CurrentBody, the online retail specialist for home-use beauty devices, has now reached £10m in funding with BGF this week joining NVM Private Equity in backing the Manchester-based business. The investment announcement comes as the company completed its strongest year to date, going live with its 11th international site and launching on Tmall in China.
Now the world’s largest supplier of beauty devices, CurrentBody’s brand partnerships include market-leading brands such as Tripollar, NuFACE and Smoothskin. It has also recently been named as a global strategic partner for L’Oreal’s Clarisonic range, the best-selling skin cleansing solution using sonic technology. Following five years of rapid growth, with revenues doubling year-on-year, the business has now secured total growth capital funding of £10m.
CurrentBody has built 11 own language websites globally, including Germany, France, Spain and most recently, Australia and America. It also launched its first London store in House of Fraser, Oxford Street, and signed a joint venture in China with Thakral, one of the biggest distributors in Asia.
Co-founded by Laurence Newman and Andrew Showman, CurrentBody’s product range includes anti-ageing and acne treatment devices, facial cleansers, and hair removal devices, incorporating clinically-proven technologies as they found a niche in providing professional results at home. This market has grown substantially over the last five years with CurrentBody at the forefront. Kline reports it is now a $2bn sector in the beauty market, as the interest in the technology side of anti-ageing continues to advance.
The investment from BGF and NVM will be used to grow CurrentBody’s team and operations, enter further territories globally and secure new partnerships and stock opportunities across the world.
Laurence Newman, co-founder and CEO of CurrentBody, said: “These are exciting times for CurrentBody as we enter this next stage of our growth. We’ve rapidly built our business to supply the largest selection of safe, clinically-proven electrical health and beauty products in the world. From a complete start-up, we are now strategic partners with many top brands, testament to the hard work and ambition of a fantastic team. We’re delighted to have BGF and NVM join us for the journey. Now that we are a truly international business, our plans for the next few years are to grow our product range and expand our partnerships, whilst remaining true to our founding mission of providing exceptional product knowledge and excellent customer care.”
NVM Investment Director, Liam May commented: “Since our original investment we have seen first-hand the knowledge and passion Laurence and Andrew bring to the business. The company has performed exceptionally, generating strong revenue growth and delivering against an ambitious international expansion plan; we are delighted to continue to support the business as it goes from strength to strength”.
The investment was led for NVM by Liam May and Alex Wilson.
The advisors to the transaction were:
For NVM: Tim Hamilton and Arshnoor Amershi (Pannone Corporate)
For CurrentBody: Anna Whetham (Pinsent Masons)
–End–
CurrentBody was founded by entrepreneurs Laurence Newman and Andrew Showman in 2009 and currently ships to over 120 countries. The business has grown rapidly recently, with revenues doubling year-on-year. The Board has been chaired by Mike McGrath since 2015. Mike, who is chairman of a number of private equity-backed businesses in the consumer sector, has significant experience of international roll-outs. In 2017, Simon Cooper, CEO of online holiday retailer On The Beach, joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in order to support the acceleration of CurrentBody’s online strategy.
Both Mike and Simon are early-stage investors in the business. Tiff Pike, who has extensive private equity and finance experience in technology-based businesses, also recently joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director. www.currentbody.com
NVM Private Equity is independently owned with over 30 years’ experience of investing in unquoted UK businesses. NVM is a generalist investor, managing approximately £430 million of funds, and is differentiated by having executives living and working in regional business communities throughout the UK. NVM seeks investment opportunities of between £1 million and £15 million in UK businesses, which have the right mix of growth potential and market vision. They may be looking to grow organically, acquire another business or secure a management buy-out. www.nvm.co.uk
