Atterley secures 3 million pounds in funding

Atterley, the online fashion marketplace for fashion independents, has completed a 3 million pound funding round led by private equity firm Maven Capital Partners.

The investment, which also includes commitments from development agency Scottish Enterprise and existing shareholders, will help Atterley to “execute its planned growth strategy,” with a key focus on developing its footprint in the US.

Existing investors include Sir Terry Leahy, former chief executive of Tesco, Graeme Bissett, former chairman at tyre company Blackcircles.com, and former Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman, who is also an advisor to its board.

Atterley, led by Edinburgh entrepreneur Mike Welch, currently works with more than 250 independent retailers and 3,000 brands and has experienced a year-on-year rise in revenues due to strong repeat sales and entry into new geographic markets.

Atterley founder and chairman Mike Welch said in a statement: “This investment is a game-changer for us and really sets us up for our next big phase of growth. We have always taken a ‘test and learn’ approach to our investments in growth and that has not only kept us in control of our destiny as shareholders but has carried us through some of the most testing times for businesses that we have ever seen.

“I am excited that in partnership with Maven we will be able to accelerate our growth and capitalise on the massive market opportunity.”

Maven partner David Milroy added: “The retail sector is going through unprecedented change creating huge opportunities for online fashion marketplaces and we are delighted to be supporting one of the most exciting, Atterley. We were drawn to the company’s ethos which places its boutique partners front and centre and in doing so it is able to offer consumers a vast range of premium, emerging, and undiscovered labels expertly curated by some of the worlds most talented fashion buyers.

“We are very much looking forward to working with the Atterley team as they work to emulate their success building and exiting one of the UK’s first e-commerce marketplaces, Blackcircles.”