Pic: Seraphine
UK-based technology and consumer growth investor Mayfair Equity Partners recently announced the management buy-out of premium maternity and nursing brand Seraphine, valuing the company at around £50 million. Mayfair acquired it from Bridgepoint Growth and entrepreneur founder Cécile Reinaud.
Launched in 2002 as a boutique store in Kensington, London, Seraphine has grown to become an international business selling into 127 countries around the world.
To complement the flagship stores in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, Seraphine was an early adopter of e-commerce, Mayfair Equity Partners said in a press release.
In 2017, a majority shareholding was acquired by Bridgepoint Growth whilst Cécile retained 33 per cent of the company.
Today, nearly 90 per cent of the business’ sales comes from online channels, which have benefited from the acceleration in e-commerce adoption as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With 74 per cent of sales now outside of the United Kingdom, the company won the Queens Award for Enterprise for a second time in 2020 (after previously doing so in 2015) in recognition of its outstanding growth in international trade.
Over 30 per cent of sales comes from the United States, a market that has achieved strong growth in recent years linked to growing international brand recognition.
The maternity wear market is both large (estimated at around £5 billion globally) and growing as a result of increased spend per birth, as mothers and mothers-to-be alike continue to invest more in the pregnancy and nursing journey. Within this market, the online segment is gaining share rapidly, benefiting premium digitally led brands such as Seraphine.
Calling upon Mayfair’s expertise in digitally enabled and e-commerce businesses, Seraphine will look to further expand in new and existing markets, while also investing in product development and new digital channels, the press release added.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
UK-based technology and consumer growth investor Mayfair Equity Partners recently announced the management buy-out of premium maternity and nursing brand Seraphine, valuing the company at around £50 million. Mayfair acquired the company from Bridgepoint Growth and entrepreneur founder Cécile Reinaud. Seraphine was an early adopter of e-commerce.