Michelmores advise Shopify Plus agency Swanky on YFM's £7.6m growth investment

Michelmores’ Corporate team has advised Swanky and its shareholders on a £7.6 million investment from YFM Equity Partners’ Buyout Funds.

Swanky is an Exeter-based Shopify Plus agency and one of Europe’s leading Shopify Platinum Partners, working with ambitious retailers and brands across the UK, US, Australia and Europe. YFM’s investment will help Swanky accelerate growth, deepen service capability and pursue selective acquisitions to further enhance its proposition for clients.

Founded in 2010 by Dan McIvor, Swanky was appointed one of Shopify’s first Plus Partners in EMEA in 2016. Dan Partridge, previously a member of the Corporate team at Michelmores, joined as CEO in 2021 and has led the business through a period of structural strengthening: headcount has grown to around 70 employees, service delivery has been professionalised end-to-end, and the company has delivered consistent revenue growth. Co-founder Matt Giles remains on the executive board as Chief Creative Officer.

The Michelmores team advising on the deal was led by Harry Trick (Partner), alongside Chris Cook (Legal Director), Harry Jones (Associate) and Cathy Bryant (Partner, Corporate Tax). Michelmores worked alongside SI Global who were corporate finance advisors to Swanky.

Dan Partridge commented:

“It was a real pleasure to work with Harry, Chris, Cathy, Harry and the wider Michelmores team on this transaction.

Having spent several very enjoyable years in Michelmores’ Corporate team, I have first-hand experience of the quality of the people and the standard of advice the firm provides. It was therefore a genuine privilege (and an easy decision) to instruct Harry and the team on such an important milestone for Swanky.

We are incredibly grateful for their support, expertise, commerciality and guidance throughout the process.”

Matt Gordon-Smith, Investment Director at YFM, added:

“What drew us to Swanky was the combination of deep platform expertise, a strong and growing client base, and an ambitious management team that has already done the hard work of building a scalable operation.

As Shopify continues to gain ground with enterprise retailers, the demand for partners who can deliver at the highest level is only increasing. There are very few agencies in the UK capable of operating at that level today, and Swanky is well placed to continue building on the position it has established”.

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Authors

Harry Trick

Chris Cook

Harry Jones

Cathy Bryant

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