Seraphine owner eyes London IPO
Mayfair Equity Partners, which purchased the label last December, is close to hiring bankers to explore the potential IPO, according to reports
The new owner of the maternity wear brand Seraphine is reportedly eyeing plans to deliver it to the London stock market, according to Sky News.
Mayfair Equity Partners, which purchased the label last December, is close to hiring bankers to explore the potential IPO, according to reports.
According to Sky, the process is “at a very early stage”, though sources indicated that the brand’s owner believed a listing would be “an effective way of helping to boost its profile and visibility”.
They added that Seraphine was likely to be valued “significantly higher” than the £50m price at which Mayfair purchased the company from its founder, Cecile Reynaud, and Bridgepoint Growth.
Serpahine was founded by Reinaud in 2002, and has since been popular with high-profile customers such as the Duchess of Cambridge.
To date, the brand has online sales in more than 120 countries and stores in cities including London, New York and Paris.
The company reached £28.1m in sales for the year to 31 March 2020 and has seen consistent revenue growth of around 30% per annum, with 90% of the brand’s sales coming through online avenues.
Following its acquisition six months ago, David Williams, chief executive of Seraphine, said: “The global annual market for maternity wear is now more than £5bn.
“Seraphine is perfectly positioned to capitalise on this with our expanding digital footprint and in-house product team, who design innovative, quality products for mums at every stage of the maternity journey.”
He added: “Over the last few years, we have strengthened our service proposition, marketing, technology and logistics and now have the perfect platform for the next stage of our impressive growth.
“We have been very selective about who we partner with and have been incredibly fortunate to have found both Bridgepoint and Mayfair.”
Daniel Sasaki, managing partner at Mayfair Equity Partners, said: “With its depth of range, market leading innovation, and premium brand positioning Seraphine has grown to become a scale specialist maternity and nursing brand with a digitally led business model.
“By investing more in digitally led growth, specialist product innovation, and increased brand marketing, we will be backing the Seraphine team to accelerate their growth in the UK, Europe and the US. We are thrilled to be partnering with David and the Seraphine team.”
