Luxury furniture business Canburg secures £8m BGF investment

Luxury furniture group Canburg, owner of Smallbone of Devizes and Mark Wilkinson Furniture, has announced an £8m fund raise from the Business Growth Fund (BGF) in return for a minority equity stake.

Established in 2009 by Lee Caplan, Canburg was created to purchase fitted furniture specialists Smallbone and Mark Wilkinson Furniture with Caplan committing over £10m to help enable the two businesses to return to profitability.

A leading global luxury kitchen fitter, Smallbone specialises in bespoke cabinets while Mark Wilkinson Furniture focuses on classic and contemporary furniture for both the kitchen and wider living spaces.

With a client portfolio including the likes of Sir Elton John, Dustin Hoffman and Oprah Winfrey, over the last 12 months the group has boasted sales of £30m and expects profits to increase from £2.1m to £3m in the year to June 2014.

It intends to use the funding to boost its growth strategy in both the UK and overseas, and is also planning to create up to 40 jobs at its UK showrooms and Devizes workshop.

Canburg Group CEO, Caplan, commented: “This is a really exciting time for Canburg.

“I first invested in these businesses because of my passion for the luxury furniture they both make. The fact that the furniture is hand made in the UK and supplied globally is a fantastic testament to our cabinet making heritage.

“I am confident that, over the next five years, we can grow the business from its current valuation of over £50m (post investment) to a global luxury group worth in excess of £500m.”

Paul OIdham, BGF regional director, continued:

“We share [Caplan’s] vision and over the next few years fully expect to see Canburg take a dominant role among a select group of successful British design and manufacturing businesses operating on the international stage.”