Mountain Warehouse sells 20% stake to boost international expansion

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jul 9, 2018

Mountain Warehouse has sold nearly 20% of its business to Partnership Capital in a deal that valued the outdoor clothing retailer at £310 million.

Partnership Capital, a specialist minority fund owned by private equity firm Inflexion, paid approximately £45 million for the near 20% stake.

The investment will help boost Mountain Warehouse’s international and digital expansion as it pushes for an increased share of the £14 billion European market for outdoor clothing and equipment. It already operates stores in Poland, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Austria, New Zealand and the US, plus over 220 across the UK.

“I am delighted to be teaming up with Inflexion. They truly understand our business and their investment will help turbo-charge our expansion plans, particularly overseas and online,” said Mark Neale, CEO and founder of Mountain Warehouse.

Simon Turner, managing partner at Inflexion, added: “We have known the management team for many years, having identified the business as one with an unrivalled brand in the outdoor market. Having followed the business for a decade, we understand how management envisage it growing, and look forward to assisting them with their growth in the UK and international markets, as well as with their digital offering.”

The partnership comes at a time of record growth at the retailer. In financial year 2018, Mountain Warehouse reached record sales of £225.3 million, up 22% on the previous year and marking 21 years of unbroken revenue growth.

Inflexion said Mark Neale will continue to run the business along with his team.