Merseyside digital kiosk and sign manufacturer Evoke reports 37% surge in revenues to almost £24m in a ‘challenging year’ just weeks after securing a fresh £3.3m investment. Tony McDonough reports

Wirral manufacturer Evoke Creative is reporting a 37% increase in annual revenues to just under £24m for the 12 months to March 31, 2023.

However, the digital signage and interactive installation specialist saw pre-tax losses widen from just under £683,000 in the previous year to almost £1.6m. It blamed this on increased component costs and new senior hires.

Evoke, which has its headquarters in Bromborough, revealed the figures in its annual accounts just posted on Companies House. It comes just weeks after existing investor BFG ploughed £3.3m into the business to add to the £6m invested in 2018.

Evoke delivers digital and interactive products, such as kiosks and signage, to retail and hospitality businesses. Clients include McDonald’s, JD Sports, Bibliotheca and Google.

During 2023 the firm enjoyed significant international growth securing contracts with two US multinational restaurant brands representing nearly 70,000 restaurants. Evoke has also signed a three-year contract with an international hotel brand worth £5.6m.

And the last few weeks has also seen Evoke co-founder, Neil Clark, “stepping away” from his role in the business.

However, he remains a major shareholder with him and fellow co-founder Dean Ward owning more than 50% of the venture. BFG is the other major shareholder.

In December Neil said: “It’s been an amazing journey since Dean and I started the business 15 years ago and I’ve met some wonderful clients and suppliers on the way, so I’ll be sad to leave everyone.”

During the accounting period Evoke saw staff numbers rise by more than 50% to 110. In the annual report, Dean Ward wrote: “Management considers the year to have been successful… despite the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

This, he said, had resulted in “global supply chain challenges affecting trading throughout the year”.

Dean explained: “Those challenges were overcome, although increased component costs coupled with investment to strengthen the group’s growth has affected profitability.

“Additionally, a significant inventory write off and a stock obsolescence provision were made. The obsolete stock provision addresses COVID pandemic overstocking to mitigate supply chain challenges including long lead times.”

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He said the business had “performed strongly in challenging trading conditions”, adding: “The group has progressed through the aftermath of the pandemic significantly, growing its order book throughout.

“Despite the recent challenges in the UK economy and dip in profitability, the group is in a strong position to navigate the challenges ahead.”