Shares of Greater Manchester-based online retail and education business Findel rose 5% on Wednesday after it said its revenue rose 5.7% to £506.8 million and profit before tax soared 33% to £29.4 million in the 52 weeks ended March 29, 2019.

Findel also said it plans to change its company name to Studio Retail Group plc.

Findel’s largest shareholder, Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct, increased its holding in the group from 29.9% to 36.8% on March 1, 2019, which triggered a mandatory bid for the remainder of Findel’s shares. 

However, Sports Direct received acceptances of only a further 1.0% during this process so the bid was unsuccessful and lapsed on May 3, 2019.

Findel CEO Phil Maudsley said: “These strong results reflect the clear transformation of the group into a digital-first, value led retailer. 

“In particular, Studio has prospered in current market conditions.

“We have rapidly grown the active customer base to 1.9 million over the last three years, with new customers drawn to the incredible value we offer, while existing customers are shopping with us more frequently and across wider ranges.

“Our Education business has also adopted a digital-first mentality with an objective to save schools time and money to win back customers and I am delighted with the progress that continues to be made.

“We look ahead with confidence and ambition, as shown by our proposed name change to Studio Retail Group.

“We remain focused on our customers’ needs, and our investment in digital technologies and delivering on our strategic objectives will underpin profitable growth over the medium term.”