Banbury based Omlet attracts investment by private equity firm Piper
A company launched by four friends while at the Royal College of Art in London has reportedly sold a significant £33 million minority stake of its business to to Piper, the private equity firm. Omlet launched its first product, a funky looking chicken house which made it simpler to keep chickens in gardens. The called it the Eagle, and since then Omlet’s designs have delighted thousands of pet owners around the world.
The Banbury-based the fast growing pet accessories brand has sold to Piper, founded by the team behind the Pitcher & Piano brand in the 90s. It has since invested in more than. 40 brands, including Bloom & Wild, doggy day-care brand Bruce's Doggy Day Care and jewellery brand Monica Vinader.
Omlet products are available in Europe, USA, Australia and New Zealand.
The Corporate Finance team from independent UK law firm Burges Salmon advised Omlet.
Founded in 2004 by James Tuthill, Johannes Paul, William Windham and Simon Nicholls, Omlet developed the Eglu, a revolutionary, award-winning chicken coop that is now included in the permanent collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum.
The business has evolved to cover additional core pet categories including dogs, cats and small animals and with a sales forecast to reach £40m this year, Omlet is well-placed to capitalise on a number of key consumer trends that have been driving growth in the £250bn global pet sector. These trends have helped fuel Omlet’s growth and enable the business to use its bespoke e-commerce platform to reach a worldwide audience.
The Burges Salmon team advising on the deal was led by partner Dominic Davis, director Tim Roberts, and associate Briony Barber from the firm’s Corporate Finance team.
Dominic Davis said: “We thoroughly enjoyed working with the Omlet founders and are delighted to have assisted them on this deal. It is particularly pleasing have supported a grass roots business and we feel that Piper is the perfect partner to help grow Omlet into a global premium pet product brand.”
James Tuthill added: “It's been fascinating working with Dom, Tim and Briony. They and their wider team worked seamlessly with BDO to implement this transaction providing high quality transactional legal advice in their inimitable professional yet convivial style."
