Old Mutual Private Equity (OMPE), one of South Africa's largest and most established private equity managers, has acquired a majority stake in Footgear, a South African retailer of branded footwear.

The transaction was finalized on June 3, 2019 and is pending approval from the Competition Commission.

Chumani Kula, Investment Principal at OMPE, said: “Branded footwear remains a robust and growing market, and has shown relative resilience, in times of slower macro-economic growth. We are culturally and commercially aligned to Footgear’s high-quality management team and are proud to back a team that has a long and successful track record”.

Founded in 2001, Footgear is a retailer of branded footwear with 63 stores nationwide. 

Footgear's footwear offering is family orientated, catering across categories, gender and age-groups, servicing men, women and kids underpinned by high levels of customer service, in a unique shop setting delivered by an energetic and motivated staff complement.

Its offering includes an array of sports performance footwear, sports-inspired lifestyle, casual and leisure footwear, and fashion and outdoor footwear.  

In addition to being a strategic partner to the management team who hold the remaining shares, OMPE will also provide capital to support the growth of the Footgear business.

Farhad Khan, Investment Principal at OMPE, said: “At OMPE, we seek to back savvy operators, like Footgear, that are building a business to international standards and we view this as a smart means to invest in a resilient and burgeoning sector in a brand that is loved by its customers. We look forward to working alongside the team as it enters its next growth phase.”

Neil Stephens, CEO of Footgear, added: “Quality, service and expertise are deep-rooted in the Footgear culture and we are delighted that this has enabled our growth and our brand’s adoption by suppliers and customers. We look forward to the next stage of growth, supported through a partnership with a market leading private equity firm in OMPE.”

OMPE is a member of Old Mutual Alternative Investments, which manages over $4bn in assets across private equity, infrastructure and various impact funds and has offices in South Africa, West and East Africa.