OnBuy have announced that their HQ is moving from Bournemouth to London and launching a base in New York, as well as announcing record growth and profitability.
This marks the start of a period of rapid international expansion which will establish OnBuy as a global ecommerce business. For sure, a London base will make it easier to attract talent as the marketplace grows.
The news comes as the pioneering instant cashback marketplace – which connects sellers with over 6m customers – reported a record-breaking year of sales in 2024:
- In Q4 alone, the AI-driven tech business saw sales through OnBuy rise to £44m
- That’s a 37% year-on-year revenue increase
- OnBuy revealed Gross Profits of c£19m for the year
Early moves in implementing industry leading AI have played a pivotal role in OnBuy’s rapid growth over the last year, as continued technological investment and innovation have come to fruition.
OnBuy – which has just been named in the 2025 Sunday Times 100 Tech list of Britain’s fastest-growing private technology companies – is now using AI across the entire company for optimisation, enhancing both customer and retail experiences.
Having hit profitability, the business now has its sights firmly set on international expansion. OnBuy’s continued investment in AI, coupled with forecast headcount growth of 30% in the next 12 months, will drive revenue in 2025 as the business builds market share in key markets across Europe and the USA.
With the international rollout already underway, OnBuy is witnessing unprecedented demand from both customers and retailers alike. The business reports 30% day-on-day sales growth from key European markets, with a backlog of retailers quickly building as sellers seek to embrace the opportunities the platform provides for them to maximise sales.
With the demand from international retailers and customers apparent, the newly established bases in London and New York are anticipated to unlock access to these international markets. Complemented with existing footprints in Bournemouth, Manchester and Dublin, the company will now benefit from improved access to the most advanced tech talent from across the UK, Ireland and USA.
With innovation comes rewards. We are a prime example of a start-up that has completely transformed with AI, and as a consequence, have managed to grow while maintaining our headcount over the past 18 months. We estimate that our use of AI has saved our business in the region of £8million – there is no doubt that becoming an AI-driven business has enabled us to scale further and faster than many thought possible.
Fundamentally, we are a tech business with AI at its heart. Bournemouth has provided a springboard for our business, but to become a leading global ecommerce platform, we must harbour the best tech talent in the world and continue to invest. That’s why we’ve taken a strategic decision to move our HQ to London and launch a permanent base in New York. 2025 will mark a transition year for us – we are ready for our next phase of growth.
– Cas Paton, CEO and Founder, OnBuy
Since 2016 OnBuy has disrupted online retail with a revolutionary cashback offering, establishing itself as a key challenger to the dominant e-commerce giants. As a pure tech product, OnBuy owes its ability to rapidly grow across the world to the fact that it’s able to keep infrastructure costs low, leveraging the footprint of retailers and their channel management and fulfilment partners.
To fuel its international rollout, OnBuy has partnered with Google Cloud to provide modern, scalable cloud infrastructure that will improve both seller and customer experiences, reduce costs and open new revenue streams. The partnership is enhancing operational efficiency and providing customers with faster and more secure checkout experiences, as well as greater flexibility, whilst facilitating the marketplace’s global growth.
In the coming months OnBuy will be launching more AI functionality to support to improve experiences for both sellers and customers.
