Third investment since launching its €600m fund in September 2015
Bregal Freshstream today announces it has acquired Radley, the well-known British handbag and accessories brand.

Founded in 1998, Radley is now the leading British handbag and accessories brand in the rapidly growing affordable luxury market with a multi-channel business and established distribution network covering the UK, Europe and Asia. Since 2007, the business has been majority owned by Exponent Private Equity.

Following the deal, veteran retailer Don McCarthy will join the business as Chairman. Don is an entrepreneur with over 40 years’ experience in investing, operating and controlling many high street names. He has previously held the position of Executive Chairman at House of Fraser and Chairman of Aurum Holdings which includes Watches of Switzerland, Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths. As CEO and Chairman of Rubicon Retail Ltd, he established a multi-branded footwear and fashion organisation before selling the whole company in 2006.

Don will work with CEO Justin Stead who has a proven and very successful track record of building shareholder value for businesses on a global basis. The Group’s recent progress has seen Radley establish a significant presence in the UK with 33 stores and eight concessions in key cities and retail centres alongside a presence in 33 John Lewis stores, 58 branches of House of Fraser and over 200 other department stores and independent shops nationwide. The Group also has a strong eCommerce offering with dedicated websites for the UK, German and Japanese markets.

The business generates just over 10% of its total sales outside of the UK, predominantly via distributors in Germany and Japan and, of the c90% UK sales, some 10-15% are to non-British customers visiting its UK stores.

Radley is ideally positioned in the affordable luxury segment of the global luxury goods market, which was worth £161bn in 2014, with a major presence in the handbag segment, the fastest growing segment of this market. The UK handbag market alone was worth £1.6bn in 2015 and has grown at a CAGR of 7% since 2011.

This investment from Bregal Freshstream will look to further grow Radley’s business both in the UK and overseas, with significant potential to build upon the brand’s international appeal.

This deal marks the third investment by Bregal Freshstream following its successful investments in infrastructure contractor Taziker Industrial in March 2016 and Belgian self-service restaurant chain Lunch Garden in December 2015.

Commenting on the investment, Freshstream’s Managing Partner Patrick Smulders said “Radley is a well-known and cherished British brand with beautiful products, an excellent management team and a strong financial track record. We see significant opportunity for the Group to build on its international appeal and are delighted to have the combination of Don and Justin working together again – they have an outstanding track record of success. Alongside the existing Radley team, we see this as an exciting new stage of the company’s development.”

CEO of Radley, Justin Stead commented “We have enjoyed a strong period of growth in recent years and see huge potential for the business to build on the momentum we have generated to date. We have a loyal, and growing, customer base plus a very clear vision and strategic plan to grow the business that will see us pursue further UK expansion and international growth. The Freshstream team really understands our brand, our culture and our plans for the future so I am really looking forward to working with both them and Don to make these plans a reality.”

Don McCarthy, incoming Chairman, added “I am delighted to be joining such a well-known brand at such an exciting stage of its development. Justin and his team have worked hard to build Radley into a brand that is synonymous with high quality design and workmanship so, with Freshstream’s backing, I am confident that we can all help the Group to capitalise on its enormous potential.”

Second deal since launching its €600m fund in September 2015

Bregal Freshstream has invested in Taziker Industrial (“Taziker”), a multi-discipline specialist contractor providing protective coatings, structural refurbishments and minor civils to the rail, road, marine and utilities industries.

A family-backed business headquartered in Bolton, Taziker evolved out of a painting company set up by Tom Taziker in 1969 and today delivers its core services of steelwork, surface preparation and scaffolding across a variety of landmark structures, bridges and industrial complexes.

It now employs over 580 people across the UK and has provided bridge strengthening and maintenance on sites such as the Tay Bridge in Dundee and the Royal Albert Bridge in Cornwall as well as surface preparation on infrastructure assets such as the Jodrell Bank Telescope in Cheshire.

Today, almost three quarters of Taziker’s business is derived from the rail industry thanks to the Group’s status as a Principal Contractor for Network Rail. Taziker has also recently secured a framework agreement for London Underground’s Station Works and Improvement Programme (“SWIP”).

As a result of Bregal Freshstream’s investment in the business, Taziker will now look to accelerate its growth plans, further developing its people and services with the aim of continuing to be a leading choice in structural repair and refurbishment in the UK.

This deal marks the second investment by Bregal Freshstream, following the successful launch of its €600m maiden fund in 2015, having secured a majority stake in Belgian self-service restaurant chain Lunch Garden in December 2015.

The investment was led by Rayhan Davis, Giles Marshall and Julien Millet at Bregal Freshstream.

Commenting on the investment, Chief Investment Officer, Rayhan Davis said:

“Taziker Industrial is a fantastic example of a thriving and entrepreneurial British business that has established itself in a highly technical niche. They have a skilled management team, a proven business model and significant growth potential given the enormous investment that is being made in the UK’s infrastructure assets. We hope to build on the Group’s fantastic foundations and are tremendously excited about the future.”

Graham Moor, Managing Director at Taziker Industrial, commented:

“Having helped build up this business, I am delighted to start this new chapter with Bregal Freshstream. We have worked hard to establish Taziker Industrial as a leading specialist in the market, providing technical expertise in a highly regulated, critical operating environment and this investment will allow us to achieve the next stage in our development, taking Taziker Industrial into new markets and expanding upon our core service offering.”

Freshstream Capital today announces that it has closed on its maiden €600m private equity fund, backed solely by Bregal Investments, a family-backed investment fund, and will henceforth be known as Bregal Freshstream.

The firm will be focused on mid-market investments and is looking to invest between €30m and €100m of equity per investment in growth businesses across a wide variety of sectors, with a particular geographic focus on the UK and Benelux markets. Bregal Freshstream will look to acquire majority equity stakes in the companies in which it invests, though it also has the capability to invest across their entire capital structure, including in debt and debt-like instruments.

Given its investor structure, the business is somewhat distinct from other private equity firms, with a high degree of flexibility as to investment hold period and the capital structure of prospective portfolio companies. It will be focused principally on relationship based, bilateral transactions, being comfortable with highly complicated situations and taking a generally conservative approach to leverage.

Although the business is sector-agnostic, looking at each potential investment on its merits, the team has significant prior experience in industries such as healthcare, general manufacturing and financial services as well as the aerospace, retail, chemicals, building products and TMT markets.

The founding team at Bregal Freshstream comprises Managing Partner Patrick Smulders, a former co-founder of private equity firm Doughty Hanson and an Investment Committee member at TowerBrook from its inception; Chief Investment Officer Rayhan Davis, a former Managing Director and member of the founding team of TowerBrook; Pascal Keutgens, previously an Investment Committee member at Doughty Hanson; Adam McLain, the former European General Counsel at TowerBrook; Irmo Holslag, previously a business owner and a Principal at TowerBrook; and Giles Marshall, previously an Investment Manager at Bregal Capital.

The business has been actively recruiting in the run up to its formal launch with a team currently numbering eleven, based in the firm’s West London offices. It has also assembled a Venture Partner group comprising Reza Fardad and Giuseppe Silvestri, co-founders of Clavis Advisors, and is in the process of finalising an Advisory Group that will aid the business in the identification and diligence of potential investment opportunities.

Commenting on the launch of the business, Managing Partner Patrick Smulders said:

“I believe there is a real gap in the market for a private equity firm who is looking to partner with owners and management teams based on a relationship of trust, mutual respect and confidentiality and with a view to developing the business together and bringing it to the next level. Our investor structure provides us a high degree of flexibility with regards to hold periods and follow-on investments, thereby allowing the full value enhancement potential of the companies we acquire to be realised. We are all tremendously excited about teaming up with Bregal Investments.”