Indie retailers hit again as online marketplace seeks fourth owner in three years
Trouva has stopped all new orders on its online marketplace as the site seeks its fourth owner in three years – just four months after greetings and gift shops were among the indie retailers owed money in when it hit trouble previously.
The 448 boutiques currently listed as selling through Trouva, which takes orders from its website then passes them through for fulfilment by the independent retailers, received an email on Friday, 31 January, stating: “We have made the difficult decision to temporarily pause trading on Trouva while we actively seek a buyer for the business.”

Paul Cheshire, co-owner of &Quirky in Berkhamsted, had raised the alarm with PG Buzz that morning after a planned online meeting with his account manager had failed to happen, and he was unable to get through to the company.
He was one of those affected by the previous issues in September, along with Lark London, which has 19 stores in and around the capital, and Dartmouth lifestyle store Distinctly Living, who had been forced to suspend sales through the platform then because Trouva had continued to take orders and money from customers but hadn’t been paying the retailers.
This time the company has itself stopped taking orders, adding in its email: “During this pause, your shop will no longer receive new orders through Trouva. If you have any pending orders in your Retail Panel, these will be cancelled and the customer will be refunded. If you are owed any money for orders that have already been fulfilled, we will reach out to you shortly.”
“The website is still there,” Paul told PG Buzz, “however, if you go to place an order it says we’re not accepting orders, which is good, but it’s all a bit bizarre.”

He explained he’d been due to have an online meeting last week with Tom Beverley at Fy! which owns Trouva, but that didn’t happen.
The Trouva business was incorporated in January 2013, then secured £17million in further investment to accelerate internation expansion, before being bought by Made.com in 2022 just five months before that business collapsed.
Trouva wasn’t included in Next’s rescue deal for Made.com and instead went to Re:store, a platform that allows a customer to start a video call with a physical store, at the start of 2023 then, in April 2024, the AI-enabled marketplace for home and living Fy! bought the platform for an undisclosed sum and is the current owner alongside Project J, which has investment from venture capitalists Hoxton Ventures.
Tom Beverley was the CEO when Project J was incorporated on 5 March, 2014, and resigned on 17 January this year. He is also the founder and sole name in the Companies House information for Found Fy, incorporated on 27 February, 2024, and was CEO until 17 January when he resigned but was then appointed as a director.

According to Sky News Project J has engaged accountancy firm RSM to seek the latest owner for Trouva, with Fy! unaffected by the sale.
“This has been an incredibly difficult decision, but we have decided to focus our efforts on building the Fy! brand and explore the options for a sale of Trouva,” Project J co-founder Jonathan Thomson told Sky News.
“By exploring a potential sale, we are creating an opportunity for Trouva to continue its journey. We believe this is in the best interests of the business, boutiques and the team.”
The email to boutiques added: “This decision was not made lightly and we sincerely apologise for any impact it may have on your business. Over the past year, we’ve had the privilege of working closely with our dedicated boutique community and are proud to have supported independent brands like yours, connecting you with shoppers who appreciate unique and high-quality products. We would like to thank all buyers and sellers for helping making the site what it is today.
“Despite a challenging economic landscape and a decline in consumer spending affecting many UK businesses, Trouva has made significant improvements to its infrastructure and operating model over the past year. This includes enhancing product recommendation tools and launching localised sites. As a result, we believe the time is right for a new owner to take the business to the next level, allowing us to focus our efforts on the Fy! brand.”