BGF in £16m round for Seasalt

Kenny Wastell
12 September 2018

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BGF has taken part in a ТЃ16m funding round for UK womenswear brand Seasalt.

The funding sees BGF investing £11.5m, with Santander Corporate & Commercial providing the remaining £4.5m.

Seasalt will look to open 40 new stores, expand into the Irish market and recruit an additional 700 employees.

The deal comes amid a wave of challenges for the UK high street. At the end of February, Rutland Partners-backed electronics retailer Maplin Electronics entered into administration and Endless announced the divestment of footwear retailer Jones the Bootmaker to Pavers with a concession that the fortunes of the business "could not be turned around" due to adverse retail conditions.

This was followed by Brait Private Equity-backed clothing and accessories retailer New Look pursuing a CVA in March, and Emeram Capital Partners-backed fashion retailer Bench entering into administration in May.

On the turnaround front, Hilco Equity Partners acquired DIY retail business Homebase from trade vendor Wesfarmers in May, and RCapital acquired listed shopfitting company Havelock Europa from administrators PwC in July.

Company
Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Falmouth, Cornwall, Seasalt designs and sells womenswear, footwear and accessories. The business generates a turnover of £51m, according to a statement, up from £28m three years ago. It has a headcount of 869 and 50 existing stores.

People
BGF – Ned Dorbin, Dan Tapson (investors).
Santander – Peter Abel (director of growth capital).
Seasalt – Paul Hayes (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Foot Anstey, Adam McKenna, Ken Lewins (legal); Francis Clark (tax); Infinity Nation (IT due diligence); Ashfords, Rebecca Dury (legal).
Company – Michelmores, Richard Cobb (legal); Lexington Corporate Finance, Gary Partridge (corporate finance); PwC, Pippa Clark (debt advisory).