The Laybuy Holdings Ltd (ASX: LBY) share price is shooting for the stars. That's after the buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider announced a new merchant partnership with "the UK's largest independent fragrance retailer".
Shares shot up 5% amid the news to 59.5 cents but, at the time of writing, Laybuy's share price has settled at 57 cents – up 2.7%.
Let's take a closer look at today's news.
The Laybuy share price is rising
In a statement to the ASX, Laybuy Holdings announced it will enter a merchant partnership with 'The Fragrance Shop', the largest independent fragrance retailer in the UK.
Laybuy, which launched in New Zealand and listed on the ASX in September 2020, now claims to be one of the top 3 providers of BNPL in the British Isles.
The company says gross merchandise value (GMV) has "more than doubled" in the last quarter to a value of NZ $398 million (around A$379 million). A further 222 merchants in the UK have signed partnership deals in July.
As well, more merchants in Australia and New Zealand have signed up with the service. These include some well-known brands include Sanity, Collette, Culture Kings, and EB Games. The company has over 10,000 merchant partnerships worldwide.
Investors are clearly loving this news, judging by the surging Laybuy share price.
Finally, the company will hold a webinar on 11 August at 9:00am AEST.
Management commentary
Laybuy Managing Director Gary Rohloff said:
The agreement is an important step towards the Company's goal of having Laybuy available almost everywhere consumers shop in the UK, whenever they shop.
We are delighted to be partnering with The Fragrance Shop, which is a cosmetics and beauty giant with 200 stores across the UK offering over 6,000 products both online and instore.
He added:
The UK is our growth engine. In the past quarter alone, we have added 743 new merchants in the UK as well as 53,800 new active customers to reach more than half-a-million active customers, an increase of 143% year-on-year.
We remain a market leader in New Zealand and have a growing presence in Australia. Our active merchants in Australia and New Zealand ("ANZ") increased 55% year-on-year, while active customers are up 20% in this more mature market.
Laybuy share price snapshot
Over the past 12 months, the Laybuy share price has decreased 71.5%. Year-to-date, it is down 55.3%.
Laybuy has a market capitalisation of around $141 million.
