The children’s brand Noukie’s would like to accelerate its development in France. The capital injection from the French MBO Partenaires forms a basis for this and allows the reinforcement of the group’s own capital. MBO Partenaires is acquiring a minority share in the company. The founders of the brand, Simon-Pierre Gilliot and Katia Gilliot-De Paepe, from Waterloo, are still the majority shareholders.

“It is important for our company to carry on developing and it was the opportune moment to invest,” Simon-Pierre Gilliot explains. Thanks to this new contribution, Noukie’s would like to accelerate its growth in France. It acquired six shops in Paris last year. Simon-Pierre Gilliot continues: “Next, we also hope to establish new stores in shopping centres.”

Founded in 1996, the business is currently worth €23 million, employs 102 people and has branches in no less than 32 countries, the main ones being countries bordering Belgium. Noukie’s brand is sold from no less than 2,000 points of sale across the world, 160 of them in Belgium. The company also has a thousand of its own stores in Belgian shopping centres. In addition, the brand is aiming, in the short or medium term, to reach a sales revenue of around €30 million.