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Seasalt, the Cornish lifestyle and clothing brand, has had a £16m investment in the company to support future growth and development in the business. The investment will see BGF invest £11.5m, with Santander Corporate & Commercial providing an additional £4.5m in funding.
In the last three years, Seasalt’s turnover has grown from £28m to £51m. The company now employs 869 people and is one of the largest private employers in Cornwall. In March, Seasalt opened its 50th store in the UK, bucking the recent prevailing trend on the British high street.
With this new investment, Seasalt is set to open another 40 stores over the next 5 years, employing an additional 700 people across the UK and Ireland. By early 2019, the company will have over 1000 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.
Paul Hayes, CEO of Seasalt, commented: “We’ve worked hard over the last few years to grow our presence on the high street, foster an environment which provides a unique experience for our customers, and create more jobs not just in the South West but across the UK. This investment will allow us to go much further on all fronts. As well as opening new stores both at home and growing internationally, we now have the flexibility and freedom to continue to innovate across all channels, making sure that shopping with Seasalt is a really intuitive experience for our customers both in-store and online.”
As well as investing in new stores, Seasalt is set to take advantage of BGF’s extensive network of investment professionals, non-executive directors, and advisers. As part of the investment, Seasalt will have access to this expertise in order to aid further development and growth of the business.
The business can also access support from Santander, which includes training, mentoring and seminars as well as access to overseas trade missions and part-funded interns through partner universities. Helping UK businesses to export is a key specialism of the bank, and Santander will look to support Seasalt through introductions to key contacts and local networks.
Richard Cobb, Head of Corporate at Michelmores, commented: “Seasalt is a fantastic South West success story. The growth over the last five years has been built by a stable and determined management team, and this investment demonstrates the value of all the hard work that has gone into making Seasalt such a strong brand. The whole team are delighted to have advised them as they continue to grow and look forward to seeing this innovative business pursue the next stage of development.”
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