Radley bought by Exponent Private Equity

Radley has been bought by Exponent Private Equity for £130m

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Premium handbag brand Radley has been bought by Exponent Private Equity, valuing the business at £130 million.

The secondary buyout from Phoenix Equity Partners completed yesterday and will help the business push on with international expansion and more store openings.

Radley, which has more than 500 independent and department store accounts in the UK, is expected to generate more than £60m sales for the year end of April 2008. Sales have increased by an average of nearly 30% each year for the last five years.

Radley chief executive Roger Best said: "This is a fantastic business and the management team are excited to be staying on to keep building the company into something very special. We have had two great years with Phoenix, and are confident that in Exponent we have found new ideal partners for the next stage of growth. International brand development will be a key priority."

Richard Tudor of Exponent added: "We're very pleased to be involved with Radley. It has all the hallmarks of the kind of business we like: It's the leader in its field, it has a fantastic management team and the growth prospects are exciting."

This is the second fashion business Phoenix has sold this week. Yesterday it sold Bank, the branded fashion chain, to the The John David Group for £18.5m.