Celtic & Co. owner Refined Brands acquires Frugi

Refined Brands, the parent company of Cornwall based fashion brand Celtic & Co., has acquired the intellectual property and assets of ethical childrenswear brand, Frugi.

It follows the appointment of PwC as administrators to the Cut4Cloth Limited business.

Frugi is a fellow Cornwall-based brand and its head office team and operations will relocate to Refined Brands’ local headquarters in Indian Queens, Cornwall. Website orders will resume shortly once stock has been transferred to its new location.

Refined Brands will invest and relaunch Frugi, which was established in 2004 and has since built a strong reputation for sustainable childrenswear, using organic cotton throughout their collection as well as outerwear made from recycled plastic bottles.

James Williams, Group Managing Director of Refined Brands, said: “I’m delighted to be able to secure the future of this pioneering ethical childrenswear brand and save a significant number of local jobs in Cornwall.

“We are delighted that Frugi are joining our brand family. We have long been fans of the Frugi brand and find their strong ethical and sustainable brand values resonate strongly with our own.”

Margaret McDonald, Executive Chair of Frugi, commented: “I would like to thank the team at Refined Brands for stepping in to acquire Frugi in challenging circumstances. It is a great example of two sustainable Cornish brands joining forces for the future. I do not doubt that Frugi can grow and prosper as Europe’s leading organic childrenswear brand.”

Jennifer Bolton, Head of Design and Brand at Frugi, added: “We are energised to be joining a family of pioneering brands with aligned values and a shared vision for a more sustainable approach to product design and manufacture.”

Refined Brands was founded in February 2021 as the investment company for a group of committed retailers including Ben Barnett, Michael Rahamim and Lee Harlow (together: Phase Eight, Whistles, Hobbs, All Good Things, Ratsey and Lapthorn, JJill Inc, Kaporal, Refined Networks and OneStock), in partnership with Kvika Bank and Souter Investments.

Celtic & Co. was the first investment for Refined Brands, in partnership with the ethical brand’s co-founders, Nick and Kath Whitworth.

Refined Brands’ aim is to build a small portfolio of British fashion brands with a shared customer appeal and “sustainability at their core”.