Addleshaw Goddard has advised European investment group Saga Invest on the acquisition of Heathside, a market leading manufacturer and global distributor of toys and collectables with operations in the UK and the Netherlands.

Heathside operates through its brands Master Replicas and Khadou on a license-based model with pop-culture brands such as Marvel, Star Trek, Minecraft, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, South Park, and Peaky Blinders. The investment from Saga Invest will see Heathside expand its operations across Europe with particular focus initially on France and Germany.

Gregory Benassar, investment principal at Saga Invest, said “We are building a pan-European distribution and manufacturing solution for retailers at the crossroads between pop-culture toys, collectables, and other licensed products. Heathside has been on a significant growth journey in recent years, and we are excited to build on that with the team through our investment and market experience. We are entrepreneurs at heart, which is something we consider to be at the core of the historic success of the Heathside business and we very much wish to continue that."
 
Robert Myers, who will exit in full from the business, commented, “After so many years, I am delighted to hand over the reins to the next generation. Under the management of Saga Invest and the rest of the leadership team, I know the business is being left in the most capable of hands and I look forward to following the company’s success moving forward.”
 
Saga Invest is the investment vehicle of Gregory Benassar and Alexis Desplats (formerly of Asmodee), Alexander Dubynski (founder of Blackfire Distribution prior to its sale to Asmodee), and Jürgen Helmhold (senior partner of professional services firm SHWP).
 
The AG team was led by Ben Davies (Manchester) and Antoine Martin (Paris) and comprised, amongst others, Nelema Akhtar, Eleanor Chatterton and Katie Noble (Corporate), James Garner and Ben Edwards (Finance), Nick Dyson (Commercial), Kelly Brown and Hannah Magrath (Employment), and Charlotte Fallon, Adam Kobeissi and Gwenaël Kropfinger (Tax).