Trinny London gets expansion funding

It looks like cosmetics entrepreneur Trinny Woodall is getting a funding injection with a report saying she’s struck a £15 million working capital deal for her Trinny London brand.

It’s with private debt provider Aurelius Finance Company (AFC), which operates separately to the private equity investor Aurelius of which it’s a division.

Sky News said the money will be used to expand her seven-year-old beauty business and that official confirmation is expected within days. For now, neither Woodall herself nor AFC nor Trinny London have commented on the report.

The celebrity cosmetics maker first came to prominence as co-presenter of BBC TV show What Not To Wear and leveraged her fame to launch the Trinny London brand whose skincare and make-up products focus on functionality and simplicity as much as style and sell at premium prices.

Woodall’s brand started from her kitchen table in 2017 and Unilever Ventures was an early supporter shortly after with a £2 million investment. The firm is now one of Europe’s fastest-growing beauty brands. 

Although its mainly a direct-to-consumer online business, it recently opened its first standalone retail store on London’s King’s Road. It’s also sold via upscale London department store Liberty and has several physical stockists in Ireland, the US and Australia.

It’s unclear what its current value is, but Sky said that Forbes magazine estimated its value at around £180 million as far back as 2021.