ME Group

ME Group International plc, formerly Photo-Me International plc, (LSE: MEGP) based in Epsom, Surrey is a vending machine operator. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.^[2]

ME Group International plc

Company type	Public limited company
Traded as	LSE: MEGP
Industry	Vending
Founded	1946
Headquarters	Epsom, Surrey, England
Key people	Sir John Lewis (Chairman) Serge Crasnianski, (CEO)
Revenue	£307.9 million (2024)[1]
Operating income	£74.4 million (2024)[1]
Net income	£54.1 million (2024)[1]
Total assets	£312.6 million (2024)[1]
Total equity	£179.9 million (2024)[1]
Website	me-group.com

History

Photo-Me equipment in CastleCourt, Belfast, Northern Ireland

The company has its origins in a compact photograph developing process discovered by Gupp Allen and Ignatius Dunlap Baker in California in 1946.^[3] They brought the process to the UK as a business named "Photo-Me" in 1952 and the company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1962.^[4]

Serge Crasnianski became chief executive in 1998 and, under his leadership, the company saw a significant increase in its share price as investors were led to believe that photo booths would ultimately provide internet services on the go.^[5]

Three directors caused the company embarrassment in February 2007, when they cashed out their share options shortly before the company issued a profit warning: the Financial Services Authority subsequently fined the company £500,000 for not informing the markets in a timely manner.^[6] In September 2007, a shareholder revolt over plans to sell off the vending division forced Serge Crasnianski and Vernon Sankey to resign.^[7]

Serge Crasnianski was reappointed to the board as a non-executive director in May 2009. He was re-appointed chief executive in May 2010 and immediately implemented the disposal of the company's loss-making wholesale photo-processing labs business.^[8]

In November 2016, the company announced that the company had bought the photo division of Asda stores, taking over the supermarket's 191 photo centres and 172 self-service kiosks,^[9] and, in December 2019, the company diversified into the laundry business, with a division called "Revolution" providing 24/7 outdoor self-service launderettes.^[10]

The company was criticised in the satirical magazine, Private Eye, after it was disclosed that its chairman, John Lewis, had donated approximately £390,000 to the Conservative Party before being appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2019 New Year Honours.^[11]

The company changed its name from Photo-Me to ME Group in August 2022 to reflect its reduced dependence on the photo booth business.^[12]