The Corporate Finance team from independent UK law firm Burges Salmon has advised the founding shareholders of Omlet, the fast-growing pet accessories brand, on the investment by Piper, a leading UK private equity firm specialising in investing in fast-growing consumer brands.
Founded in 2004 by James Tuthill, Hanns Paul, William Windham and Simon Nicholls, Omlet developed the Eglu, a revolutionary, award-winning chicken coop that is now included in the permanent collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum.
The business has evolved to cover additional core pet categories including dogs, cats and small animals and, with sales forecast to reach £40 million this year, Omlet is well-placed to capitalise on a number of key consumer trends that have been driving growth in the £250 billion global pet sector. These trends have helped fuel Omlet’s growth and enable the business to use its bespoke e-commerce platform to reach a worldwide audience.
The Burges Salmon team advising on the deal was led by partner Dominic Davis, director Tim Roberts and senior associate Briony Barber from the firm’s Corporate Finance team, with assistance from Gareth Grand and Rachael Ruane (Banking and Finance), and Hilary Barclay and Rishi Naidoo (Corporate Tax). BDO Corporate Finance (Laura McNaughton and Lorna Hopkinson) also advised the founders.
Dominic Davis comments: “We are delighted to have advised James, Hanns, Will and Simon on this deal. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with the Omlet team, along with Laura and Lorna’s team at BDO, to bring this deal to a successful conclusion for all parties. Omlet is a fantastic business with a great management team and with Piper on board we look forward to the next chapter in the company’s growth and assisting the team with that journey.”
James Tuthill concludes: “It's been fascinating working with Dom, Tim and Briony. They are a formidable team whose attention to detail, thoughtfulness and unerring focus on the end result impressed us from start to finish. They and their wider team worked seamlessly with BDO to implement this transaction, providing high quality transactional legal advice in their inimitable professional yet convivial style. We wouldn't hesitate to recommend Dom and the Burges Salmon team to anyone looking for a superb legal team.”