Luxury Brand Partners Inks $50M Investment

Luxury Brand Partners (LBP), the team behind such brands as R+Co, IGK, Becca and Oribe Hair Care is announcing its plans for expansion and new brand launches amidst a new strategic and financial partnership with Bookend Capital Partners (Bookend), an investment fund helmed by Alexander Panos, formerly of TSG Consumer Partners. Panos will join LBP's board of directors.

The $50 million minority investment is part of LBP's plan for exponential growth in the new decade, including several soon-to-be-announced cutting-edge brands in addition to continuing innovations in the beauty and retail sectors.

"This is such an exciting time for LBP. There is a ground swell of change and newness in the beauty industry – and we love leading the charge in that movement. This collaboration with Bookend allows us to accelerate the development and launch of many groundbreaking concepts," said Tev Finger, founder and CEO of Luxury Brand Partners. "We have historically been self-funded but found a like-minded and respected partner in Bookend that shared our vision for incubating cult-favorite brands."

"Luxury Brand Partners is a remarkable success story of brand building," said Panos, Bookend's founder and CEO. "They have assembled an extraordinary portfolio; their team is top-class and driven by a common mission to be the best in the world at what they do. I could not have picked a better company as the first investment of our new fund."

"Alex is one of those rare investors who exclusively partners with best-in-class brands that truly engender customer loyalty – �-and his instincts for identifying where the market is going, and the teams that are doing it, are unparalleled," shared Dan Langer, President of R+Co and CMO of Luxury Brand Partners. "I'm beyond excited to work with the Bookend team as we continue to anchor R+Co as the top prestige brand in hair care and expand into new salon-focused categories."

"I chose to join LBP this past year because of its incredible track record and innovative vision. This partnership will greatly expand our reach as we continue to add the best talent in-house – both corporate and artistic. I look forward to making some very exciting announcements in 2020," said Nancy Bernardini, COO of Luxury Brand Partners.

ABOUT LUXURY BRAND PARTNERS (LBP)

Luxury Brand Partners is part brand incubator, part venture fund, part brand operator and totally unique in the beauty space. LBP is a company that develops and nurtures prestigious, artist-driven beauty brands, with a portfolio that includes R+Co, Smith & Cult, IGK, V76 by Vaughn and In Common. Previous LBP brands include Oribe Hair Care, Becca and Pulp Riot. Its diverse collective of industry thought leaders and artists works closely with each brand to create innovative, high-performance products with carefully curated ingredients, packaging, fragrance and design.

Luxury Brand Partners is headquartered in Miami with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Officially founded in 2012, LBP has grown to over 200 employees with a portfolio of brands sold in over 20 countries and across retail and professional beauty channels including, but not limited to top salons, Sephora, Ulta Beauty, Net-a-Porter, Neiman Marcus, Kith, Space NK and Blue Mercury.

ABOUT BOOKEND CAPITAL PARTNERS

Bookend Capital Partners is a new private equity fund founded by Alexander S. Panos, formerly a long-time member of the leadership team at TSG Consumer Partners. Over the last 20 years, Alex has been an active investor in trailblazing consumer product companies. Bookend invests capital on behalf of institutions and the Bookend general partnership and has a long-term investment horizon.