Jane Norman sold in secondary buyout

Graphite Capital has sold its majority shareholding in Jane Norman to an Icelandic investor group comprising Kaupthing Bank and Baugur Group in a secondary buyout transaction. The deal values the UK women’s fashion retailer at £117.4m. The transaction provides Graphite with a total return of 2.9 times its investment and an IRR of over 50%.

Graphite acquired a majority shareholding in Jane Norman in 2003 when the firm backed the £70m management buyout led by chief executive Saj Shah. Since then, the number of outlets has more than doubled to 39 standalone stores and 56 concessions. Over the past five years, annual sales have grown by 230% and operating profits by 250%.

Andy Gray, Anne Hoffmann and Markus Golser managed the transaction for Graphite and were advised by Hawkpoint.