Fitbug’s Stock Surges Following New Deal In Asia

LONDON, United Kingdom — British wearable tech firm Fitbug has witnessed a surge in its share price after inking a deal with an undisclosed financial services company located in Asia.

As part of the initial one-year contract, the corporate wellness partnership will see Fitbug’s digital devices utilised by 14,000 staff members in a bid to maximise employee performance, improve engagement and reduce absenteeism.

Fitbug’s shares, which have endured a bumpy ride over the past couple of years, spiked by more than 130 percent following the announcement.

Rising by over 4000 percent in 2014, following distribution deals with supermarket chains Sainsbury’s and Target, of late, the wellness company’s shares have suffered due to increased competition in the market.

In an attempt to turn its fortunes around, last year Fitbug overhauled its management team and chose to narrow its focus on the corporate wellness market. Taking aim at an industry worth over $40 billion globally, at the time Fitbug explained: “Corporate budgets for employee wellness are rising, and we have experienced demand for an integrated employee wellness solution.”

Since then, Fitbug has gone on to raise £2.6 million, in part from a crowdfunding initiative run via SyndicateRoom, an online equity investing platform.

“Having assessed a range of finance options to support our short-term and long-term working capital needs, we were particularly excited by the prospect of offering new shares to investors via SyndicateRoom,” CEO Anna Gudmundson told City AM at the time.

“SyndicateRoom is the only platform that could effectively distribute our shares direct to crowdfund investors, enabling us to expand the number of owner advocates for our business as we focus on becoming a leader within this space by delivering an innovative app-based technology to enhance employee wellness,” she added.

Already reaping the benefits of the new company-wide strategy, Fitbug isn’t out of the woods yet. Last September, the company reported a loss of £1.65 million however, this figure was half the amount it posted for the same period a year earlier.

And, with Apple and Fitbit both making a play for the market, the road ahead looks set to be just as challenging.