Inflexion Private Equity has sold a majority stake in Virgin Experience Days, a leading provider of experience gifts, to Equistone Partners Europe. Inflexion will retain a minority stake and the company’s management team, led by CEO Richard Hurd-Wood, will reinvest in the business. The financial terms of the transaction are undisclosed.
Virgin Experience Days is a leading provider of curated experiences and inspiring gift ideas for customers across the UK and the US. Over a million experiences were sold to both consumers and c.1,000 corporate clients last year. The company offers an extensive range of 5,000 experiences, from skydiving to luxury breaks, derived from its network of longstanding relationships with suppliers including Fortnum & Mason, Red Bull Racing and Bletchley Park.
Inflexion completed the buyout of Virgin Experience Days in 2017 through its Enterprise Fund and has supported the company’s growth and expansion into new markets, both organically and by acquisition. Investment in the company’s technology platform has significantly improved the consumer proposition and helped attract new customers, whilst last year’s acquisition of US experience gifting business Cloud 9, now rebranded as Virgin Experience Gifts, has established a platform for growth in the US. Under Equistone’s majority ownership, the company will continue to build on its experience gifting platform and further accelerate the roll-out of the proposition in the US.
Virgin Experience Days has shown strong growth in both the UK and internationally during our investment, with exceptional commitment from the team during the pandemic. We are pleased to have supported the investment in their digital offering and customer proposition which has delivered excellent results, and we are delighted to be continuing as an investor in the business.
We have seen significant growth over recent years, with the support of Inflexion, including more than doubling our team and launching the Virgin Experience Gifts brand into the US market. Alongside our new majority investors Equistone we will look to further enhance our offering and cement our sector leadership in the UK and US. We are excited to have found a partner that shares our enthusiasm in what we’ve built and our vision to continue to bring incredible experiences to people looking to make new memories with loved ones. Richard Hurd-Wood, CEO
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