The Aliph Fund I, a fund of the private equity enterprise Aliph Capital, has takes over The Pet Shop (TPS) including DubaiPetfood.com and Petsville.
TPS, established in 2011, is a pet retailer, operating retail locations and a regional e-commerce platform, offering any kind of pet food, supplies and services. Pursuant to Aliph Capital claims The Pet Shop to be the biggest omnichannel company in the UAE.
The founder of Petsville (in 2019) Amr Hazem will work as CEO of TPS supporting development and expansion. He has formerly worked at Americana, Fronterra and BRF and could gain experience in the pet care and retail business.
“I am very excited to join TPS as CEO,” Hazem said. “I see tremendous growth potential in the business and look forward to working closely with Aliph Capital to achieve it.”
Furthermore, Aliph Capital wants to make further investments in the company increasing expansion across the UAE and other countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
“We are delighted to announce the first investment for Aliph Capital’s maiden fund, which is a perfect example of our strategy of taking active positions in midmarket growth stars,” stated Farah Al Mazrui, head of investments at Aliph Capital. “TPS is a proven leader in a market ripe for consolidation, growth and further tech enablement, and we look forward to assisting the company in its ambitious expansion plans.”
The pet care market of the UAE is the largest in the GCC (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman) with a worth of $361 million. Due to an increase of pet owners, the pet care sector will further grow, pursuant to Aliph Capital.