Bridges invests in Clothingsites

The capital will enable the company to invest in additional staff, stock and technical upgrades and will also fund the relocation of the business to a new warehouse.

The GP stated that the investment, drawn from Bridges Sustainable Growth Fund III, will result in an additional 100 jobs in an area of high unemployment in North West England.

As part of the deal, Paul Gilbert will take over as chairman of Clothingsites, having been appointed non-executive chairman of Bridges-backed The Gym Group in 2012.

It is the third investment drawn from Bridges Sustainable Growth Fund III, which closed on £125m in October 2013, beating its £100m target. In 2013, the fund invested in budget boutique hotel Qbic London City Hotel and in affordable veterinary company The Vet.

Company
Clothingsites is an online designer menswear retailer group established in 2002. It comprises the Woodhouse Clothing, Brown Bag and Trainerstation brands. The company is currently based in Macclesfield, employs 35 employees and has a turnover in the region of £7.5m.

People
Alistair Tillen, a partner at Bridges, led the deal and will take a seat on the board. David Cockcroft is an associate at Bridges and a board observer at Clothingsites. David Foster is managing director of Clothingsites.

Advisers
Equity – Addleshaw Goddard, Mike Hinchcliffe (Legal); BDO, Chris Grove (Financial due diligence); Ralphs McIntosh, Mark Ralphs (IT due diligence).
Company – Weightmans, Robert Turnbull (Legal); Ardent Advisors, Gareth Williams (Financial due diligence).

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• Topics
• Consumer
• UK / Ireland
• Expansion
• United Kingdom
• Bridges Ventures