British online fast-fashion brand Missguided Ltd. has secured a cash and debt investment from European retail turnaround firm Alteri Investors.
The transaction includes a loan to fund operations and the acquisition of a 50 percent equity stake in the firm.
Nitin Passi founded the fast-fashion brand in 2009, and it has since become a favorite of female Gen Z fashionistas. The e-tailer has also worked with other brands for limited edition collaborations, including in May its second tie-up with streetwear brand Sean John, called Sean Jean X Missguided. Missguided also operates the men’s wear brand Mennace.
In April, Passi was believed to have been on the hunt for an investor to take a minority stake in the brand so he could grow the business. There were also rumblings from 2019 that the company had suffered from losses connected to its handful of stand-alone stores. Despite a surge in pandemic sales, supply chain disruptions led to talk in the marketplace that Passi was widening his search for an investor to take a bigger stake in the company.
With the help of bankers at Rothschild, Missguided did garner some interest, including JD Sports Fashion plc in September. Word then surfaced in November that Alteri Investors, which is backed by American private equity giant Apollo Global Management, was also in talks with the fast-fashion e-tailer.
Missguided’s deal with Altieri will include the addition of two Altieri directors to its board.
Altieri is a firm that specializes in special situations focused exclusively on the European retail sector. The company website said it invests in retailers tat have sales between 100 million euros ($112.9 million) to 3 billion euros ($3.38 billion). Other investments include German baby catalogue Baby Walz, with annual sales of 300 million euros ($338.6 million); German women’s apparel business CBR Fashion Group, annual sales estimated at 600 million euros ($667.1 million), and British vertically integrated bed retailer Bensons for Beds, with annual volume of 275 million pounds ($310.3 million).