A Letter from the Circus CEO: Why we took Circus public

Dear Shareholders, Partners, and Friends of Circus,

As of this morning (January 22, 2024) the Circus Group is listed on Xetra and, in connection with this, commenced trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. I’d like to share some insights into our reasoning with you.

We founded Circus because we believe that the $2.6 trillion heavy global food industry, one of the world’s oldest industries, is ripe for disruption. Consumers have ever higher expectations towards food. Be it taste, variety, freshness or sustainability. So the question is: How can we create a culinary experience that appeals to consumers and sets new benchmarks for quality and innovation at the same time?

Our answer: technology. 

With the start of Circus in 2021 we focused on product development, digitising the entire kitchen value chain. From recipe creation with artificial intelligence, supply chain automation, to autonomous cooking with robots. During our beta phase, we have sold more than 200,000 fresh meals across multiple German cities to collect data points and test our proprietary kitchen operating system CircusOS under real market conditions.

Today we operate patented technology solutions that include advanced robotics and cutting edge software solutions - Our CircusOS. AI-driven automation in our systems ensures accuracy, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness in meal production. 

And we’re just getting started. 

As of now, around EUR 40 million in growth capital has been channelled into the Circus Group. This significant investment is primarily focused on the development of our patented Circus technology. This robust financial backing places us in a strong position to effectively execute our ambitious business plan. We have grown to more than hundred employees and united some of the most brilliant thinkers in robotics, AI and engineering. Our leadership team boasts entrepreneurial doers with deep industry backgrounds, who have rolled up their sleeves to bring the kitchen into the 21st century.

Today marked our first day of trading on Xetra, the electronic trading platform of Deutsche Börse. Xetra currently accounts for around 90 percent of the total trading volume of all German stock exchanges and opens Circus for a broad base of investors.

While this is a rather unusual step for a company of our maturity, we see being public as an important strategic lever to drive our business.

We will find it easier to attract and retain the best global talent possible in the fields of AI, robotics and engineering. Incentivising talent with stock options to focus on long-term value creation is a key factor in our decision. 

At the same time, being a public company will enhance us to use our stock as a currency for acquisitions. This can be a strategic way for Circus to acquire strategically complementary technologies or enter new markets. Broadening our technology-base in AI and robotics will be one of our key activities in the upcoming months and years.

Our going public is backed by our early shareholders, who - without exception - agreed to lock-up their shares for a five-year period. This underlines the confidence and commitment that our existing shareholders have about our future prospects and the exciting journey ahead.

The increased transparency level of being public sends a signal to our partners: we are here to stay. Investors, on the other hand, have the chance to buy into a pre-growth technology company, an opportunity usually reserved for private capital.

With our unique interplay of robotics, AI and software solutions we want to bring radical change to an industry that has lacked real innovation for decades. By addressing long overdue operational challenges in food service and adapting to new demands we can offer consumers what they crave: High-quality meals at an affordable price point.

Nikolas Bullwinkel

Founder and CEO of Circus

About Circus:

The Circus Group (ISIN: DE000A2YN355) is transforming the food service industry with the help of intelligent automation and digitalisation. From recipe creation to quality control, Circus innovates along the entire value chain.

To date, around EUR 40 million in growth capital has been channeled into the Circus Group to develop the patented Circus technology, which enables an autonomous cooking process with robotics, sensor technology and artificial intelligence, to market maturity. Circus employs over 100 people from 34 nationalities at four locations. The company is headquartered in Hamburg.