Houseology

Hilco Streambank’s Role

In January 2020, Hilco Streambank was appointed by Stuart Robb and Michelle Elliot of Leonard Curtis Recovery Limited, Joint Administrators of Houseology Design Group Limited (in Administration) (“Houseology”), to assist in the sale of the intellectual property assets of this disruptive interior goods retailer.

Houseology.com was a luxury British homeware eCommerce platform, known as being a purveyor of luxury homewares. Houseology specialised in supplying high-end third-party brands, such as Eichholtz, Kartell and Heathfield & Co, as well as its own in-house offering.

Assets available for sale included copyrighted content of Houseology’s attractive and sophisticated eCommerce website, extensive customer databases, domain names and brand-related assets.

The Brand

Hilco Streambank developed a marketing programme designed for the sale of Houseology’s intellectual property assets. We identified and highlighted value in the full range of assets. We developed and issued marketing documentation to a bespoke database of potential buyers. The opportunity was broadcast on the Hilco Streambank website and social media. Further elements of our comprehensive sale and marketing exercise included the management of a virtual data room, due diligence enquiries and the bidding process. Hilco Streambank also assisted with the carve-out of assets from a subsidiary entity.

Hilco Streambank Closed the Deal

Following a competitive sales process, we received a total of 11 offers from qualified bidders to acquire some or all of the Houseology intellectual property assets. We successfully completed a deal with Olivia’s, a rival interiors retailer. Olivia’s will continue to run Houseology as a standalone brand under the Moot Group umbrella.

“When I first started Olivia’s, Houseology was one of the brands we aspired to be as big as some day … I’m excited to expand The Moot Group’s current luxury home offering and breathe new life into a brand that has served so many loyal customers over the last 10 years.”
– Nick Moutter, Founder and CEO, the Moot Group

“Hilco ran a seamless disposition process which anticipated our needs in disposing of the valuable intellectual property assets of Houseology. Their approach identified and highlighted the value across a full range of assets whilst the marketing programme they designed led to many interested parties and bids, resulting in the successful sale at a level which surpassed our expectations of value. The team met and exceeded our expectations on all fronts and acted in a professional manner throughout.”
– Stuart Robb, Leonard Curtis