Northern Ireland-based kitchen doors and accessories supplier Uform has agreed an investment deal with Cardinal Ireland Partners to help it expand the business.
The investment by Cardinal Ireland Partners – a fund managed by Cardinal Capital Group, a private equity fund dedicated to investing in Ireland, will be used to expand Uform’s operating capacity at its 225,000sq ft facility in Toomebridge, Co Antrim. It was also be used to bolster Uform’s expertise, capability and capacity in paint-to-order products.
Uform has grown by 40% a year for the past three years and the investment from Cardinal will allow it to scale up its operations to take advantage of the opportunities it has identified in the Irish and UK markets.
The funding will also be used to increase capacity at Uform’s sister company Andoras, in Donegal, which produces luxury, made-to-order artisan furniture under the Novelle by Aisling brand.
Eamon and Paul Donnelly will remain as significant shareholders in the business alongside Cardinal and BGF, a UK-based investment company. Cardinal’s Mike Maloney and Paul Doody will join the Uform board.
Simon Oliphant, Uform group CEO, said of the deal: “Uform has always had the ambition and the ability to grow. We see very considerable opportunity in both the Irish and UK markets. This investment by Cardinal will allow us to realise that potential.”
Co-founders Eamonn and Paul Donnelly added: “We chose to partner with Cardinal based on its knowledge, shared culture, ambition and willingness to invest and support the strategic plan and its excellent track record helping businesses scale.”
Speaking about the deal, Paul Doody, associate director at Cardinal Capital Group, said: “Uform has the potential to scale significantly and become a market leader over the next four years. We have looked at many companies in the wider kitchen, bedroom and bathroom space and the quality of the Uform offering, its competitive positioning and the management team stand out as being best in class. Uform’s market–leading position in Ireland coupled with a well–established, and fast–growing, presence in the larger, highly fragmented UK market is very attractive to us.”
Uform was founded in 1993 by Eamon and Paul Donnelly alongside their late father, Eddie. It has 415 employees between the Antrim and Donegal sites and delivers an average of 1,600 kitchens a week to its customer base in the UK and Ireland.