James Courtney, 30, has sold LuxRewards, the loyalty rewards platform he founded as a 21-year-old business student at the University of Bath, to global software company Enigmatic Smile for an undisclosed eight-figure sum, the BBC reports. LuxRewards connects customers with restaurants offering loyalty rewards, and now has more than 105 million customers through partnerships with banks, airlines and employee benefit platforms.
The company’s first five years were difficult, with Courtney describing knocking on hundreds of restaurant doors across Bristol and Bath trying to sign up partners, while the business ran at a loss. The turning point came during the Covid-19 pandemic, when Courtney shifted focus to partnering with larger brands. A deal with Barclaycard grew the customer base from 1,000 to 400,000 almost overnight, setting up the growth that led to the eventual sale.
Courtney credits the University of Bath for letting him focus on the business instead of pursuing traditional work experience, giving him access to mentorship and funding along the way. He also points to the independent ethos of Bristol’s business community — part of a wider scene of IT companies in Bristol — as a factor in his success, and says he hopes his story encourages other aspiring entrepreneurs to keep going despite early setbacks.
What’s happened since the sale
LuxRewards has continued to operate under its own name since the acquisition, now part of Lyfe Technology, with headcount holding at around 22 staff. Rather than stepping away immediately, Courtney has stayed involved in the business — a sign the Bristol founder isn’t finished building yet.
Why it matters for Bristol
Stories like this one are a reminder of how much homegrown talent the city’s tech sector produces, and how far a business started in a university bedroom can go. For anyone weighing up a software partner or looking to break into the sector themselves, it is worth seeing who else is doing the work locally: browse IT companies across the UK, or explore the wider directory of businesses in Bristol.
