Thousands of small businesses expected to feel loss of GrabOne this summer

Monday, 20 October 2025

A small business leader has called the demise of GrabOne a “big loss” for small businesses, particularly cafes and restaurants using the platform to generate significant revenue.

The voucher discount deals retailer has been credited for helping small local businesses get noticed and giving consumers a chance to try new hospitality and entertainment venues without spending a fortune.

“They were a very direct route for revenue for a lot of small businesses, it’s very disappointing,” said entrepreneur Sue de Bievre, founder of business accounting and advisory services firm Beany.

“It will leave a hole of revenue for small businesses, and for a lot of Kiwis that used it to access good deals that’s now off the table.

“It's sad to see, particularly a New Zealand-based business, which did good for the customer and did good for small business owners go under like this, and this is against the backdrop of a lot of businesses failingright now.”

De Bievre said hospitality venues would no doubt feel the impact of GrabOne’s demise this summer, when a lot of vouchers were typically purchased for events, attractions and hospitality bookings.

“Hospitality is really struggling. They've got such strong headwinds at the moment that anything that is negative to them has sort of almost an outsized impact just because many are really on the back foot.”

GrabOne, which employed 15 staff, was placed into liquidation last Thursday, and is said to owe customers and vendor creditors millions of dollars.

Neal Jackson and Daniel Stoneman of Auckland-based Calibre Partners were appointed liquidators of Global Marketplace New Zealand Limited.

The liquidation notice, was placed on the since terminated GrabOne website, read:

“Due to funding constraints, the business has ceased trading and the liquidators are immediately commencing a sales process for the company’s business and assets.

“For customers who hold unredeemed vouchers, the company is unable to provide refunds.”

GrabOne sold a wide range of vouchers, offering discount deals on experiences and products, everything from travel, dining vouchers to massages and things like home office furniture.

Liquidators last week said that any unredeemed GrabOne vouchers would not be refunded by the company, and it was up to customers to contact the merchant to see if these would be honoured.

“Consumers will need to take steps themselves - including contacting individual merchants - to assess how unredeemed vouchers will be treated,” it said last week.

Liquidator Daniel Stoneman told The Post it was too early to say how much creditors were owed, but he said they had received a lot of interest in purchasing the business and its assets.

“We're really pleased with how much interest we have received.”

Stoneman said liquidators were in the process of getting the sale process up and running.

He said the company had a loyal customer base but trading conditions had been tough in the months leading up to the liquidation.

Retail analysts say GrabOne, one of the first deals websites in the country, had fallen out of fashion with consumers in recent years ultimately leading to the company’s demise.

Founded by Shane Bradley in 2010 as a daily deal website, GrabOne was launched as a joint venture with media company NZME, which eventually took full ownership.

The company grew quickly to become a leading player in the ecommerce market, and was later sold to Global Marketplace in 2021 for $17.5 million.

NZME said at the time it “was not a core strategic focus”, contributing between $2.5 million and $3m per year under its ownership. It said Global Marketplace was “a perfect fit as GrabOne’s new owner”.

Global Marketplace New Zealand Limited was owned by Global Marketplace Pty, owner of Click Frenzy, Click Central and Power Retail. The company is owned by founder Grant Arnott and Tanarra Capital, which acquired its stake in 2016.

NZME had nothing to add when contacted for comment.

One social media user said it was “devastating to hear that GrabOne has gone into liquidation”.

“That site was one of my all-time go-tos for great deals, from food and getaways to random little activities I’d never have found otherwise,” she said. “Especially when I was in towns I wasn’t too familiar with. GrabOne always came through with something fun and affordable.”

De Bievre said GrabOne was just one of thousands of businesses folding under the recessionary economic environment.

“We are seeing business churn at levels we haven't seen previously,” she said. “This is easily outstripping that post-Covid [failures] period.

“Every week I'm reading about a liquidation or a closure of an important New Zealand business that added value to our economy, and that just feels really bleak.

“Inflation is ticking up again, unemployment is going up. Consumer confidence is down. Business confidence is way down. These are difficult times for New Zealand business.

“I think the government could be doing more to stimulate the economy. It's had such a recessionary drive and now is the time for the government to step in, and start thinking about stimulating the economy more directly, offering support to small business owners.”