National furniture retailer, Furniture Village, has announced it has managed a highly successful exit deal with its shareholders that sees it become a 100% family-owned company. (Pictured: Charlie Harrison, Commercial Director and Peter Harrison, Chief Executive at Furniture Village)
The move allows father and son, Peter and Charlie Harrison, to continue to focus on the strong values and vision that have made it such a sector-leading success, with the aim of continuing to strengthen its market position. Outside a substantial holding by the company’s employee benefit trust, they are now the sole shareholders of the business.
Furniture Village is an award-winning family business that has been selling quality sofas, dining and beds across the UK for over 30 years. The exit has been made possible through outstanding commercial performance over recent years which, despite market conditions, prevails.
Former shareholder, BGF, the UK and Ireland’s most active growth capital investor, supplied the retailer with two significant investments, the first in 2014, followed by a second in 2015. Furniture Village used these to increase its store footprint and to bolster its logistics, IT and digital infrastructure, significantly accelerating its growth. BGF’s exit therefore follows a strong period of profitable growth for Furniture Village, enabling it to utilise its internally generated cash reserves to buy out their position in full.
Peter Harrison, Chief Executive, Furniture Village commented: “It has always been a lifelong ambition that the business would be wholly owned by the family. We have now realised that dream thanks to our fantastic people and our principal partners who have all contributed to our journey – my original business partner David Imrie, Peter Grant of Cadogan Estates, Jane Vinson at BGF and Jim Hodkinson our longstanding Chairman.
“Charlie and I have a very strong vision for where we would like to take the business next. It is based on a highly collaborative and loyal relationship with our people, excellence in customer service and always being able to offer the highest quality product at good value prices to our customers nationwide.”
Jane Vinson, Head of Portfolio, South at BGF said: “BGF has backed Furniture Village since 2014, providing £12 million of growth capital across two successive funding rounds. Over the last eight years we have supported the business with its acquisitive growth strategy providing the financial and strategic support needed to roll-out new sites, invest in new technologies and scale its ecommerce platform.
“During BGF’s investment hold period, the company has experienced significant growth and this deal marks an exciting next step for the company. We wish Peter Harrison and the entire team all the best for the future.”
Charlie Harrison, Commercial Director, of Furniture Village added: “In recognition of our team, their strength and success, Furniture Village has also decided to introduce an Employee Benefit Family Partnership which will be a means of sharing the results of great performance with everyone in our special business.”
The news comes ahead of the imminent opening of its 55th UK store in Colchester on Boxing Day.
