Furniture Village has secured a GBP6m investment from the Business Growth Fund (BGF), the independent company established to help Britain's growing businesses.
Furniture Village was established in 1989 by co-founder and chief executive Peter Harrison. The company’s core product category is sofas, alongside cabinet furniture, beds and accessories.
The business has 40 stores across the UK, employs 760 people and generates revenues of GBP200m per annum.
BGF’s funding will enable Furniture Village to accelerate a roll-out expansion of new stores across the UK. BGF will take a minority stake in the business and Jon Simon will join the board as BGF’s representative.
Harrison says: "Having achieved a significant improvement in trading performance in our last financial year ending March 2014, which has continued strongly into this current year, this is an ideal time for us to expand and further enhance our presence, both in terms of physical stores and online.
“We are appreciative of BGF's support and confidence, and beyond the many other potential benefits that will arise from our new and close association, this substantial investment will enable us to accelerate our plans and for Furniture Village to remain at the forefront of British retail in its sector."
Jon Simon, senior investment manager, BGF, says: “This represents an exciting opportunity for BGF to back a well-known British brand with a strong heritage and a track record of profitability. We are supporting a clear growth strategy based on selective store roll-out and investment in new software. This in turn, will improve the operational efficiencies of the business and increase the focus on e-commerce, all of which will add to the customer experience. Over 25 years Furniture Village has developed into one of the UK’s leading furniture retailers and we look forward to supporting the management team as the company embarks on this next phase of growth.”
