Fever-Tree has secured £48m backing for its premium drinks portfolio.
LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds banking Group, has made the capital investment in the eight-year-old brand to help accelerate its “ambitious global expansion plans”, as well as strengthen its presence in the UK, it said.
Launched by British entrepreneurs Charles Rolls and Tim Warrillow (pictured) in 2005 as an alternative to “poor-quality mixers”, the brand – which has grown to include ginger beer, ginger ale and bitter lemon – has become the number-one premium mixer brand in the £320m UK category, claimed Rolls.
Over the next three years, the firm forecasted close to 25% average annual revenue growth for the UK and Spain and over 50% for the US, Rolls said.
LDC, which replaces original investor Lochside and leaves the two founders still holding a small majority stake, was looking forward to support Fever-Tree in “unlocking further global expansion in this premium consumer niche”, said MD of LDC’s London investment team Daniel Sasaki.
“Fever-Tree follows in a tradition of great British venture brands including Innocent, Ella’s Kitchen and Tyrrells, which all created powerful brands and then achieved fantastic success by exporting them to the rest of the world,” he said.
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