UK-based luxury fashion retailer Matches Fashion has secured the backing of private equity firm Scottish Equity Partners.

The investment deal sees £12 million of capital injected into Matches Fashion, a business which has 14 stores across London.

Matches’ funding will allow it to expand its online sales capabilities and focus on what it calls ‘key international markets’.

The business has revealed that it will finish 2012 with a turnover of £50 million, 60 per cent derived from online sales, and growth of 120 per cent over 2011.

Founded in 1990 by Tom and Ruth Chapman, the chain stocks labels such as Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent and Isabel Maurant.

It is the latest addition to Scottish Equity Partners e-commerce portfolio which includes online flight search service Skycanner.

Andrew Davison, partner at Glasgow-based Scottish Equity Partners and new board member at the invested company, says the firm is Matches Fashion’s first private equity backer.

He adds, ‘Tom and Ruth Chapman have built Matches Fashion into a highly trusted and iconic brand.

‘Our investment will enable the company to expand its online operations and cement its position as a leading global fashion business.’

Scottish Equity Partners’ last deal came when they joined forces with the bank-backed Business Growth Fund to invest in cloud computing company SkyDox.