Acting for BGF on their investment into Character.com

Tom Kelleher and Laura Spendiff, supported by Cath Golledge and Chloe Walsh, advised BGF on the deal. This investment is key in driving the next phase of growth for Character.com.

The fast-growing online retailer already saw its revenue increase from less than £10 million in FYE Jul-17 to over £50 million in FYE Jul-21. From its South Wales base, Character.com services customers across the UK, Europe and North America. Over the past 12 years, it has become one of the largest online retailers in its market by offering popular brands and maintaining a strong focus on customer service and quality.

Karen Hubbard joins the board at completion as non-executive Chair. Karen has significant experience in retail through her career at The Card Factory, B&M and Asda and is currently Chair at Redu Group and BGF-backed Moteefe. Karen’s appointment is the result of an introduction from BGF’s Talent Network, which is the UK’s largest pool of non-executive directors.

BGF has significant expertise in consumer products, brand and e-commerce businesses, having invested nearly £460m in over 60 companies in the sector.

This was the first time that Capital acted for the BGF team – comprising of Edwin Davies, Hannah Waters and Alex Garfitt – but we have worked with them on their other investments in Wales, including earlier this month when BGF completed a £14m investment in Victorian Sliders – another successful Welsh business whom we advised (read more here).

Commenting on the deal, Edwin Davies, Investor at BGF, said:

It’s a great time to work with an expanding and ambitious company like Character.com. We are delighted to be backing another great Welsh business and are looking forward to partnering with the team to support the long-term growth of the business. Steve and Karen are a really strong team with a clear plan for the future and we are excited to be part of their journey.

We also really enjoyed working with Capital Law – their pragmatic and efficient approach, together with their experience of transactions such as this made it enjoyable to work with Tom, Laura and the team.

Tom Kelleher, Partner at Capital Law, added:

It’s been a pleasure working with Ed and the team as they continue to invest in fantastic Welsh businesses. After cleverly navigating the challenges of lockdown and delivering extremely impressive revenue year on year, it’s clear that the team at Character.com are ready to drive their next phase of growth. Backed by BGF, they’re ideally positioned to conquer the fast-changing world of online retail, and to grow their international reach. This is a great business partnership, and a great success story for Wales.