Vapourcore Online Limited (In Administration)

Offer Deadline:

Wednesday 2 April 2025, 2pm BST

Acquisition Opportunity

Hilco is seeking offers to acquire the intellectual property assets of Vapourcore Online Limited (“Vapourcore” or the “Company”) on behalf of the Joint Administrators, Simon Jagger and Cameron Gunn of Resolve Advisory Limited.

Background

Vapourcore operated as a trusted, direct-to-consumer e-commerce retailer serving the UK vaping and nicotine alternatives market. At its peak, the platform generated revenues in excess of £500k per month and supported a loyal customer base of more than 55k email subscribers and 13k SMS contacts.

With strong SEO visibility, an established brand presence, and a drop-shipping model that supported high gross margins, the Company’s assets offer strategic value for aggregators, D2C consolidators, and category players seeking to acquire digital access to UK vape consumers.

This sale presents a rare opportunity to acquire a scalable e-commerce platform, a premium domain, an extensive customer marketing database, and advertising income streams from major global FMCG brands.

Highlights:

  • Well-Established UK Vape Retailer and D2C Platform: Vapourcore operated across the UK, originally trading through a network of 40 physical retail stores before consolidating into a digital-only model. The Company’s e-commerce site attracted over 43k unique monthly visitors and maintained a strong reputation online, with a 4.7/5 Trustpilot rating from more than 1.5k verified reviews.
  • High-Value Customer Data: The sale includes a substantial customer database comprising 55k email subscribers and 13k SMS contacts, all GDPR-compliant and opted-in, offering strong potential for retargeting, brand extension, or cross-sector marketing strategies.
  • Recurring Advertising Revenue: Vapourcore generated approximately £100k in annual high-margin revenue from homepage banner placements and advertising slots sold to major tobacco and FMCG brands targeting its UK user base.
  • High-Visability Domains: Included in the sale are the vapourcore.com and vapourcore.co.uk domain names, both of which benefit from strong search engine performance, direct traffic, and brand familiarity among UK vaping consumers.
  • Asset-Light, Compliant Operating Model: Following the tightening of UK legislation on disposable vapes in late 2024, the Company pivoted to a drop-shipping model, eliminating inventory risk and maintaining high margins via media and referral-based revenue.
  • Scalable, Shopify-Based Infrastructure: The Vapourcore storefront is built on Shopify, fully integrated with PayPal, Stripe, and age verification software, offering a modern, low-overhead digital retail platform capable of supporting bolt-on growth or full rebrand.

Sales Process

Offers are due Wednesday 2 April 2025 at 2pm BST.

All expressions of interest and bids are to be directed to Hilco in writing. Please contact Hilco to gain access to further information.

Key Terms & Conditions

Hilco is acting as agent to the Company and its Joint Administrators in connection with the proposed sale of some or all of the Company’s assets. The Joint Administrators act as agents of the Company and without personal liability.

All sales are made strictly on an “as is, where is” basis. Only such right, title and interest (if any) as the Company may have in the assets will be transferred to a purchaser. No warranties, guarantees, or representations (express or implied) are provided by the Company, its Joint Administrators or Hilco in respect of the assets or any information supplied. All parties must rely on their own enquiries and due diligence. Any information provided is for convenience only and has not been independently verified.

All offers are subject to the addition of VAT at the prevailing rate, where applicable. A non-refundable deposit equal to 20% of the agreed purchase price must be paid by the successful purchaser within 48 hours of offer acceptance, granting the purchaser the exclusive right to proceed with the acquisition of the relevant assets for a limited period. A Buyer’s Premium of 10% of the final purchase price is payable by the successful purchaser in addition to the agreed purchase price.

Legal completion must occur within five (5) business days of offer acceptance, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Company and its Joint Administrators.

Hilco’s full Terms and Conditions apply.

Contacts

Yasmin Saadi

Senior Analyst

London Office

+44 (0) 7766 075798

ysaadi@hilcoglobaladvisors.co.uk

Alexander Muir

Associate Director

Manchester Office

+44 (0) 7593 562917

amuir@hilcoglobaladvisors.co.uk