Licensee’s current management team will continue to run the business.
Multi category licensee Sambro has been acquired by London private equity powerhouse, Elysian Capital.
This is the first investment for the Elysian Capital II LP Fund, which closed last summer at £250 million.
Sambro will continue to be run by the same management team – including Tom Duffy, Nikki Samuels and Jeremy Clynes – and all operations will remain in place.
Sambro – which works with licensors including Disney, Nickelodeon, Universal and Hasbro across categories such as toys, arts and crafts, stationery and bags – was established in 1997.
The company has more than doubled its turnover over the last three years to more than £60 million.
“It has always been our long-term vision to build Sambro into a market leading licensed products company and we have achieved that,” said Nikki Samuels, the company’s licensing director.
“The brilliant team at Sambro have worked tirelessly across all departments to ensure that year on year we become a true force to be reckoned with.
“This amazing partnership with Elysian Capital will allow us to realise our ambitious growth plans for the next few years and we look forward to working with them to take our business to a whole new level.”
Ken Terry, ceo at Elysian Capital, added: “The Sambro team has done a fantastic job in creating a market leading licensed products business.
“We were attracted to the high growth delivered by the business, its in-house product design team and partnership approach with brand owners and retailers.
“But most importantly we are backing a passionate team with tremendous ambitions for their business whether that be further organic growth or through acquisitions.”
