Freshstream invests in My Jewellery

Name of the deal: Freshstream invests in My Jewellery
Date announced: 06-08-25 closing
Date closed: 06-08-25 closing
Published value: 100 – 250 million
Buyer(s): Freshstream Investment Partners LLP
Target(s): My Jewellery
Seller: Sharon Hilgers (CEO and founder) and Vilmar Bliekendaal (CFO/CTO)

Involved firms and advisors
Involved firms and advisors buy side:
M&A advisory: IMAP  Legal & Tax: Houthoff  Tax & Financial: PWC  ESG: Sustainable Advantage  Online: Apex

Involved firms and advisors target:
M&A advisory: ABN AMRO  Legal: DLA Piper  Commercial, Tax & Financial VDD: Alvarez & Marsal

Involved firms and advisors sell side:
idem to target advisors:  M&A advisory: ABN AMRO  Legal: DLA Piper  Commercial, Tax & Financial VDD: Alvarez & Marsal

Pitch

Brief description deal / Deal outline
Freshstream entered into a strategic partnership agreement with the leading Dutch jewellery and lifestyle brand, My Jewellery, and partners with CEO and founder Sharon Hilgers and CFO/CTO Vilmar Bliekendaal to accelerate the international growth of the business. The investment will help expand the brand further across Europe, particularly in Germany and France. My Jewellery becomes the ninth portfolio company of Freshstream’s €762M fund.

Why should this deal win the Award for Best Deal Mid-Cap 2025?
About Freshstream
Freshstream is a European private equity firm headquartered in London, focusing on investments in mid-market companies across the Benelux and the UK. It typically partners with founder-led businesses to support growth, professionalization, and international expansion.

About My Jewellery
My Jewellery is a Dutch fashion and lifestyle brand founded in ’s-Hertogenbosch. It started as an online jewelry store and has grown into a major omnichannel retailer with its own clothing lines, accessories, and physical boutiques across the Netherlands and Belgium.

The strategic partnership between My Jewellery, the leading Dutch affordable jewellery and lifestyle brand, and London-based private equity firm Freshstream can be marked as a transaction that represents more than financial backing; it’s a validation of My Jewellery’s vision and recognition of the entire My Jewellery team who made this journey possible.

My Jewellery, founded by Sharon Hilgers in 2011 out of her passion for jewellery and design, has grown to become the largest affordable jewellery brand in the Benelux. Known for its high-quality, on-trend, and accessible products, the brand caters to young women aged 16-35. With over 40 stores across the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and France, alongside a strong e-commerce platform, My Jewellery provides a seamless and convenient customer experience. Supported by a team of over 800 employees, the company’s in-house design capabilities and fast production cycles ensure its collections stay fresh and on-trend, while prioritising women’s empowerment, sustainability, and responsible business practices, maintaining a balance between growth and social responsibility.

In current markets, where Omnichannel retail is a bespoke market, ABN AMRO designed a bespoke process aimed at a limited number of value-add investors with interest in the sector. Ultimately, My Jewellery attracted strong interest from a group of curated Benelux and international sponsors. The goal was to find a partner that would align with the company’s vision, reinforcing their existing growth strategy, and bring new perspectives to accelerate international expansion. To cater for finding that cultural fit, the process was carefully designed to both allow for extensive management access for potential investors so that both parties could connect and feel comfortable with each other, while at the same time preserving competitive tension.

Ultimately, Freshstream proved to be the ideal partner for My Jewellery, aligning itself well with the company’s culture, vision and growth plans. In particular the partnership with Management, and bringing on board seasoned industry professionals was a key differentiating factor. The investment is part of Freshstream’s strategy to support entrepreneur-led businesses and foster their development in primary transactions. My Jewellery joins other high growth, originally entrepreneur led businesses in the Freshstream portfolio and becomes the ninth investment from the PE’s first independent fund.

In addition to Sharon Hilgers and Vilmar Bliekendaal continuing to lead the company they built,  the board will now also benefit from the addition of sector experts as Glen Senk (Chairman) and Jenny de Vries (non-executive director). Glen brings extensive experience from his leadership roles at Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, and David Yurman, while Jenny offers financial and operational expertise from her role as CFO at Rituals as well as her broad prior experience within finance. Together with Freshstream’s support, My Jewellery is well-positioned for its next phase of growth to expand further into Germany, France, and other European markets while maintaining its strong foundation in the Benelux.

The partnership between My Jewellery and Freshstream exemplifies the best of mid-cap transactions, built on trust, shared vision, and a cultural, entrepreneurial fit. By combining My Jewellery’s unique market position with Freshstream’s resources, this deal is a deserving recipient of the Best Deal Mid-Cap 2025 Award.

What is the impact of this deal for the company?
In collaboration with Freshstream, My Jewellery is set to expedite its expansion into Germany, France, and emerging target markets across Europe, while reinforcing its established presence in the Benelux region.

What is the impact of this deal for the direct stakeholders?
The deal positively impacts direct stakeholders in several ways. Employees benefit from new (international) career opportunities and a strengthened culture with new insights from both an financial sponsor perspective as well as industry veterans. Furthermore, international customers will increasingly gain access to high-quality, affordable products while at the same time current customers can be served better with insights from new markets. At the same time, suppliers are able to build out their relationships with the company.

For Freshstream, the partnership aligns with their strategy of supporting high-growth entrepreneurial businesses, creating a mutually beneficial collaboration. Lastly for the founders, their leadership roles are preserved, while unlocking growth opportunities for the business.

What is the impact of this deal on society?
The partnership between My Jewellery and Freshstream enhances the company’s positive societal impact on product, planet and people by scaling its responsible practices.

My Jewellery constantly strives to improve products to contribute to a more sustainable future, by using durable, recyclable stainless steel for jewellery and GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified organic cotton for apparel. They consistently and diligently perform supplier quality checks for safety and environmental standards. The company employs a dedicated sustainability coordinator that not only focuses on the products, but also aims to reduce the CO2 footprint through strategic energy, packaging and transportation decisions. The company is committed to sustainable packaging and has partnered with Trees for All. Recycling is promoted through the RE-CELEBRATE project.

Additionally, My Jewellery highly values a fair, safe and healthy working environment and fosters diversity and inclusion. Employees are encouraged to work on their personal development with the help of trainings and professional coaches.

What was most complex about this deal?
The complexity of this deal lay in balancing process dynamics in such a way that Sellers were able to properly identify the preferred partner with the right cultural fit while at the same time sufficient competitive tension was maintained to ensure both value maximisation as well as appropriate governance terms.