Cash injection values Victoria Beckham at £100m

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 27, 2017

​There have been plenty of questions in recent periods about just how successful the Victoria Beckham label is. But now a new cash injection has seen it valued at £100 million and positioned it for growth.

The company has received a £30 million cash boost from Neo Investment Partners, which is run by David Belhassen, the executive who founded French bakery chain Paul and made it a major UK success. 

Neo has taken a minority stake in the  British pop star-turned-fashion exec’s company. The business overall is still controlled by Beckham Brand Holdings, which is a joint venture between Victoria and David Beckham and music-to-business entrepreneur Simon Fuller. 

It will use the new cash to fund its global e-tail and retail ambitions. Victoria Beckham said: "Partnership and collaboration is incredibly important to me. Neo is the perfect partner to now accompany us on the next step of our journey: they understand my vision and my wish for the company to retain its independence, as well as my commitment to continuing to develop the brand with a unique, forward thinking approach."

Fuller added: "This is a hugely positive time for Victoria Beckham. The continued growth and potential has never been so dynamic. This partnership will enhance our immediate plans and allow us to expand across all areas of the company with new categories and stronger retail and digital presence. 2018 promises to be the most exciting year yet with the 10th anniversary celebrations and a move into new premises."

Victoria Beckham’s fashion label has made an impact in recent years, partly because of the fame of its founder and her paparazzi-worthy family. But critics have also been forced to admit that what they assumed would be a pop star vanity project has turned into a serious fashion business with Beckham and her design team creating a series of well-received collections.

The label regularly tops social media rankings during New York Fashion Week and Beckham has also scored a big hit with her high-end make-up collections launched by Estée Lauder Companies.

Currently available in Selfridges and Harvey Nichols in the UK and Bloomingdale’s in the US, the label also has two stores of its own, in London and Hong Kong.

But, as mentioned, there have been questions over just how stable the business is. These were added to last year when the UK tax authorities warned Beckham that the company was at risk as she had failed to file its accounts on time three years in a row. She was reported to have been served with a “notice of compulsory strike-off” but averted this when the company filed its accounts for the year to December 2015 in early January this year. 

Those accounts showed revenue up by 7% to £36.51 million while the net loss was almost £4.6 million. The company was also believed to have received a £6.6 million loan from DB Ventures, which handles David Beckham’s product endorsements. The current valuation of £100 million is reported to be double 2016’s sales value.