Latest news with #UTG
Business Insider
31-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Unite Group plc (UTG) Gets a Buy from Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley analyst Ana Escalante maintained a Buy rating on Unite Group plc (UTG – Research Report) today and set a price target of p1,125.00. The company's shares closed today at p861.00. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter According to TipRanks, Escalante is ranked #7616 out of 9552 analysts. Unite Group plc has an analyst consensus of Moderate Buy, with a price target consensus of p1,029.67. UTG market cap is currently £4.1B and has a P/E ratio of 8.72.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
EXCLUSIVE: Xcel Brands Brings in China's United Trademark Group as Strategic Partner
Updated April 24 4:18 p.m. ET Xcel Brands, seeking to extend its reach globally, has brought in Shanghai-based United Trademark Group as a strategic investor. More from WWD Christie Brinkley Is Ready for Her HSN Appearance for New Apparel Collection Twrhll Christie Brinkley, Xcel Brands Ready to Launch Lifestyle and Apparel Brand Exclusively for HSN An Online Marketplace for 'Many People to Sell Many Things' UTG, a brand development and licensing company producing a range of products, has invested $9 million in Xcel, WWD has learned. 'We have been looking for a strategic alliance to make Xcel Brands global,' said Robert W. D'Loren, chairman and chief executive officer of Xcel, which specializes in building influencer brands through livestreaming and social commerce. 'This transaction brings together two leaders in brand management, supply chain management, licensing and video and social commerce to create what we hope is a global powerhouse,' D'Loren said. 'They have distribution in Europe, Middle East and Asia, and that's something we've been missing. For us, this is strategically very important.' Investors liked the deal and traded shares of Xcel up 31.6 percent to $3 on Thursday, leaving the company with a market capitalization of $7.1 million. The CEO said the partnership 'positions us nicely as we continue to announce more of these creator-type brands.' UTG's investment helped Xcel refinance debt and provides some working capital. The investor was also given warrants at different strike prices. Asked if the $9 million investment is a preliminary one by UTG, D'Loren replied, 'The thought is for UTG to grow with us.' Xcel owns the Halston, Judith Ripka and C. Wonder brands, as well as the Tower Hill by Christie Brinkley cobranded collaboration. Xcel also holds noncontrolling interests in the Isaac Mizrahi brand and Orme Live, the short-form video marketplace for social shopping. And it owns and manages the Longaberger brand through its controlling interest in Longaberger Licensing LLC. 'This week, we passed 40 million social media followers across our portfolio,' D'Loren said. 'We believe we will very shortly [exceed] 50 million social media followers across our portfolio brands, which now include categories from fashion to home to kitchen to pets and all of the classifications and categories that go with those broad industry segments. Our goal now is to get the portfolio by the end of 2026 to 100 million followers.' The family-owned UTG is involved in design, manufacturing, distribution and retail and works to connect consumers with brands through emerging media, social platforms, retail technology, influencer collaborations and 'experiential' retail. The company manufactures jewelry, accessories, pet products and other categories of merchandise. 'In the future, by having UTG as a partner, if there's something that we believe is a good acquisition opportunity, I think together, it becomes a lot easier for us,' D'Loren said. UTG, a $2 billion company, has a master license for Jeep in China and operates about 1,000 Jeep stores selling Jeep performance wear, casualwear and other Jeep products, but not Jeep vehicles. A 8,600-square-foot Jeep flagship recently opened in Shanghai. The company also owns the Roberta Di Camerino women's fashion, accessories and footwear brand sold in Italy and China, has an emoji license and is eager to acquire brands. 'We want to be more of an owner,' said George Liu, cofounder of the 15-year-old UTG. Asked what attracted UTG to Xcel, Liu said, 'What really excited us is the synergy.' Liu also said they have a shared passion for social commerce, which is much bigger in China than it is in the U.S. He also said Xcel can build its business by having the benefit of UTG's supply chain expertise. 'We think Bob is a pioneer in the industry,' Liu added. UTG's goals in the short-term is to help Xcel optimize its supply chain, grow the business it has with its existing brands and build its cash flow. In the medium term, Liu sees the possibility of UTG and Xcel acquiring brands together. Roberta Di Camerino is the only brand UTG currently owns. 'We are excited to work with Xcel Brands,' said Alex Wang, cofounder and chairman of UTG, in a statement. 'By combining their expertise in social commerce and our shared vision and commitment to product and innovation, we look forward to building the next generation of great brands. 'There is tremendous synergy between our companies' goals, missions and visions for the future of the global consumer sector,' Wang said. 'With UTG's global expertise and our shared commitment to innovation, brand building and leveraging pioneering new technologies, we see great opportunities on the horizon and look forward to unlocking new possibilities together.' Consensus, an investment bank focused on the consumer products sector, advised UTG on the Xcel transaction. Xcel recently announced a flurry of launches, including: 'Trust-Respect-Love by Cesar Millan,' a collection including pet essentials, toys, training tools and accessories. The brand is scheduled to launch spring 2026. Millan is a dog behaviorist, best-selling author and television celebrity. A bakeware and cooking brand with renowned baker, chef and author Gemma Stafford, marking Stafford's first venture into developing her own product line. The line is scheduled to launch spring 2026. A food and kitchenware brand with Latina home and lifestyle creator Jenny Martinez, launching this fall. She is a national best selling cookbook author and creator of Happy Bellies by Jenny social media brand. With Xcel importing much product from overseas, including Turkey, Pakistan and China, D'Loren addressed the issue of tariffs, saying: 'We think over the short run, we're going to see some price increases. Some of the increases will be borne by the factories, some by the retailers, some by the consumer, some by the wholesalers. In our case, with some of our brands, we have enough inventory already in warehouses for the rest of the year, so we're actually in good shape, particularly with jewelry inventory. What's in our warehouses suddenly became more valuable. But we do now need to start to address spring of '26. Retailers have things on hold until we all get some clarity.' Asked to what degree Xcel brands are exposed to China, D'Loren said: 'Not very. QVC [an important sales channel for Xcel] has done a good job with their private label programs over the last two to three years to reduce concentrations in their supply chain in China, so I think they'll manage through it as well.' Xcel doesn't itself produce products. It works with licensees or through retailers. D'Loren believes that over the next 90 to 120 days: 'We're going to see a lot of different [tariff] deals being made around the world. China is a little more complicated, but China and the U.S. are, in my opinion, too important to each other for this not to get resolved in some satisfactory way.' Xcel has been showing some improvement in its profitability, despite revenue declines. Total revenue for the nine months ended Sept. 30 fell 54 percent to $7.1 million from a year earlier. This decline, the company said, was predominantly driven by the decrease in net product sales due to the company's discontinuance of its wholesale businesses as part of its 'Project Fundamentals' plan in 2023. The net loss for the nine-month period was $15.3 million compared with a net loss of $14.3 million for the prior year period. The current nine-month period includes significant one-off non-cash items, including a $3.8 million gain on the divestiture of the Lori Goldstein brand, a $3.5 million charge related to the exit and sublease of the company's prior office space and a $6.3 million charge related to the sale of a majority stake in the Isaac Mizrahi brand to WHP Global. Adjusted losses before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization totaled $2.7 million for the nine-month period, compared with losses of $4.6 million a year earlier. Xcel is expected to report its fourth quarter results next week. Best of WWD Macy's Is Closing 66 Stores in 2025 — Here's the List, Live Updates Inside the Demise of Lord & Taylor COVID-19 Spikes Elevate Retail Concerns Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Xcel Brands brings in China's UTG as strategic partner, WWD reports
Xcel Brands (XELB), seeking to extend its reach globally, has brought in Shanghai-based United Trademark Group as a strategic investor, WWD's David Moin reports. UTG, a brand development and licensing company producing a range of products, has invested $9M in Xcel, WWD has learned. 'We have been looking for a strategic alliance to make Xcel Brands global,' said Robert D'Loren, chairman and chief executive officer of Xcel, which specializes in building influencer brands through livestreaming and social commerce. Asked if the $9 million investment is a preliminary one by UTG, D'Loren replied, 'The thought is for UTG to grow with us.' Discover outperforming stocks and invest smarter with Top Smart Score Stocks. Filter, analyze, and streamline your search for investment opportunities using Tipranks' Stock Screener. Published first on TheFly – the ultimate source for real-time, market-moving breaking financial news. Try Now>> See today's best-performing stocks on TipRanks >> Read More on XELB: Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue United Trademark Group invested $9M in Xcel Brands, WWD reports Xcel Brands announces partnership with Jenny Martinez Xcel Brands Delays 10-K Filing Amid Revenue Drop Xcel Brands trading halted, news pending Xcel Brands announces partnership with YouTube Creator Gemma Stafford Sign in to access your portfolio
Fashion United
25-04-2025
- Business
- Fashion United
Xcel Brands secures investment via new partnership with United Trademark Group
Xcel Brands, a US media and consumer product company, has linked up with United Trademark Group (UTG), confirming that the Shanghai-based supply chain and distribution firm is to serve as its new strategic partner. As part of the deal, UTG has injected a nine million dollar strategic investment into the New York headquartered business. In a release, UTG co-founder and chairman, Alex Wang, said the duo intended to combine 'their expertise in social commerce and our shared vision and commitment to product innovation'. They were thus looking to build 'the next generation of great brands', his statement continued. Xcel Brands chairman and CEO, Robert D'Loren, also expressed excitement about the new partnership, adding that 'there is tremendous synergy between our companies' goals, missions and visions for the future of the global consumer sector'. He added: 'With UTG's global expertise and our shared commitment to innovation, brand building and leveraging pioneering new technologies, we see great opportunities on the horizon and look forward to unlocking new possibilities together.' UTG specialises in mergers, acquisitions, strategies and digital transformation, operating a portfolio of 10 brands that contribute to its 1.5 billion dollars in annual retail sales throughout 12 countries. These include lifestyle brands like Jeep, as well as sportswear labels like Good year and Ou & Me. Xcel Brands, meanwhile, has operations across design, licensing, marketing, live streaming and social commerce for branded apparel, footwear and other categories. The company, which owns the likes of Halston, Judith Ripka and C. Wonder, works with public figures to establish associated brands, such as Tower Hill by Christie Brinkley and Trust-Respect-Love by Cesar Millan. In its most recent financial report for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024, D'Loren noted that Xcel had faced 'some headwinds' yet still welcomed growth across brands through key retail partners. While YoY revenue dropped from 2.38 million dollars to 1.5 million dollars over the period, its losses widened to 9 million dollars.
