2016

Year

Consumer & Retail

Sector

Radley

Client

Bregal Freshstream

Acquired By

Radley / Bregal Freshstream

Cavendish Corporate Finance, the UK’s leading sell-side M&A firm, has advised the shareholders of Radley, the well-known British handbag and accessories brand, on the sale of Radley to Bregal Freshstream, a global private equity investment firm, managing funds of the Brenninkmeijer family.
Founded in 1998, Radley is now the leading British handbag and accessories brand in the rapidly growing affordable luxury market, with a multi-channel business and established distribution network covering the UK, Europe and Asia. Since 2007, the business has been majority owned by Exponent Private Equity.

The Group’s recent progress has seen Radley establish a significant presence in the UK with 33 stores and eight concessions in key cities and retail centres alongside a presence in 33 John Lewis stores, 58 branches of House of Fraser and over 200 other department stores and independent shops nationwide. The Group also has a strong eCommerce offering with dedicated websites for the UK, German and Japanese markets.

The business generates just over 10% of its total sales outside of the UK, predominantly via distributors in Germany and Japan and, of the c90% UK sales, some 10-15% are to non-British customers visiting its UK stores.

Radley is ideally positioned in the affordable luxury segment of the global luxury goods market, which was worth £161bn in 2014, with a major presence in the handbag segment, the fastest growing segment of this market. The UK handbag market was worth £1.6bn in 2015 and has grown at a CAGR of 7% since 2011.

This investment from Bregal Freshstream will look to further grow Radley’s business both in the UK and overseas, with significant potential to build upon the brand’s international appeal.

Don McCarthy, former chairman of House of Fraser and a veteran retailer, will become chairman and will work with CEO Justin Stead who has a proven and very successful track record of building shareholder value for businesses on a global basis.

Cavendish Corporate Finance has a wealth of experience in the affordable luxury sector. High profile transactions include advising brands such as New & Lingwood, Smythson, Liberty, Mappin & Webb/ Watches of Switzerland and Silver Cross.

Jonathan Buxton, Partner and Head of Consumer at Cavendish, commented:

“This transaction will take the transformation of Radley into a global brand to the next stage. It also illustrates the appeal of UK brands with genuine heritage and the potential for international scale to a wide range of overseas buyers. Such businesses continue to attract strong interest from family funds, private equity houses and trade buyers from around the world.”

Key Contacts

Jonathan Buxton

Partner

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Ben Goldring

Partner & Head of Financial Services

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