British womenswear brand Ro&Zo secures 1.5 million pound investment

British womenswear brand Ro&Zo has received an investment of 1.5 million pounds from a venture capital trust.

London-based Pembroke VCT said its investment will be used to drive Ro&Zo’s direct-to-consumer business by raising brand awareness, developing its operations capability, and scaling the business in the UK.

Launched in 2020 by Rosie Bowden and Zoe de Abreu, Ro&Zo sells fashion for women in sizes 6 to 20.

“Today there is a strong demand in the market for accessible, quality fashion that can be versatile while still being stylish,” said founder and CEO Rachel Heather.

She continued: “Ro&Zo’s styling is about attitude not age with a focus on day to night dressing. We have established a strong understanding of our customer and are excited to gain this funding from Pembroke VCT to grow and better serve their needs.”

Ro&Zo is currently stocked at retailers including Next, John Lewis, and Zalando, with plans to open its first high street store. A planned date was not disclosed.

Andrew Wolfson, CEO of Pembroke Investment Managers, said: “In these extraordinary retailing times we are living in, it was going to take an extraordinary fashion brand for Pembroke VCT to invest in this sector.

“When we met Rosie, Zoe and Rachel we realised they had done something unique – they had turned their wealth of experience in supply chain and eye for design into a new omnichannel fashion player.

“The business has performed strongly in major retail stores and we look forward to working with the team to drive its DTC offer and launch their first physical store.”