Sharps, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of fitted bedroom furniture, has been acquired by Epiris.
The independent private equity firm bought Sharps from an affiliate of Sun European Partners, a private investment advisory firm, for an undisclosed sum. The completion of the deal, subject to regulatory consent, is scheduled for the end of September.
Kevin Smith, chief executive of Sharps, said: “Our partnership with the Sun European team has been a great success. We are extremely proud that, today, Sharps is the number-one market player in the bespoke fitted bedroom furniture market.
“At Sharps, we focus on delivering a customer-first strategy with our bespoke fitted furniture products, providing unique, space-efficient solutions. This focus, combined with Sun European’s strong operations team and capabilities, has enabled us to establish Sharps as the well-known and highly-regarded brand it is today.”
The bedroom furniture business based in Bilston, West Midlands, has an omnichannel approach with both digital sales and showrooms across the UK.
This is Sun European’s second sale of a UK bedroom company in 2021, as in May it sold Dreams to Tempur Sealy International. The mattress and bedroom furniture company was acquired in 2013.
During the ownership of Sun European, Sharps was able release new products while adapting to the new market. There were changes made to its marketing, with direct-to-consumer sales and advertising, which was said to lead to growth within the company.
Bill Priestley, chief investment partner at Epiris, said: “Sharps is the leader in a market which offers strong long-term growth prospects beyond the boom it is currently enjoying. We are all delighted to be partnering with Kevin and his team to build on the company’s clear and proven strengths in selling bespoke products direct to consumers.”
Alex Fortescue, managing partner at Epiris, added: “Fund II’s eighth investment marks an opportunity to transform an already successful business by exploring new marketing, product and operational initiatives. That is exactly the kind of opportunity Epiris looks for.”
The Epiris team for the deal are Ian Wood, Bill Priestley, Alex Wilby and Pablo Espinoza. Epiris is advised by MDW Capital, Macfarlanes and PwC.
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