Business Growth Fund (BGF), established to help the UK’s fast growing smaller and medium sized businesses, has invested GBP3m of growth capital in Shuropody, a UK footcare provider.
Midlands-based Shuropody has local branches in Birmingham, Coventry, Leamington Spa and Stratford-Upon-Avon within its 63-strong national network.
The investment was led by BGF’s seven strong Birmingham team and is its third investment in Midlands based businesses to date.
The investment will allow Shuropody to expand upon its current garden centre based sites, as well as the introduction of new community service locations. It is expected this will generate another 200 jobs over the next three years.
BGF’s ability to structure investments flexibly to best meet a particular company’s financing needs enabled it to split the GBP3m growth capital investment into GBP1.5m of ordinary shares and GBP1.5m of loan notes.
Shuropody delivered sales of GBP15.8m in the year ending 31 December 2011 and is expecting sales to double over the next three years. Headquartered in Coventry and founded in 2007, Shuropody offers podiatry services and comfort-focused footwear products. Initially opening a handful of stores in 2007, the company grew rapidly following its purchase of 43 stores from Boots in July 2008. The business now operates from 63 standalone stores and concessions across the UK and is the second largest provider of podiatry services behind the NHS, with 400 employees, of whom almost 150 are medically qualified podiatrists.
Ian Downing, investment director of BGF, says: “Shuropody is a unique business which is already a market leader in its sector. It has the potential to substantially increase its geographic footprint across the UK with an active roll out programme that expects to generate up to 200 jobs. The business model is well placed for expansion into garden centre concessions and is already working with two of the largest garden centre operators in the UK.”
Frank Duffy, managing director of Shuropody, says: “Our business has continued to evolve over the last five years as we have positioned the company for future growth. BGF was able to provide us with an attractive funding structure that we needed in order to realise the growth opportunities that we wish to secure. We have a unique model and BGF’s involvement will assist in accelerating Shuropody’s profile nationally. We have been especially impressed by the straightforwardness and integrity of the BGF team and their speed of decision-making.”
