Secret Sales receives £6.3m funding from a consortium of investors to accelerate growth and build on its position as the leading independent UK private sales leader and an integral layer of the retail mix.
Clipperton Finance acted as Sole Manager of the transaction.
London, Paris – February 2012 – Clipperton Finance, a leading European technology and media corporate finance boutique, today announced the closing of a £6.3 million investment for SecretSales, the UK’s leading independent Private Sales club. The funding was provided by a consortium of investors, including Doughty Hanson, Pentech Ventures, Partech, Connect Ventures, Leoni Sceti Group and the management team. Clipperton acted as sole financial advisor to Secretsales.
SecretSales provides brands such as Diesel, FCUK and Aquascutum a modern, full service, UK‐focused clearance solution which delivers on volume and price and maintains brand integrity. In doing so, the company offers its almost than 2 million members an exclusive, high quality shopping experience where they can engage directly with brands and purchase premium products at discounted prices.
The company was launched in 2007 and now employs over 50 staff at its London headquarters. The investment will be used to enhance sourcing, marketing and technology and will result in a significant increase in headcount.
Nish Kukadia, SecretSales Co-founder and CEO said: “The UK is the largest fashion market in Europe, and the discount fashion segment alone is estimated to be worth over £1bn in retail sales. Following the lead of other countries, Private Sales is becoming an integral part of the UK retail mix and brands’ overstock disposal strategy. This investment will allow SecretSales to exploit this trend and build on its rapid growthto date.”
For more information, please contact:
Nicolas von Bülow, Partner, nvonbulow@clipperton.net
Thibaut Revel, Partner, trevel@clipperton.net
Mike Callow, Vice President, mcallow@clipperton.net
About Clipperton Finance
With offices in Paris & London, Clipperton Finance is an Investment Banking boutique with a 100% focus on the fast growth technology companies in Europe, providing advisory services to the emerging leaders in this field.
We form long term relationships with top European growth companies such as Sequans, Spartoo and DailyMotion. Our mission is to assist them along their growth path in all their corporate finance transactions, fundraising and M&A, plus strategic advice between financing events. We have forged close ties with a broad network of leading international technology blue chips, venture capital and private equity funds, not only in Europe but also in North America and Asia.
The firm was formed in Paris in 2003 and as a team we have worked on over 50 transactions across Europe. We established our permanent office in London in 2008 and cover all main European markets.