The West Sussex-based furniture company Maker&Son, founded in 2018 by Alex Willcock and his son Felix Conran, has been acquired by the investment group Inc & Co in a multi-million-pound transaction.
From its base in Balcombe, which includes a headquarters, design studio, and showroom, the company has expanded its reach internationally with manufacturing facilities in the UK, Ireland, the United States, Australia, Asia, and New Zealand, enabling local production in these regions.
Valued recently at £55 million, the brand employs 150 staff. Maker&Son is best known for its viral ‘Sofa Jump’ advertising campaign that began in 2018.
This advertising approach is vital as the brand does not operate through traditional stores, instead reaching customers directly via their ‘mobile’ showroom.
Felix Conran, co-founder of Maker&Son, remarks: “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.”
Inc & Co, based in Manchester, will take over the entire Maker&Son group, including its international operations. Founded three years ago in July, the investment group recently reported a £30 million turnover in its second year.
Maker&Son is the latest in a series of acquisitions by the group, following the likes of luxury leather brand KNOMO London, food and beverage company 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, CEO of Inc & Co, says: “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.”
