Deals

3i pegs growth investment on women’s clothing

The FTSE 100 private equity firm is backing Soya Concept a value-based proposition in women’s fashion. The retail investment adds to fashion brand Hobbs, underwear chain Agent Provocateur and AP Bags, three of 3i's investments.

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3i, the global private equity firm, has acquired a 45 percent stake in Soya Concept, a women’s clothing company based in Denmark, for an undisclosed sum.

The transaction is intended to smooth a generational transition following the retirement of co-founder Viggo Jensen from the business, 3i said.

Soya Concept, founded in 2002 by Thomas Viller, Torben Brodersen and Jensen, sells fashionable, value-priced women’s clothing to more than 1,000 independent clothing retailers across Scandinavia, Benelux and Germany. It produces nine clothing collections a year.  

3i director Morten Windfeldt said in a statement: “Soya Concept is an exciting and very well-run company with a strong management team, and we look forward to accompanying the business in its next stage of development.”

3i’s other investments in consumer fashion businesses include AP Bags, which it bought earlier this year, Agent Provocateur, added to the portfolio last year, and Hobbs, which it acquired in 2004 from Barclays Private Equity.