Swiss Entrepreneur Jacobs's Fund Buys Adult Retailer Lovehoney

(Bloomberg) -- Telemos Capital, a private equity firm set up last year by a member of Switzerland’s wealthy Jacobs family, said it has acquired Lovehoney, an online retailer of “sexual happiness” products.

Telemos has completed the purchase of a majority stake in Lovehoney, according to a statement. Lovehoney, founded in 2002 by Richard Longhurst and Neal Slateford, sells sex toys, lingerie, erotic gifts and other adult products in the U.K., Europe, U.S. and Australia.

The Bath, U.K.-based company, which offers a mix of original brands and third-party products, had sales of around 100 million pounds ($132 million) for the year ending March 31, the release shows. Sales have grown at a compounded annual rate of about 30 percent in the last three years.

“This is a mainstream business catering to the needs of couples with a female-friendly approach,” said Jacob Polny, chief investment officer at Telemos. “There is a huge momentum behind e-commerce in general but because of the discretion and anonymity behind retailing this product it is suited to growth.”

Wealthy families and their scions are increasingly investing their own money independently. Philippe Jacobs, co-chairman of Swiss investment firm Jacobs Holding AG, started Telemos last year to invest in consumer, health-care and business-services companies.

“We are not going to the usual hunting grounds for private equity or other buyers,” Jacobs said. “We can be flexible with our capital in terms of investment horizons and are more returns driven.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Ruth David in London at rdavid9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Hauck at dhauck1@bloomberg.net, Matthew Monks, Timothy Sifert

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