Lexington finds growth cash as Seasalt flourishes
CARDIFF-BASED corporate finance house Lexington has orchestrated a £16m fundraising boost for expanding Cornish lifestyle and clothing brand Seasalt.
Lexington secured the growth finance from the Business Growth Fund and Santander Corporate.
Gary Partridge led the Lexington team and was supported by Thomas Edwards and John Tose.
In the last three years the design-led fashion retailer has bucked the negative prevailing trend on the British high street. Over the period, Seasalt’s turnover has grown from £28m to £51m. And in March, Seasalt opened its 50th store in the UK.
The terms of the deal will see the Business Growth Fund invest £11.5m — a mixture of debt and equity — with Santander Corporate & Commercial providing an additional £4.5m in debt funding.
The funds will be used to open 40 new stores over the next five years. By early 2019 the company is expected to have more than 1,000 employees.
“As well as developing new career opportunities, the investment will support Seasalt’s ongoing drive to improve customer experience, both in-store and online.
Lexington worked with the Seasalt team over the last nine months to conclude the investment. Lexington was founded by Mr Partridge in 2016 and is one of the fastest-growing new corporate finance advisory boutiques in the UK.
Paul Hayes, chief executive officer of Seasalt, said: “We’ve known Gary professionally for several years and he has closely followed the achievements of Seasalt.
“When it came to seeking honest, independent advice and selecting a team that was capable of working with us to achieve our goal, we chose Gary and his Lexington team.”
As well as being involved in some significant corporate finance transactions within Wales, in a relatively short time Lexington has worked with clients and delivered successful transactions in Australia, France, Germany and the United States.
Mr Partridge said: “It has been a pleasure to work with the team at Seasalt, its funders and other advisers.
“This transaction marks a milestone for Seasalt in delivering on its long-term growth plans and, for Lexington, it means we further strengthen our retail sector transaction expertise.
“It reinforces our ambition to be a leading independent UK and internationally focused corporate finance boutique.”
The £2.5bn Business Growth Fund recently opened its first office in Wales, in Cardiff.
Its latest investment in Wales came in May with a £3m equity investment into leading technology firm DevOpGuys, which is headquartered in Cardiff.
In five years the business has grown to a team of 63 specialists, based in Cardiff and London, with revenues of more than £7m.
BGF’s initial investment of £3m growth capital will be used by DevOpGuys to fund new regional offices, bring on board more sales and marketing staff and increase its consultancy and engineering teams to increase capacity as it takes on more clients.
Its current other investments in Welsh firms are in Brecon-based multiple channel retailer BVG Group with a £10m equity investment and Cardiff-based waste management firm Wales Environmental with £2m in a deal where it co-invested alongside the Development Bank of Wales.