Universal Beauty Group Expands Its Capital to Finance Development

3 years ago

The French natural cosmetics company, known for its Végétalement Provence brand, announces a €6m capital raise from a group of investors led by Connect Pro, an investment fund based in Marseille.

The arrival of new investors to develop Végétalement Provence, is led by Connect Pro alongside the private equity funds BNP Paribas Développement and Etoile Capital, whose membership of leading banking groups, will ensure the sustainability of the support. The financing is completed by the Région Sud Investissement fund.

We were won over by the commitment and geographic proximity of Connect Pro and its co-investors, to help companies of our region to grow in France and internationally; Vincent Faraco, Co-Founder of Universal Beauty Group

Following the transaction, the founders, Vincent Faraco and Jean-Marc Delabre, will remain reference shareholders and will continue to lead the group.
We are proud to invest in Universal Beauty Group, which will be the first investment of our new Sud Rebound fund launched in June this year. This venture in the heart of the local economic ecosystem is fully in line with our strategy to support the development of key business in our region ; Franck Paoli, President and Founder of Connect Pro.

Partners in growth

The investors’ entry into the company’s capital will allow the business to accelerate its development in the rapidly expanding natural beauty sector, a market expected to show annual growth of 6-9% over the period 2021-2027.

This transaction follows the first investment in the company’s capital in 2017 made by the private-equity fund Audacia, whose support has made it possible to double the number of product references and open 3 own-brand concept salons alongside about twenty independent concept salons under the Végétalement Provence brand, including the most recent salon opened in Lyon in October.