Owner of Missguided preparing to sell stake in company

Owner of online fashion phenomenon Missguided preparing to sell stake in company for first time

The owner of online fashion phenomenon Missguided is preparing to sell a stake in the company for the first time, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. 

In a move to spur global growth, Nitin Passi – whose family still owns the business outright – has appointed Rothschild to find potential investors. Market sources said the initiative could raise as much as £100million. 

Company founder Passi, 38, who would not be drawn on the size of the stake or value, said: ‘I’ve done this for 12 years without raising money. 

Boost: Sales at Missguided soared to £290million in the year to March

‘We’ve had some issues but they are now behind us and we’ve got our magic back. 

‘We can still grow this business as we are but we want to grow the business more aggressively. This is not for me to take money off the table, we want to put money into the business.’ 

Sales at Missguided rose 40 per cent to around £290million in the year to March. It was profitable before including costs arising from the pandemic. Passi expects turnover to be ‘closer to £400million’ this year with a focus on UK and US growth. 

Last night, he said: ‘Our customer has been starved of her normal life. But people are getting ready to go out, go to the pub, to festivals. 

‘If people can go on holiday as well, I think we are in for a really good time this summer.’ 

He said the fundraising may be a ‘stepping stone’ to a bigger stake sale or a stock market flotation.