El Ganso attracts capital. The fashion company, which is going through a sweet moment after its economic improvement in recent months, is attracting the interest of investors, although, for the moment, the Cebrián family does not have among its objectives the sale of the company.
«El Ganso is gradually getting better, we are attracting attention and we are being approached by people interested in the brand. But we are not in negotiations nor have we commissioned the sale; in fact, we have projects coming up that motivate us, such as those related to the Spanish National Team, and it is not in our plans to sell,» Clemente Cebrián, co-founder of the firm, told FashionNetwork.com.
The interest of the market responds to the improvement of the accounts and profitability of the Madrid-based company, which in 2021 raised its turnover by 20% to 55 million euros and expects, for this fiscal year, to return to the sales figures of 2019.
This context of improvement includes the acquisition of El Ganso’s debt by Bravo Capital at the beginning of 2021; in the same transaction, the maturity of payments was extended to 2026.
With healthy accounts and a flat Ebitda in the last fiscal year (in contrast with its losses in previous years), the current valuation of the company would be around 20 or 30 million euros, according to the economic newspaper Expansión, which also claims that the Cebrián family would have established 50 million euros as the price for a potential sale.
To complete the picture we must look back: in 2015, the fund L Capital (now L Catterton), the investment arm of the French luxury group LVMH, took 49% of El Ganso, but the Cebrián family regained control of 100% of the brand’s capital in 2018. Since then, the brand known for its «smart casual» style undertook its reorganization: it reduced its international presence, lowered the shutters of about thirty stores and closed the refinancing of its debt.
Today, El Ganso is an asset of interest to the market, with a network of 70 mono-brand stores (which rises to 160 points of sale if corners are included) and a presence in Spain, France, Mexico, Kuwait and Chile, as well as in the online channel.
At the same time, it is in the midst of relaunching its women’s line, through actions such as a collaboration with Sophie and Lucie and the marketing of its first fragrances for women through ‘Perfumes y Diseño’.