Bloom & Wild hires first finance chief from Purplebricks as it targets return to profit

Online flower delivery company Bloom & Wild has appointed a top boss at Purplebricks at its first-ever chief financial officer.

Dominique Highfield has been hired by the London-based group from her position as chief operating officer at the online estate agency.

Highfield has been at Purplebricks for almost two years, first joining in November 2022 as its chief financial officer before moving to her most reason role in October 2023.

Before that she worked at Pentland Brands, the majority owner of JD Sports, for more than seven years.

Highfield has also held positions at Sainsbury’s after starting her career at PwC.

As a result of the new hire, Bloom & Wild’s executive team is now majority female for the first time.

Bloom & Wild aiming to become go-to in Europe

Highfield said: “I’m thrilled to be joining the Bloom & Wild team on its next chapter of growth.

“I have been an avid admirer of the business and the exceptional customer experience they deliver for many years.

“I am looking forward to working with Aron and the Bloom & Wild talent to help take this fantastic international business from strength to strength.” 

Aron Gelbard, co-founder and CEO of Bloom & Wild, added: “I am thrilled to welcome Dominique to Bloom & Wild as our first ever CFO.

“Her appointment will bolster our finance team at an important juncture for us, as we reinvest in topline growth initiatives across our eight markets and flower and broader gifting ranges.

“Having successfully navigated the cost of living crisis and with returning momentum we are now doubling down on our opportunity to become Europe’s gifting destination of choice.

“Hiring a CFO of Dominique’s calibre is an important step on this journey.”

Highfield’s hiring comes after Bloom & Wild saw its pre-tax loss balloon to more than £100m in the year to March 31, 2023.

Bloom & Wild made a pre-tax loss of £100.5m for the year, compared to a loss of £20.4m in the year before.

The group, which also includes the Bloomon and Bergamotte brands, has also posted a revenue of £117.9m down from £145.4m.

In April this year, when the results were revealed, Bloom & Wild said that its revenue decreased partially because of the “economic climate and Bloom’s greater exposure to the more macro-economically impacted subscriptions business but also the strategic decision to reduce investment in new customer acquisition marketing”.

Its accounts for its most recent financial year are due to be filed with Companies House by the end of 2024.

Bloom & Wild was established by Aron Gelbard and Ben Stanway in 2013.

Gelbard recently appeared as a guest on City A.M.’s on-camera interview series, Boardroom Uncovered, where he revealed how he turned to a secret WhatsApp group with fellow founders to combat the “isolation” of being the sole head of his rapidly expanding flower delivery business.