Funky Pigeon is owned by retailer WH Smith. 

In a stock exchange announcement yesterday (19 April), WH Smith said that Funky Pigeon had been “subject to a cyber security incident affecting part of its systems” on Thursday 14 April.

WH Smith said that customer payment data had not been compromised, because “all of this data is processed securely via accredited third-parties and is securely encrypted”. 

However, the £886m turnover group said it was currently investigating the extent to which any personal data, “specifically names, addresses, e-mail addresses and personalised card and gift designs has been accessed”.

“We take the security of customer data extremely seriously. The company has temporarily suspended orders from the website and is currently investigating the detail of the incident with external IT specialists,” WH Smith said. 

Funky Pigeon is currently displaying this message at the top of its website: “Oops! We're experiencing some issues and we can't accept new orders at the moment. Please try again later!”

The business achieved its highest-ever sales of £54m in the year to 31 August 2021, up from £37.9m the prior year. Operating profit was £13.3m (2020: £12m).

Like its larger rival Moonpig, Funky Pigeon benefited from the boom in online purchasing caused by pandemic-related restrictions. 

WH Smith’s online business operates through five websites: funkypigeon.com, whsmith.co.uk, cultpens.com, treeofhearts.co.uk and dottyaboutpaper.co.uk. 

In its statement, WH Smith also said that based on its current analysis of the situation the incident would not have a material impact on the group’s financial position.