Law firm HowardKennedyFsi has advised the luxury fitted furniture group Canburg on its GBP8m investment from the Business Growth Fund.
Canburg is the owner of two luxury fitted furniture businesses – Smallbone of Devizes and Mark Wilkinson Furniture
The GBP8m investment follows overseas growth and will enable Canburg to accelerate its domestic and international growth strategy. It will also create 40 new jobs in Canburg’s UK showrooms and workshop in Devizes, Wiltshire.
The Business Growth Fund is a growth capital investor backed by five of the UK’s major banking groups – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Standard Chartered. It was established in 2011 with a mandate to invest GBP2.5bn to support the growth of smaller and mid-sized businesses.
The Business Growth Fund will take a minority stake in Canburg.
Michael Harris, partner and head of mergers and acquisitions at HowardKennedyFsi, says: “We have acted for Canburg and its CEO Leo Caplan for a number of years. It is an exciting and entrepreneurial business with ambitious grown plans.
“The legal process to implement the investment from the Business Growth Fund was completed to a tight timetable. The investment will enable Canburg to drive its continuing expansion. We are delighted to have been able to play a role in the future success of this expanding British business.”
Leo Caplan, chief executive of Canburg, says: “This is an exciting time for Canburg. I am confident that over the next five years we can grow the business from its current GBP50m valuation to a global luxury group worth in excess of GBP500m. The team at HowardKennedyFsi has played a key role in helping the business grow over the years and the firm's entrepreneurial approach very much mirrors our own.”
