13 January 2022

Image via [https://vegetalement.com/]; Creator : Marta Puglia; Author rights : © Marta Puglia – All rights reserved

Universal Beauty Group is a French natural cosmetics company known for its premium haircare and beauty brand, Végétalement Provence. Richard Morgan Advisory acted as financial advisor to Universal Beauty in a competitive process launched in May 2021 which attracted very strong interest both in France and abroad from beauty and luxury sector investors, as well as private equity and family offices.

In a transaction finalised on 9 December 2021, a €6m investment was raised for Universal Beauty by a group of premier French private equity investors, led by Marseille-based Connect Pro, and in including BNP Paribas Développement, Etoile Capital (Crédit du Nord) and Région Sud Investissement, a European Union backed fund aimed at promoting businesses in the Southern Region of France. The final choice of investors gives a stable environment for growth provided by institutional investors with a regional partner.

The fund raising will enable Universal Beauty to accelerate its development in the rapidly expanding natural beauty sector. The new investors give full support to the company’s plan to invest in new research and innovation, with significant funds dedicated to digital development.

The company confirms its plan to open a concept store in Paris in Spring 2022, a new base for Végétalement Provence. Sales for 2021 are expected to reach €4M with an EBITDA margin of 20%.

Read the full article from Women’s Wear Daily here.