Overview

In The Style is a fast-growing e-commerce fashion company targeting an audience of women aged between 16 and 35. The Company has pioneered an innovative influencer collaboration model as an authentic and cost-effective way to drive customer engagement and sales.

Why In the Style?

We were attracted to In The Style’s growth track record, its differentiated social media influencer marketing model, its exposure to pure-play online retail and its strong, founder-led management team.

Causeway Capital invested £2.5m of growth capital in In The Style in 2018 in return for a c.50% shareholding alongside founder/CEO, Adam Frisby and experienced COO/CFO, Paul Masters.

Growth

Causeway Capital’s growth capital was principally invested in developing the social media influencer and technology platforms. In just under three years, the Company’s sales trebled, and the company moved to profitability.

Growth highlights included:

• developing a new proprietary app (c.50% of 2020 sales were through the app)

• launching a new B2B wholesale line (c.20% of 2020 sales)

• 3 year revenue CAGR (2018-21) of 43%

ESG

In The Style is a campaigning brand, and an industry champion for female empowerment, body confidence and real beauty with a proactive sustainability agenda. It was one of the first major UK brands to stop retouching photoshoot images and raised over £350,000 for the Samaritans as part of a 2020 campaign to promote awareness of mental health issues linked to online/social media abuse and bullying.

Following considerable progress on ESG matters since Causeway Capital’s investment, the Company commissioned an independent report on its supply chain and broader approach to ESG by Anthesis in 2020. They validated this progress, concluding in a public report that “Anthesis was pleased to see In The Style already meets or outperforms its competitors large and small in several of the key areas covered by the industry benchmark.”

Outcome

In The Style completed a £105m IPO on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM in March 2021. The IPO was over-subscribed and priced at the top-end of expectations providing the Company with a new long-term shareholder base and further growth capital to fund its future growth plans.

The IPO also enabled Causeway Capital to sell two thirds of its holding and provided a multi-million-pound return for the management team. After the IPO, management and Causeway Capital remain substantial shareholders in the Company.

“We are thrilled by the very positive reception to our IPO from a wide range of high-quality institutional investors. This is a great testament to In The Style’s differentiated brand, innovative influencer collaboration model, and exciting opportunities for future growth. I’m incredibly proud of the ITS brand and would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone connected with In The Style – including our team, customers, partners and influencers – for their continued support of the business, which has contributed to both its success so far and today’s exciting milestone. We are delighted to welcome our new shareholders and are looking forward to the next exciting chapter of In The Style’s journey as a public company.”

  Adam Frisby, Founder & CEO of In The Style

 More from our portfolio