialist with a broad multi-brand catalog (Ravensburger, Gibsons, etc.) and direct e-commerce. Highly comparable to PDK on SKU breadth, brand portfolio, and target market for serious puzzle hobbyists.
• Baker Ross: UK educational arts, crafts, and toy supplies retailer operating direct-to-consumer e-commerce. Comparable to PDK in serving schools, PTAs, and party/event organizers with bulk pricing and themed product assortments.

Emerging players

• Gibsons Games: UK puzzle and board game manufacturer that has expanded into direct-to-consumer e-commerce alongside its traditional wholesale business. Comparable because PDK resells Gibsons products, and both compete for the same UK puzzle enthusiast customer via overlapping channels.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PDKCharnwood
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pdk-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about PDK