The Diamond Store seeks sparkle with hunt for new investors

Britain’s biggest online diamond jewellery retailer is exploring the merchantability of a involvement successful the concern to extracurricular investors for the archetypal clip successful its 69-year history.

Sky News has learnt that The Diamond Store, which is owned by its founding family, is moving with advisers connected a process to bring successful caller backers amid increasing appetite among user for lab-grown diamonds.

Sources adjacent to the process said that talks were already progressive with a important fig of prospective investors.

Cavendish, the concern bank, is overseeing the discussions with imaginable backers.

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The Diamond Store sells jewellery incorporating some earthy and lab-grown diamonds, with a study by the consulting steadfast Bain & Company saying that income of the second grew by astir 40%in 2022, arsenic a effect of expanding user demand, amended accumulation efficiencies and wider retail adoption.

The identities of the funny parties was unclear.

"We're seeing a immense and increasing appetite for lab-grown diamonds crossed Europe, peculiarly successful markets wherever consciousness is rising but prime remains limited," said Jeremy Kanzen, The Diamond Store main executive, said.

"We are actively exploring strategical partnerships to assistance accelerate our planetary enlargement and conscionable this demand.

"Selective carnal presence, some successful the UK and cardinal European cities, done premium concessions and pop-ups, volition play a captious relation successful strengthening marque visibility, gathering spot and driving high-value conversions."

Global income of lab-grown diamonds present relationship for astir 20% of the planetary diamond market, with that fig expected to emergence importantly implicit the adjacent 5 years," Mr Kanzen added.

"Consumers, particularly younger audiences, are rapidly moving distant from bequest retail models successful favour of brands that connection ethical innovation, transparency, and seamless online experiences."

The institution employs astir 70 radical and is based successful London, having been founded successful Hatton Garden, the heartland of the capital's jewellery industry.

The Diamond Store's revenues are increasing astatine a double-digit rate, with the imaginable for its net earlier interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to treble successful the adjacent 3 years with a caller partner, Mr Kanzen said.

Its talks with investors travel 2 years aft Vashi, a diamond jewellery retailer founded by Vashi Dominguez, collapsed into liquidation, leaving a way of backers with multimillion lb losses.

Mr Dominguez has faced allegations from his backers that the concern operated fraudulently, with the laminitis alleged to person asked unit to airs arsenic customers.