Cavendish Corporate Finance, the UK’s leading sell-side mid-market M&A firm, is delighted to announce that it has advised on the sale of Jollyes Retail Group Limited (“Jollyes”) to Kester Capital LLP (“Kester”), a mid-market UK private equity firm.

Founded in 1935, Jollyes is the UK’s second largest pet retailer with a portfolio of over 70 superstores and concessions across the UK. Jollyes focuses on providing its loyal and growing customer base with pet products and services that combine great quality and value and over time has developed a very successful range of own brand products, including its K9 and Lifestage brands. In 2014, Jollyes launched an e-commerce website to develop its multi-channel offering. Jollyes has also recently expanded its offering to customers to include grooming and veterinary services in store.

Kester’s investment provides the company with an exciting opportunity to significantly expand its network of stores and its service offering to its customers.
Cavendish is well known for its retail and consumer expertise, with notable transactions including the sale of luxury homewares retailer OKA to Investindustrial and ecommerce specialist Naked Wines to national retailer Majestic Wine. Recent pet sector transactions include advising on funding for specialist retail group Pets Corner and the sale of German pet treats manufacturer Gimborn to Chinese private equity firm Hillhouse Capital.

The Cavendish team was led by Jonathan Buxton, partner and head of consumer and retail.  He commented:

“The Jollyes transaction shows that, despite the headlines, there is still considerable value in UK specialist ‘bricks and mortar’ retail, especially where, like Jollyes, there is proof of a strong consumer following. It was a pleasure to work with Nick Pollard over the past few years and this preparation work was essential to the transaction achieved. As well as building on our pet sector and retail experience, the Jollyes sale highlights Cavendish’s ability to develop creative Private Equity solutions to match our clients’ requirements.

Fiona McCormick, Director at Cavendish, said: “Jollyes has an established position in the pet market and benefits from a highly loyal customer base. The pet care market has proven to be extremely resilient and there is a clear market opportunity for Jollyes. The new partnership with Kester enables the company to build on this position and accelerate its growth.”