Me+Em gets £55m funding boost, targets global growth, especially the US

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 22, 2022

High-end UK fashion brand Me+Em has received a funding injection of £55m in a round led by Highland Europe as it targets international — and specifically American — growth.

The D2C label, founded by ad exec-turned-fashion-entrepreneur Clare Hornby, offers contemporary luxury clothing with a sustainable/ethical slant and has seen revenues rising in triple-digits in the past year. 

Highland previously also backed luxury e-tailer Matchesfashion while existing backers include Carphone Warehouse tycoon Charles Dunstone and investment firm Venrex.

The new investment values the 15-year-old company at £130 million, which is pretty impressive after Hornby originally mortgaged her house to set up the business.

But the data-obsessed founder had a good grounding in the business at a very early age having run a secondhand clothes stall in her teens and starting at Harrods as a marketing trainee after university. 

Her growing business saw sales last year of almost £47 million after turnover surged 115%, and profits reached £11.4 million.

Me+Em now has six stores, but most of its sales are online and it employs around 120 people. It has plans for two US store openings in Boston and New York next year. The US is its fastest-growing region with sales there having risen fourfold in the past three years.

But Australia, the Middle East, Canada, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and mainland Europe are also on the firm’s growth hit list.

Sam Brooks, partner at Highland Europe, said: “Me+Em’s relentless focus on quality, fit and sustainability has inspired an incredibly loyal customer base and has generated impressive growth over the past several years. In addition to the success in the UK we are impressed by the strong demand coming from international customers, a testament to the brand’s global relevance and appeal. Clare is a fantastic leader, and we are thrilled to partner with her and the Me+Em team.”

Despite the outside investors pumping significant sums into the business, Hornby retains a large stake in the firm along with her husband.