LDC makes £53m on Joules flotation
Joules, the Market Harborough-based lifestyle brand, has today (26 May) floated on AIM following the successful pricing of its IPO earlier this week.
The £140m listing on London’s AIM market has raised around £77.5m.
LDC, which originally invested £22m in November 2013 to support Joules’ expansion, has says it has made £53m on its investment, and has spent some of that money on buying 7% of the shares.
Between 2013 and 2015, Joules increased revenue 50% to £116.4m driven primarily by its store roll-out (from 61 to 98), increased sales within its wholesale accounts and expansion of its e-commerce business. In the same period, international revenues grew 198 per cent to £10.6m, underpinned by significant investments in the group’s infrastructure, including supply chain, IT, international sales support offices and people.
Tom Joule, founder and chief brand officer of Joules, said: “LDC has been an important partner to Joules in recent years supporting the implementation of management’s strategic plan which included significant investment in the infrastructure of the business and the retail store portfolio. We’re now ideally placed to continue the brand’s expansion by opening more stores in the UK and Ireland, growing the international business and increasing the product range for our loyal customers.”
Martin Draper, chief executive of LDC, said: “Tom, Colin and the entire team at Joules have achieved incredible success in recent years, thanks to their drive, focus and vision. They’ve created a powerful brand with distinctive design, premium positioning and loyal customers. As well as delivering outstanding results, they’ve also demonstrated how much potential there is for further growth. We wish the team every success for the future and look forward to being a continuing part of their story.”
He added: “Joules is also a perfect example of how private equity can act as a catalyst for growth, helping businesses and their management teams to prosper.”
