7 January 2010 Vendis Capital enters capital of ZEB to support growth plan
Merchtem, 7 January 2010 – The dynamic and rapidly-growing retail chain ZEB has entered into a partnership with the investment company Vendis Capital. Vendis Capital is investing EUR 7.6 million in ZEB. A substantial part of the transaction involves new funds, which will be used by ZEB to finance future organic or acquisitive expansion.
The investment of Vendis Capital is an important step for ZEB, which this year was chosen – for the third time in a row – as Belgium´s best retail chain in the category of women´s fashion. ZEB is a fashion retailer with a youthful assortment of branded clothing for women, men and children. The company has expanded rapidly in recent years, going from 7 stores at the beginning of 2007 to 21 stores today. 8 new stores are scheduled to open during 2010. ZEB currently employs 142 people and in the past financial year achieved a turnover of EUR 26 million.
This is the first investment for Vendis Capital, which was formed last October by the former management team of Mitiska. The fund was set up with a capital of EUR 55 million, and the team plans to expand the fund’s capital base in a second round to EUR 100 million. It will be seeking additional private and institutional investors for this at the beginning of 2010.
“ZEB is an excellent example of the kind of investments we wish to make with Vendis Capital,” Willem Van Aelten of Vendis Capital explains. “The idea is to support the growth plan of a high-performance retail concept in partnership with a strong entrepreneur and a good team.”
“Vendis Capital is the ideal partner for us,” adds Luc Van Mol, founder and CEO of ZEB. “While retaining our own identity, we can give a boost to our growth plan, supported by an investor who really knows the consumer sector.”