Bedroom furniture maker Sharps has sold


Sharps, one of the UK’s leading bedroom furniture suppliers, has been acquired by Epiris.

The independent private equity firm bought Sharps from a subsidiary of Sun European Partners, a private investment advisory firm, for an undisclosed amount. Completion of the transaction, subject to regulatory approval, is scheduled for late September.

Kevin Smith, Managing Director of Sharps, said: “Our partnership with Sun’s European team has been a great success. We are extremely proud that today Sharps is the number one player in the custom fitted bedroom furniture market.

“At Sharps, we are focused on implementing a customer-centric strategy with our bespoke furniture products, offering unique and space-saving solutions. This focus, combined with the strong operations team and capabilities of Sun European, has allowed us to establish Sharps as the well-known and highly regarded brand it is today.

The Bilston, West Midlands-based bedroom furniture business has an omnichannel approach with both digital sales and showrooms across the UK.

This is Sun European’s second sale of a UK bedroom company in 2021, as in May it sold Dreams to Tempur Sealy International. The mattress and bedroom furniture business was acquired in 2013.

During the ownership of Sun European, Sharps was able to launch new products while adapting to the new market. Changes were made to its marketing, with direct-to-consumer sales and advertising, which is said to have led to growth within the company.

Bill Priestley, Principal Investment Partner at Epiris, said: “Sharps is the leader in a market that offers strong long-term growth prospects beyond the boom it is currently enjoying. We are all excited to partner with Kevin and his team to leverage the firm’s clear and proven strengths in selling bespoke products directly to consumers.

Alex Fortescue, Managing Partner of Epiris, added: “Fund II’s eighth investment represents an opportunity to transform an already successful business by exploring new marketing, product and operational initiatives. This is exactly the kind of opportunity Epiris is looking for.

The Epiris team for the case are Ian Wood, Bill Priestley, Alex Wilby and Pablo Espinoza. Epiris is advised by MDW Capital, Macfarlanes and PwC.

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