Exit follows transformational partnership that established the Company as the global glass packaging market leader to the luxury beauty industry
France, 26th May 2025 – Stirling Square Capital Partners (“Stirling Square”), a leading pan-European mid-market private equity firm, today announces the completion of the sale of Verescence, the market leader in luxury glass packaging for the perfumery and cosmetics industry, to a consortium comprised of Movendo Capital, an investment holding company and family office, and Draycott, an asset manager.
Verescence is a specialist manufacturer of glass bottles for the perfumery and cosmetics industry and the partner of choice to the world’s largest luxury beauty market players, including Hermès, LVMH and L’Oréal. Founded in 1896, Verescence has 2,500 employees across three continents and brings 130 years of glassmaking expertise globally. It operates seven glass manufacturing factories around the world in France, Spain, North America, and South Korea with an annual production capacity of 600 million bottles.
Stirling Square acquired Verescence in 2019 as the first investment of its Fourth Fund. Over the past six years, it has worked alongside the Company’s leadership team to transform it into the market-leading sustainable glassmaker for the global luxury beauty industry. Stirling Square spearheaded transformational M&A, most notably through the strategic acquisition of a manufacturing facility in South Korea in 2021 that enabled the business to expand into the high-growth, premium beauty segment in Asia. Under Stirling Square stewardship, the Company invested €100 million into additional capacity and automation to increase productivity, through the development of proprietary IP underpinned by AI and machine learning. Stirling Square also supported significant sustainability initiatives – today, bottles can be made from 100% recycled glass, compared with a 2% rate when it assumed ownership. The Company also now upholds industry-leading ESG ratings, notably EcoVadis Platinum and CDP AA- for climate and water action.
As a result of Stirling Square’s investment and strategic transformation, during the ownership period, Verescence’s revenues increased by 40% to €421m and EBITDA trebled to more than €80 million.
Thomas Riou, CEO of Verescence, said: “Stirling Square have been a phenomenal partner, providing investment and expertise that enabled our global expansion, strategic shift to expand our skincare offering to meet the growing needs of our customers. They have also encouraged us to embed innovation across our industrial processes and accelerated our digital transformation that has resulted in us adopting a more data-driven approach across the organisation.”
Julien Horreard, Partner at Stirling Square, added: “We are delighted to have had the privilege of collaborating with Thomas and the brilliant Verescence team over the last six years, during a transformational period linked to our strategic investment in digitalisation, innovation, sustainability and international expansion into the Asian market. We are incredibly proud of what Thomas and the management team achieved during this time as today, Verescence is the market leading specialty glass packaging player with a strong global footprint across France, Spain, the US and South Korea. We wish the team all the best in its next chapter.”
João Coelho Borges, Draycott’s Founding Partner, and Pedro Pereira Gonçalves, Movendo’s CEO, concluded: “We are excited about the opportunity to acquire a global leader with a strong and experienced management team fully aligned with our value creation strategy. Verescence’s leadership position in the industry aligns with our investment criteria across multiple key dimensions. By combining management’s expertise with our own, we aim to drive sustainable growth and maximize value for all stakeholders.”
Stirling Square has a strong track record in France, having been investing locally for over 15 years, with its current and prior portfolio comprising Médisup, Vernet, Siblu, AD Industries, Citec Environnement (ESE) and Permaswage (GDT).
