Irish Jewellery Brand Chupi Raises €3.75M in New Funds
14th February 2023
Chupi, the multi award-winning Dublin-based fine jewellery brand, founded by Chupi Sweetman (pictured) in 2013, has today announced that it has successfully raised €3.75M in new equity and debt to accelerate the Irish brand’s global growth. The new equity investors include BVP, one of Ireland’s leading EIIS investment funds, and Irish Private Equity firm Abbey International Finance. Permanent TSB’s business banking division has also provided term debt to support the company’s ambitious growth plans.
The funds raised will be used to expand Chupi’s retail footprint, further enhance its innovative technology offering including Augmented Reality, expand its high impact customer services with the addition of Blockchain and support strategic new hires.
Chupi currently has a retail presence in Powerscourt Townhouse Centre in Dublin and has achieved remarkable success driving its online sales by using best-in-class digital technology.
Chupi has a strong focus on sustainability and every piece of jewellery is made using 100% recycled solid gold, while 80% of its classic diamonds are recycled. All Chupi’s jewellery is designed and crafted in Ireland where the company also supports a network of local supplier partners spread around the country.
Following the new investment of equity, Chupi will continue to be majority owned by Chupi Sweetman, her husband Brian Durney and members of the company’s leadership team.
IBI Corporate Finance led the fund raise in conjunction with Chupi’s financial advisers, BLG Financial Consultants.
Chupi Sweetman, CEO and founder of Chupi: “What started as a plan built at the kitchen table almost 10 years ago has grown into a business that I am so proud to lead and continue to grow.
At Chupi, we are a digital first luxury brand operating a borderless business model whilst making each and every piece of our jewellery in Ireland. Today’s investment will allow us break down even more borders on the world stage.
“We are looking forward to expanding our retail offering in Ireland and developing new concession arrangements in key target international markets. We will also be using this investment to further enhance our world class technology from Augmented Reality (AR) to our machine learning offering which has been instrumental in Chupi’s global growth. We are confident that we are on track towards our vision of making Chupi a much sought after global luxury jewellery brand, created in Ireland and sustainably crafted by an exceptional and passionate team.”
Stephen Burdock, Investment Director at BVP Investments: “We’re delighted to support the Chupi business as one of Ireland’s leading fine jewellery businesses. We were very impressed with the Chupi team who bring significant experience together of global brands, their senior executive level experience and their focus on sustainable products. The Chupi investment forms a significant part of our 2022 EIIS fund portfolio.”
