TGJones has selected Diggecard to develop corporate gift card distribution and online sales, adding a new commercial channel as the retailer builds its identity after separating from WHSmith. The January 15, 2026 announcement covered both bulk business demand and individual consumer purchases. [S01]
Diggecard said the B2B programme would begin with digital cards, with physical cards planned later. For consumer sales, the proposed platform included physical and digital formats, personalisation, scheduled digital delivery and retailer-managed designs and denominations. [S01]
A new brand after the revised high-street sale
WHSmith announced completion of the sale of its UK High Street business to Modella Capital in June 2025, leaving the group focused on travel retail. Its disposal announcement explicitly excluded certain online businesses. The TGJones partnership therefore concerns the former high-street operation, not the whole WHSmith group. [S02]
The completion statement separates £10 million received immediately from two conditional components. It allowed up to £20 million linked to cash generation through August 2026 and up to £10 million tied to tax assets. Those ceilings explain the revised ownership transaction; they are not the value of the Diggecard contract or proof that the later sums were received. [S02]
The revised consideration for the high-street business
WHSmith’s completion statement of 30 June 2025 separates cash received from conditional future proceeds.
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Only the first amount was reported received at completion. The other amounts are conditional ceilings, not confirmed receipts. The £40 million maximum gross proceeds do not deduct the separately disclosed £27 million transaction and separation costs. These are disposal terms, not a gift-card programme valuation or funding allocation.
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| Category | Published consideration component |
|---|---|
| Received at completion | 10 GBP million |
| Cash-flow-linked deferred consideration, up to | 20 GBP million |
| Tax-asset-linked additional proceeds, up to | 10 GBP million |
For that business, an independently branded gift card is part of establishing a new customer relationship. A recipient arriving with TGJones value has a reason to visit its stores or website, while the retailer can sell access to that future spending through additional channels.
Diggecard brings both software and distribution. Founded in Norway, it expanded through a UK acquisition in 2019 and offers self-managed and bespoke gift card platforms alongside access to business buyers and agencies. [S04]
That combination explains the choice of a specialist provider. TGJones can use an existing route to corporate purchasers while outsourcing part of the technology work needed to sell and deliver cards. Diggecard gains another retailer in the catalogue it can offer those purchasers. These are commercial implications of the arrangement; the partners did not disclose its fees or revenue-sharing terms.
Purchase value, corporate distribution and redemption
The live consumer sales terms identify Diggecard as the website sales manager and publish a £5–£250 purchase range. The business page separately directs business buyers and orders above £500 to the team; it does not disclose a bulk discount schedule. [S05] [S07]
TGJones website gift-card purchase boundaries
The current Diggecard-managed consumer sales terms, read 19 October 2026.
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The two values are the lower and upper bounds of a consumer website purchase, not two fixed denominations or actual customer spending. The separate £1,000 total-balance ceiling and business-order enquiry route do not increase the website purchase limit.
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| Category | Published face-value boundary |
|---|---|
| Minimum website purchase | 5 GBP |
| Maximum website purchase | 250 GBP |
Diggecard's announced distribution targets included employee benefits, rewards, incentives and promotions. A card acquired through one of those programmes can bring a recipient to TGJones without the retailer first securing an ordinary consumer gift purchase. [S01]
The opportunity is distribution as much as payment. A retailer can be available in an employer's reward selection or a promotional fulfilment catalogue while retaining the redemption spend within its own business. The economic trade-off is any discount or service cost attached to that route, which must be weighed against genuinely additional demand.
TGJones' published card terms identify TGJones Promotions Limited as issuer and allow full or partial payment in UK stores and online. They specify expiry after 24 months of non-use, with a balance check or spending renewing validity. The cards cannot be redeemed for cash. [S03]
The retailer’s use terms distinguish the £250 single activation or top-up transaction limit from a £1,000 total balance ceiling. The shop FAQ permits up to five cards in one transaction and confirms wallet support. These are operating conditions, not measured results from the new distribution partnership. [S03] [S06]
Those terms also separate the new programme from legacy WHSmith cards. The published transition policy set June 28, 2026 as the final day for those older cards to be used at TGJones; WHSmith travel acceptance follows its own restrictions. A shared retail history does not make the two card programmes interchangeable. [S03]
Prepaid sales can bring money into the business before merchandise leaves a store, but the outstanding value still has to be honoured. The partnership's commercial value will depend on successful redemption, the cost of reaching corporate buyers and whether those recipients return. No programme sales or customer-conversion results accompanied the January announcement.
In this article
Emma Carter
Emma Carter covers retail, e-commerce and the gift card shopping experience for Gift Card News.