Barclays Private Equity realises stake in DCK Concessions

Barclays Private Equity, a leading European mid-market private equity house, and Invex Capital have sold their stakes in DCK Concessions to Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance in a £55m deal. The exit generated an IRR of 50 per cent for Barclays Private Equity.  

The deal was originated by Invex Capital, an investment boutique specialising in management transactions, and was led by Barclays Private Equity.  
DCK Concessions, the UK’s only major fashion jewellery and accessories concession retailer, operates from high street fashion retail chains such as TopShop and Dorothy Perkins. The company provides the stores with a dedicated range of jewellery and fashion accessories including ‘Freedom’ at TopShop and ‘Diva’ at Miss Selfridge.  

The business has grown significantly since the original management buy-out in March 2003, with profits nearly doubling (from £4.4m to £8.3m) during this period. The number of concessions has also dramatically grown by approximately 80 per cent, from c. 1,900 to 3,429 at exit.  

The Board appointed Steve Longdon as chief executive officer in August last year (2004), with Alan Witzenfeld, co-founder of DCK, taking the role of executive chairman. Steve Longdon was previously with Arcadia and Marks & Spencer.  

John Walker, director, Barclays Private Equity commented: “Our experience in working with retailers such as New Look, Hobbs, Antler and Phase Eight has been useful in our understanding of the challenges on the high street, which can sometimes be turbulent. However, in DCK Concessions we backed a high quality management team who have helped to make this investment a smooth ride for us.”  

Steve Longdon, chief executive officer, DCK Concessions, said: “Barclays Private Equity has been an excellent partner for DCK Concessions over the last two years. The working relationship was first class; it was this constructive guidance that helped us develop the business into its current strong position.”  

Alan Greenberg, managing partner, Invex Capital added: “Having identified DCK as an exceptional, fast growing business in this niche, I am delighted with the successful outcome of this transaction. This provides another example of the Invex model enabling a quality management to grow their business through to the next stage of its development and funding.”