Founded in 1978 by two Italian entrepreneurs as a manufacturer and retailer of wooden structures for pergolas and gazebos, Unopiu currently has 26 branded showrooms in major cities across Europe. The business has annual sales of €73m and an aggregate 17% share of the branded garden furniture market in Italy, France, Germany and Spain, as well as catalogue distributions in the Benelux countries and the UK, with licensing agreements in the UAE and Russia.
London-based Change Capital Partners specialises in branded goods and has made five previous investments, three in the UK as well as Danish leisurewear wholesaler Buksesnedkeren and German fashion house Jill Sander, a February 2006 acquisition from luxury goods giant Prada.