The online cards and gifts business said overall revenues rose 8.6% to £284.5m

Growing numbers of gift-givers are turning to AI to compose their cards or create bespoke content including stickers and images, Moonpig has disclosed.

The online cards and gifts retailer said it had made substantial investments in artificial intelligence (AI) which can “lower barriers to content creation”.

It revealed that creative features were incorporated into 31 million greeting cards in the year ending April, representing a twofold increase on the previous year.

This includes customisation options such as video and audio cards, alongside AI capabilities including handwriting, stickers and face swap, which blends a person’s face from a photograph into a greeting card design.

Customers can also opt to utilise the AI writing assistant by entering prompts while creating a card, with AI then producing the accompanying text.

“As advances in AI continue to lower barriers to content creation, we believe the ability to reliably manufacture, personalise and deliver products at scale becomes increasingly important,” chief executive Catherine Faiers said.

Moonpig’s total revenues climbed by 8.6% year-on-year to £284.5 million.

The firm said that this partially reflected consumers enhancing orders with premium-priced gifts and larger-format cards while opting for next-day tracked delivery.

Almost 18% of orders featured a gift, which can be selected after a card is chosen, driving a 5.7% rise in the average order value. Moonpig offers gifts from retail partners including Next, Jojo Maman Bebe and Boots, alongside experiences from brands such as Pizza Express, Virgin Wines and The Traitors Live Experience.

Mark Crouch, market analyst for eToro, said: “For Moonpig, loyalty is a significant asset.

“With more than 12 million active customers, the company benefits from a steady stream of birthdays, anniversaries and milestones that arrive regardless of the economic backdrop.

“Customers are not only returning but spending more, trading up to premium gifts, larger-card formats and faster delivery options.”

Moonpig shares were up by more than a tenth on Thursday morning. The London group also has a logistics hub in Tamworth and an office in Manchester.

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EasyJet has rejected a fourth takeover offer worth £4.93bn from Castlelake.

The low-cost Luton-based airline said the US investment firm’s bid was worth £6.50 a share, compared with the previous offers of £5.60, £6 and £6.25 a share.

A spokesperson said it was giving Castlelake until 17:00 BST on 5 July to make a firm offer or walk away.

“Having carefully reviewed it with its advisers, the board of EasyJet continues to regard the fourth proposal as substantially undervaluing the company and its prospects and continuing to give rise to significant questions of deliverability,” said EasyJet.

EasyJet said the takeover interest came at a time when its share price had been pushed down by concerns about the consequences of the Iran war.

The FTSE 250 firm’s shares had dropped by about 30% over the past year, before news of Castlelake’s interest.

EasyJet said it remained “concerned” about Castlelake’s ownership structure and ability to deliver any offer, adding the investor would need to provide “satisfactory assurances and commitments” on those issues.

Castlelake has assets under management worth $36bn (£27.3bn).

Under the deal, EasyJet would be 49% owned by Castlelake and co-investors including Brookfield Asset Management, and 51% owned by individual European Union investors.

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The amount of money owed to energy suppliers by customers has risen again to a new record high of £4.79bn.

Regulator Ofgem said that total debt and arrears in England, Wales and Scotland had risen by 15% in a year.

The data, external is updated every three months, with the newly-published figures covering the period from January to the end of March. They relate to energy customers who have been in debt for more than three months.

Average arrears for those without a repayment plan hit £1,876 for electricity and £1,623 for gas – more than twice the amount as those who have a repayment agreement.

Energy prices will rise for millions of households in July – driven by the increase in the cost of gas.

Experts say there are options to cut bills, even though people may feel they have already made every saving possible.