Venture capital fund BGF has invested £10 million (€11.7 million) into Lisburn-based window blind company Mzuri Group to support its growth plans.
This marks a follow-on investment for BGF, which first backed Mzuri in April 2020, and brings its total backing for the company to £20 million.
Mzuri, which designs, manufactures and distributes window coverings, will use the funding for further acquisitions to boost its growth and build its European sales and distribution. Since April 2020, it has increased revenues to £195 million, up from £70 million, as it made 10 acquisitions and grew the core business organically.
Founded in 1979, Mzuri previously traded as Decora. It currently employs 1,500 people between its Lisburn headquarters and other facilities in the UK. It has customers in the UK, Europe and Australia.
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“Mzuri has significantly expanded its business since BGF first invested in the company, and we view this latest round of funding as a tremendous endorsement of our plans for further growth in the years ahead,” said Stuart Dickson, managing director of Mzuri Group. “As well as its substantial capital support, access to BGF’s network and its expert advice has been invaluable as we have assessed acquisition opportunities and moved into new markets. We look forward to continuing to work closely with BGF’s investment team in the future.”
Established in 2011, BGF was set up to invest in growing companies in the UK and Ireland. It is backed by Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest and Standard Chartered.
BGF has invested in more than 450 companies, spending more than £3 billion to back them. To date, it has invested about £60 million in Northern Irish businesses, including Braidwater, RiverRidge, Audit Comply, Bob & Berts, Uform, and its Mzuri backing.
“The team has done a brilliant job building what is now a business of significant scale and one of the leading players in the window coverings market across the UK and Europe,” said Graham Clarke, investor at BGF and board member of Mzuri. “It is fantastic to announce this significant follow-on investment in Mzuri Group, which will support the continued growth of the company as it builds on its current platform and extends its European presence.”
Its Irish fund, which was established in 2017, is supported by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, AIB, Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank. Earlier this month, it announced separate investments in Irish companies: €12.5 million in Galway-based food supplement maker Revive Active, and a €10 million investment in Dublin Meat Company.
That followed a €10.5 million investment in cybersecurity business Edgescan, €3.6 million in Dublin-based security business Action24, a multimillion-euro deal for a minority interest in Croom Precision Medical, a Co Limerick-based precision engineering business, and a €10.5 million investment in Irish childcare group Tigers Childcare.
