ME Group International plc, formerly Photo-Me International plc, () based in

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

, Surrey is a vending machine operator. The company is listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St P ...

and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

History

Castle Court Shopping Centre photo booth

The company has its origins in a compact photograph developing process discovered by Gupp Allen and Ignatius Dunlap Baker in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in 1946. They brought the process to the UK as a business named "Photo-Me" in 1952 and the company was first listed on the

in 1962. 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. 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. In September 2007, a shareholder revolt over plans to sell off the vending division forced Serge Crasnianski and Vernon Sankey to resign. 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. In November 2016, the company announced that the company had bought the photo division of

Asda Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of Yorks ...

stores, taking over the supermarket's 191 photo centres and 172 self-service kiosks, and, in December 2019, the company diversified into the laundry business, with a division called "Revolution" providing 24/7 outdoor self-service launderettes. 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 The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

before being appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

in the 2019 New Year Honours. The company changed its name from Photo-Me to ME Group in August 2022 to reflect its reduced dependence on the photo booth business.

References

External links

ME Group plc
{{FTSE 250 Index constituents Photography equipment Vending machines Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange