‘A great privilege’ to celebrate 10 years of 1923 Investments with Poland merger – Chairman

Chairman David Bonett has remarked that the merger of 1923 Investments plc’s Polish businesses is a great way to celebrate the company’s 10-year anniversary.

His comments come after 1923 Investments, the investment arm of Hili Ventures, on Monday announced that it has completed the merger of its two Polish Apple Partner businesses, Cortland Sp. z o.o and iSpot Poland Sp. z o.o.

Cortland has merged into iSpot, and thus all 11 Cortland retail stores will be rebranded as iSpot, bringing the total number of iSpot retail stores and service centres to 48.

Meanwhile, iSpot and Cortland’s B2B business will operate under the Cortland brand, with e-commerce platform Cortland.pl to continue serving as a dedicated hub for B2B customers.

This follows iSpot’s acquisition of Cortland, which took place in 2023.

“It is a great privilege to celebrate our 10-year anniversary with the closing of this significant merger,” Mr Bonett said.

“Bringing iSpot and Cortland together not only elevates our brand in the market but is also a big leap towards enhanced service delivery, accessibility and innovation for our customers in Poland,” he continued.

He added that when iSpot was acquired in 2014, it had 21 stores and 250 staff members. In the space of 10 years, this has more than doubled, with 48 stores and over 650 people representing the company.

1923 Investments stated that this year, the merged iSpot business is expected to generate €330 million in revenue, compared to €266 million in 2023, an increase of over 24 per cent.

Dariusz Zająkała, CEO at iSpot, remarked that the merger of iSpot and Cortland was successful thanks to the efforts of both teams working together towards a “singular vision and harmonised structure.”

“We are excited to celebrate our best-in-class retail experience with more individual, corporate and educational institution customers across Poland,” he added.

iSpot is the only retailer in Poland to hold Apple Premium Partner status. It forms part of 1923 Investments, a diversified company that encompasses Harvest Technology, iSpot Poland, and iCentre Hungary.

Cortland was established in 1992, when it opened the first Apple store in Poland, on a shopping street in Poznań. Its portfolio has since expanded significantly.

New Chief Financial Officer

Additionally, 1923 Investments and Harvest Technology also announced the appointment of Neacail Micallef as their new Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

His appointment, which will come into effect from 17th July 2024, comes after he has worked at the company for around eight years. Mr Micallef had first joined as Finance Executive at Hili Logistics Limited.

Following iSpot’s acquisition of Cortland in 2023, he had relocated to Poland as Integration Management Officer tasked with “ensuring the smooth integration and eventual merger” of the two entities.

As a result of the merger, he will now return to Malta to take on the role of CFO at both

Rudolph Mifsud Saydon, who announced his resignation last month, will work his final day as 1923 Investments and Harvest Technology CFO on 16th July 2024.