Bath, body and beauty product provider will use funds to fuel international growth

Grace Cole, the English brand of bath, body and beauty products, has secured a multi-million growth capital investment from BGF (Business Growth Fund) to pursue further expansion in the UK and internationally.

Headquartered in Cheshire, the company’s range of products and gifts are sold in leading department stores and pharmacies including House of Fraser, Debenhams, John Lewis and Lloyds, and exported to more than 80 countries worldwide through a global distribution network and direct to high-quality retailers.

With all of the daily care products manufactured in the UK, Grace Cole has experienced rapid sales growth in countries such as Japan and Saudi Arabia where there is strong customer demand for ‘made in England’ beauty products.

BGF’s investment will be used to support entry into new markets, and drive further sales in existing markets which include the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. The business also plans to diversify into new product categories in response to demand from its retail customers.

Founded in 2007 by entrepreneur Tracy Mort, the company designs and develops Grace Cole-branded products which include collections such as Boutique, Fruit Works, and Tea Tree, and has won a number of awards for its products, entrepreneurship and business growth.

Tracy Mort, founder and CEO, Grace Cole said: “We have created an efficient model of design, production and distribution, developed strong retail relationships and secured a loyal customer base.

Having built a great foundation for the business, we are now excited to scale-up our operations even further with BGF’s financial backing. We wanted to bring on board an investment partner that would be supportive but non-controlling, and as such BGF’s long-term, minority approach was the right fit.”

Neil Inskip, Investor at BGF said: “In less than nine years, Grace Cole has grown from start-up to a business with product ranges selling in more than 80 countries worldwide. This is a significant achievement and testament to talent and ambition of Tracy and her management team.

“We are delighted to be providing Tracy with the support and financial backing to pursue her growth aspirations for the business.”

The investment was led for BGF by Neil Inskip and Pinesh Mehta.