REG - Kelso Group Holdings - Update on Investment: TheWorks.co.uk Plc

Kelso groupAnnouncement

23/02/2026 07:00

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RNS Number : 9912T  Kelso Group Holdings PLC  23 February 2026

23 February 2026

Kelso Group Holdings Plc
("Kelso" or the "Company")

Update on Investment: TheWorks.co.uk Plc ("The Works")

Kelso, the main market listed acquisition vehicle, today announces that it has
increased its stake in The Works, the UK's leading specialist retailer of
affordable, screen-free activities, to 7.0%, up from 6.6%.  Kelso now holds
4,375,900 shares in The Works purchased at an average price of 33.2p. As at 20
February 2026, The Works had a market capitalisation of c.£22.6m.

Kelso believes that The Works is one of the most undervalued companies on the
UK stock market. Through its portfolio of 500 stores, the company generated
revenue of £277m in the year to April 2025, with EBITDA pre-IFRS 16 of
£9.5m, a 58% year-on-year increase. For the year to April 2026, EBITDA is
expected to grow by a further 15% to £11.0m, in line with company guidance.
At the April 2025 year end, The Works reported net cash of £4.1m, and market
expectations are that it will increase to at least £5.0m by the end of the
current financial year, following significant investment in its store roll-out
programme.

Despite this continued improvement in performance, driven by strong
operational management, The Works is currently trading on an EV/EBITDA
multiple of just 1.65x and a revenue multiple of 0.05x, based on the April
2026 forecast net cash position and current-year EBITDA guidance.

Kelso has written to the Board of The Works this morning outlining several
constructive proposals aimed at closing this clear valuation gap.

 

 

Note to Editors

 

TheWorks.co.uk Plc

The Works is the UK's leading specialist retailer of affordable, screen-free
activities for the whole family, providing customers with fantastic value
across four product categories: arts and crafts, stationery, toys and games,
and books. The Group operates a network of over 500 stores in the UK &
Ireland, as well as trading online at TheWorks.co.uk.

 

Kelso Group Holdings Plc

Kelso Group Holdings Plc 'Kelso' is a listed investment vehicle founded in
January 2023 which is backed now by over 75 business acquaintances of the
Board and more recently a small number of institutions. The Board own close to
20% of Kelso and between them have approaching 150 years of experience in UK
listed companies through a mixture of fund management, corporate broking,
M&A, private equity and law.  Kelso's aim, which is unique, is to
capitalise on an under-valued UK small and mid cap stock market by investing
in a small and focussed selection of stocks, being less than ten. Kelso then
tries to actively help its investee companies by offering constructive advice
and ideas predominantly around strategy, capital allocation and investor
relations in order to unlock trapped value.  Kelso's declared current
holdings are CVS Group Plc, Saga plc, NCC Group plc, THG plc, Angling Direct
plc, The Works.co.uk Plc and Selkirk plc. The average market cap of these
holdings is £400m.

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 Kelso Group Holdings plc                 +44 (0) 75 4033 3933
 John Goold, Chief Executive Officer

 Jamie Brooke, Chief Investment Officer
 Zeus (Broker)                            +44 (0) 20 3829 5000
 Louisa Waddell, John Moran (Investment Banking)

Ben Robertson (Corporate Broking)

 

 

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