Consumer
Established in 1993, Benelux-based Action is the leading non-food discount retailer in Europe. Large-scale procurement, flexible assortment, optimal distribution and a cost-conscious corporate culture ensure very low prices. The core product assortment includes decoration, DIY, garden and outdoor, household goods, multimedia, sports, stationery and hobby, toys and entertainment, food and drink, laundry and cleaning, personal care, pets, clothing and linen.
Action generates revenues of over €5bn per annum. Its business model differs from that of more traditional retailers because only c35% of its total product range is fixed. Action aims to surprise its customers with a constantly refreshed product range at amazingly low prices. The business model is summarised by the slogan: "more than you expect for less than you imagine".
"Action continues to perform strongly by expanding rapidly. The company has become a seasoned issuer in the debt markets. The strong demand from investors reflects the high level of support for Action’s strategy and management.” Robert Van Goethem, Partner and Head of Consumer
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i Benelux.
Consumer
Audley Travel (“Audley”) is a leading provider of tailor-made experiential travel to over 100 destinations worldwide. Serving clients predominantly in the UK and US, Audley is renowned for its superior customer service and in-depth destination expertise delivered by its country specialists. This exceptional service drives customer loyalty leading to high levels of repeat customers and referrals.
Founded in 1996, Audley is the clear market leader in tailor-made travel in the UK. The business expanded into the US in 2014 with the opening of an office in Boston and grew rapidly to exceed 25% of bookings by 2019.
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.
Consumer
Benelux-based Basic-Fit is the European market leader in the value-for-money fitness market with c900 clubs across five countries. Its operating model is based on a quality service, no frills approach, with memberships at €19.99 per 4 weeks. Clubs are well equipped, offer virtual group classes and 24 hour opening in some venues.
Basic-Fit’s disciplined international growth strategy is underpinned by investment in the organisation and key consumer trends of spending polarisation and the increasing focus on health and wellness. Alongside this, significant investment has been made to professionalise the business including a review of the brand and the format of the clubs. During the lockdown in 2020-2021, Basic-Fit invested in its relationship with its customers by not collecting any membership fees and by offering live programmes online via the Basic Fit app.
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i Benelux.
Consumer
Established in 1952, BoConcept is a leading Nordic design brand with dedicated distribution through dedicated BoConcept franchises around the world. BoConcept (literally translated from Danish "Living Concept") helps a wide range of customers to transform their home into a modern and extraordinary space fit to their style, through personal styling advice, great design at affordable prices and a high level of customisation. With an omni-channel offering through its ~300 stores in 65 countries across five continents, the homogenous brand concept of BoConcept is globally proven in metropoles around the world.
The company realised sales of DKK1.2bn in the financial year ending 30 April 2020.
"BoConcept has a globally appealing customer proposition. I enjoy working with the management team and 3i to unlock the full potential of the company." Sanna Suvanto-Harsaae, Chairman, BoConcept
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i Benelux.
Consumer
Christ is a German jeweller, founded in Frankfurt in 1863 and now based in Hagen. The company is a market leader in jewellery and watches in Germany in the mid-to-upper price segment.
Christ focuses on its own specialised stores in high street locations and shopping malls, along with flagship stores at airports and prestigious department stores. Additionally, Christ runs a strongly growing e-commerce platform. Through its strong multi-channel capabilities bridging between the stationary stores and the e-Commerce business, Christ leverages its strong brand online and offline.
“3i's long-time experience in the consumer space and our close and trusted relationship are the basis for Christ's resilience during the Covid-19 crisis and the driver of accelerated post-Covid growth.” Stephan Hungeling, CEO, Christ
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i Germany.
Consumer
Dutch Bakery, a leading bakery group specialised in home bake-off bread and snack products, is headquartered in Tilburg and operates six bakeries across the Netherlands.
Dutch Bakery offers a leading, innovative and comprehensive assortment, which is produced sustainably and with natural ingredients. The bake-off market for bread and snack products is an attractive and growing market, with significant barriers to entry and increasing penetration of high-quality modified atmosphere packaging products (which extend the shelf life of fresh food products).
"3i has extensive experience in the private label market through its investments in Royal Sanders and Refresco and a proven track record of growing companies internationally, both of which will be of great benefit to us. We look forward to working with them to build on our success to date and create a leading European player in the bake-off market." Raoul Vorage, CEO, Dutch Bakery
Consumer
GartenHaus headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, is the online leader in the garden homes, sheds, saunas and related projects market in the DACH region. The business combines specialist trade product know-how with digital competence and offers a one-stop platform for customers – from planning to realisation and maintenance of their garden and home projects.
Founded in 2002, GartenHaus is a pure eCommerce player and has been the pioneer in selling garden homes directly to consumers.
We see the business as the foundation to building the leading European platform for home and garden projects. The key focus is to develop the product range into adjacent categories, as well as to internationalise the business by expanding into neighbouring countries.
“3i has a great reputation for helping its companies to grow internationally and we are excited to partner with their team at this point in our journey. The 3i team has a strong network, excellent digital capabilities and a strong track record in the consumer retailer space, all of which will be of great benefit to GartenHaus.” Sebastian Arendt, CEO, GartenHaus
Consumer
Nexeye is a market leading omni-channel platform in value-for-money optics in North-West Europe. The company operates more than 700 stores under the Hans Anders, eyes + more and Direkt Optik retail banners, and offers a range of private label and branded spectacles, hearing aids, contact lenses and sunglasses at average price points significantly below its major competitors.
"By working together to the maximum extent under the common nexeye banner and sharing knowledge and resources with each other, we aim to accelerate the growth of our current and future labels, creating value for all our stakeholders." Bart van den Nieuwenhof, CEO, nexeye
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i Benelux.
Healthcare, Consumer
Havea Group is a leader in the Natural Consumer Healthcare industry in Europe. It manufactures, designs and distributes a wide range of products from functional and natural food supplements, to natural personal care products for babies and women through its world class plant in France. Havea is well positioned due to its multi-distribution channel strategy (pharma, mass market, D2C) and its 7 well-known strategic brands: Biolane, Vitavea, Nature Moi, Yves Ponroy, Aragan, Densmore and Dermovitamina. Havea has acquired 5 companies in the past 5 years to strengthen its presence in the pharmacy channel and internationally.
Since inception, Havea has grown at a double digit rate each year organically and is well positioned to benefit from the consolidation taking place in this highly fragmented market and will continue to expand its international footprint in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
"3i is a great partner for Havea; its values and approach fit really well with our entrepreneurial mindset. They relentlessly look for growth while keeping the right balance between operational performance improvement and the strengthening and digitalisation of our core processes. In 4 years with 3i, we have doubled the size of the Group and made 5 acquisitions, including my own company” Nicolas Brodetsky, CEO, Havea
Consumer
Luqom Group is the #1 vertically-integrated online retailer of lighting products in Europe. It is headquartered in Germany, from where it distributes own-brand and third party products to customers all over Europe through 27 country-specific online shops.
Luqom Group differentiates itself from its competitors through an extensive range of 50,000 products, broad and differentiated product assortment, in-depth product knowledge, excellent customer service and high product availability. The company generated >€230m of sales in 2020, of which ~60% came from outside Germany. Luqom has grown strongly in the DACH region as well as internationally, through a steady roll-out across European countries in recent years.
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i Germany.
Consumer
Mepal is a leading Dutch lifestyle consumer brand that is known for its innovative, high-quality and sustainable products for storing, serving and take-away of food and drinks.
Headquartered in Lochem, the Netherlands, Mepal’s products are renowned for their original and premium design, functionality, convenience, quality and sustainability, resulting in market-leading levels of customer satisfaction which are sold through mass and specialty retail channels, e-commerce partners and Mepal’s own online channels.
We are partnering with the current CEO and owner of the business, Rutger de Korte, and the broader management team to continue the international expansion of the successful consumer brand. The company has grown impressively since 2018 driven by organic expansion into food retail and other large retail chains in Germany, and increased e-commerce revenue.
"Mepal is a very strong brand with 70 years of heritage. I am confident that with 3i as our partner, we will be able to achieve our growth ambitions in the years to come. I am looking forward to teaming up with 3i and taking the next steps together to continue the successful growth strategy of Mepal, through delighting our customers with smart and innovative products that last a lifetime.” Rutger de Korte CEO, Mepal
Consumer
MPM is an international leader in branded, premium, natural pet food. The business owns leading pet food brands such as Applaws, Encore and Reveal and differentiates itself through its high quality, human-grade products, its natural, clean-label ingredients and its “cat first” proposition.
MPM is a certified B-Corp and its loyal customer base places great importance on its sustainable sourcing and recyclable packaging. Headquartered in Manchester, UK, MPM has an established presence in the UK, EMEA and APAC with a fast-growing business in North America resulting in international sales now accounting for more than 70% of revenues.
The market has proven resilient through economic downturns and Covid-19, with pet ownership increasing amongst a highly engaged and loyal community for whom pets are seen as family members.
“3i has a formidable track record in helping its companies to grow internationally, particularly in the US market. This will be especially key for MPM as we look to accelerate our expansion in North America. The 3i team also has significant brand expertise through a number of its consumer investments which will be of great benefit to MPM.” Julian Bambridge, CEO, MPM
Consumer
Royal Sanders is a leading European private label and contract manufacturing producer in the health & beauty category. Its key geographies are the Benelux, Germany, France and the UK with plants in the Netherlands (Vlijmen and Zeewolde), the UK (Bradford) and Belgium (Ieper).
Main product categories include shampoo, bath and shower gels, body lotions, hand wash and nutritional supplements. The company sells its products through private label, contract manufacturing and own brands including Van Gils, Sanicur and Odorex.
3i is investing alongside management to drive the company’s international growth strategy.
We are delighted to be partnering with 3i. It has extensive experience in buy-and-build in private label, for example through its investment in European soft drinks bottler Refresco, and in growing companies internationally through its network of valuable industry experts in the consumer sector. Bart Hullegie, CEO, Royal Sanders
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i Benelux.
Consumer
Yanga is the leading provider of an integrated in-house sports drinks concept to fitness chains. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Yanga sells flavoured sports drinks through its installed base of proprietary hydration stations in gyms across Europe. Gym members who have an add-on or premium membership can use the stations to get flavoured water with sugar and colorant-free syrups during their workouts.
3i is investing to support its international growth and expansion into North America.