West Sussex’s Maker&Son Acquired by Inc & Co Investment Group
The West Sussex-based furniture brand Maker&Son, established in 2018 by Alex Willcock and his son Felix Conran, has been acquired by the investment group Inc & Co in a significant multi-million-pound deal.
Operating from its headquarters, design studio, and showroom in Balcombe, the company has grown its international presence with manufacturing facilities in the UK, Ireland, the US, Australia, Asia, and New Zealand, enabling local production in these regions.
The brand, which was recently valued at £55 million, employs 150 staff members. Maker&Son is widely recognised for its viral ‘Sofa Jump’ advertising campaign, which began in 2018.
This marketing strategy is vital as the brand does not sell through traditional retail stores, instead opting to connect directly with customers via their ‘mobile’ showroom.
Felix Conran, co-founder of Maker&Son, commented: “Our vision for the business was to put our products and people – both our team and our clients – at the heart of what we do. With this comes a true sense of British heritage and belonging for our teams, and our clients alike.
“The sale will enable us to continue our vision of creating luxury sustainable furniture. We are delighted that Inc &Co have seen the value in what we have achieved to date and are excited to work with them to write the next chapter for Maker&Son.”
Manchester-based investment group Inc & Co will now assume full ownership of the Maker&Son group, including its international operations. The group, established three years ago, recently reported a £30 million turnover in its second year.
Maker&Son joins a growing list of acquisitions by Inc & Co, including luxury leather brand KNOMO London, food and beverage brand Chop’d, and King Street Grooming.
Inc & Co plans to expand Maker&Son by launching 20 new regional locations for its mobile showroom over the next 18 months.
Jack Mason, group CEO of Inc & Co, said: “Inc & Co pride itself on being known for expediting acquisitions in an extremely diligent and human-centric way. We are excited to be joining Maker&Son on its business journey. It is a distinguished brand, with provenance and vision. The fast and international growth to date has proven the strength of the product and we’re looking to expand on this further.
“Inc & Co, much like Maker&Son, is honed on creating and delivering products and services for the modern, sustainably conscious and digitally aware customer. Maker&Son fits seamlessly into the Inc & Co portfolio of brands and we can’t wait get under the skin of the business.”