In the last 12 months, PGC – the minority and growth capital investment strategy of Perwyn – has had a productive year, successfully expanding its team and investing in six well-known tech and consumer businesses in UK and Europe, deploying in excess of GBP100 million of capital.
Recent investments include leading a USD30 million funding round in Lookiero, the online personal shopping service; and leading a EUR10 million funding round in Secret Sales, a premium ecommerce marketplace for fashion, footwear, accessories, beauty, and homeware; as well as backing a major supplier to a Europe wide consumer retail brand.
In late 2020, Perwyn led a further funding round of GBP25 million in UK-based subscription meal kit provider Gousto, which following the investment round achieved tech unicorn status. This was the third consecutive funding round in Gousto that was led by Perwyn. Gousto continues to go from strength to strength, driving new efficiencies in speed of pick and pick accuracy whilst minimising cost and food waste. The new equity funds will add additional growth capital to Gousto’s own positive cashflow, and bring forward the opening of new automated fulfilment centres to serve ongoing strong demand. The company plans to triple its capacity by 2022, creating 1,000 new jobs in that period.
In July 2021, Big Technologies PLC, the parent company of Buddi, the UK-based, remote people monitoring technology business, successfully completed its IPO on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, raising in excess of GBP200 million, with a market capitalisation of GBP577 million. The initial investment in Buddi was made in December 2020 and PGC has retained its entire stake post IPO.
Andrew Wynn, Founder and Managing Partner explains:
“Perwyn already had an established private equity business where we act as an active lead investor, seeking buyout opportunities in established, growing, cash generative, and market leading businesses headquartered in the UK & Europe. We were also seeing many opportunities to invest in fast growing businesses across the same markets, mainly entrepreneur led and seeking minority growth equity investments of GBP5m-50m to help accelerate their development. To take advantage of this we established Perwyn Growth Capital and we have been extremely impressed by the quality of businesses seeking minority or growth capital investment. Our key advantages are flexibility in structuring deals in a way that works for target companies, recognising that every situation is different, including longer holding periods where appropriate. Additionally, our deep resources and evergreen model underpin our desire to back our winners with additional capital in follow on rounds, rather than seek to exit in a fixed timeframe or return threshold like traditional institutional funds do.”
Ravi Sharma, Partner Perwyn Growth Capital, says: “Congratulations to the whole team on a fantastic first year. We have backed many exciting and well-known technology and consumer led businesses and we will continue to look for more as we establish ourselves as a name to be recognised in the growth and development capital markets. Our family backed private equity model gives us a distinct advantage, as we are able to back entrepreneurs and fast growing businesses to accelerate their growth as private companies and even onto the public markets. We can take a longer-term approach, free from the usual private equity funding cycles. We focus above all on our investments, rather than our own fund raising, and this resonates with entrepreneurs.”
