Notonthehighstreet

Overview

Notonthehighstreet (NOTHS) is a UK curated online marketplace connecting shoppers with thousands of small creative businesses selling unique, personalised and often handmade products. Founded in 2006 by Holly Tucker MBE and Sophie Cornish MBE, the platform does not hold stock itself: its in-house curation team hand-picks each seller (“Partner”), and those Partners list, sell and ship directly to customers. It has hosted 5,000+ curated retailers offering more than 170,000 products, positioning itself as the antidote to generic high-street shopping. Since February 2021 the company has been majority-owned by US growth equity firm Great Hill Partners.

What they’re known for

Notonthehighstreet’s signature is curation plus personalisation. Unlike open marketplaces (eBay, Etsy) where anyone can sell, every business on NOTHS is vetted and hand-selected for originality and quality, so the catalogue reads as a curated boutique rather than an endless bazaar. Its second defining trait is personalised and bespoke gifting — engraved, monogrammed, custom-printed and made-to-order items — which made it the go-to destination for occasion gifts (weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, new-baby) in the UK. That combination of a gatekept seller community and gift personalisation is what distinguishes it from mass marketplaces.

History

• 2006 — Holly Tucker and Sophie Cornish launch notonthehighstreet.com, inspired by Tucker’s experience running local craft fairs (e.g. the Chiswick Christmas Fair) that were vulnerable to bad weather.
• 2013 — Both founders are awarded MBEs for services to small business and enterprise; they co-author the bestselling business book Shape Up Your Business.
• 2014 — Gross sales reach roughly £127m, reflecting rapid compound growth since launch.
• 2016–2017 — Both founders step back from day-to-day leadership as the business professionalises under new management.
• 2020 — Pandemic e-commerce surge: revenues rise more than 50%, nearly 1 million new customers added, Partner count grows sharply.
• Feb 2021 — Great Hill Partners acquires a majority stake (reported values around £150m–£200m); earlier backers Burda Principal Investments and Industry Ventures retain shares. Claire Davenport is CEO.
• 2023–2025 — Post-pandemic normalisation brings falling sales and continued losses as discretionary gift spending tightens.

Business model

NOTHS is a pure third-party (3P) marketplace — it carries no inventory and fulfilment is handled by Partners. Revenue comes from two seller-side charges: a one-off joining fee (historically around £199) and a commission on each sale reported at roughly 25%. Additional revenue comes from optional promotional placements and featured listings that Partners can buy. Because the model owns no stock, it runs a high top-line gross margin (reported in the 70–78% range), though marketing and customer-acquisition costs weigh heavily on contribution margins. NOTHS also acts as the trusted intermediary, holding buyer payments until delivery is confirmed and providing Partners with a storefront, order-management tools and SEO exposure.

Why it succeeded

Notonthehighstreet’s success came from solving a two-sided discovery problem that neither the high street nor open marketplaces addressed. As the Business Model Zoo exemplar describes, it is a “matchmaking” model: it aggregated fragmented small makers who individually lacked reach, and gave gift-buyers a single trusted place to find original, customisable products. Curation was the moat — hand-vetting every Partner created a quality signal that a free-for-all marketplace cannot replicate, and buyers paid a premium for that trust. Occasion-driven gifting gave it durable, seasonal demand (Christmas, Mother’s Day, weddings), and the founders’ own credibility as small-business champions built a strong brand. The pandemic then accelerated the model dramatically — revenues rose 50%+ and the customer base grew by nearly a million in a single year — which is precisely what attracted Great Hill Partners, a firm with a track record scaling digital marketplaces such as Wayfair and The RealReal, per the acquisition announcement.

Notable facts

• Founded in 2006 by Holly Tucker MBE and Sophie Cornish MBE; both received MBEs in 2013 for services to small business.
• Hosts 5,000+ hand-curated Partner businesses and 170,000+ products.
• Sellers pay a one-off joining fee (~£199) plus ~25% commission per sale; NOTHS holds no inventory.
• Reported ~39 million unique visitors per year at its peak.
• Gross sales reached ~£127m by 2014; online GMV was ~US$145.3m in 2024.
• Acquired by Great Hill Partners in February 2021 following a year of 50%+ revenue growth and ~1 million new customers.
• Post-pandemic pressure: FY-ending-March-2024 total transaction value ~£120.7m with revenue ~£25.8m and continued pre-tax losses.

Links

Title	URL	Type	Note
NOTHS — Shop Gifts, Jewellery, Home & More	https://www.notonthehighstreet.com	official-site	Official marketplace homepage
Notonthehighstreet Announces Sale to Growth Investor Great Hill Partners	https://www.greathillpartners.com/media/notonthehighstreet-announces-sale-to-growth-investor-great-hill-partners	news	Buyer’s official 2021 acquisition press release
Notonthehighstreet acquired by US investor	https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2021/02/notonthehighstreet-acquired-by-us-investor/	news	Retail Gazette coverage of the Great Hill deal
Notonthehighstreet acquired by US private equity firm	https://fashionunited.uk/news/business/notonthehighstreet-acquired-by-us-private-equity-firm/2021020953489	news	FashionUnited coverage, lists prior investors
Great Hill Partners acquires Notonthehighstreet	https://www.privateequitywire.co.uk/great-hill-partners-acquires-notonthehighstreet/	news	Private Equity Wire deal summary
Great Hill buys UK curated marketplace Notonthehighstreet	https://www.pehub.com/great-hill-buys-uk-curated-marketplace-notonthehighstreet/	news	PE Hub note (registration wall on full text)
Not On The High Street — Business Model Exemplar	https://www.businessmodelzoo.com/exemplars/not-on-the-high-street/	article	Analysis of the matchmaking marketplace model
Selling to Notonthehighstreet: insight from stocked sellers	https://businessadvice.co.uk/supply-chain/sourcing-suppliers/selling-to-notonthehighstreet-insight-from-those-with-stocked-products/	article	Details joining fee and 25% commission
Holly Tucker — Wikipedia	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holly_Tucker	article	Co-founder biography and origin story
NOTONTHEHIGHSTREET ENTERPRISES LTD — Companies House	https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/05591382	report	UK registry record (company no. 05591382)