Luxury handbag brand Strathberry targets global growth after £8m funding boost

Strathberry – whose handbags are favoured by the likes of the Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex as well as Lady Gaga – has teamed up with growth capital investor BGF, after securing an £8 million investment to help sew up its growth plans.

Edinburgh-headquartered Strathberry was founded in 2013 by husband-and-wife duo Guy and Leeanne Hundleby, and says it is one of the UK’s fastest-growing contemporary fashion brands, specialising in handbags and accessories that have gained a prestigious global following.

In recent years, stores have opened in London’s Burlington Arcade, the King’s Road and Covent Garden as well as on Edinburgh’s Multrees Walk, and it now has customers in 70-plus countries.

Leeanne and Guy Hundleby, who will actively lead Strathberry 'with the same passion and expertise that inspired them to create the brand in 2013'. Picture: contributed.

It says the funding from BGF will help it significantly develop into new product categories, enhance its online capabilities, and grow internationally with its own stores, retail partners and e-commerce channels.

The family-run firm said the move marks a “new and exciting” chapter that will see Mr and Mrs Hundleby still highly involved in every aspect of the business and “actively leading Strathberry with the same passion and expertise that inspired them to create the brand”.

The duo said: “The whole team is incredibly excited about the future opportunity and we look forward to working in partnership with the BGF team.”

Euan Baxter, investor at BGF – formerly known as the Business Growth Fund – said: “We are particularly attracted to the authenticity of the brand and the loyal following that Strathberry has built. It’s clear that… [it] is primed for widespread growth both domestically and internationally. We look forward to helping the team scale their business even further.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.